The popularity of job fairs waxes and wanes with the economy, and in our current downturn, these gatherings are back again with a vengeance. From big cities to small towns, job fairs are being organized by national job boards, local chambers of commerce and all sorts of organizations in-between. And there’s no doubt that bringing together employers that have available jobs to meet with eager job hunters is a great concept.

The catch from the employers’ perspective is in making sure that candidates have the correct expectations before they head off to a local fair. As a participating recruiter, everything you can do to help prepare candidates for the experience will make the day that much more valuable for you and them.

When a laid off project manager was preparing to attend a recent job fair in a New Jersey suburb, for example, he focused on the same things he thought about when he first attended job fairs 10 years ago: the look of his suit, the quality of his resume, and the best way to avoid traffic while getting to the hotel ballroom. Things have changed, and he was in for a big surprise.

The fair was scheduled to run from 9am to 3pm, and the job seeker arrived around 10:30am. He was greeted by a line of fellow job hunters that, as far as he could tell, stretched from the ballroom down two hallways and into another empty ballroom. And that was just to register to attend.
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Unemployment numbers are rising each month, but that doesn’t mean for one minute that there is an abundance of Top Talent in the Job Market. In fact, the opposite is more accurate. It’s important that hiring authorities realize it is difficult to attract top talent in the current Job Market.

It’s true; you may be receiving more unsolicited resumes than ever before, but are they of the caliber you want to hire? In most cases, the answer is no. Now more than any other time in history, it is critical that you hire the best person for the positions you have open.

The same is true now as when the job market it tight. Often the most qualified candidates are currently working for someone else but would contemplate a change for the "right opportunity." They are NOT unemployed:

• They are NOT listed on any Job Board
• They are NOT circulating their resume
• They are NOT in an active job search

• Evaluating RPO Providers: Whitepaper
  Futurestep, a Korn/Ferry Company, specializing in strategic talent solutions, releases whitepaper, Changing the Conversation: Rethinking Procurement and Performance for Real RPO Value. Developed by Futurestep CEO Robert McNabb, the whitepaper is in response to a growing number of requests from corporate planners for practical input on guiding an RPO vendor selection process. The publication draws from interviews with talent leaders who have undertaken successful RPO initiatives across a number of key industries, including oil and…
• Increased Workload and Stress Taking Toll on Workers
  Workloads and associated stress are on the increase in the workplace while employee morale, motivation, and endurance are on the decline, according to a survey of business leaders and work-life experts conducted by WFD Consulting. In fact, employee stress and workload have increased substantially in the last 12 months, with eight-out-of-10 respondents reporting that managers’ and employees’ workloads have increased, along with employee stress. At the same time, half of respondents report that employee motivation,…
• Make Better Hires Improves Recruiting Efforts, Strengthens Team
  Get Better Hires, the patent pending employee engagement diagnostic software from Improved Experience, is enabling clients to not only improve their recruiting efforts, but create stronger teams and increase credibility with candidates. And for Kim Giglio, Director of Recruitment at MultiCare Health System, this has meant new insights into candidate perceptions that were formerly difficult to measure. "The data has been very helpful," says Kim Giglio. "It validated some assumptions and gave us the data…
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• Webinar—Re-Aligning Your Workforce in a Down Economy
  April 23, 2009
• Webinar—Tactics for Trimming Employment Costs
  April 30, 2009
• Executive Search Summit Spring 2009
  May 5th, 2009
• Kennedy Information's Recruiting 2009 Conference and Expo
  May 19th-22nd, 2009
• More...

• Recruiting Manager, NuVasive, Inc.—San Diego, CA
• AFM Recruiting, MetLife—Monroe, LA
• Recruiting Coordinator, Harmer Consultants, Inc.—Chicago, IL