What is a Job Fair? Its Advantages and Disadvantages

Getting a job is not as easy as we think. It requires more hard work and patience to find the right entry.

Job fairs are conducted in every part of the world by group of organizations to find right candidate for their organization.

They are conducted in order to hire either job seekers bulk or sometimes to search for few candidates whose positions are empty for a longer time. Its a general notion that, job fairs are for small level jobs.

But it is actually not only for small level jobs but also good professional level jobs too. It depends about the need of the organization which is participating in the job fair.

In this post you will know what actually is a job fair, what are the advantages of job fair and its disadvantages.

What is a Job fair like?

Generally, job fair is a event organized by a third party in a common place like a huge auditorium or a ground to hire people for multiple organizations.

The concept is job seekers can meet multiple organization at one single place. It is a concept which is a big time saver for both job seekers and the organization.

Mostly job fairs are conducted for middle level jobs either for freshers or for minimum two years of experience.

These are the few organizations who commonly participate in job fair.

1. Hospitality.
2. BPO.
3. Non technical divisions in IT companies.
4. Customer support for retail outlets.
5. Telecommunication organizations for voice based jobs.
6. Banking sectors.

Organizations basically try to attend job fair to meet multiple candidates in one place or they have a convenience of hiring multiple candidates from the huge crowd. Sometimes, first level interviews for job fairs are conducted priorly.

But mostly, job fairs are conducted with no expectations nor any prior commitments to the job seekers. In general, job fairs are considered as a crowded place with good competition. But the reality is right candidates are the basic need in job fairs.

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Advantages of Job Fair:

1. Access to meet multiple employers at a time:

In any kind of job fair, there is always a good chance of meeting many potential employers at a single place.

The job seekers get an opportunity to interact with many employees of different organizations. They get a chance to meet in person and learn the work culture before they get a job.

Socializing with the employers is not as easy when you enter the market for a job search. Hence, accessibility of meeting multiple employers at a single place is benefit for both the organization as well as job seekers.

2. Immediate response for the job application:

When you apply for a job outside through a career website or through a job board, it takes some time to know the result.

In case of job fairs, the job seekers resume is quickly analyzed and there is a immediate output for the job search. And there is a direct reply for your job application and no chances of wasting time.

3. Many options are confidence boosters:

It is natural to lose confidence, when the job seeker misses out in interview. In case of job fair, as there are too many options on the floor it encourages them to move and search from other options available and not loose confidence.

This is huge advantage in job fairs compared to attending directly in the organization. And comparatively, it is a plus for the employers as there are chances of analyzing many fresh candidates and not losing hope with one or two worst performances.

4. No room for partiality:

Job fair is a very common meet up for job search for the job seekers. Hence there is no room for partiality as well as personal preference for the employers.

Moreover, as it is a moving crowd in the occasion it is very tough to hire any personal choice of job seekers in the crowd. Hence, job fair is a straight affair with the recruiters given that you prepare well for the interview.

5. Cost effective approach to the organization as well as employees:

In the process of hiring new employees, it is always expensive for the organizations as they have to spend huge money on over all hiring process right from hospitality to arranging interview setup.

In case of job fair, it is very economic as the organization does not spend much other than paying a fee amount to the third party. Hence, comparatively it is cheaper than hiring separately in the organization.

6. Indirect marketing for the brand:

Mostly, in a job fair as there is huge crowd circulating it is a indirect marketing for the organization among the job seekers.

It is natural when people repetitively see the same brand it tends to register and create a impression.

In this way, the organization gets benefited by indirect marketing of the brand. Hence, job fair is not only a advantage for the job seeker but also for the recruiter.

7. Lot of effort and its a time saver:

Job fairs are generally conducted for a day or more than that. In that case, recruiters get more time to choose the candidates.

This is not possible when the recruitment process happens inside the organization, because accommodating a huge crowd for whole day is way more expensive and lots of time is wasted. Hence, job fair saves lot of effort as well as time.

Disadvantages of Job Fair:

Even though there are many advantages of job fair, there are few downsides which make job seekers think twice about attending job fairs and also some organization have their own negatives of job fair.

1. Competition is higher:

Mostly in any kind of job fair, there might be thousands of job seekers present in the occasion.

Getting filtered out of huge crowd seems to be difficult. And hence, getting a job in job fair is comparatively competitive and challenging than visiting directly the organization.

2. Huge crowd tends to create stress:

Job fairs are always crowded and messy. Sometimes, because of the huge crowd job seekers tend to get nervous and stressed in facing interviewers.

And there are huge chances of missing right employers in the crowd. So, job fair is always not a good option for most of the job seekers.

3. Chances of getting missed out from right employers:

There might be multiple companies present in various stalls in a job fair.

Due to the heavy crowd and noise pollution, job seekers might tend to miss out right employers in the crowd. This is one of the note worthy disadvantage of attending job fairs.

