Job fairs suck!
I went to a big one today in downtown Seattle, the biggest and most crowded one I've ever been to. My thought: absolute waste of time! I go in there and ask about jobs at the booths and many of the recruiters' response was, "Our jobs are listed on our website and that's where you apply for them." OK. Then why did I waste my time, gas, and parking money to go to this job fair when all I have to do is search for jobs online? So I went to this organizations website and they had 3 jobs listed - none of which I qualified for. So much for that!
Even when I do go to the job fairs, they are almost always filled with sales, managing, and finance. NONE of those jobs am I looking for, or are even remotely qualified for! Maybe I'll have better luck at a student/internship job fair at the local university (most are public). I do recall making more headway with the job fairs down on the IUPUI campus, as more of those jobs are entry-level, and it was for more diverse types of careers/fields.
Also I've given up on staffing agencies because for office work you have to have at least one year of experience. Even the ones I've gone to that seemed to offer more entry level positions, didn't help me much either. Because all they'd have me do is take those long skills tests for various Office programs, then even when I scored good on them, I'd NEVER hear back from them!
Of course I've tried applying online but with all the people out of work right now, my resume is just swimming in the sea of cyberspace, getting lost among all the other resumes. Monster, CareerBuilder, and Craigslist have produced very few results. I also apply online for jobs on WorkSource (Washington's unemployment office) and again hardly get any responses. And many of those jobs are entry-level!
The only thing that has worked for me honestly is cold-calling co's and inquiring about work. Also I sometimes walk-in to printing/sign co's and show them my resume, and an 8.5 x 11 inch paper printout of some of my best portfolio pieces (that's how I got my last job at the printing co., which of course, brought me out here to Seattle). Having printing experience helps in that department. Yet still, many of those places right now aren't hiring. And trying to get a "more practical" job is proving to be impossible!
*pulls hair*
Oh, and btw, my dad down in Houston, who's a mechanical engineer, has ALSO just gotten the pink slip. Nice...not a singe member of my family is working, effing terrific!
Don't mean to be so bitchy. It's just the job fair was what really set me off. I've gotten pretty discouraged.
Even when I do go to the job fairs, they are almost always filled with sales, managing, and finance. NONE of those jobs am I looking for, or are even remotely qualified for! Maybe I'll have better luck at a student/internship job fair at the local university (most are public). I do recall making more headway with the job fairs down on the IUPUI campus, as more of those jobs are entry-level, and it was for more diverse types of careers/fields.
Also I've given up on staffing agencies because for office work you have to have at least one year of experience. Even the ones I've gone to that seemed to offer more entry level positions, didn't help me much either. Because all they'd have me do is take those long skills tests for various Office programs, then even when I scored good on them, I'd NEVER hear back from them!
Of course I've tried applying online but with all the people out of work right now, my resume is just swimming in the sea of cyberspace, getting lost among all the other resumes. Monster, CareerBuilder, and Craigslist have produced very few results. I also apply online for jobs on WorkSource (Washington's unemployment office) and again hardly get any responses. And many of those jobs are entry-level!
The only thing that has worked for me honestly is cold-calling co's and inquiring about work. Also I sometimes walk-in to printing/sign co's and show them my resume, and an 8.5 x 11 inch paper printout of some of my best portfolio pieces (that's how I got my last job at the printing co., which of course, brought me out here to Seattle). Having printing experience helps in that department. Yet still, many of those places right now aren't hiring. And trying to get a "more practical" job is proving to be impossible!
*pulls hair*
Oh, and btw, my dad down in Houston, who's a mechanical engineer, has ALSO just gotten the pink slip. Nice...not a singe member of my family is working, effing terrific!
Don't mean to be so bitchy. It's just the job fair was what really set me off. I've gotten pretty discouraged.