Monday, October 6, 2008

Recruiters not collecting resumes at Job Fairs

I’ve been to a few job fairs recently and some of the companies wouldn’t even take my resume. They told me to apply online. So why did I bother to buy a suit, print up resumes, and go to the Job Fair if they just want me to apply online?

1 comment:

USDCareerBlog said...

This is a more common complaint among participants at off-campus job fairs (often held in hotels or convention centers). There are several reasons some organizations have stopped collecting resumes. Many companies simply won’t deal with paper resumes for legal reasons. They only review electronically submitted resumes, often using “applicant scanning” software to check for key words and electronically eliminating unqualified candidates. They attend Job Fairs to answer applicant questions, promote their company, and encourage job seekers to apply online.

So should you bother to attend Job Fairs? That’s your call, but we feel that any contact with company representatives is potentially beneficial. The recruiter you impress at a Fair may be the person who interviews you after you apply online. You may obtain information from the recruiter at the Fair that you can use to customize your online resume and cover letter. And in your cover letter, you’d be wise to mention that you met Mr. or Ms. Smith at the recent Job Fair.

And just so you know - virtually all of the organizations at the USD Internship Fair (September 18) and Career Expo (March 26), do collect paper resumes – but they may ask you to apply online also, just to get your formal application into their electronic systems for tracking.