Job Fairs Can Lead To Job Opportunities

Job Fairs can lead to great job opportunities if you are ready for the opportunities when they show up. Today, I had the privilege to meet some wonderful people at a National Career Fair in Timonium, MD. For three hours I shook hands, reviewed resumes, coached and connected with job seekers. For me as a coach and blogger it was fun. I enjoy meeting people and sharing valuable information that will make the difference between whether someone will get a job in the next 30 to 90 days.

Some of my observations from my power-packed day:

1. Preparation – Many job seekers are not prepared to speak to a hiring manager. Everyone that I met at the job fair had a resume in hand and they came looking for a potential job opportunity. But readiness to truly make a great impression – was none existent for some. I am not a proponent of the elevator speech. I absolutely hate them if you want to know the truth, however the value of them is you have something prepared to say to a potential hiring manager or recruiter that gives them some relative idea about who you are and what you are looking for.

2. Career Path/Industry – I was shocked at the number of people that came to the job fair with only a hope and a prayer to get a job. No clear direction about what they really wanted to do. They just need a job. I understand that in this economy, that is VERY important – having a job! However, if you have no idea about what type of job you are looking for, you end up wasting valuable time. Yours and the potential hiring managers.

3. Resumes – Oh my goodness! I saw every variation and some I had never seen before. I saw one resume that was phenomenal. It had lots of great information on it! It looked good, however the print was too small and there were too many words on the resume. It was comprehensive and there is no doubt about the skills and abilities of the candidate. However it was like looking at an interview on paper. It was too much!

There are so many more things I could share, however let me speak on these three points as I close this post – First, I got one of my best job opportunity at a job fair. I was frustrated at the time in my current job at that time. I really wanted to make a change, and I wanted a specific type of job. Most of the companies at the job fair were not offering jobs that even came close to my dream job. I almost left out of shear frustration. But I got in one more line. It was the American Express table. The line was insanely long to speak to the recruiters manning the booth. But I hung in there. When I finally reached “Michelle”, I was ready for the perfunctory glance at my resume and the inevitable dismissal, on to the next job seeker in line behind me. But that is not what happened. It turns out that Michelle was actually looking for a training manager. It was not one of the jobs they were attempting to fill at the job fair. But she knew about it and we began to discuss my qualifications. I got an interview from the recruiter on the spot and she loved me. Eventually I got the job, and Michelle and I became friends. But there are three reasons I got past the job fair and into the hiring managers office.

The first reason was my level of preparation. I invested a lot of time preparing myself to talk to anyone, at any time about my strong facilitation skills, strong leadership skills, and my desire to run a large training department. When Michelle saw my resume, she probed with a few basic questions, but I saw the opportunity and stepped in ready to “bend her ear” about “Darlene McDaniel”. I knew I wanted to be in Training and Development and I could articulate my career path very easily. My resume was constructed to align with my conversation with Michelle – Training and Development. Training, leadership, people management, and my accomplishments were all over my resume and cover letter. My three points above, preparation, career path and industry and resume, are critical components for working a job fair. Talk to everyone, but if you are prepared and you know what you are looking for, you will be ready when the right opportunity presents itself to you and you will get an open door that may lead to the next job opportunity you are looking for.

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