Today’s economy is bad. People are losing their jobs and there simply are not enough jobs to go around. The unemployment rate is at an incredibly high, flocculating right around 9.5%. This means if ten people were standing in a circle, there is a very high possibility that one of those people is unemployed. This has devastating effects for the economy and the individual.
Job fairs are mini-interviews with prospective employers. These fairs feature booths of employers who have openings. The employers hand out information about their company and hope to attract the perfect employee. Potential employees hand out resumes and attempt to impress those who would be their boss and employer.
I was recently at such a job fair with some of my girlfriends who were looking for jobs. We were well dressed and came very prepared. However, this was not the case for everyone who was there. Matter of fact, it was not the case for most of the people who were hoping to get professional jobs at the job fair. If you should go to a job fair and want phone calls for real interviews, might I suggest you follow these ideas and guidelines.
1. Dress for the occasion. I have talked about this before, but it if the situation is formal, then the dress code for the occasion is formal. The job fair is a business event that may land you an interview with the company’s human resource departments. However, this will not be the case if you do not first put some effort into dressing for a business event and if you look unprofessional.
2. Suits are Key. While we just went over dressing for the occasion, this is so important that it needs a second mention. When going to a job interview, dress in a suit. Looking overly sophisticated and intelligence rarely hurts a person in his or her job search.
3. Be clean for the event. The best suit in the world does no good if it is dressed over a dirty body. While it seems unheard of and unfathomable, there were actually people at the job fair who looked like they had not bathed in a week. Please, take the time and take a shower before this event. This includes your hair.
4. Modern Wears Only. Please, even if you still fit in to your outfits from the 1980’s please do not wear that to the job fair. Take a look at your hair, is it modern and flattering? Not sure, as someone you trust, including you stylist. Remember, you want to look like you are respectable and that you are current with the times. You do not want to appear as though you live in the past.
5. Limit your accessories. Remember, this is a professional meeting and these are professional introductions. This means you do not have to wear your most expensive pieces of jewelry or even wear any jewelry. In addition, pick a small purse and pick one that is a solid color and use that purse when attempting to find a job at a job fair.