What is your perspective on attending military job fairs?

SFC Jeff L. — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:43:41 -0400

Having recently retired from the Army, I've been to my share of job fairs. Do you think they are helpful? If not, what would you recommend employers do to connect with military talent?

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 25 at 2014 2:46 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:46:51 -0400

The few I've been to seemed to be geared towards entry level positions and hands-on type of work and a lot of school advertising.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Aug 25 at 2014 2:48 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:48:30 -0400

For the most part, a lot of these job fairs are just huge information outputs. I personally haven't seen one where Veterans are shown tips for resume writing or interview skills and things like that. Let's face it, ACAP (TAPS) is/was awful. Sure, the Veteran needs to know what jobs are out there but if his/her resume isn't written effectively, then their chance of even getting an interview is a lot less than someone that has been shown how to effectively write a resume.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 25 at 2014 2:56 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:56:59 -0400

As MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca and SGT Ben Keen have mentioned - most are a lot of fluff. I've been to several over the years. In most, since you've filled out info ahead of time, they've already pre-selected you for specific hiring companies. Normally, if you don't have an active clearance any longer literally none of the big DOD supporting companies want anything to do with you - no matter what your skill set. I had several conversations with over 40 different companies - they're being instructed to ignore older veterans without active clearances.

So, unless you have an active clearance, you're shuttled off to the companies that will take anyone with no skill sets whatsoever and pay you minimum wage to boot.

My take - younger / recent retirees with active clearance - go for it. If you don't have an active clearance, you're wasting your time driving there.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 25 at 2014 3:01 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:01:24 -0400

I went to a military job fair in Charlotte several months ago. It was an opportunity to just network and meet recruiters. A couple of the companies either had you enter your name into a database on the computer or sign a sheet with contact information. Also, there were several companies that the recruiters would barely even talk to you.

Response by SFC Jeff L. made Aug 25 at 2014 3:08 PM

SFC Jeff L. — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:08:57 -0400

I noticed when I was attending that it was more of an opportunity to network with recruiters and other influencers. I also valued finding differenct companies who seemed interested in hiring vets. As far as the type of jobs being offered it just depended on the company and event. Obviously you're going to get a different set of jobs at a SACC event as compared to a local event put on by the TAP office. As far as resume tips? If that's why you're going, or what you expect, then it may just be a matter of timing. I've found that if you go just before the end of the event, then the crowd has thinned out and the recruiters have more time to talk.

What about suggestions? Anyone have a suggestion as to how a company might better connect with vets?

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Aug 25 at 2014 5:01 PM

MSG Wade Huffman — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:01:56 -0400

I went to a few shortly after retiring, I was surprised to find more (for-profit) colleges, universities, and trade schools (all more than happy to have your VA money sent to them) represented than there were companies and corporations; and most of the companies and corporations weren't actually hiring 'at the present time'. Found them to be, for the most part, a stellar waste of time. I wasn't impressed at all.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Aug 25 at 2014 5:36 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:36:28 -0400

Attending a job fair...as a employer or a job seeker? The job fair I have done from the employer side have been...not completely productive? They are nice for those leaving the service to get a chance to try their hand at being a civilian in less threatening environment.

As a job seeker my best way of making contact has been to directly contact the employer or through networking (LinkedIn). Maybe the job placement people (intentionally being vague) are helpful to other but they did nothing for me.

Trying to recruit military, my largest challenge has been tapping into those interested in the things I was recruiting for? I was lucky to find gems that other recruiters overlooked because they did not understand the experience the former service member was bring to the table.

Response by SFC A.M. Drake made Aug 25 at 2014 7:02 PM

SFC A.M. Drake — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 19:02:49 -0400

I have been to maybe 10-25 around my area over the last 10yrs...trust me as everybody else said a waste of time. you're either over qualified or they will take your resume and file 13 it when you walk away.

Response by COL Jonas Vogelhut made Aug 25 at 2014 7:49 PM

COL Jonas Vogelhut — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 19:49:58 -0400

We just had a career fair at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Sixty five desks, maybe 50 organizations showed up. About ten colleges. Other 40 were a mix of blue collar and white collar jobs, from police, to hotels, to government contractors. Few recruiters understood the military …. just gave the pitch on submit your resume to their on line application system. Better plan is to submit your resume before the fair, then check on it with the recruiter now that you have/can get their contact information. Make them work for you. There is a job fair at Fort Meade on September 17th.

http://www.ftmeademwr.com/events/jobFair.php

Nicest part was heroes to hired (h2h.jobs) came and were informative. I haven’t found the jobs on their website to be the most updated, but it gives me a place to check.

