Have you gotten a job from a veteran job fair?

2015-07-07T16:20:27-04:00

Veteran job fairs are all over the country on a weekly basis. They tend to be a big room with a lot of companies and schools trying to shake as many hands of transitioning SM and vets as possible. The experience can be overwhelming and hard to navigate, especially for those who are new to the 'job fair game'. Recruiters, do you guys like job fairs? What are you looking for from potential candidates?

We have put together an article with best practices for job fairs so that you can leave with recruiters running after you trying to get you interested in their company.

http://blog.rallypoint.com/2015/07/veterans-top-4-tips-for-veteran-job.html

Joseph Wong, LT George Bernloehr, MAJ George Hamilton, CSM Michael Lynch, SFC Chad Sowash

RallyPoint.com: Top 4 Tips for Veteran Job Fairs

Tips for veterans attending job or career fairs

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 7 at 2015 5:50 PM

2015-07-07T17:50:13-04:00

No as I never seem to be near one! Even when I was in California most of them seemed to be in San Diego which was way too far away.

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jul 7 at 2015 6:28 PM

2015-07-07T18:28:46-04:00

So far, there have not been any near me, in addition to that, I have not been close enuf to retirement to take opportunity even if they were close. NOW, I need to start looking to see if there is anything happening like this in Spokane WA.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jul 7 at 2015 8:08 PM

2015-07-07T20:08:39-04:00

I am not near any that I could attend so far. My AW2 Case Manager said getting me a job is officially on his bucket list! Army Wounded Warrior case managers rock. I'm keeping my eyes open for the next one near Tucson.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2015 8:31 PM

2015-07-07T20:31:50-04:00

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.

Response by MSgt Jamie Lyons made Jul 7 at 2015 8:43 PM

2015-07-07T20:43:29-04:00

We have them here in Philadelphia periodically. I went to 2 of them with no luck. Most of the veterans I have talked to at them have had minimal to no luck as well. Here at the Philadelphia vet fair, they have you register on a laptop or ipad. Then they just send you a link to their webpage for open jobs. Then you also get a ton of their spam emails. Being in 'HR' I personally have seen recruiters get upset having to go sit at these fairs. They know it is a waste of time because just in case you were not aware, you are not going to get hired to some high or even mid level management job from one of these fairs. Heck, most vets wont even get a call from these companies. In fact, most of the vendors are there to try to sell you a franchise. They always have a ton of information on how to obtain funding for your purchase of a franchise. But ask them about job openings and they are like...ummm..."check the webpage"... or "we aren't hiring now but if you give me your resume with your email address...". Then it goes back to the spam messages. IMO as an HR professional, not worthy of your time.

Before I get railroaded, I know there are a few of you who have had success but that is truly gar and few between.

Response by SFC Chad Sowash made Jul 8 at 2015 11:38 AM

2015-07-08T11:38:46-04:00

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.

Response by LT George Bernloehr made Jul 8 at 2015 2:54 PM

2015-07-08T14:54:38-04:00

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.

Response by CPO Bernie Penkin made Jul 9 at 2015 2:23 PM

2015-07-09T14:23:33-04:00

I went to a Recruit Military job fair. If I had been a truck driver or heavy equipment operator I would have gotten a job. I also would have gotten hired in a couple of multi-level marketing companies as well. However, I worked hard to get an IT degree and unfortunately no jobs were avaialable in that field. The places that advertised for IT were looking for technicians at low pay.

I keep looking, but it does get discouraging.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2015 9:35 AM

2015-07-25T09:35:17-04:00

Thanks for posting this thread, hopefully somebody finds encouragement or utility in the comments/responses. My short answer is "YES, I did get a job from a job fair" oriented on Veterans. The radio button choices with 2 yes responses overstates my feeling - I don't really feel that they are not "great," but they are not "the worst."

Now, for the longer answer: in terms of veteran-oriented events, I attended four job fairs in person, participated in 3-5 "Virtual" job fairs, and went to 6-8 "mini job fairs" that were recruiting/networking meals sponsored by the local veteran groups here in Houston. All had recruiters actively seeking talent from the military and former military ranks. The range of responses in this thread align with my experience, and I concur - it can be disheartening. Finding a suitable role -- or even getting selected to compete for one -- was a long, tedious, slow process. BUT, attending a Veteran job fair did lead to the interviews that then ultimately resulted in my new job/career.

