Sliceback

I asked 10-12 guys that I've worked with if they'd contact their new hire classmates and ask if they went to job fairs and if yes how many? Got over 60 responses.

About 1/3 didn't attend job fairs. Two thirds did. Of the 2/3's that did attend job fairs the average was 2.0 job fairs. Military guys averaged 1.7 job fairs and civilian guys averaged 2.6 job fairs. But several civilian guys attended 4, 5, 6 or even 8 job fairs before getting hired so the typical average would be less than 2.6.

HR probably only sees 10-15% of the candidate pool per year yet that 10-15% might be getting 2/3's of the new hire slots. Granted a limited pool (60+) but there seems to be some success linked to job fairs.

Silver02ex

You're going to get of different answers on this. I can say that, I wouldn't have got the call if I didn't go to a job fair.

Hacker15e

None of the airlines I visited at job fairs ever called me for an interview. The ones that I did interview with, and were hired by, I did not speak to at job fairs.

sidestep

I wouldn't have gotten an interview invite for DAL if it weren't for the job fair I attended. I have gone to 3 job fairs over a 6 year period, each one of them has resulted in an interview and job offer. For me, the correlation is obvious. I hate having to pay for facetime, but if you can sell yourself, it's certainly worth it...

kansas

Are they worth it? Depends on the situation.

Every single job interview I've ever had, all the way back to flight instruction, came back to networking. Every one. Among the "bigger" job interview offers, 2 out of 3 came very soon after a decent meeting with a recruiter at a job fair. I also had a couple "just average" meetings with recruiters thrown in there, that netted zero results. Performance matters, obviously.

If you have rock-solid networking pulling some weight without the job fair, then the job fair may not help that much. But it can't hurt. The mini-interview experience plus catching up with all your other random friends in this business is well worth the hassle, and can actually be fun.

If you don't have much of a network or list of "inside" references, then the job fair (depending on the airline, recruiter, policy for job fairs and hiring/app review, timing, etc) could be a huge opportunity for you. Some airlines claim to give "points" for job fairs in one way or another. Others don't. Try to figure this out if you can for the places you want to work, and evaluate from there.

You gotta network. The job fair is one piece of the puzzle, and could be the piece that puts it all together. It costs money and time, but I say give it a try and see what happens. Good luck!

AllOva736

Yes, go to a fair. If anything it builds your professional knowledge and communication skills with your airline of choice.

Rahlifer

Pretty much everyone hired by majors from my regional attended 2 or more job fairs. It probably really depends on your overall background and connections, but anything that increases your marketability seems like a good investment.

DENpilot

yes

filler filller

Der Meister

if you get hired by the airline you want then yes, if not then no

gringo

Are you a chesty blonde Millenial with all of six months of real world experience under your belt flying at a regional? I wouldn't sweat it; you've clearly worked hard to get where you are, you paid your dues and you should be expecting a call any time now.

For everyone else, it prolly wouldn't hurt to go.