It depends.
Marketing guru and blogger, Seth Godin, earlier this week wrote, “Planning a career at a career fair is a little like looking for a soulmate at a singles' bar.” He thinks that employers are there to fill “average” jobs with “average” people, which he points out don’t really exist. I’m not average, are you?
A 2009 Northern Virginia job fair drew about 3,000 hopeful jobseekers, most of whom waited for hours in the rain to enter the building and talk with a handful of employers, mostly from the federal government. These agencies, it turns out, were looking to fill lower level jobs and sending people to the Web to apply. One attendee reported that the real value for her in this otherwise uncomfortable experience was the networking she did with the others standing in line.
Alison Doyle, who writes for About.com, likens career fairs to ‘“one stop shopping’ at the mall.” She concedes they “can be overwhelming with many people waiting to see the same employer, one-the-spot interviewing, noise and sometimes confusion.” But, she sees their value as providing a unique opportunity to meet one-to-one with representatives from several employers, which you can’t easily do any other way.
For a career or job fair to be a worthwhile experience, it takes advance research and preparation, a lot of energy (and willingness to stand in lines), and a winning attitude. It takes all that plus a little luck.
Checking out what employers will be there and what jobs are open ahead of time will tell you if a particular event holds some promise for you. You can’t do anything about the weather or how many other jobseekers show up. You can arrive early, though, to minimize your waiting time, and you can be prepared.
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This You Tube video by Patra Frame of Strategies for Human Resources offers helpful tips on making your job fair experience more successful.
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Right you are - job fairs can be a real waste of time or a terrific way to talk with a number of your targets in one setting. And it is your job to do the research so you know whether any one job fair is worth your time.
ReplyDeleteWhile you are at any job fair, take the time to talk to the folks around you as well. You can learn a lot about the market, other employers that interest you, and potentially grow your network.
Career fairs are a total waste of time and entirely dis-spiriting. You research the companies and apply online in advance of the career fair date. You write the job number of the position for which you applied online on your resume and give it to the recruiter, along with the name of a person in the department that you have gleaned from the website or LinkedIn. You ask the recruiter to forward your resume to that person. Then you never hear from the recruiter, the presumed hiring manager or anyone at the company.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to make a solid contact at a career fair from attendees who are recruiers or panicked and despairing candidates.