April 12, 2015
Site features up to 1500 career fairs and advice for candidates
Jacksonville, Florida: Former Navy Chief Petty Officer John Jacobson has launched a website to promote career fairs. Findacareerfair.com is a free website for veterans (and non-veterans) to discover job fairs and employment opportunities where they live or plan to relocate. The website boasts over 1,500 career fairs across the United States with more career fairs being added daily.
As a former corporate recruiter, Jacobson has attended hundreds of job fairs and interviewed thousands of job seekers. He also networks with many other corporate recruiters, learning from their experience with job fair attendees. He understands firsthand how challenging it can be to find events where talented candidates can connect with employers who are ready to hire.
“There was no site that could tell you when and where employers were gathering; you had to search daily for events and hope you had enough notice to be able to attend,” Jacobson says. “I wanted to create a one-stop resource to make it easy to find quality hiring events.”
Jobseekers can register on the site, providing location, education and certification data so the site can provide notifications of relevant events in the local area. Career fair organizers can also notify Jacobson about their upcoming events, which will be listed at no charge.
Jacobson also provides advice for career fair attendees, including:
- Don’t expect to get hired on the spot. “You’re not likely to get hired at a career fair, but you can easily get hired from a career fair” Jacobson advises. “Career fairs are a great place to network and meet hiring managers in your area.”
- Work on your 30-second elevator speech; you have only a few seconds to make a positive impression to a corporate recruiter. When you approach a recruiter, look him or her in the eye, offer a handshake, introduce yourself then tell him why he should hire you. Don’t forget to smile – it’s the best way to appear confident and open.
- Bring a notebook and take lots of notes – Each recruiter will give you plenty of information about the types of positions they are trying to fill and how you should go about applying for those positions. After you leave each table, stop and make notes about the conversation you just had to make sure you remember important details
- Forget about the “freebies” given out at booths. Many recruiters use these giveaways to get rid of the people who aren’t serious about employment opportunities. Don’t confuse tchotchkes for information brochures. Take the information, leave the toys.
Find a Career Fair.com is a website dedicated to helping the unemployed and underemployed find new careers. This website is completely free for job seekers, vendors and career fair hosts. Visit the site at www.findacareerfair.com.