Now the "ugly" part, how the sausage was made for me: attending Veteran job fairs was great for exposure and composure, compelling me to work through a number of valuable processes. The drill required to prepare, research, practice, and get comfortable with interviewing was critical. While my military years provided similar skills, it was NOT the same as marketing or selling myself the way the private sector wants to hear and see. Attending job fairs and associated seminars refined what I envisioned myself doing, where I pictured myself working; and -- maybe more importantly -- helped me take a number of options OFF the table. Discussions with recruiters, helper/mentors, and peers (other candidates attending job fairs) all opened my eyes a bit more to aspects of work that I initially THOUGHT that I might want to do, and then confirmed or DENIED that I really was suited to doing the work. It was an iterative, refining process very similar to any military-oriented problem-solving process.

All that said, when the time and opportunity aligned for me to pursue and compete for a suitable job, it was in large part due to attending and actively participating in the full spectrum of job fairs (networking lunches, virtual/on-line fairs, and formal career fairs) that I succeeded. The repetition of "selling" my story, finding my strengths and weaknesses, and determining my own personal desires paid off and resulted in earning (it was not given to me!) my current role that is just the beginning of my next career with my new company. Maybe this story - in 20+ years - ends with "and he lived happily ever after."

For those who are hearing and seeing things that make you wonder "where's the love" for hiring Veterans, keep the faith. It's a numbers game, and it can be a very long process depending on skill sets and desires. Good luck, stay strong, find support, and keep up the fight!

Response by SrA Joshua Hagler made Jul 26 at 2015 2:23 PM

2015-07-26T14:23:46-04:00

I wish I could even go to one, they are either way out of the way for me to go to, or if small ones happen in the area I live in, I am currently working and can't go. They have them in the odds times and places, and the people I know that go, have never had any success. I had a friend offered a minimum wage job once at one. He cried in his truck that day in the parking lot.

Response by Joseph Wong made Oct 27 at 2015 3:32 PM

2015-10-27T15:32:09-04:00

We like job fairs, it makes our brand and our opportunities more persistent in the military communities within our cable footprint. For the larger events, we generally ask members from our Veteran employee group to attend with us, so they can help us screen resumes and act as translators at times. This gives the job seeker a chance to ask questions directly to the people who are doing the job, or understand it from a Veteran perspective.

We do find that we have a pretty substantial drop out rate. So if 10 vets say they are interested in opportunities at TWC, probably 7-8 of them will return our follow up calls.

Companies spend a massive amount of money investing in these job fairs, from employee time, to the giveaways, to the travel and the registration costs. We, however, understand the caliber of candidate we can find at these events and will readily go, if we have the personnel to staff it correctly. We really like to attend those on base, it lets us connect with our transition specialist friends and we think there is better turn out.

Response by SrA David Steyer made Nov 6 at 2015 11:15 PM

2015-11-06T23:15:56-05:00

I posted much of this in another thread.

There was one company I got real hard on for claiming they are veteran friendly and not hiring, and they actually were at a job fair I went to recently. Didn't want to be a hypocrite or maybe I was being too hard so I talked to them. The recruiter got all mad when I told him I was not willing to relocate and if they had anything available locally because they have a big presence here. The recruiter handed me a piece of paper for a local job that closed two years ago. And this is a company that has done a lot of advertising claiming they are veteran friendly and they are all over the place locally so it is very odd nothing is available. Maybe they have low turnover?

A lot of the employers who claim they are veteran friendly and are looking veterans at these events, well veterans don't always have the skills they are looking for and are not willing to budge or even train. There are a lot of jobs that require sales experience locally and this may be limited to my location. You do not really get this if/when you are in the military, unless you were a recruiter. I am finding many of the employers at job fairs for service members and/or veterans, the employers or recruiters at these events do not know anything about the military. In addition I have seen some employers and asked myself "Why are you even here?" at a military job fair? I have seen employers at job fairs in the medical field specifically who are looking for doctors, nurses and psychiatrists. I worked in the clinic for many years, and almost every field I just mentioned I have yet to even hear of someone be out of work at all in those fields for more than maybe a month tops after they get out, and you are not going to find them at a military job fair as they have a job back wherever they want to relocate to, locally lined up or already recruited. I'm sure there are exceptions but I have yet to see it or hear about it.

I went to a "Hiring our Heroes" event six months ago, and went in uniform. My office let me take a longer lunch and go. I got nasty looks being in uniform, and many of the employers, it was just a rundown of what they had open and how to apply online. Like people aren't doing that already. Moreover, there were very few job seekers that looked like they had just gotten out of the military; the majority looked like they had gotten out years ago if they even served. If you want trucking, or law enforcement you are in heaven.