Unpopular opinion: that big career fair at the convention center is a waste of time

I went to the downtown career fair last month at the Phoenix Convention Center, paid $15 for parking, and waited in line for 45 minutes just to talk to a recruiter for 2 minutes. Half the booths were just collecting resumes for jobs that aren't even posted yet, you know? The recruiter at the tech company literally told me 'we're just building our pipeline for next year' which felt like a polite way to say don't call us. I saw maybe 3 actual job openings posted on the boards, and those were for entry-level sales roles with no base salary. My time would have been better spent applying online for those same jobs or even just networking on LinkedIn for an hour. Has anyone else gotten real results from these big events, or am I just going to the wrong ones?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole_robinson13d ago

Oh yeah, nothing says "we value your time" like paying for parking to hand your resume to someone who's basically building a future wish list.

the_wesley13d ago

Did you catch that article about how the average job fair lead takes like three months to even get a callback? It's basically a hope and a prayer you're handing over. I heard some companies just use those piles to show they're "actively recruiting" without any intent to hire. Parking fees on top of that feels like they're just rubbing it in. They want to look busy while you're the one doing all the running.