Can we talk about career fairs that are basically just PR stunts?

I went to a big career fair at the convention center downtown last Thursday and it felt like a total waste of 4 hours. Half the booths were just companies handing out branded pens and saying "apply online" without even looking at my resume. One recruiter literally told me they were only there for brand awareness, not to actually hire anyone. How is that supposed to help me prep for a career when they won't even talk about real job openings? Has anyone else walked out of one of these feeling like you got tricked into showing up?

2 comments

2 Comments

evant4819d agoMost Upvoted

Man that really grinds my gears. I went to one of those last spring and it was the same deal: booth after booth of people just checking a box for their company. They dont care about you, they care about looking like they care. It's a PR stunt plain and simple, not a real chance to network or land a job. The whole thing felt like they rented the room and printed the banners just to say they did it. I walked out with a bag full of cheap pens and zero leads. Total waste of a Thursday afternoon.

kevinc8418d ago

Admit I used to think these things were worth going to, but after a few duds like that I totally see your point now... it's mostly just a checkbox exercise for them.