Response by SFC Jeff L. made Aug 26 at 2014 8:59 AM

SFC Jeff L. — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 08:59:35 -0400

Having been on all three sides of the table as an Army recruiter recruiting civilians into the military, as a job-seeker, and as a corporate recruiter seeking military candidates I have made the following observations: 1) military members tend to have an unrealistic expectation of employers - they may walk up and ask "what have you got for me" as though they get the job simply by virtue of being a veteran. Many also have the expectation that a senior officer or NCO is the equivalent of a similar level position in the private sector. Unfortunatly they may not have the same level of education, certification, or industry related experience to make them competitive at the same level. 2) As much as you want to, you can't hire everyone, and at the end of the day you still have to make your hiring manager happy with his new hire. 3) You have to understand the process - with the exception of entry-level positions that can be hired on the spot, you have to submit an application (usually online), be pre-qualified by a recruiter, phone-screened, and invited to interview before an offer is extended. Some companies actually have a minimum number of candidates that must be interviewed before a hire.

Many, many companies have a veteran hiring initiative because they are, or soon will be, required to track that info by law. They don't understand how to connect the dots between "we want vets" and "how do I get one on the payroll." As a result it happens almost accidentally or coincidentally. I would encourage everyone to keep attending the job fairs for what they are - a great opportunity to network and become familiar with companies you may not have know were looking for your skillsets.

Response by SSG Attila Lukacs made Aug 26 at 2014 12:46 PM

SSG Attila Lukacs — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 12:46:37 -0400

I have been to quite a few and always went home miserably disappointed. They never seem to help get my foot in the door, and just seem to be a dog & pony show to advertise the companies represented there. You walk in with your head held high, full of hope. You walk out feeling like you got kicked in the gut, but got a free key chain and pen.

Response by CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR made Aug 28 at 2014 4:23 PM

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 16:23:35 -0400

I think military job fairs are good in a sense. If you are a jobs seeker you need to have an objective going in the job fair. Also use multiple avenues in your job search.

What is your mission? Think of why you are going there. If you get the information ahead of time of what employers are going to be there do some homework to see what current roles and when you get to the table you say hey Mr Recruiter I saw a role ABC on your website that I am interested in my background is a good fit. I applied for the role and then ask the closing question who is the recruiter and hiring manager for that role?

Or think of it as going on a mission and you had to get a SALUTE report

S-what is the size of the organization
A- what activities do they conduct, how do they make money
L-Location are the regionally, locally, globally, International
U- what is the philosophy of upper management
T- what is the hiring timeframe once I get an interview? How log does it normally take to get an interview
E- What is the expected time for this role to be filled

You are highly skilled and trained professionals use those skills to help you accomplish the mission.

Lastly manage your expectation. Can every military candidate be hired at one job fair? Will everyone qualify for the job? Will I land a job on my first attempt? Find reasons to not give up and when you are responding to the employer your answers should be Whats in it for them......although its Whats in in for you........

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 30 at 2014 3:24 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 03:24:27 -0400

Instead of job fairs, they should have some sort of placement program. For Guardsman and Reservists, it could, instead, be some sort of internship or temp to hire (similar to going through a staffing agency) program.

Things like TiS, rank, etc could play into qualifying to get into the respective programs.

Note: This is a very basic idea that sounds good in my head. It came to me in the moment so it hasn't been completely thought through.

Response by 1SG Mark Colomb made Aug 30 at 2014 12:09 PM

1SG Mark Colomb — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 12:09:26 -0400

If your expectation is secure gainful employment then might as well stay home. However if you intend to use it a a networking event to obtain insights, information and introductions in your chosen industry, by all means go for it and take as many networking business cards as you can carry!

