A specialist in technology and financial services, Gaffey says he has found every type of candidate at job fairs, even those for senior-level engineering management openings. It's hard to beat the Internet for researching companies and checking out jobs, but it still doesn't give you a sense of what companies are really about, observes Edward J. Doran, national accounts manager of Hillsboro, Ore.-based MRD Group, an executive search firm specializing in Information Technology. Job fairs are an opportunity to put a face on a company by talking to the people who work there. It's also an opportunity to check out from 50-200 companies in a single location. Once companies find an attractive passive job-seeker, they're ready to pounce with heavy artillery, which means interviews by HR people and technical managers.
All companies work differently.
It's to your advantage to take job fairs seriously. Before you start working the floor, invest time studying the show's brochure figuring out which companies you want to visit. Create a priority list just in case you can't get to all of them. Approach a booth as you would a job interview. You don't have to wear a suit and tie, but you ought to be groomed and dressed professionally.