Are Hiring Events Worth It?
The Illustrious Job Fair
When it comes down to whether or not a hiring event is worth it, we can look at it from two different directions. We can look at it as a hiring company, or we can look at it from the candidate/associate perspective.
Job fairs and hiring events are great concepts, as the organizers pull together a lot of like-minded people in order to provide their attendees with a strong candidate flow. Typically these events are free for the attendees.
Its not necessarily about whether or not they “work” as much as which job fairs work best for you. . .
Job Fairs as an Employer
If you’re looking to make multiple hires in a short amount of time, a job fair might be the best option for you. The main issue to look at is the type of talent you are searching for, as well as your ability to properly screen and retain the talent.
Many job fairs focus on volume. There are many widely publicized job fairs that attract folks in manufacturing, retail, and general operations.
If you are looking for a high-level hire at a job fair, you need to make sure you’re picking the right one and matching up with the proper audience.
Local job fairs are great tools for meeting a lot of talent at once, but the more specialized skillset you’re looking form, the more you need to worry about audience versus volume.
Job Fairs as a Candidate
If you’re a candidate looking to get hired at a job fair, you’re going to have a lot of success when ti comes to networking all around.
Take the time to meet the folks at each company and booth, do not pick and choose what you like or do not like. You do not know enough about their offering to screen out yet. If you talk to the table and it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t vibe, you can move on. But, if you’ve decided to invest the time, its best to create as many connections as possible.
Make sure to bring plenty of resumes for distribution, but most importantly, make sure you are going to the proper job fair. If you are an accountant and you’re going to a job fair for machinists, you will likely not have much success. Although – – the networking aspect here is absolutely key. If you are going to an unspecialized job fair, still take the time to meet the most applicable point of contact possible, and learn who the best person to contact within that firm would be for the role you are searching for.
Make sure you look professional, and put on your networking shoes. Do not leave without having established new relationships. If you are just going to walk around and look at what everyone’s doing, there’s plenty of other places to people-watch!