4. Organization hirer randomly to show the count:

In general, all job fairs are conducted with the assistance of third parties. In order to show them a count, organizations tend to hire randomly because of the pressure of the third party consultants.

Hence, sometimes job fairs are not trust worthy as well as right method for job seekers.

5. Very tiring and sometimes emotionally draining:

Attending interviews the whole day continuously and roaming many stalls with the resume might be very tiring and emotionally draining.

There is no calm atmosphere as well as proper place to give a peaceful interview. Hence, many job seekers find job fairs as a stressful factor.

6. No proper structure for the interview:

Job fairs does not have a age limit or do not happen for particular educational qualification. Most of the time organizations do not plan a particular interview process which leaves the job seekers to a confusion mode.

And hence, recruiters randomly do interviews and leave the job seekers stumbled upon new and different methods.

7. Some organizations tend to use as only brand strategy:

In many job fairs, few organizations participate only for brand establishments. They randomly give pamphlets, show presentations about the various job opportunities which is indirectly marketing the organization.

They tend to fool the crowd without hiring job seekers. Hence, job seekers get easily disappointed because of these kind of acts of the few organizations.

8. Few job seekers tend to come for a time pass:

Few job seekers, who already have jobs in hand attend job fairs to look out for second best option. This sometimes is waste of time as well makes few miss the real opportunity by getting selected.

Eventually, these kind of people do not accept the offer letter and create a bad impression about the job fairs. Hence, This has created a bad image on the job fairs.

How to Stand Out at a Job Fair?

Before the Event:

1. Mission is to Dress for Success: Go to the job fair professional dressed. Convey a portfolio, not a rucksack. Ensure that all tattoos are covered. Wear good shoes, solid color suit, minimal jewelry, accessorizing and makeup
2. Practice your Pitch: Practice a brisk pitch that summarizes your abilities and experience so you’re prepared to elevate your candidature to imminent managers. So be prepared-review your pitch and practice it again and again until you feel confident of delivering it at the job fair.
3. Bring Extra Supplies: Bring additional copies of your resume and a couple of business cards that has your name, email address, and phome number printed. You may also carry a mini resume
4. Researching a company: Be well prepared about the organization’s site, mission, open positions, and general data before you go to the job fairs which will make you stand out from the crowd.

During the Event:

1. Arrive Early: Remember that lines can be long, so arrive sooner than required, before the fair formally opens.
2. Attend a Workshop: If there are any seminars or workshops at the job fair, go to them. In addition to job search guidance, you’ll have more chances to network with people you meet and hand out your business cards there itself.
3. Networking at events: While you’re holding up in line at the event, converse with others and exchange your business cards. You never know who may most likely assist with your job search. Be polite, Stay positive and capitalize on the chances.
4. Take the initiative: Take the initiative and introduce yourself to the recruiter with a good handshake, eye contact and a smile on your face. Show your enthusiasm for the organization and their job openings.
5. Be Enthusiastic all the time: Employers always lookout for candidates who are very passionate, enthusiastic, committed and determined. Regardless of whether you’re nervous or worried always keep a positive attitude and stay enthusiastic when you meet them
6. Ask Questions: Have a few questions prepared for the hiring managers that show your insights into their company. Employers don’t look for the most gifted contender for the job; they are searching for applicants who are genuinely intrigued by their organization. The more you draw in them, centering the talk upon their organization’s needs, the better the impression you’ll leave on them.
7. Don’t forget to Collect Business Cards: Collect company representatives business cards so that you can send Connection requests on LinkedIn after the job fair
8. Take Notes Effectively: It’s difficult to keep track when you’re meeting with various businesses in a bustling situation. Scribble down notes on the back of the business cards you have gathered or on your notebook, so you have an idea of whom you spoke about what during the job fair.

After the Event

1. Follow Up after event: After the job fair is completed send a thank you note to each and every person you collected business cards from within 24 hours irrespective of whether you’re interested in that particular company or representative. Who knows the same person whom you didn’t like now may be working with your dream company as HR manager in the future.
2. Take Action: For the organizations, you are keen on, adhere to the recruiter’s guidelines about applying for a position. If the recruiter wants you to submit your resume online, do so as per his/her instructions
3. Sending a Thank You note: After the job fair is over, take some time out and send a thank you note or email to the hiring representatives you met at the event. Sending a card to say thank you is a decent method to express your enthusiasm for the organization and to remind hiring managers that you’re a solid applicant who is very much interested to work for their company.

Conclusion:

A job fair is a event conducted for welfare of both the recruiters as well as job seekers. Both of them has to take it seriously and work it out for the better experience for each other. It would be better if there is serious mandatory rules for the recruiters, job seekers, as well as third party consultants to make the concept of job fair a success. Hope this post helps you to understand better the whole concept of job fair, its advantages and disadvantages.