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Questions from the Internet #3

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mcreed8: Question: Do career fairs really help people get hired? Advice is needed

@mcreed8: Yes career fairs do help people get hired.  There are three things you can get out of attending a career fair:  

1. Opportunity to meet face to face with hiring companies and at best participate in an initial interview.  Many companies setup booths at career fairs that have a private area where they hold interviews.
2. Opportunity to hand your resume in to recruiters and hiring companies.  If the companies aren’t holding initial interviews at the event, you still will have the chance to talk with the recruiters and hiring managers and share your resume with them.    
3. Opportunity to network and make connections with hiring companies and other players in your industry. Some companies will attend career fairs with the sole intent to mine available talent and build their networks, so when they have an open position they know who to be in touch with. Use this opportunity to do the same.  Think of career fairs them like any other career networking event you would attend and use your time making as many useful contacts as possible.