By Rich Heintz
The Hidden Job Market is a term labor experts use to describe openings that never get advertised in the want ads or on the Internet. These typically are jobs that employers hope to fill through in-house referrals.
Most job-search guides emphasize the importance of flushing out these "hidden" openings by networking with family, friends and business contacts. There are managers, say the experts, just waiting to hire you. You just have to find them.
It may be hard to believe, but the same holds true at a job fair. You would think that employers who pay to have a booth at such an event would be up front about their job openings.
The truth is, employers typically have many more openings than they tout. Often the advanced and most desirable positions are not posted. Conversely, entry-level jobs may not be listed because the employer doesn't want to be swamped by applicants.
Unfortunately, too many job fair attendees do not seem to understand or seem willing to network with the recruiters to uncover such possibilities. Job fairs, after all, appear to be pretty matter-of-fact affairs. Just show up, drop off your resume with companies that sound promising, and head home. And that's just what far too many unsuccessful fairgoers do.
The successful attendee, however, takes a more interactive approach. Rather than walking up to only a few recruiters and saying "Here's my resume, do you have anything for me?" the savvy jobseeker visits every employer at an event and explains what they are qualified to do. These proactive jobseekers realize that a job fair is an excellent networking opportunity - where else could you meet with 25 or more employers in under two hours?
Expand Your Options
The successful fairgoer, according to California Job Journal sales supervisor Karen Dawal (who staffs most CJJ job fairs), avoids getting pigeonholed. Rather than telling prospective employers you're an administrative assistant, for example, she recommends emphasizing your skills. Dawal instructed one administrative assistant, for example, to focus on her experience as a grant writer, along with any other capabilities that might be transferable.
It is also important not to pigeonhole the employers at an event. At a recent job fair, a number of participants were surprised when Dawal suggested they talk to recruiters at the California Department of Corrections. "You would think the Department of Corrections would only be looking for guards, but that day they were looking for medical personnel," reveals Dawal, who can rattle off numerous examples of industry-crossing professions needed by a wide range of employers.
Computer jobs, for example, are once again a hot item, but not necessarily with the traditional IT companies, according to Dawal. Every industry relies on computers, and some are particularly in need of technical help, including schools, colleges, and banks - all of which use job fairs to find qualified help.
Resumes - The Second Impression
While a resume is an important job search tool, it becomes secondary at a job fair where your own interpersonal skills create that all-important first impression with a recruiter. Dawal explains that you need to make the recruiters interested in you first, then they will be interested in holding onto your resume.
In that case, it's key to remember that recruiters in a sense are doing an instant interview when they meet you, often judging each fairgoer on how well they handle themselves on the spot. Are you articulate? Do you handle yourself in a professional manner? Will you work well with customers and co-workers? Such are the questions running through the mind of an eager recruiter.
Amazing things can happen if you make a winning impression. You could learn about positions that are not yet open (the truly hidden job market). And employers have been known to hire on the spot (provided your background checks out). Some recruiters have actually escorted applicants out of the job fair and taken them to a nearby company office so they could meet their prospective supervisors.
Not Just Entry-Level
Another misconception about job fairs, Dawal adds, is the belief that they involve only entry-level jobs and entry-level applicants. On that score, Dawal finds herself having to educate both employers and job fair attendees.
Engineers, radiologists, pharmacists, college faculty, CHP cadets, financial planners, science research assistants, registered nurses, etc, have all found openings at recent job fairs.
The most dramatic example involved a San Jose doctor who happened to visit a Sacramento job fair several years ago. She visited the Department of Developmental Services booth, where she was immediately recruited for a position as a physician. Tired of all the paperwork in her own practice, she gladly accepted the job offer.
There are, of course, plenty of job fair opportunities for those at the other end of the employment spectrum, including openings for customer service reps, administrative assistants, management trainees, tellers, etc.
Remember, many of these positions may not have been readily posted at a recruiter's booth. "Jobseekers need to be like reporters. They need to ask questions," Dawal counsels. When you encounter a negative response, "ask what else [the company] is recruiting for." Maybe you'll tap into that hidden job market.
