Smart Things to Actually Do and Not Do at Job Fairs

 
I’ve been to many career fairs, both as a job seeker and as a speaker and advisor.

When looking for a job, I would typically come to the fair early in the event, dressed well and holding a binder or folder with resume copies. Once inside, I’d scan the room (or fair map) to decide which companies to visit. Then I’d head first to whichever company stand had the shortest line of waiting job seekers.

I came more or less prepared, yes, but too often I arrived with the wrong mindset: I basically treated the fair as a simple item to check off on my job search to-do list.

Instead of aiming to really push my job search forward, I would ultimately just go through the motions of handing out all the resumes I brought with me, trying to get it all over with and get out of there as soon as possible, without truly taking advantage of what was going on around me. Read More.