They work sometimes but these days...hardly. I can vouch that many years ago I was able to get a job thru a job fair for IT professionals back in my early 20s but today? Forget it. They are usesless except to broadcast the fact that you are loud and clear: UNEMPLOYED. The better companies won't bother to set up at one of these fairs unless they're recruiting for entry level low paying positions like retail sales, insurance, etc.

Also:

1. Don't bother bringing copies of your resume - waste of time and paper because most booths won't accept it anyway and instead will tell you to set up a profile on the company's website. Very unsatisfying.

2. Forget about asking for a corporate recruiter's business cards because they won't want you to email them and deluge them with resumes, messages, etc.

3. Face time helps but all in all it's impossible for any booth to match and remember who you are unless you leave an unforgettable impact on them and you are competing with a large crowded group of people in the same boat.

If you have the time and are so broke you get joy from free cheap stuff, you MUST be unemployed.

Companies pay thousands of dollars for a job fair table. They must get some return on that investment. Probably just publicity.

I go for the pens, paper pads, and free snickers bars.

So I guess they serve some purpose after all.

Job fairs server a very good function. It allows them to weed out all the candidates that have nothing better to do than go to job fairs because they're out of work, and stupid enough to stand in long lines for the hopes of talking to a low level HR lackey.

TRUE
They think they are serving some actual function!! It's pretty funny how they appear to be a "part of management", when in reality they handle paper no one else wants, and organize employee names and legal required records, have no clue as to any of the business technical issues or neeeds, provide a company mail receipt address, and organize team building (yikes!) meetings that everyone tries to control their laughter and disdain for. Maybe some other stuff. They have zero to do with compensation !!!!!!!(as that direct order drips down to them from some manager, determined in some way??)and are the go-to place for complaints and questions that get logged in yur "home room file" and haunt you later on. Wanna save some money..?????

Job fairs have as much utility as teats on a bull. All they do is provide a very transparent justification for the job known as "Human Resources"(An Orwellian NewSpeak term) Tell me, does anyone ever grow up stating that when they are in the the work force, that they want to work in that capacity? These parasitic folks definitely satisfy Nietsche's reference to the "bungled and botched"

Gee, missed Biotech Bay two days ago. Bummer.

I've never gotten a job through a job fair. In fact, I've been to only 2 job fairs in my adult life. The first time was to talk to an HR representative about my resume that was already in the HR department. But, I had an inside track on the job anyway because the HR director was a family friend. Second job fair, was a ruse to collect data for the Bureau of Labor Stats in DC on how many desperate job seekers were out there looking and create their reports. Never got a job and a bunch of useless BS.

does anyone kknow of any upcoming job fairs or where to look pls?

moving from the bench to being a recruiter is an upgrade

"I've worked at the bench" yeah sure you did, that's why you wound up as a "recruiter"

What BS, small companies never go to job fairs

These days job fairs are still a good way for very small outfits to find someone; job fairs are another tool for this group of employer to get leads on job candidates. I've known several people who wound by working for small companies, via job fairs. The initial meeting there was enough for both parties to pursue the next step in the hiring process.

But for medium to large employers, they do nothing more than suck up resumes into that vast black hole in HR where resumes go to die or whatever. You might get some indication of the jobs they're looking to fill, but that's about all.

Recruiters also use job fairs to collect resumes; for them, it's all about the number of resumes they pick up and get into their files.

Potential job candidates use job fairs also as a way to network with other folks in a similar position. New jobs often come about through the people you know.

So....the lesson here is that if you're looking for a job, it never hurts to go to a job fair. It's a few hours out of a day. You never know what you'll find, or who you can connect with. Somebody you meet may wind up being a colleague, or your manager, someday.

Disclaimer: I've worked at the bench, in sales and marketing, and (for a very short time) as a recruiter, so I've been on both sides of the table at job fairs.

the only thing a job fair is good for is giving you "contacts" for unemployment - don't know of anyone anywhere ever who got a job thru a job fair.

Even the agencies are trying to recruit people. THEIR staff is just walking away, there just aren't any jobs. Car dealers are hunting for sales staff, now there's a sign of the times, people are just walking away, if you can't even feed yourself what's the point......

you're not even going to see any hotties

In this age of computers, the web and other mass marketing, advertising and communication I think the job fair concept is pretty much useless. The job fair concept, used as originally intended, was a good idea in its day, but used and abused in modern society.

Today job fairs have become nothing more than a bucket of lies, empty promises and smoke and mirrors, a systematic and deceptive shaft to job seekers and in some respects, the employers, companies and fair organizers.

