But is it enough to just show up at a job fair and expect to get more offers than a prom queen at the spring formal? The answer is no. The most important thing you can do in terms of getting the most out of job fairs is preparation, according to EmploymentGuide.com. Most students (and post grad adults, for that matter) think all you have to do is show up with a resume, chat up the recruiter, and then wait for the job offers to come rolling in. Not so, according to recruiters who make a living attending these events. The job seekers who make the biggest and best impressions at job fairs are those who do their homework before they even step one foot into a booth.

So to help you successfully navigate spring career and internship season, here are three steps that are sure to give you a leading edge at a job fair.

Preparation

Every business has a website so at the very least visit the websites of the companies that are participating in your job fair. Study up on key staff, company history, employee programs, company contacts, annual reports, and any other pertinent information (like the company’s philanthropic endeavors or future plans). Do the same for the industry in which you’re interviewing by reading trade journals, business magazines, and news reports. Use this information to narrow your search down to the top 10 companies you’d like to work for and make appointments with them first.

Make sure your resume doesn’t look like seventh grader wrote it. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and keep the flowery, verbose prose to a minimum. Appearances matter, so follow standard resume format.

Prepare a brief pitch about yourself and practice it until you can confidently rattle it off without breaking a nervous sweat. Get your friends to listen to it and take their feedback into consideration. Look at your pitch as a one-minute commercial about yourself where you have 60 seconds or less to make a favorable impression.

Day of Job Fair

Most importantly don’t dress like some hayseed who just got off the farm. Show up on time, well groomed in clean, appropriate business attire. Men, put on a suit and tie, and women, wear a matching skirt and jacket or pantsuit. When in doubt error on the conservative side. Ladies, forego the heavy perfumes and guys, please, leave your dorky ball caps at home.

Shake hands when you meet someone and look them in the eye when you speak. Lead with your one-minute commercial, but don’t try to dominate the conversation, and don’t go over your allotted time. Answer questions briefly and honestly when asked. Leave your resume (and business card, if you have one) and don’t forget to shake hands again upon your exit.

Afterward

Follow-up with a thank you card or email no later than one week after the job fair (the sooner, the better). Be sure to say that you met at the job fair and mention something you talked about that will make the recruiter remember you. Ask that they consider you for future employment opportunities and that you look forward to hearing from them soon.

Spring college career fairs are one of the best ways to find your first job. Even though most colleges offer career placement services year round, the spring semester career fair is usually the biggest. So write your resume, get your suit dry cleaned, and turn up your charm. Spring break could be your lucky break, in terms of getting a job.

Next to getting married, choosing an education that leads to the right career is one of the biggest commitments you make in life. Which is why it’s odd that people don’t spend more time getting to know (i.e. “dating”) several careers before choosing one. In fact, you wouldn’t even buy a new shirt to wear on a date without trying it on first, so why are we generally cavalier about committing to careers we know very little about?

To help you untangle the knotty mess of confusion we get ourselves into when considering college degrees and career choices, I suggest you “date” a few careers first. This isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds, considering there is little chance a career will break up with you right before your sister’s wedding or cheat on you behind your back. You’re more likely to pursue the college degree that leads you to the career of your dreams if you follow these easy steps.

Step 1: Interview

Have you ever looked at someone doing a job and said to yourself, “That’s what I want to do?” But how do you really know if that’s true? Are you familiar with everything it takes to do that job, let alone how much education or training it would take to get there?

Before you commit to several years of college tuition for a degree that might end up being about as useful as used tissue, meet and interview people who already have the job you’re considering. And not just one person in the industry, but several; including the ones who are a little disillusioned with the way their careers turned out. That’s not to say you want them to talk you out of it, but you do want a realistic, down-to-earth rendition of what it takes to be whatever it is you want to be. Make sure you ask about issues that could be important down the road as well, such earning potential, the amount of free time you’d have, and if the job is family friendly. Don’t be afraid to get personal. This is your chance to “get to know” a career without taking it home to meet mother.

Step 2: Volunteer

The best way to understand the day-to-day workings of a job is to do it for a while, even if you don’t get paid. Obviously, no one is going to hire you without the proper credentials, however, I seriously doubt they’d turn you away as a volunteer. In this economy nobody refuses free labor. Granted, you may not be able to do the exact job you want to pursue (for example, you can’t practice law without a license), but you will be able to work side-by-side with the type of professionals you hope to someday become.

