The Futility of Attending Jobs Fairs

Truegho

Is it REALLY worth the while attending these jobs fairs?

Went to one today and it was like the waiting room of Britain's Got Talent: endless queues and so few jobs. Why do they tell you to go along, and yet when you speak to the companies' HR staff, they just tell you to go and apply online? It is ridiculous!

Don't why I bothered going in the first place. Total waste of time.

stee01

Did this happen to be the one in New Brighton by any chance? I went to a couple last year and they weren't too bad (one in Birkenhead and one in the Echo Arena). Plenty of Jobs to apply for. I agree though, I went to the one in the Floral Pavilion today and it was awful. Badly planned out, there were almost as many information services - ie NHS lose weight/stop smoking & financial support, than there were jobs. To top it off, half of the jobs weren't even recruiting right then. Morrisons aren't even recruiting for another month! Why were they there?

I'd like to say that they aren't all bad. That was by a long shot the worst one I have ever been to and I'll be lodging a complaint with my job centre tomorrow for wasting my time

Emmzi

I don't know why you went either because you posted a thread a few weeks ago saying why fairs were rubbish.

Do you ever post anything that isn't just moaning? Just curious.

Strike

OP why not try focusing all your pent up anger into something constructive rather then constantly moaning.

relic

When I was 18, the place I worked at closed up shop, so two days later I went to a job fair and got myself a job within 15 minutes at a local factory.

I suggest the fairs aren't the problem, you are.

relic

stee01 wrote: »

Did this happen to be the one in New Brighton by any chance? I went to a couple last year and they weren't too bad (one in Birkenhead and one in the Echo Arena). Plenty of Jobs to apply for. I agree though, I went to the one in the Floral Pavilion today and it was awful. Badly planned out, there were almost as many information services - ie NHS lose weight/stop smoking & financial support, than there were jobs. To top it off, half of the jobs weren't even recruiting right then. Morrisons aren't even recruiting for another month! Why were they there?

I'd like to say that they aren't all bad. That was by a long shot the worst one I have ever been to and I'll be lodging a complaint with my job centre tomorrow for wasting my time

How is going to a job fair when you are unemployed, "wasting my time"? Maybe they didn't have a great deal to offer, but as someone who claims JSA, you are obliged to look for work wherever possible.

Kate78

In the time that Truegho has spent whingeing on these forums, s/he could have written their memoirs, discovered the cure for cancer and raised six children single-handedly.

If you want a "futile" activity, I would point you towards your whining on MSE.

DCFC79

Strike wrote: »

OP why not try focusing all your pent up anger into something constructive rather then constantly moaning.

but the OP would post on here about how thats boring,

scooby088

I attended a job fair years ago i got nothing out of it, the only company there was a double glazing company wanting to recruit canvassers, most companies either have their own website now a days to recruit direct, or they advertise in the jobcentre or in the paper. Although i can see the use of jobs fairs as you get to meet a face within those companies and that is useful, but i would like to know how many have actually gained employment through jobs fairs.

stee01

relic wrote: »

How is going to a job fair when you are unemployed, "wasting my time"? Maybe they didn't have a great deal to offer, but as someone who claims JSA, you are obliged to look for work wherever possible.

Going to a job fair when you are unemployed isn't "wasting my time". Going to an event advertised as a "job fair", and turning up to be told that the jobs aren't available as of yet, and that you can't apply for a month (morrisons), or that they are not recruiting until next march (grosvenor casino) IS "wasting my time".

I printed off stacks of application forms and CV's only to find no one was taking them. I couldn't even apply for volunteer work there.

They had people queuing up at stalls to be told that they cant apply for the jobs yet. !!!!!! is that about?

Like I said before I have no issues with the Jobs Fairs. I went to a couple last year and got work out of one of them, even if it was just for 6 months. This one was a complete waste of time.

KiKi

Jobs fairs are not necessarily to promote available jobs or put in applications. They are often a way for a company to promote themselves, and let you know what they do. So you go along, find out about the company, look at what they do, and it helps you to make a decision about whether or not to apply to them when jobs come up. It also means that you can mention in a covering letter that you saw them at the fair and help you stand out a bit.

It's certainly not a waste of your time - if you're on JSA and job hunting anyway, this is exactly the sort of thing that is productive, and it's only taking away from doing stuff at home.

Perhaps your expectations of what a job fair should be is too high.

KiKi