“Plan your work and work you plan” is a very common phrase in business, especially in sales, for one reason… it works! You should take the same approach to your job search. Do a lot of people find jobs at a job fair? No. But do some? Yes. Remember, you only need ONE job!
It is always a good idea to go to a job fair if you are looking for work or plan to be looking in the near future. Why? Because you get to actually talk to a live person from that company. Candidates are all the time saying “if you could just meet me you would see…” Well, at the job fair you get to meet them!
Most job fairs will publish a list of companies that will be in attendance. You want to create a hit list of the top companies you want to meet. Go online and look at what jobs they have posted and research the company. It is a really good idea to have a resume geared specifically towards each of the companies on your hit list. One thing to keep in mind… when the recruiter asks “what type of position are you interested in?” don’t say “anything.” What if someone asked “what are you looking for in a significant other?” and you answer “anything, I’m not that picky.”
Be sure to also take extra generic resumes. After you talk to everyone on your hit list it is always a good idea to talk to the other employers. You are building your network, right?
More to come on job fairs tomorrow.
Al