Are job fairs only for students

[job16]

I have never been to a job / career fair, and when I do my research on them all (I should say most) of the advice I read about talks about:

- students getting thier foot in the door
- excellent place to start your career
- when you get out of college its a great place to meet employers
- employers looking for grads.....etc, etc, etc

What I would like to know is , are these fairs mostly geared towards students & new workers or are they benefical to other job seekers. It seems a bit discouraging. have any of you non- students, non-grads attended these? Is it primarliy very entry level positions?
can anyone give me any advice?

Thank you

[konzelmann]

I don't think I've ever seen a job fair for anything other than entry level type positions.

Though I haven't really looked for job fairs because the few I went to (just out of highschool) didn't yield anything to make it worthwhile.

[Domino]

Depending upon the size of the city you live in there will be more or less job fairs held in any given year. Right now is a particularly popular time to hold job and career fairs (January - April). Where there sizable population there will be more job fairs, and where there are more job fairs there is an opportunity to offer specialized fairs.

Typically, a career fair will be for young people--to help choose a career and in addition to companies recruiting at these fairs, you will also find colleges, training schools and apprenticeship programmes.

Job Fairs that are more like exhibitions, where the organizer is not a prinicipal employer or recruiter will also tend to be geared towards entry level opportunties.

If you are looking for a step above entry level to senior level, you will probably have more luck attending a specialized career fair (for example IT career fairs, Sales Professional job fairs, etc.) Or, to attend single employer events, where one large organization will hold a fair to hire for multiple open positions within the organization, this is common in health care, for example.

Frankly, if you are looking for a senior management position, chances are you won't find it at a job fair. These opportunities are fewer and farther between, the candidates will be expected to be more sophisticated, not like the hordes scrambling for free pens and mints at some job fairs I've attended!

That being said, even if recruiters at job fairs are seeking to collect entry-level resumes, job fairs are a great networking opportunity. Companies large enough to attend job fairs obviously have a range of career opportunities and there is nothing like meeting a speaking with a recruiter or hiring manager versus simply submitting a resume. Larger events often offer other free resources available including workshops and resume evaluation services.