I know of several job fairs offering non-existent employment position or ones that were already filled weeks before. Sometimes companies already know who they want to hire for a particular job, but need to advertise it in order to cover themselves legally and create an air of "equal opportunity".

These so called job fairs do little more than let the participating employers and fair organizers sleep better at night and waste everyone's time, effort, resources and money. They undoubtedly provide a legitimate means to circumvent hiring laws and equal opportunity practices.

Overall, I wish a vast majority felt as we do and job fairs would just fade away... or at least be used honestly as originally intended.

Oh, but we're just "collecting" resumes, everyone does it

Absolute waste of time; only people who gain anything are the organizers. It's a totally bankrupt idea designed to take advantage of anxious job seekers. Never go to these!

The "recruiters" (agencies) will just take your resume and submit it to the HR departments of all the places that have jobs, without your permission, this way they own you, and get a cut if you get a job, with them or without them.

Aerotek, KForce, and Lab support are ones that will do this for sure.

I've lost count of the number of job fairs I've attended.
I know the exact number of interviews I've had as a result of attending a job fair: zero.

Wouldn't bother wasting the gas money!

There is one next week in San Francisco. Is it worth going?

My humble opinion: completely useless. I've been on both sides. On the recruiting side, you meet all these people, take their resumes, go back and find out that the positions you are looking to hire have already been cut, or the hiring manager has his/her own idea of what to hire and it is rare you ever get a perfect fit at a career fair.

On the job seeker side, you talk to all these people and none of them have real positions anyway; the company just wants to maintain good relations with the community, or these go to these fairs out of habit.

A complete waste of time. Of everyone's time.

I go to get the trinkets and trash. Otherwise useless sessions.

never found them useful

A big waste of time. Job fairs are a cheap way for companies to have advertisement for their exclusive profit. Here in NC they are full of Mary Kay's and stuff like this.

I got an email notice of a medical device job fair in Irvine, CA on April 6. Only 5 companies will be there and one of them is a staffing firm. One of the other companies is Allergan and I never heard of the others. Hardly seems worthwhile but as I'm job hunting, I have no choice but to go

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Don't tell every one other wise they will all be there.
They could take your jod away from you

Best of luck any way

DO NOT TELL SID

I got an email notice of a medical device job fair in Irvine, CA on April 6. Only 5 companies will be there and one of them is a staffing firm. One of the other companies is Allergan and I never heard of the others. Hardly seems worthwhile but as I'm job hunting, I have no choice but to go

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Don't tell every one other wise they will all be there.
They could take your jod away from you

Best of luck any way

DO NOT TELL SID

I got an email notice of a medical device job fair in Irvine, CA on April 6. Only 5 companies will be there and one of them is a staffing firm. One of the other companies is Allergan and I never heard of the others. Hardly seems worthwhile but as I'm job hunting, I have no choice but to go.

I wish that there was a Federal law against recruiting for "ghost" positions.

A have a few friends inside BCI who tell me they're having a hiring freeze. Yet, they keep posting new positions on their website. I hate that.

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Does any one know if B.C.I has actually employed any one anywhere in this great big world in 2009?
They have a pay freeze a zero growth expenditure programme except bonus for the V.P and of course S.G himself.
The rest of the work force has to kneel every night and face S.G back side to say thank you for giving me a job
What a great company to work for and I am o so grateful thank you S.G.

They were useless even in better times, and in this bad economy with even more candidates lining up for the same slots, those fairs are even more useless.

Most companies won't hire people they find through A career fair, honestly what kind of a loser would line up like that? If you're qualified, and WANTED, they know they'll find you from their online database.

I wish that there was a Federal law against recruiting for "ghost" positions.

A have a few friends inside BCI who tell me they're having a hiring freeze. Yet, they keep posting new positions on their website. I hate that.

Job fairs are worthless. As it was stated this is just a place for the HR lackeys to go and get out of the office. Many companies are currently on hiring pause or hiring freeze status. If you do go to one of the fairs ask 'em how many positions they are actively recruiting for... probably zero.

I wish that there was a Federal law against recruiting for "ghost" positions.

If you're out of work, there's no harm in going. I don't like them being held in hotels that charge over $20 for parking. I went to one in Anaheim a few years ago - there were very few employers and I was done in 45 minutes. I still had to pay $22 for parking.

Don't pay if you go. It's just another way to see what's out there. Networking is still your best bet.

I never understood the whole concept. You end up talking to an enthusiastic HR rep, ending up in the same situation as you have by submitting your resume via their company website. I can imagine though, if you stand out enough, maybe they would remember. Ultimately though, since most of us are replaceable, I don't think it really matters. Unless you have absolutely nothing else to do, it's a waste of time and money.