Are job fairs useless?

I've been to one and half the people there said "go to our website" and didn't seem at all interested in hiring anyone. Do companies get some kind of tax write off for tabling job fairs?

How many people actually get a job through a job fair? less than 1% that go?

When you have 20 to 30 people if not more going for the same job. Its more like a job zoo then a job fair. .

I have to agree. Job Fairs are just a useless waste of time. You get better results by actually showing up at a business and filling out an application or checking online jobs boards from your own state.

Scipio wrote:I've been to one and half the people there said "go to our website" and didn't seem at all interested in hiring anyone. Do companies get some kind of tax write off for tabling job fairs?

How many people actually get a job through a job fair? less than 1% that go?

Job fairs are a waste of time for the most part. Most of them have companies with straight commission sales jobs, continuing education or training, or armed services recuitment. You are better off to get the list of employers that will be there and then make some kind of decision on jobs that you might be interested in then go to their website and read up on the company. The last job fair I went to I talked to a lady who was the hiring manager (she said). The position was in a inbound call center. She took my name and said she would call me the next day to set up an interview. Never called but I called her and left a message. She never called so, I dropped her from my list.

I keep writing my congress man David Dreier 26th district about getting hlep for the long term unemployed...

His reply was to attend the job fairs he puts on in my area. Well over the past 2 and a half years I have been to every one of his job fairs??????

still no job...but lots of inquiries about me attending trade schools and when I asked when they got the info. that I wanted to attend they said I signed up for it at the job fair put on by my congressman?????/

Most of the job fairs I go to are shady...they have all of this B.S. rehtoric about they will be hiring on the spot yada yada yada ....then when I go, the few booths that are not asking you to go back to school, just have a dummy taking your resume and If you ask questions about the positions they say they have nothing to do with the hiring, they are just collecting the resumes. What part of that is hiring on the spot.

Im convinced that they just use and sell your info. to 3rd parties. I have never gotten a call from a job fair attendance.

superstevies wrote:
Im convinced that they just use and sell your info. to 3rd parties. I have never gotten a call from a job fair attendance.

I bet you're right. The one I went to, before I got inside the fair they asked for my SSN. Of course I told them I'm not putting that down.

I haven't been to a job fair in over three years. The one I went to was in NYC, so of course...it was more of a zoo than usual and people were actually lined up outside in 90-degree heat waiting to get in. I can only imagine how I must have looked once I got in there! I followed up with some of the people I met that I was impressed with, but I never got any opportunities and never heard from the people again.

There is one coming up in my area in a week, but it's mostly insurance companies, call centers, the career center, and continuing education. It's not even worth my time, sadly.

Only good for cheap pens and some candy. Don't go there drunk or you might be in the Army.

No, job fairs are not useless, but their purpose is misunderstood.  They are excellent public relations tools for employers, so that they have a direct communications window with the public. Company representatives that staff the booths are more interested in promoting their company and recruiting "at large" rather than trying to fit an applicant to a certain position. They are usually not in the position to hire someone immediately because they do not have the time or resources there to do background checks or call references. They also need time to compare your resume' and application to those of other candidates.

   Many large companies filter candidates through their websites because maintaining electronic records is more efficient than filing paper resumes and job applications. Using a website also filters out those that are computer illiterate.


   There may - may - have been some isolated cases where someone was "hired on the spot" but that may have been because the candidate had excellent referrals, job history and qualifications that matched the employer's needs, and their background checks could be performed immediately.  In most cases, "hired on the spot" is a euphemism meaning that they took the candidate's resume', the candidate was called back for an interview and offered the position.

    In short, job fairs are for the benefit of the employer, not the candidate. They are not useless.