Response by CW4 Aaron Rasmussen made Oct 28 at 2014 6:22 PM

CW4 Aaron Rasmussen — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:22:20 -0400

I guess a lot of these fairs are what you put into them. Most of the employers present were either not interested in me (wrong skillset) or I was not interested in them. But I did find one or two at each that I could have worked with. Just before I was hired into a federal position, I ran into one employer who interviewed and was ready to place me. Ultimately, I took the federal job. The employers I encountered were a mixed bag of companies looking for warm bodies and those looking for leadership skills. Bottom line - it was not a complete waste of time, but I didn't spend a lot of time there either. I only spent enough time to meet a few companies I was interested in and I moved on.

Response by PO2 Tamera Pantejo made Nov 22 at 2014 11:35 AM

PO2 Tamera Pantejo — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 11:35:59 -0500

I've been to many job fairs recently. I think it they are not able to hire on the spot or set up interviews they should not be there. Some companies are there to show support for the military, without having any open positions. I understand that. I take there card and when you reach out to them, you don't even get a email back saying we are not hiring at this time. I feel that they should at lease give you some feedback or referral to someone they might know is hiring. Some will not even take your resume.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 19 at 2015 3:51 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 15:51:39 -0400

Go to the job fairs. I have heard of soldiers getting job offers from that event.

Response by Cpl Tim Linville made Apr 23 at 2015 5:16 PM

Cpl Tim Linville — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:16:14 -0400

I can only share my experiences of them in Tampa, Sarasota Florida. They have never led to anything close to a job. I never saw a business at one that was worth working for. Ij addition, the one in Parkersburg,WV I attended a few years ago was downright pathetic. That's it.

Response by PO1 Don Mac Intyre made Apr 23 at 2015 7:20 PM

PO1 Don Mac Intyre — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 19:20:59 -0400

Job fairs are ways for employers to look good. I have attended many and not gotten one call back

Response by SGT Michael Bell made Apr 23 at 2015 8:22 PM

SGT Michael Bell — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 20:22:26 -0400

I like them. The employers know we are military and ex-military and it cuts down on the overwhelming amount of people that show up at a regular job fair

Response by SPC Makissa Lewis made Apr 24 at 2015 4:19 PM

SPC Makissa Lewis — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:19:11 -0400

Thanks for asking the question. I hope from asking it can get better. One can only hope. I find what is lacking at military job fairs are prior service recruiters. This results in you spending much of your time explaining to the recruiter what your job means on the civilian side. It isn't that the task is difficult but time consuming. Also, this doesn't allow the recruiter to know how you are special. Unless, you can breakdown how the military award system works. Again not difficult just time consuming. Another area of improvement, that I see is the lack of variety when it comes to jobs. There is always the police department or some law enforcement agency and sales. I hope this information helps with the process. Again, thanks for asking.

Response by SrA Paul De La Vega made Feb 15 at 2017 10:58 PM

SrA Paul De La Vega — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:58:03 -0500

I am very excited and have mixed feelings about the job fairs. Unfortunately, I have been attending these Military job fairs since 2011 and have found that my career field is either under represented or completely absent from the job fairs. This has been the most unfortunate aspect of it. The jobs seem to be more catered to companies that want people to uproot and relocate from an area or have highly technical skills that seem geared towards many people who are already employed in that field and aren't showing up to the fair anyways. I've seen those employers time and time again. A suggestion would be to focus on local employers NATIVE to the area where the career fair is being held. For example, I live in the San Francisco bay area. I of course will not be interested in applying to the Las Vegas Police or Ventura Police departments for obvious reasons. Nor would I be apt to applying to a trucking company or train company located in the mid-west. I'd be relocating just to apply for a non-certain outcome! Sounds adventurous but not practical and in the end a waste of time for employers and employee's alike. The government agencies and law enforcement agencies also tend to just have stress balls and flyers that instruct candidates to apply online. My suggestion to any veteran attending is to basically leave the resume at home unless the fair offers resume help services separate from the fair itself. I have never received a call from or email in regards to my resume at a job fair. I would have to agree with comments comparing it to selling yourself like a used car but to less results. More like a lemon lot in a seedy part of town. Its not like you don't have the marketable skills, its just that the employers who show up are just playing "patriotic" by showing up to these events and shaking hands with veterans. I've had much better results going to veteran job recruiters or agencies that assist veterans in finding employment or simply searching online boards. The whole thought process on how these fairs are conducted and who is allowed to present has to change for there to be any REAL change and motivation to ACTUALLY hire veterans without just paying lip service.