Written by Michael Thervil
Are job fairs relevant in 2024 and beyond. For many Americans the answer is a stark no. As well-paying jobs around the country are becoming more and more scarce, the number of job seekers that are looking for well-paying jobs are becoming more and more frustrated with the job market with each passing day. For them, the time it takes to tailor each resume that they send out, combined with the time it takes to fill out the accompanying job application has become a full-time job in itself. So, for many job seekers, the idea of attending a job fair seems like a great way to cut down on writing resumes and while maximizing their productivity and time. But all too often the opposite is true.
It’s been said that attending job fairs is a great place to network, speak and leave a lasting impression on employers which increases the likelihood of them calling a job seeker in for an interview. The truth is, the representatives of employers that attend job fairs, see so many job seekers, so unless you're able to extract a solid commitment from the employer for an interview date at the job fair, chances are that they will forget that they even met you.
This is the unspoken failure that comes with job seekers attending job fairs. In the end for the vast majority of job seekers that attend job fairs, they are often finding themselves in a worse position than what they were before they attended the job fair. What we mean by this is that, for the time it took for the job seeker to get dressed, print several resumes, put gas into their car or take a long bus ride, often times with money that they don’t even have, then to spend time standing in a line just to speak with an employer in the hopes of landing a job – only for the employer to tell them to fill out an application online and leave the job fair empty handed is enough to piss any job seeker off.
All that time spent attending a job fair that yielded no results could have been better spent looking for jobs indeed or a monster at home naked in front of their computer screen. At least then, the failure of job seekers not landing a job could easily be rationalized by them competing for the same job a million other job seekers were applying to. So, what’s the solution for job seekers? The first solution for job seekers is instead of going to a job fair, simply find out the phone number of the host of the job fair and ask them which employers are going to be in attendance at the job fair and put their application in for the employers they wish to work for at home.
The second thing job seekers can do is seek to only attend “Job Hiring Events” rather than a job fair. At job hiring events, the employers in attendance are there to actually hire and not simply collect resumes. A job hiring event means that the employers in attendance can conduct background checks, drug tests, interviews, and hire on the spot. In short, an employer hiring event is “actively” hiring people while a job fair is “passively” compiling a list of candidates to potentially hire. What further complicates this dichotomy is that most employers and “Recruiters” either fail to understand or don’t know the difference between a job fair and an employer hiring event.
Another solution job seekers can utilize to help them land employment faster is to hire a professional Headhunter, or Professional Recruiter that will advocate to employers on their behalf. Many people overlook the value of a Headhunter or Professional Recruiter. In a country where everything is for sale, why not “buy” your way into the payrolls of an employer near you. Remember, the job of a Headhunter or Recruiter is to find and mesh the perfect candidate to the needs and metrics created by the employer. Keep in mind that a Professional Recruiter or Headhunter more often than not, has a professional relationship with the employers that they serve. As a job seeker why not exploit that professional relationship and use it to your advantage? Is it cheating? Yes. But who cares? Cheating or not, the end goal is the same – you getting hired. If that doesn’t motivate you, keep the following mantra in mind: “if you’re not cheating, you’re trying”.
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