Many students limit their initial job search to companies attending their school’s Career Day job fair. Most of those companies hire very few students. Companies will often attend campus job fairs only to maintain good relationships with the university. They may hire a graduate or two, but most of the time, these campus visits are public relation activities. Do not, under any circumstances, delay your job search based on an interview you had at a campus job fair.
An exception can be made for companies with ongoing needs for very specialized scientific, technical, or engineering degrees. In the early 1990’s, it was common for students with technical degrees and a high grade point average to be hired through on-campus job fairs. When the advance of technology slowed, this kind of hiring did as well. For now, and the foreseeable future, technology and engineering jobs will be expanding.
Public job fairs are of value. Depending on the economy, entry-level or lightly experienced candidates may find opportunities this way. The important thing to remember is to not put all of your job search effort into any one of these events. The probability of getting hired is small.
