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Funny how someone mentioned for-profit colleges. Every random for-profit college that you've probably never heard of will be there. Guaranteed! Haha.
These companies/schools get some cheap advertising too if it's a large fair. Think about it, you're just paying to staff a booth with 2-4 people and you get hundreds of foot traffic.
They are. It is full of staffing agencies, for profit rip-off colleges, and insurance companies (and other MLM's) and HR people from legitimate companies handing out pens and water bottles telling you to apply online. Waste of time.
Pretty much. I had a few that let me give them a resume but it obviously didn't work out because I never heard anything back unless they were one of those weird numbers on my cell but I check the numbers online to see who is calling. There's just not enough that aren't online applications. Even with the temp jobs they tell you to go to the website.
The local job fairs are free but I wouldn't really consider them free because you waste the time and fuel money going out there. I don't think the college I went to ever had a job fair. They never said anything about it. It's a for profit college so I guess consider the source.
Pretty much. I had a few that let me give them a resume but it obviously didn't work out because I never heard anything back unless they were one of those weird numbers on my cell but I check the numbers online to see who is calling. There's just not enough that aren't online applications. Even with the temp jobs they tell you to go to the website.
The local job fairs are free but I wouldn't really consider them free because you waste the time going out there. I don't think the college I went to ever had a job fair. They never said anything about it. It's a for profit college so I guess consider the source.
I'm guessing career services wasn't that good at all getting the word out or your professors didn't help the matter. I'm sure it did but I guess the message didn't go out enough.
I'm guessing career services wasn't that good at all getting the word out or your professors didn't help the matter. I'm sure it did but I guess the message didn't go out enough.
All I saw were mentors and a career counselor and I found those on my own. When I mentioned to the helpline before that I was having trouble with getting a job they didn't even tell me about this which I think is stupid because sometimes you miss these things when you feel lost. It's not like it was in plain sight. The only relevant mentor they had was a joke. Like I said before she never got back to me. I did finally find the career counselor. They made a resume for me and talked with me some but that was really it. The personalized sessions with them are limited just like the other counseling they offer and their live chat counseling doesn't even work anymore. I think I was only allowed 3 appointments. They emailed me a few job leads but I would have found that on my own. So yeah basically the only specialized/outside help you get is making your resume with you..nothing that would make you further than someone who didn't have college. Yet I'm still getting emails about my loan being due.
Last edited by Nickchick; 02-26-2015 at 12:53 PM..
Job fairs are good for practicing job interview skills and getting free stuff especially ink pens and cups. Occasionally, you can get a job attending one.
What is everyones experience with attending job fairs? Do you find them useful, or a waste of time? I've only ever been to a few, and in my experience the majority of companies that go to these things are cold call sales "jobs" that pay exclusively based on commission, direct sales companies like the popular MLM firms like Amway, Avon, Pampered Chef etc., or companies that refer you to their website to apply, who don't actually have any positions available. The only successful job fairs I've ever see are ones that are being held directly at the business that is hiring.
So are the job fairs you hear about on the radio being held at your local convention center or college campus largely scams? Has anyone had any luck at these things?
Even with my own lengthy career when there was an economy and jobs, I personally found job fairs to be a waste of time. Someone mentioned networking at them and it just didn't pay for me to attend. There must be a reason (good or bad) for them but I have no idea what that reason might be.
Success with a job fair depends on a lot of things (skill sets, competitiveness of job market, etc.), but like others noted they are a good networking opportunity with employees from your target company to get a foot in the door. You'll likely find the most success with smaller companies, as a job fair is a serious financial investment for them to get qualified candidates. They frequently will have hiring managers and even executives attend to get value from the job fair. Larger companies are usually looking to fill specific roles and will want candidates who check all the boxes. They will generally only send out recruiters who are trying to fill their requisitions.
I ended up getting a job due to attending a job fair and handing my resume to the recruiter. It was Verizon Wireless. The job fair I went to had legit companies and I handed my resume out to most of them (most were customer service, call center, etc) and VZW called me back about 2 days later. I ended up staying there about 4 years.
I'd scope out the fair if it were me, to make sure that legit companies are going to be in attendance. If it's a lot of MLM, staffing companies, etc I wouldn't waste my time.
One has to realize, that jobs can be had through job fairs. But the big problem, is finding the right booth where that company is looking for people with your exact skills, and education. Maybe one in every 500 people that approach a booth meets their needs. That exact match, they spend time with. If you are not a match for the skills and education they are looking for, then they do not have time for you except to give you a pen. If you want to give them a resume they will tell you to apply online.
Let me give you a success story that happened to a niece.
Her high school taught Chinese as one of the languages they had to offer. She was a senior, taking her fourth year of Chinese. She was one young American White Girl that could pick up reading and writing the language.
She went to one of the biggest and very hard international company to get a job with, and asked if they ever hired Chinese speakers. They called over one of the staff that spoke Chinese. He talked to her for a while in Chinese, and called over a Vice President who was in the building.
Before the day was over, they had hired this young girl telling her she was the best Chinese speaker they had seen in a long time. They hired her part time while she was a senior. They paid for her college education to get her business degree, and paid her a salary. When she got out, she was full time at a very high salary. She has been to China many times in the last 10 years, for her company, and with government trade delegations. She has an office, and secretary but no one working for her, and no bosses. She is used where they need her at the time. She may be reviewing contracts written in Chinese, reading technical papers that they need to understand and/or translating them into English, or the other way around. She is kept busy, and leads a very interesting life. In addition she is very highly paid, with great benefits. They make sure she is kept happy, as they can't afford to lose her.
If the right person applies for a job at a job fair, they get hired. The problem is that so many people go there looking for jobs, often not having the qualifications for jobs they are interested in. As if a good job is advertised today, there will be 500 and more applications. Only about 10 or 15 people are even qualified for the job. Same for job fairs. The company is there looking for a certain person with the right qualifications, and can't take the time to talk to all the other people that go to the booth. If they don't have a job you match the qualifications for, they will give you a pen and maybe tell you to apply online as they try to rush you off so they can keep looking for the exact person they are looking for.
At the end of the job fair, they will almost always have found the person they went to the fair to find. It is an expensive way to find the right help, but when looking for specialized people it is often the best and only way to find them.
Companies would not have booths at job fairs, it they did not find they paid off finding specialized people.
Just because job fairs have not paid off for you, does not mean that they do not pay off for a lot of people. When you go to a job fair, look for companies that would be the most apt to need your specialized talents. My niece went to one as a high school student, and ended up getting a free ride to college along with a salary, and a permanent high paid interesting job. Many others have done the same thing.
Never been to a job fair, so these replies are interesting to me. Closest I have been to was once at a Coffee Bean store and the fair was hiring for that particular store. But never a large job fair.
As others have said, I would scope out what companies will be present.
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