Have you gotten a job from a veteran job fair?

The "job fairs" seem to be manual labor positions or truck driving. I have encouraged all of my Soldier Members to continue their education because the "job fairs" that have "positions" available are not positions that I believe they are trained to occupy. They are much more than those limited positions, and I find the premise insulting that these individual companies hosting these events don't truly find value in our Soldiers.

I personally have not although many have found their new career via job fair. It's incredibly hard to lump the entire industry into a single "job fair" bucket since many are somewhat impromptu and created on a whim. Organizations who run professional job fair companies are a different story because they understand the event space. The biggest question OVERALL is... Did the hiring company attending the job fair come ready. Did they have the right personnel to ask and answer relevant military-like questions? Did they have specific positions which were focused on certain ranges of Military Occupations? All-in-all, the company must know the types of military candidates they are targeting, with military equivalents to their civilian requisitions. The job seeker at that point should have researched the companies prior so as to better assimilate their knowledge, skills, abilities and experience to those specific company positions. There are many variables, although the two which remain consistent is the need for the hiring company and candidate know specifically what they are seeking.

I happen to be a fan of jobs fairs for many reasons--the first being it is how I launched my post military career. It was at a job fair that I was introduced to an opportunity to launch a career in recruiting--a job focus I would not have thought of had I not attended a job fair, stopped by every company booth and talked to each rep that attended the event. One company rep thought I would make a good addition to their team as a recruiter and suggested that to me--I researched the industry and the more I learned about recruiting, the more intrigued I became. I was afforded an opportunity to launch a career as a recruiter and I love it--for the past 16+ years I have mainly focused on helping men and women transition from the military into civilian careers and it would have not happened had I not attended a job fair. Another reason I am a fan of job fairs is you get to meet company reps face-to-face--it's your opportunity to impress these folks beyond what you can accomplish in today's environment of "go to our website and apply online." What other process out there today gives you the opportunity to meet and engage people face to face in a company you may want to start a new career? I utilize some job fairs now as a Military Talent Acquisition Consultant for Eaton and I follow up with everyone I meet and engage at these events.