Should You Go To The Fair?

So the news is talking about more job fairs coming to town. Are they worth the trouble? What are the advantages/disadvantages of going? When should you go, and when should you stay home? For me personally, I enjoy job fairs about as much as the county or state fair, which I haven't been to in years.

This week, a community college here in Charlotte held another job fair. Last year's was wildly successful with over 3,000 people showing up. Very few left with a job, or even the prospect of one. This year, estimates are that 1,600 people attended, but only 40 out of the 600 companies attended. They aren't hiring, so people leave thinking there aren't opportunities out there.

My experience is that most job fairs seem to lean heavily with sales and commission jobs, recruiters collecting resumes, or companies selling products like MLM or education. If your personality style doesn't align with sales, you will be better off creating your own job fair.

Target the companies that you want to visit. Learn about them.Learn what type of work that they do. Skip the job fair and go after the job you want that fits who you are. Your greater success will be doing the research on the companies you
want, continuing to network…and even going online to individual
companies to see what they have.

Remember that the majority of jobs aren't even advertised. And your skills are only a small part of what the employer is looking for. They want to see your soft skills. Showing initiative and resourcefulness will help you stand out from the competition.