This week we’re spotlighting Frannie Hillyer, a senior Accountancy undergrad major and Masters of Accountancy graduate major from Columbus, Ohio. Frannie is the President of Beta Alpha Psi and helped to plan this year’s virtual Accounting, Finance, and Consulting career fair. She is excited to share her virtual career fair advice with us!
- Graduate Major: Masters of Accountancy 3+1 program
- Undergraduate Majors: Accountancy
- Minors: Information Systems
- Internship/job title: Audit Assistant
- Internship/job company: Deloitte
What’s the most important thing for students to know about career fair this year?
The most important thing to know is that career fair is being held virtually through Handshake!
What steps should students take to prepare for virtual career fair?
There are two main tasks to complete: planning your day at the fair and updating your personal information.
Planning for career fair looks a little different this year. I would start with registering for the fair on Handshake. Then, plan my route: Which employers do I want to go see? Should I attend a group session or an individual slot? Handshake will allow you to sign up for sessions in advance, so it is best to be prepared.
Virtual presence is going to be a major key this fall. I’m going to update my Handshake profile, LinkedIn profile, resume, and do a quick scan over my social media. In addition, CCES has some great tools, like Big Interview and VMock, where I can practice my virtual professional presence and get feedback on my resume.
What advice do you have for standing out in this virtual environment?
If students want some extra tips and tricks and to hear from the experience of Beta Alpha Psi members, they should attend our virtual workshop on Wednesday, September 2nd from 6:30-8:00 p.m. EST.
Personally, I think it’ll be really important to get the recruiter’s contact information who you talk to and send them a follow up email later that night or the next day. Try to keep track of something memorable from your conversation and bring it up again in the thank-you email to really stand out! It doesn’t have to be too extensive, just a short little note will be great.
Example: Dear Megan, It was so great getting to talk to you yesterday at career fair! I really liked what you had to say about Deloitte’s women’s inclusion initiative. Looking forward to the next steps in the interview process! Thanks again for your time, Frannie.