Employment Spot

Job Fairs, Meet Face to Face with Company Representatives

Looking for a job is a time-consuming process. You scour the want ads, write hundreds of cover letters, mail out resumes and wait. There’s no guarantee that you’ll have human contact with anyone who has the power to hire you.

Career fairs offer job seekers a chance to meet company representatives face-to-face and learn more about their hiring needs. They also enable companies to reach a large number of prospects in a short period of time.

There are several types of job fairs. Some are sponsored by colleges, giving soon-to-be-graduates a head start on their job search. Others are commercially sponsored, attracting a wider pool of candidates. There are fairs that focus on entry-level or professional positions. Some target a specific field, such as computer specialties, and others invite representatives from a variety of disciplines.

Job fairs have been referred to as the "meet markets" of the job search industry, so make certain that you’re prepared. CollegeGrad.com’s Job Fair Success tells you how to make the most of your job fair experience, including how to stand out from the crowd and follow up on leads. JobStar LA offers advice on Guerrilla Tactics for Job Fairs. Skidmore College Career Services has Tips for Participating.

Once you’ve polished your resume, perfected your portfolio and formulated ideal answers to interview questions, you are ready to go. Here are sites that list job fair schedules:

• CareerBuilder career fairs
  find a long list of upcomming career fairs
• CareerFairs.com
  Read about featured fairs and search for events by month, category or region. If you can’t attend an upcoming event, post your resume.
• JWT Job Fairs
  Access a database of job fairs and conventions in health, sales and telecommunications.
• CollegeCentral
  This network of college-sponsored job fairs offers information about employers and upcoming career days.

Several sites feature "virtual" job fairs. While these lack the opportunity to meet face-to-face with company representatives, most offer a lot of information about the participating companies and allow you to submit your resume online.

• Preferred Jobs Online Job Fair
  This site allows you to compare companies, review their "virtual brochures" and submit your resume.