How not to run a Job Fair.

[Blue_Kryptonite]

Job fair today. Yay! Like all the others, its at the Convention Cente... Hey, wait a second... At an obscure sporting goods store in a suburb of a suburb...?

Still, resumes ready! 22 employers! On a bus line (can't drive for medical reasons)! Resume upload and distribution service!

Which bus? Call ahead...

...The bus only goes by that part of the route at 6 AM... Hm.

...Only nine employers showed... Mmmhmmm.

...Oh, two of them left at 12:30. Great.

...No resume upload... Pay for it and get a login to their site... Oh...

...And the ones there... Ah. All from the next city over, an hour and a half drive, or three and a half hours by a bus that runs twice a day.

Hm. At least I didn't get there and pay the entrance fee. But still...

 

[GlassJaw]

I've been to one job fair in my life and found it utterly awful and discouraging.

 

[was]

I've been to around 9 or 10 of these things. It's just a bunch of companies just sending out a horde of low-level flunkies out to collect resumes. None of them seem to be capable of answering any questions.

 

[Ao the Overkitty]

I've been to three and found each one more depressing than the last.

 

[gray stranger]

What is a job fair exactly?

*ducks*

 

[der_kluge]

www.monster.com

 

[BiggusGeekus]

What is a job fair exactly?

Seriously?

Imagine 30-40 recruiters in a big room all doing opening interviews.


They aren't that bad, but Lord, they aren't that good either.

 

[mojo1701]

www.monster.com

Do these sites actually work well enough?

 

[der_kluge]

Do these sites actually work well enough?

I can't speak for all professions, but the last two jobs I've gotten have been through monster.com.

For IT jobs, it's the way to go. www.computerjobs.com is good, too. Monster does a lot more than IT jobs, though.

 

[ssampier]

I have only been to my university job fair. You'd think it's a good place to network and get your foot in the door since you get to talk about yourself. However, the person at the booth has no say in the decision making process and usually doesn't know/care what position are actively seeking applicants. It's like a frustrating waste of time.

I prefer the network approach, I know Bob > Karen > Bill > Who knows Tom that works at company that is looking someone with my skills and abilities.

It's a tough market out there (I know VERRRRRRRY well since I was there just one year ago) especially without transport. Hang in there, something will materialize.