The advantages of attending job fairs and meeting the HR departments of employers directly
There are many way to find the job that suits you, you could look in newspapers, online job boards or go to a recruitment agency. Alternatively you could attend one of the regular career fairs [also known as job fairs] that are held around the country, and are an excellent way of getting in touch with potential employers directly.
Some people have unkindly likened career fairs or job fairs as they are also called, to a type of speed dating. In a sense it is very similar as you basically flirt from one employers stall to another very quickly!
Essentially a career fair or recruitment fair is a large gathering of employers in a hall, each of these employers has a stand and on the stand they will have their company brochures and also a employee or two who will be on hand to answer any questions about recruitment procedures and current vacancies that they have. Before you attend a career fair you should first make sure your CV and portfolio is ready, have a few hard copies with you on the day to hand out to the HR managers at the fair.
Ensure that your resume is not job specific and is suitable for general distribution. Before you attend the jobs fair study the event and make a list of the companies that are attending, as there could be well over 100 employers attending. Then you should plan and make a list of which employers you want to see and where their stands are located. This way you will save yourself alot of time rather than just wandering around the fair aimlessly. When you meet the recruiter at the fair have a list of questions you want to ask them, like their current vacancies and future job opportunities and the salary they can offer.
If you would like to work for a particular company then make a appointment there are then to see them at their offices. There are many different types of career fairs, for instance there are public sector jobs fairs and also ones specifically for graduates who are looking for graduate appointments that public sector employers or multinational companies are offering, these type of events are known as graduate fairs.
There are many advantages of attending career fairs, it’s a good way of gathering information about the employer, telling you about the sort of organisation you could be working for. You could also learn a lot about the industry you are interested in and have a opportunity to talk to representatives of the company directly.
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