Neurodiversity: Career fair prep

Career fairs are events that connect McMaster students and alumni with employers to provide information to students, about their respective companies and organizations. Most importantly, they provide information about their recruiting process.

October 10, 2025

Below are some tips and guidelines to help prepare for the career fair if you identify as neurodivergent.

Research the employers

Identifying the companies you’re interested in working at can help you come into the career fair with a clear plan of who to talk to.

Below are some steps to help you learn more about the employers:

  1. Review the websites and LinkedIn pages of the employers leading up to the fair, along with their EDIA policies, and accommodation policies. If you find structuring your research helpful, set a goal for how many employer websites you’d research per day.
  2. You can also use the People tab on the company LinkedIn page to find employees that you can connect with on LinkedIn. If you’re looking for more information on how to have informational interviews with individuals working in your companies of interest, review our Informational Interview Tip Sheet here.
  3. Reviewing job postings by your companies of interest leading up to the career fair can give you a sense of the roles they’re hiring for and the skills they’re looking for in candidates. If you have any questions about the available roles, the career fair would be your opportunity to have them clarified and also demonstrate that you’ve done your research on the employer.

Prepare questions to ask

After you’ve done your research, you’ll be equipped to prepare a set of questions that you can ask employers at the fair; some examples of questions you can ask are below:

  • What are the main skills (soft and technical) that your organization looks for in candidates for X role?
  • What makes a person successful in this role and/or organization?
  • What advice do you have for university students/graduates regarding getting into this field? Are there professional networking opportunities you would recommend?
  • How would you describe the culture of the organization?
  • Mention what you’ve learned about the organization and ask a related, relevant question.

Prepare items to bring

The career fair can be a crowded and occasionally hectic environment, so preparing items you need for the day can help you feel more comfortable as you navigate through it. Examples of items to bring are as follows, but you’re welcome to bring anything you need:

  • Water bottle
  • Any assistive devices you need
  • Any translation apps you need
  • A notepad/pen to jot down any notes/contact information
  • Multiple copies of your resume

If it would feel more comfortable to attend with a friend or a support person, schedule a time to meet them there so that you can navigate the career fair together.

Choose what to wear

Wearing business attire that you’re comfortable in can help you feel more confident and will help you make a strong first impression as you’re speaking to recruiters.

  • Choosing what to wear ahead of time (at least 1-2 days before the career fair) may help you feel more prepared on the morning of the career fair.
  • If you need support with this step, scheduling time with a loved one to plan your attire together can help motivate you and give you a second opinion on what you’re planning to wear.

Update your resume and LinkedIn

Bringing multiple copies of your updated resume to the career fair can help you leave your contact information and an impression of your skills and experience with the employers you speak to.

  • It may be helpful to bring different versions of your resume depending on the types of positions you’re targeting (i.e. one version of your resume tailored to Teaching positions, and another version of your resume tailored to Administrative positions), so that you can market your specific skills depending on the employer you’re speaking to.
  • If you need support with updating your resume, please book an appointment with the Student Success Centre’s career services ahead of the career fair.
  • As you’re preparing for the day, consider setting a reminder for yourself to print out multiple copies of your your updated resume at least 1-2 days before the fair to give yourself time for any last-minute changes.
  • Note that some employers may prefer you apply online to use their preferred recruitment process. In that case, noting the name of the individual that you spoke to at the career fair and alluding to your conversation with them in your cover letter can help to differentiate your application with your effort to pre-connect with the organization.

Prepare your elevator pitch

Your elevator pitch is a short description of your background, skills and interests; this is a “snapshot” of you that the representative can use to understand who you are, what you do and what you are looking for, including your interest in the company.

  • Leading up to the career fair, taking the time you need to draft your elevator pitch and practice it can help remove some ambiguity around speaking to employers, since you’ll have your introduction ready.
  • If you’re looking for support with preparing your elevator pitch, feel free to book an appointment with the Student Success Center’s career services, and to practice it with your support system too.
  • You can also find more information on preparing your elevator pitch and other conversation starters for the career fair in the Career Fair: Practice Your Pitch tip sheet.
  • Bringing a copy of your pitch with your resumes can help jog your memory during the event.

Get familiar with the space or platform

If the career fair is an in-person event, it may be helpful to familiarize yourself with the area ahead of time, whether it’s mapping your route or commute to the venue or planning how to navigate the event itself.

  • If the career fair has a map of employer tables published, noting where the employers you’re interested in will be located can help you navigate the event space.
  • If it helps you to observe other attendees interacting with employers before initiating your conversations, that’s no problem; take your time to walk through the venue and observe other interactions until you feel confident to chat with them.
  • Some people prefer to speak to the employers they’re not as interested in first, as a low-pressure way to build comfort before speaking to their top employers.
  • If the fair is a virtual event, take time to navigate the platform features and review any demonstrations or tutorials available for how to use it.

Set goals for the day

While the end goal of attending a career fair is employment, your goal for the event itself can be more specific (for example: to practice networking, meet people in your field of interest, make contacts)

Some questions to help you set goals and priorities for the fair:

  • Who are your companies of priority to talk to? (Tip: Breaking down your companies of interest into your A-list, B-list, and C-list companies can help you focus on the ones of priority at the career fair)
  • What information do you want to learn, knowing that your conversation with employers will be brief?
  • What would you want to do/learn to feel accomplished at the end of the career fair?

Grounding yourself during the Career Fair

You’re not alone in finding the career fair overwhelming; it’s alright to take a break, adjust and take a deep breath if you need a break from the space. When you feel calm and ready, return to the fair and find employers you want to learn about.

Some techniques to help you with grounding yourself are as follows:

  • Box breathing: Breathing in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, out for 4, and hold for 4.
  • Rainbow grounding: Going through each of the colors of the rainbow, and finding items around you which match them.
  • 5-4-3-2-1 grounding: 5 things you can see, 4 sounds you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
  • 3-minute meditation
  • Fidget items/stress ball
  • During the event, if you need time to gather your thoughts, take notes on the conversations you’ve had with an employer, and center yourself between each employer you speak to, feel free to take the time you need and pace yourself as you move through the event.
  • Noting down 1-2 key points from each conversation can also give you something to refer back to when following up with the employers.

Find support available during the Career Fair

Reviewing the career fair website or event page will help you find information about any supports available during the event.

  • For example, some career fairs may include an advising table where you can ask any questions you have about presenting your skills and speaking to employers.
  • If you need accommodations for the event, reaching out to the organizers ahead of time with the accommodations you’re looking for can also help make sure that you’ll have what you need to feel comfortable during the event.

Following up with employers

The career fair was your opportunity to build an initial connection with employers; now that the event is over, continuing to engage with them and continue your connection beyond the fair will improve your chances of progressing in the hiring process.

For more information on how to follow up with employers afterwards, please visit our Career Fair: After the Fair tip sheet.

More support

We recommend checking out the Neurodiversity Hub for more information and tips on preparing for a career fair.

We’re here to help if you’re looking for further support with your your job search. Visit Career Access Professional Services (CAPS) to learn more about our services which offer career and job search support tailored to your needs.