Plus, not only does volunteering give you some idea of what’s it’s like to have a particular career, it also helps you build a resume within that industry. It never hurts (when interviewing for real jobs) to have a little work experience under your belt regardless of the career you choose.

Step 3: Take a Class

Even though you don’t want to actually commit to a degree or college until you get a career in your crosshairs, there’s nothing wrong with enrolling in one or two classes in the major you think you want to pursue – just to see if the curriculum even remotely resembles what you thought it would be. (Think of it as “trying on” a college degree program.) It’s a great way to tell if you’ll like (or be successful in) the classes you have to take in order to pursue the career you think you want.

Online colleges and community colleges are great places to start, being that they’re typically more flexible (and have an easier admission process) than your standard state university. In fact, some colleges allow you to audit classes for free. Or you can sign up for a state university’s extension program, which usually offers the exact same classes, curriculum, and teachers as those used in the university’s college degree programs.

Step 4: Visit a Career Counselor

You’re never too old or too smart to benefit from good advice. You may think you know everything about choosing a career, but you really don’t. Career counselors are trained to figure out what career or vocation would be right for you, based on a series of interviews, tests, and transcript data. Of course, you’re always free to pursue whatever college or career you have you your heart set on. And if you choose to move in the direction your heart leads (regardless of what a counselor says), at least you have practical advice to fall back on, should you change your mind later.

Plus, career counselors give sensible education and career advice to specific demographic groups like working or single moms, or folks who need financial aid. Quite often the only way these programs come to light is through a career counselor.

As anyone who’s pondered college can tell you, choosing a career can be an overwhelming task. Oh sure, there are those people who’ve known since they were five that they wanted to a dentist, fireman, or teacher. But unfortunately, most of us still don’t have a clue as to exactly what it is we want to do with our time until we’ve wasted a good portion of it travelling down the wrong path. Don’t let that happen to you.

Here we are -- I'm sitting and Denise is the pretty blond at the back.

Miracles can happen – just look at my friend, Denise. She announced in December that she was looking for a job. In January, she had three job interviews. This week, she announced that she found the perfect part-time position.

How did she do it? That’s exactly what I asked her so I could share it with you. And she said it was a mix of luck, connections and persistence. Denise is just like all of us, in a way. Her story, hopefully, will be an inspiration for you.

Her experience started simply…Her children are old enough for her to go back to work. Denise has two children: a 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. This year, both are in school all day. Her husband works full time, and Denise has been a stay-at-home mom for the past eight years. Before that, she worked full time at a major car company in Auburn Hills.

I know Denise through my local mother’s club. She is a well-educated, well-organized woman. Her older son has many medical issues stemming from birth, and her daughter is just about allergic to everything on earth. So she spends lots of time in doctor’s offices, volunteering at her kids’ school and hanging out with her mom friends.

That is one of the big reasons she wanted part-time work. She would hate to have a full-time job and ask for every third Friday off to attend her son’s regular doctor’s appointments. So that was Step No. 1: Know what you want so you can make it happen.

Step No. 2 was contacting all of her old bosses, family members and friends, Denise said. She was surprised to find her former employers remembered her – and they started asking around their work to see if anyone had an opening. There’s a great example of it’s not what you know as much as WHO you know.

She put her father-in-law to work on the problem as well. He still working in the automotive industry, and he knew lots of places where they could use Denise’s mega-organization skills. He contacted just about everyone he knew and got her one of her three interviews.

Then she put the word out on her social networks. Step No. 3: Denise posted her job search on Facebook, LinkedIn and wherever else she could think of. LinkedIn got another hit – and another interview.

The final interview – and the one that lead to the job offer – she got entirely on her own. She cold-called a few headhunters, recruiters and the like at the places here she wanted to work. Turns out, there wasn’t a job for her at this company…but they liked her so much that they made a part-time position for her. Granted, this won’t happen for everyone. But Denise got lucky, and she knows it.

Denise told me that she believes firmly that her early decision to stay active in work and the community during her time at home is the main reason she was able to find a job. She both did consulting for a small company one of her friends started, but she also maintained relationships with people in leadership roles through her school and her son’s social groups. That kept her in the public eye, and it kept her busy as her children got to school age.

So keep up the good work, moms. Your time in school will come in handy as you start to search for a job. Your volunteer work will pay off. All of the friends you are making in school, at work and at your kid’s school may lead to the job of your dreams. It can happen. Miracles are all around us.