Are Job Fairs Worth Attending?

Last week's job fair had a phenominal turn out. Unfortunatly there were more job seekers than jobs available, a sign of the times. For more than 300 job seekers there was good news, they were hired on the spot or called back for more formal interviews, but there were over 1,700 job seekers at our Tuesday event, which means many others were not so lucky.

It may seem like the odds of obtaining a job at a job fair are pretty slim, but actually the ratio of jobs to job seekers was 1 available job for every 6 job seekers. That's actually not too bad. If you think about how many people apply to one job on job boards, the ratio then becomes more like 1 job for about 50-100 resumes. With the job fair, at least you are able to speak directly with an employer and present yourself in a way that may lead to an interview. Being able to approach a recruiter with your success stories and add a personal touch are so invaluable.

In this sense, job fairs are a great asset to your job search and can provide an excellent opportunity to find employment. It's so important to be proactive in your job search, job fairs are a great way to do that.

If you're in the Greensboro area, please stop by our job fair tomorrow, Feb. 24, 2009 from 9-1. Be sure to check out tips from the last Greensboro Job Fair!

If you're in Raleigh, we also have a job fair coming up on March 3, 2009 as well. You can also check out the News & Observer's list of other upcoming job fairs as well in the area.


Can't make it? There are other ways to stay proactive and get connected to people who can help. One way that EmploymentGuide.com offers is through Job Alerts. Click on the Job Alert Icon and enter your email, zip code and industry. We'll email you jobs as their posted online. This is a great way to stay notified of new jobs as their posted on our site in the industry you're looking for.