Gnet Careers Fair Plan

---
name: gnet-careers-fair-plan
description: Builds a Careers Fair Plan with priority and warm-up stands, two questions per employer the website does not answer, your 10-second pitch, what to bring and a timing plan, plus virtual fair set-up if the fair is online. Use for "run gnet-careers-fair-plan", "plan my careers fair", "which stands should I visit", "what should I ask at the careers fair", "careers fair next week", "virtual careers fair prep", "questions for recruiters at a fair", part of the Claude Graduate Networking Guide Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Careers Fair Plan

## When To Use
The careers fair is next week and you were going to just wander round, pick up a tote bag and ask every stand "so, what do you do?". This answers which stands you visit, in what order, what you ask each one and what you carry in with you.

## When Not To Use
For a single employer presentation, insight evening or alumni event with speakers, use Employer Event Prep. If you have no idea which employers suit you yet, run Target Employer List first, or the plan becomes a tour of famous logos.

## Inputs
- The fair's exhibitor list (pasted, or a link to the public page), with the date, venue or platform, hours and any talk times
- Your Target Employer List and Employer Research Brief, if you have run them
- Your Elevator Pitch, or a few lines about your course and what you are curious about
If you have none of this, I start from the exhibitor list and your brief in a sentence, and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
The plan follows the before and during steps in the Prospects careers fairs guidance and TARGETjobs advice on graduate job fairs, with TARGETjobs advice on virtual fairs when it is online. Research first, pick priorities, warm up at lower-priority stands, ask questions a website cannot answer, take notes straight after. The judgment is in the questions: a recruiter has heard "what graduate schemes do you have?" all day, and it tells them you did not look. Prospects also says not to overlook smaller employers, whose stands are often quieter and whose people have more time.

## Workflow
1. Ask at most three questions: which employers on the list matter most to you and why, whether the fair is in person or online, and how long you can stay.
2. Match the exhibitor list against your Target Employer List. You pick the priority stands by hand; I flag smaller employers that fit the brief so you do not overlook them, and suggest two warm-up stands to visit first, where a fumbled opening costs nothing.
3. For each priority stand, write two questions the website does not answer, drawn from the Employer Research Brief if you ran it. I check each one against the employer's own pages and cut any that a quick search would answer.
4. Cut your pitch to its 10-second version: name, course, what you are curious about at this employer. Then one question to hand the conversation over.
5. Set the timing: arrive early, plan the route around talk or seminar times if listed, and keep away from the lunch rush. Go on your own, as the Prospects guidance suggests, so you are not steered by a friend's list.
6. List what to bring: CV copies, notepad and pen. If the fair is virtual, check the platform profile is complete, test the device, connection, browser, camera and microphone, and plan to write in full sentences in the chat.
7. Add a blank notes table to fill straight after each conversation, ready for Event Notes and 48-Hour Follow-Up.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Careers Fair Plan
[Fair name] · [date] · [venue or platform] · [hours you will be there]
## Stands
| Order | Employer | Why (from your brief) | Warm-up, priority or smaller employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| [order] | [employer] | [one line, with source] | [type] |
## Questions per employer
| Employer | Question one | Question two | Checked not on their website |
|---|---|---|---|
| [employer] | [question] | [question] | [yes, with page checked] |
## Pitch, timing and kit
- 10 seconds: [your words] · hand-over question: [your question]
- Arrive: [time] · Talks: [times if listed] · Avoid: [lunch window]
- Bring: [CV copies, notepad, pen]
- Virtual set-up: [profile complete, device, connection, browser, camera, microphone tested]
## Notes after each stand
| Employer | Name and role | What was said | Deadlines | What you promised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [employer] | [name, role] | [notes] | [date] | [promise] |
## Decision
You confirm the priority stands and questions by [the evening before the fair].
```

## Done When
- Every priority stand was chosen by you, and two warm-up stands come first in the order
- Each priority employer has two questions, each checked against the employer's own website
- The pitch fits in 10 seconds and ends with a question, and the notes table is ready

## Quality Bar
- No question that the employer's careers page already answers
- Smaller employers that fit the brief are on the list, not only famous names
- Every reason for a stand traces to your brief or a sourced fact; no promise that the fair leads to a job
- Claude helps you plan; you have every conversation yourself.

## Next
Run gnet-event-follow-up (Event Notes and 48-Hour Follow-Up) to turn conversations into follow-ups.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).