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Old 05-27-2013, 04:06 AM
 
Location: Buckeye, AZ
38,936 posts, read 23,720,724 times
Reputation: 14125

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I found this article from an e-mail.

Quote:
5 Reasons to Attend a Job Fair


A job fair is one of the best resources a job-seeker has for finding employment. But unfortunately, it's also one of the most under-utilized resources. Why? Because people simply aren't motivated enough to go.

For those who do attend job fairs, the payoff can be huge: a great job with a great employer. If you're searching for jobs right now, here are 5 good reasons why you should strongly consider attending more job fairs.

1. Instant job opportunities.
Employers attend job fairs for one reason: they are looking for good people to join their company. A typical job fair can have dozens or even hundreds of employers. All you have to do is attend and you can apply to all the job opportunities you want – instantly.

2. On-the-spot interviews.
In many cases, you can get an immediate job interview with an employer right at the job fair. There is no other opportunity like this! You could mail your resume to 100 companies and never hear back from any of them. But if you attend one job fair, you'll be able to speak directly to hiring managers, right away.

3. They save you time and money!
Job fairs are free, and they can get you a job FAST. No need to mail your resume dozens of times, paying for postage on each one. No waiting weeks or months for employers to call you back. Attending a job fair doesn't guarantee you'll get a job – but it puts you in front of more employers in the shortest amount of time possible, and significantly boosts your chances overall.

4. Fun, informal, lots of free stuff.
Job fairs are not like an ordinary job interviews. They provide a fun, fast-paced environment for you to walk around and talk to any employer you want. While it's recommended that you dress professionally, the event itself is very relaxed and casual. Plus, many employers are happy to give you free brochures, pamphlets and other fun stuff.

5. You can size up your competition.
Job fairs allow you to see exactly who's applying for the same jobs as you. This is a great way to learn about your competition: how much education they have, their experience, skills and so on. This will help you determine if you need to take further action to make yourself more valuable to employers. And the best part is: you can actually speak to other candidates in person to learn this information!
I think these reasons are total bull to go to a job fair. Don't get me wrong they COULD help but often these reasons are not as relevant anymore. Except maybe if it is a college's or an industry group' fair.
  1. I have never seen ONE direct job offer from the job fairs I've been to. Most of them direct you to a website to apply on. Some have paper applications to fill in but this has mostly been for a travel companies looking at phone sales/customer service.
  2. Refer to the online applications. I have never actually seen any "on-the-spot" interviews at the job fairs I've had "the privilege" of going to. While you speak with hiring managers right there, it is just a first step interview that may shows you are good. That is if people don't hijack these "interviews" which I have seen and had happen to me once.
  3. While job fairs are free gasoline for them are not. The only way I've seen job fairs help save time is help you know if you should apply with the company or not because they do not take X for experience.
  4. Free stuff should NEVER be an excuse to go. The pens are nice but that's all I ever see. All the pamplets are not needed and typically trashed within weeks.
  5. This may be the best idea. I mean it shows who are. Often I see many applicants at these job fairs in jeans and t-shirts and think to myself, there is no way these people are getting a job looking like that.
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Old 05-27-2013, 07:38 AM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,617,759 times
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i like how one of the benefits to a job fair is saving stamps. was this written in 1982?

i am about to send in my third paper resume in 6 months and hundreds of applications.
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Old 05-27-2013, 08:24 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,079 posts, read 80,118,318 times
Reputation: 56856
I have participated as a hiring manager, and in my experience only those minimum wage or a little above employers will actually hire anyone from job fairs. We had many visitors to our table but only one that actually applied for my opening, the rest were not qualified. He did very poorly on the interview. Yes, he did have to apply online like everyone else. The only real advantage to going is if an employer you might want to work for is there, to chat with them and find out more about their company. You can later use this in the interview when they happen to have an opening that you qualify for. Last time I went there were 8 openings besides mine, but all were highly specialized, mostly IT, and required 3-5 years specific experience.
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Old 05-27-2013, 08:50 AM
 
