Earlier this month, online retail behemoth Amazon held a multi-city job fair to help fill more than 50,000 positions. The fair consisted of 12 events in total, including 10 that took place onsite at Amazon fulfillment centers across the country.
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The event, billed as “Amazon Jobs Day,” was reportedly a huge success. The company received more than 20,000 applications from fair attendees, and thousands of job offers were made on the spot.
Brand and Benefits
Although many of the positions for which the company is recruiting are fulfillment roles, the lure of working for Amazon and the possibility of career advancement are big draws. So too is a generous benefits package.
In releasing news about the job fair, Amazon highlighted the company’s benefits:
“Amazon provides employees with highly-competitive pay, health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans, and company stock. These benefits all start on day one. Employees are also eligible for generous parental leave and the company’s innovative Career Choice program that pre-pays 95 percent of the cost of tuition.”
Corporate Recruitment Opportunity
Granted, not all employers can pull off a multi-location job fair that is well attended and results in thousands of job applications. Few companies have the brand recognition and reputation necessary for such a large-scale event.
Nevertheless, many companies hold job fairs to find new employees.
This month, supermarket chain Publix held a veterans’ career fair, along with several other job fairs in connection with new store openings. The company also regularly holds seasonal job fairs at various locations to address significant fluctuations in sales and customer visits.
Uline, a distributor of shipping and industrial supplies, held a job fair this month at its corporate distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., in order to attract prospective employees.
Participating in External Events
Although companies do hold their own events, it’s far more common for employers to attend job fairs hosted by others, where event planning and marketing are handled by the experts. For small and midsize companies, these job fairs are especially appealing.
And there is no shortage of events. Here are a few examples:
- National Career Fairs, an events provider, holds fairs throughout the United States. It currently has more than 400 events scheduled in 130 cities.
- Military recruiting company RecruitMilitary holds job fairs aimed at helping military veterans and employers connect. It has more than 150 events scheduled nationwide.
- Targeted Job Fairs, a DHI Group, Inc. service, complements other DHI offerings, which include technology job board Dice. The company has more than a dozen IT, Engineering & Cyber Security job fairs on its calendar.
These are only three of countless resources. State departments of labor, local chambers of commerce, business associations, colleges and universities, and others routinely host job fairs. To find events in your area, search at Google by city or state and “job fair” or “career fair.”
Given that today’s job seekers use online resources when hunting for a new position, you might wonder if “live” job fairs are typically well attended. HR Daily Advisor reports that 300 people recently lined up to attend a job fair they read about on social media … only to find the job fair had taken place two years earlier. Incidentally, the actual event attracted more than 2,000 job seekers.
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Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages. |