Meet Marie E. … a job seeker from our Cleared Job Fair last week

At each of our Cleared Job Fairs, we are lucky to work with employers who really go the extra mile to meet and interview with as many job seekers as possible. Our good fortune also extends to the job seekers. Many job seekers come to our job fairs uncertain about what to expect while here. Others still feel nervous – as many folks do – at the prospect of being interviewed or having to network with other professionals.

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of meeting Marie E., a security cleared job seeker who falls into just about all these categories: she was nervous to be here, not certain what to expect and unsure as to how her experience at a Cleared Job Fair would turn out for her.

We are happy to report that Marie E. had a positive experience at our job fair last week and approached us to ask how she could share her experience with other security cleared job seekers out there who may be feeling as nervous and uncertain as she had that morning.

Here is Marie E.’s story …

ClearedJobs.Net: How did you hear about our Cleared Job Fair?
Marie E: I think I just Googled “clearance job fairs” and your job fair came up.

ClearedJobs.Net: What did you expect before you arrived at the job fair? Did you have any preset ideas of how your day would be?
Marie E: None. I can tell you I had no idea what to expect. I can also tell you I had no idea it would be as nice as it was and has been. This is my first time attending a Cleared Job Fair held by ClearedJobs.Net. It was much bigger and had many more companies than I had initially imagined would be here, which was great. Everyone at the registration desk was just super nice … I mean, they made me feel like they were happy to have me here which helped ease my nerves. And the job fair’s location today was great, too.

ClearedJobs.Net: Wow, sounds like you really developed a positive experience right from the beginning!
Marie E: Yes, I did. I have to say hands-down that just about everything today went smoothly. I was very impressed with many things, even some small details that most folks wouldn’t notice at first glance (including myself!). For example, every single person that spoke with me here today was just so nice!!! That was meaningful to me. Everyone’s just so polite it stands out. And something else that was a small detail but one that made a huge difference, at least for me personally, is that there were tables all around for job seekers to kind of “park” off to the side. These tables are awesome; they allowed me to kind of stand off to the side and review the Job Seeker Handbook you all give out before speaking with an employer.

ClearedJobs.Net: You’re the third person today to mention our Job Seeker Handbook…
Marie E: I have to say that this handbook you guys give out is amazing. I mean, employers always ask what you know about their company and your handbook is really helpful in that it has all the information one would need about each of the companies here today. What the handbook allowed me to do was look up an employer to see what jobs they were hiring for and, based on the info listed, I could see if they had “Intelligence Analyst” positions which are the ones of most interest to me. I literally went through each page of the handbook to see who was hiring “Intelligence Analysts” and folded the pages of those employers with this position listed. This helped me narrow down my job search and target the employers who would possibly find the most value in my experience.

ClearedJobs.Net: Did you make some good connections today?
Marie E: Absolutely! I am walking away with some very good leads. I was surprised by how many companies were here and how many employers I got to speak with.

ClearedJobs.Net: What is your strategy now that you have spoken with your target employers?
Marie E: I am planning on contacting everyone I spoke with and send each of these employers a soft copy of my resume because they all ask for that. I also want to check out the web site for each employer to learn more and overall just focus on following up and seeing which employers bite more than others.

ClearedJobs.Net: Given your experience, what advice would you give other job seekers who are nervous and uncertain if they should attend a Cleared Job Fair?
Marie E: Bring a lot of resumes! And bring a positive attitude. No matter how many resumes you have sent, nothing beats direct face time with employers. And know that the folks here at the Cleared Job Fair are genuinely glad to have you there. With such a positive atmosphere, most likely anyone will fare just as well as I have had here.

Thank you Marie E !!!!

Our team wishes Marie E. and all security cleared job seekers much success as they continue their employment search.