1,484 posts, read 2,251,065 times
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My experience with job fairs, is that the "jobs" available are either bordering rip-off type jobs - Work at home where they didn't really have any work (They supposedly set you up once you pay them for the information, but you had to really try to find the work yourself, which you could do on your own for free) telemarketer jobs, or ones you have to attend "paid seminars" later, jobs that are bordering on "spam" type opportunities (you learn how to spam people and if they bite then you get paid), ones you have to pay to obtain more information on, or ones you have to aggressively sell things like timeshares in order to get paid anything at all. These jobs they'll pretty much "hire" to do anyone for.
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Old 05-27-2013, 08:59 AM
 
Location: PHL
382 posts, read 661,817 times
Reputation: 285
Quote:
Originally Posted by groar View Post
i like how one of the benefits to a job fair is saving stamps. was this written in 1982?

i am about to send in my third paper resume in 6 months and hundreds of applications.
More like 1972!! Since when does employers at Job Fairs hire on the spot? These days, all they do is redirect their flow to their website. It would be just effective as going on the job fair's website and look at the employer.
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Old 05-27-2013, 09:35 AM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
23,267 posts, read 23,628,070 times
Reputation: 23690
Job fairs are a joke, from what I have seen. These days, networking and recruiters are the ways to find a job. In 3-4 years, I think job fairs will be just a memory.
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Old 05-27-2013, 01:23 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
13,520 posts, read 21,996,616 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140 View Post
I have participated as a hiring manager, and in my experience only those minimum wage or a little above employers will actually hire anyone from job fairs. We had many visitors to our table but only one that actually applied for my opening, the rest were not qualified. He did very poorly on the interview. Yes, he did have to apply online like everyone else. The only real advantage to going is if an employer you might want to work for is there, to chat with them and find out more about their company. You can later use this in the interview when they happen to have an opening that you qualify for. Last time I went there were 8 openings besides mine, but all were highly specialized, mostly IT, and required 3-5 years specific experience.

This has been my experience as well. I found the job seekers at job fairs tend to not be very targeted and were just throwing their resumes around to see what sticks.
I think I found one potential candidate from a 2-day job fair and he didn't pass our onsite interview aftewards.
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Old 05-27-2013, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Buckeye, AZ
38,936 posts, read 23,720,724 times
Reputation: 14125
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaypee View Post
This has been my experience as well. I found the job seekers at job fairs tend to not be very targeted and were just throwing their resumes around to see what sticks.
I think I found one potential candidate from a 2-day job fair and he didn't pass our onsite interview aftewards.
I think the issue with targeted resumes is this. Unless you have been in the same industry or a similar industry ad have done similar job titles and know this is the career you want to enter into, it works. However, not everyone has the luxury of targeting particular industry when people just say get a job, get ANY job. Not everyone has the portfolio of work experience to pick and choose which industries and job titles to look into. I know with me, for the last job fair I attended I had three specially targeted resumes and cover letters one of which I threw in the trash because the recruiter wanted work experience even though I had coursework in-line with the position. I would have had more but most places either didn't have the jobs or I didn't have the time and I was looking at jobs in retail/customer service which to an extent have overlap.
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Old 05-27-2013, 02:25 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
13,520 posts, read 21,996,616 times
Reputation: 20234
I'm not talking specifically about resumes ...

What I mean is that job-seekers weren't targeted in their job search and were out to apply to any old job whether or not they have understood the role or have met the requirements. They stand in line just like everyone else and I would have to politely ask them the same screening questions even though I can see from their resume that are not a good fit. This is a waste of time for everyone. They usually end up asking "Well, based on my resume, what do you have that I can apply to?"
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Old 05-27-2013, 02:30 PM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,617,759 times
Reputation: 4975
well, it sounds like job fairs are useless for everyone involved! awesome!

i've never been to one, the cattle call method never seemed like something i wanted to be involved with. if i was looking locally, i'd consider checking one out, but i'm not traveling for one.
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