The classic picture of the results of someone blowing their best guess

Alex has been looking for a job in Pittsburgh for nearly a year now.  He never stopped when he was working the contract job, and very little was happening.  Over time, it became increasingly obvious that something about how he was searching was not working right.  He’s rewritten his resume and cover letters over and over and applied for anything he might remotely be qualified for, but still nothing.  A new plan of attack was in order.

K has been incredibly helpful by providing information on local career counselors and centers.  They don’t get you a job like a placement agency would, but they do give advice, provide resource material and conduct seminars to assist your job hunt.  Alex has already been to one career counselor, and was planning to go to the downtown career center this morning to spend several hours among the resources.  A bonus was that he would then meet me for lunch at work.

Ever the optomist, I had visions of him finding the perfect research guides, resume format and job boards.  I had already begun this post with some hopeful comments on how much he liked the place and how helpful it was. 

I shouldn’t have done that.

 What actually happened is that as he was walking to his car he noticed that a panel on the front was falling off.  Two screws that held this panel on were ripped off somehow – probably from raking across the large snowdrifts that have formed around the parking spots on our street – he had to find something to secure the plate so it wouldn’t drag.  According to Alex, this involved wire, jacking up the car, and 45 minutes of simultaneously sweating and freezing.  He got his pants dirty and soaked his shoes in the process.  The result was a massive headache and a need to change clothes, but a secure panel. 

He showed up for lunch with Wendy’s, a grouchy demeanor (I think he scared the receptionist) and a vow to spend lots of time in a hot shower. 

Luckily (well, not really) he has nothing scheduled for tomorrow and can spend the day there.  I won’t be writing anything in advance, I make no promises on updates.  I’ll just wait until he makes it there before I do anything. 

When I was still looking for a job in Memphis, I went to a couple of “career fairs” around town.  Alex has participated in several in Memphis, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh.  From my own experience and talking with others, I have come to the conclusion that most of these fairs are a colossal waste of time.

In a completely unscientific poll conducted on Facebook and Twitter, I asked friends, family and followers if anyone had ever gotten a job from a career fair, or if they even knew of someone who did.  I had one friend reply that he had landed a nine-month contract job with a cell phone company (I don’t know what the job was.)  That’s it.  One friend was hoping for a job from a recently attended fair, but the word is still out on that one. 

I did have one HR friend say that she had hired “a few” people from fairs.  A company that runs career fairs responded that they always poll their participants afterwards and that “hundreds” have been hired (This was from a Canadian company who says they have filled jobs ranging from entry level food service to corporate management.  Their website looked very nice.  Post a comment if you’d like to get their info; they were really nice.) 

Let me qualify something: I am speaking of your run-of-the-mill, found it in the newspaper or advertised online job fair.  I am not talking about the one run by your university’s engineering school, a specific organization’s fair (ex. Association of American Museums) or an internal fair that lets employees see how they can move up the ranks.  Those are all limited to people who are connected with those organizations, making participants somewhat pre-screened.

The career fairs I have been to and heard about attract thousands of hopefuls for less than a hundred jobs.  They have booths that invite you to become salesmen; usually cell phones, insurance, and pest control.  There are a couple of hotels that encourage you to get into the exciting career of banquet service.  Generally, you see at least two temp agencies and colleges offering undergrad and associate degrees.  And, of course, there is at least one recruiter from a military branch. 

I’m sorry, but with the exception of the military, not one of those categories screams “career” to me.  Job, yes.  But career?  No.  The reason the cell phone people et al are constantly there is because few make a lifetime career out of selling their product.  Perhaps they begin there, then move on to management but more than likely they go to another job that will pay them more.  I guess you could say that it is the beginning of a general career in sales, but their constant need for staffing implies no one sticks around too long. 

I attended the career fairs dressed in business attire and armed with resumes.  I was stunned at the number of people who did neither of these things.  It would seem the exhibitors are used to this as a couple of the booths automatically told me I was overqualified for their jobs after a short glance at me and the resume.   Some booths didn’t even take the resume because they weren’t really hiring.  The educational booths were no good for me.  I was there because I needed to earn money, not get another loan; besides, I have two undergrad degrees already.

Someone must be getting jobs at these things or they wouldn’t continue to exist. Here’s my advice if you are bound and determined to go to one:

• Make sure you know who is going to be there.  If you see a company you’re interested in, it probably won’t hurt to go.  If nothing looks promising, don’t bother.
• Don’t expect to get a job.  Look at it more as an exercise in networking.
• Don’t pay to get in unless you can honestly justify spending the time and money with the very real possibility it won’t get you a job – this is probably not the best use of job-hunting cash.
• Dress nice, shake hands, and bring a well-written, typed resume on nice paper.  For all my negative comments, it is possible you may meet someone who can help you.
• Expect to stand in a lot of lines and set aside a couple of hours if it is a particularly large fair.

All-in-all, I think you are better off going to networking events specific to the type of job you want.  Join a club or go to the places where people with your career hang out.  Most careers are made through relationships, not cattle calls.