TIL the job fair at the Riverside Convention Center had 40 employers but only 6 were actually hiring
I stopped by the Riverside Convention Center job fair on Tuesday because I saw a flyer that said 40 employers would be there. I brought 15 copies of my resume and waited in line for about 20 minutes to get in. Once inside, I walked the whole floor twice and counted only 6 booths that were taking applications on the spot. The rest were either staffing agencies collecting resumes for some future list or companies just handing out pens and candy. One recruiter straight up told me they posted the listing 3 months ago and the role was already filled, they were just there for brand stuff. I wasted a whole afternoon and $12 on parking for basically nothing. If you see a big number on a job fair flyer, call the venue first and ask which companies are doing real interviews that day. Has anyone else run into this at a job fair near them?
Did your friend happen to go to one of those "mega" fairs where they pack like 50 booths in a hotel ballroom? Mine did last month in Tacoma and it was the same mess, maybe 8 of them were doing sit down talks and the rest just wanted your email for a mailing list. He spent $15 on parking and stood in line 40 minutes just to find out half the spots were old listings from Indeed that got filled weeks before. One booth was literally a guy from a staffing agency who told him "we'll keep your resume on file" and then asked him to scan a QR code for a newsletter. He said the only real conversation he had was with a taco truck outside. Now he calls the venue ahead and asks point blank which companies are doing same day interviews, saves him a whole trip.