With such an approach "you may not get a job" at the job fair, but you will likely walk away with several good leads, Dawal believes. Leads that could make the job fair the single most successful thing you do in your job search
The Hidden Job Market is a term labor experts use to describe openings that never get advertised in the want ads or on the Internet. These typically are jobs that employers hope to fill through in-house referrals.
Most job-search guides emphasize the importance of flushing out these "hidden" openings by networking with family, friends and business contacts. There are managers, say the experts, just waiting to hire you. You just have to find them.
It may be hard to believe, but the same holds true at a job fair. You would think that employers who pay to have a booth at such an event would be up front about their job openings.
The truth is, employers typically have many more openings than they tout. Often the advanced and most desirable positions are not posted. Conversely, entry-level jobs may not be listed because the employer doesn't want to be swamped by applicants.
Unfortunately, too many job fair attendees do not seem to understand or seem willing to network with the recruiters to uncover such possibilities. Job fairs, after all, appear to be pretty matter-of-fact affairs. Just show up, drop off your resume with companies that sound promising, and head home. And that's just what far too many unsuccessful fairgoers do.
The successful attendee, however, takes a more interactive approach. Rather than walking up to only a few recruiters and saying "Here's my resume, do you have anything for me?" the savvy jobseeker visits every employer at an event and explains what they are qualified to do. These proactive jobseekers realize that a job fair is an excellent networking opportunity - where else could you meet with 25 or more employers in under two hours?
Expand Your Options
The successful fairgoer, according to California Job Journal sales supervisor Karen Dawal (who staffs most CJJ job fairs), avoids getting pigeonholed. Rather than telling prospective employers you're an administrative assistant, for example, she recommends emphasizing your skills. Dawal instructed one administrative assistant, for example, to focus on her experience as a grant writer, along with any other capabilities that might be transferable.
It is also important not to pigeonhole the employers at an event. At a recent job fair, a number of participants were surprised when Dawal suggested they talk to recruiters at the California Department of Corrections. "You would think the Department of Corrections would only be looking for guards, but that day they were looking for medical personnel," reveals Dawal, who can rattle off numerous examples of industry-crossing professions needed by a wide range of employers.
Computer jobs, for example, are once again a hot item, but not necessarily with the traditional IT companies, according to Dawal. Every industry relies on computers, and some are particularly in need of technical help, including schools, colleges, and banks - all of which use job fairs to find qualified help.
Resumes - The Second Impression
While a resume is an important job search tool, it becomes secondary at a job fair where your own interpersonal skills create that all-important first impression with a recruiter. Dawal explains that you need to make the recruiters interested in you first, then they will be interested in holding onto your resume.
In that case, it's key to remember that recruiters in a sense are doing an instant interview when they meet you, often judging each fairgoer on how well they handle themselves on the spot. Are you articulate? Do you handle yourself in a professional manner? Will you work well with customers and co-workers? Such are the questions running through the mind of an eager recruiter.
Amazing things can happen if you make a winning impression. You could learn about positions that are not yet open (the truly hidden job market). And employers have been known to hire on the spot (provided your background checks out). Some recruiters have actually escorted applicants out of the job fair and taken them to a nearby company office so they could meet their prospective supervisors.
Not Just Entry-Level
Another misconception about job fairs, Dawal adds, is the belief that they involve only entry-level jobs and entry-level applicants. On that score, Dawal finds herself having to educate both employers and job fair attendees.
Engineers, radiologists, pharmacists, college faculty, CHP cadets, financial planners, science research assistants, registered nurses, etc, have all found openings at recent job fairs.
The most dramatic example involved a San Jose doctor who happened to visit a Sacramento job fair several years ago. She visited the Department of Developmental Services booth, where she was immediately recruited for a position as a physician. Tired of all the paperwork in her own practice, she gladly accepted the job offer.
There are, of course, plenty of job fair opportunities for those at the other end of the employment spectrum, including openings for customer service reps, administrative assistants, management trainees, tellers, etc.
Remember, many of these positions may not have been readily posted at a recruiter's booth. "Jobseekers need to be like reporters. They need to ask questions," Dawal counsels. When you encounter a negative response, "ask what else [the company] is recruiting for." Maybe you'll tap into that hidden job market.
With such an approach "you may not get a job" at the job fair, but you will likely walk away with several good leads, Dawal believes. Leads that could make the job fair the single most successful thing you do in your job search
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