No. TBH It’s a huge red flag is a recruiter wants upfront payment with no guarantee at the end of it (or even if they ‘guarantee’ one). If the recruiters are so desperate for someone they want to organise a job fair, they can bloody well pay for it themselves.
Comment on Men Overran a Job Fair for Women in Tech
CaptainPedantic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Tangentially related, but are job fairs even worth it? In my limited experience, you wait in a long line for someone to tell you to apply online. I was better off getting a list of employers who were attending, and then looking through each of their websites.
tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 11 months ago
Smoogs@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Also watch out for the recruiters who give you a challenge to fulfill just to be considered. It’s free work they are looking for.
EnderMB@lemmy.world 11 months ago
My experience of going to a tech fair was:
- Great discussion with sourcing recruiter of Big Name Company, who loves CV and experience
- Get Business Card and told to apply online
- Apply online
- Ghosted/immediately rejected.
They’re basically box-ticking exercises for companies that want to work with specific organisations.
JonEFive@midwest.social 11 months ago
I’ve been on the opposite side. A company I used to work for did a table at a job fair once. The candidates who showed up to talk to us were mostly under qualified for the entry level position we were trying to fill. And by that, I mean that people with zero knowledge, training or experience in our industry. Even one class or a little knowledge might have sufficed.
We had one guy lingering near our table who really seemed to want to work with us even though his skill set didn’t fit our needs at all and we told him as much. The whole thing was a big waste of time for us, we never did another one after that.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 11 months ago
under qualified for the entry level position we were trying to fill.
Was it really “entry level” then?
tetelestia@lemmy.world 11 months ago
If “one class” or “a little knowledge” is enough, then yes, assuming it’s a position with advancement opportunities.
For a desirable or career type position, showing some initiative is not an unreasonable ask.
Gimpydude@lemmynsfw.com 11 months ago
Entry level means different things in different fields. Most skilled jobs do require some knowledge about the field, but don’t necessarily require previous work experience.
JonEFive@midwest.social 11 months ago
Thank you. This wasn’t a joke where we were like “entry level; requires 5 years of experience”. This job fair was at a community college… So it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to think that maybe someone there had some interest and at least a minimal level of training. Like I said, a class or two.
JonEFive@midwest.social 11 months ago
Yes. This wasn’t an open “literally anyone can do it” job. It’s entry level as in starting a path to a career. A certain aptitude is definitely necessary.
Let me ask you this, is a job that requires a two year degree and zero years of experience entry level? Because our requirements were even less than that.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I don’t know why you’re trying to convince me, its obvious its not as “entry level” as you thought, ans you cant find employees because the pay is very much “entry level”.
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 11 months ago
is a job that requires a two year degree and zero years of experience entry level?
Imo no, though companies use the term “entry level” VERY loosely.
Many career paths will substitute experience for a degree. But there need to be true entry level jobs to give them that experience.
It’s okay if you want someone who’s taken classes specific to your field, but I think it’s misleading to then call the job “entry level”.
systemglitch@lemmy.world 11 months ago
It used to be once upon a time. Because companies invested in people and fully trained them themselves.
Yes I know, times have changed.
Otome-chan@kbin.social 11 months ago
>hiring for entry level
>saying people are underqualified
The problem is with the companies, not the job seekers. Actually offer true entry level positions, and actually hire the people that apply.
JonEFive@midwest.social 11 months ago
Entry level doesn’t necessarily mean literally anyone can do it. What I meant was basically first job out of college. Except you could apply while you were still in college. If that isn’t entry level, I don’t know what is.
Otome-chan@kbin.social 11 months ago
Yeah those sorts of positions are usually locked to college students. So once you graduate you can no longer apply despite those being the positions you're qualified for.
LongPigFlavor@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I remember when a lady tried to scam me into an MLM at a job fair I attended several years ago.
I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I got scammed into attending a seminar for “business women empowering business women.” It was just this lady giving a talk about what a great job coach she is and then pressuring everyone into hiring her for $300 per month. She saw me as a mark and was really targeting me, I actually wrote the check for her first three months and was about to hand it to her, but saw the look in her eyes, looking at my check and realized I should just tear it up.
ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 11 months ago
It’s not a pyramid, it’s a triangle.
nonfuinoncuro@lemm.ee 11 months ago
reverse funnel
serial_crusher@lemmy.basedcount.com 11 months ago
If recruiters are trying to discriminate, and you have the attributes they’re discriminating in favor of, getting a face-to-face with them can be a way to get your foot in the door that doesn’t leave a paper trail.
Which really highlights how bad the job market is now. All the recruiters at this job fair are going to share the sentiments the organizers are expressing in this article. They’re there to hire women and are pissed at all the men who showed up, so significantly less likely to hire them… but those dudes are so desperate they still gave it a shot.
Otome-chan@kbin.social 11 months ago
I'm a woman and wasn't even at the event. No clue it was going on, and it seems like it'd be far too expensive for me to attend in the first place. If they're looking for women who are eager to work for them, they're looking in the wrong place.
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Which really highlights how bad the job market is now
I think we should specify, “in tech”. The greater job market is doing fine. Tech has been over hiring and over compensating for years.
Gork@lemm.ee 11 months ago
That’s been my experience as well. Totally pointless when they just want you to apply online. What’s the use of networking then?
Gork@lemm.ee 11 months ago
That’s been my experience as well. Totally pointless when they just want you to apply online. What’s the use of networking then?
squirrel@programming.dev 11 months ago
It depends on the job fair. My university’s job fair was as you describe. From talking to (women) classmates who attended Grace Hopper it sounded very worth it. The lines were short (in the mid 2010s anyway) and many of the companies in attendance were scheduling next-day, single round interviews with offers sent out by the end of the week. I have no idea if it’s still like that but I can’t say I’m surprised that male students have gotten desperate enough with the current job market to see if the stories are true.
afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I have not seen them as too useful.
Rentlar@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I think I figured it out… only rarely you’d get immediate interviews, but the idea is you get LinkedIn contacts to chat with later and industry insight, and something to tell recruiters/hiring managers that you did, but you dress it up in a way that shows you look for opportunity like “I met members of [industry/company] at a recruiting conference in [town]”. I found industry conferences to be more useful than jobfairs in this respect, but those can be a little to a lot expensive.
Otherwise it’s pretty much just being told to scan QR codes, business cards and maybe getting a couple plastic cups and pens.