Excellent Turnout at Atlanta Career Expo

See a video clip of the 03/31/09 Women for Hire Career Expo!

The staff of Women for Hire (WFH) joined with volunteers to organize and run a terrific career event. Over 400 converged on Cobb Galleria for the career expo held in Atlanta, GA. Tory Johnson, the CEO of WFH, is also the workplace contributor for ABC's Good Morning America. Expo participants had the opportunity to meet with recruiters from area employers (Lowe's, McKessen, the US Gov't., etc), attend workshops on topics such as career transition and meet with professional career coaches and resume writers.

Career Coach John Long volunteered at the event. "The expo was a great success. The Women for Hire staff was friendly and professional and worked as an efficient team to ensure a well organized, smoothly run event. Participants were motivated and asked great questions as they spoke with recruiters and during the resume critiques and breakout sessions. My goal was to give participants targeted feedback on how they can immediately enhance their marketing materials, plus provide them with key resources for career transition. Thank you WFH for a great day in Atlanta."

Rethink Career & Job Fairs

Have you ever attended a job fair? Whether they are organized as a Job Fair, Career Fair, Career Expo or Career Event, etc., they CAN be worth your effort. Please don't dismiss them as cattle calls. There are some excellent events out there, events that not only truly focus on providing exposure to quality employers, but also on providing on the spot career coaching. The key to participating in fairs is to identify events that will provide you will access to qualified leads with motivated employers seeking new talent. And do your homework to identify specialty events that target specific industries/markets (Bio, MBA, Healthcare, Technology, Green, etc.).

Now don't let the term fair confuse you. You won't be eating cotton candy and riding the tilt-a-whirl...although some days of a job search may feel like you're spinning in circles or on the bumper cars. Remember to dress for success, bring copies of a polished resume and references and be prepared to enthusiasticaly market your skills, strengths and achievements. And no matter how long the day is and how long the lines are, keep smiling and project a professional, winning image. An added bonus - events that are organized by top career related firms, like Women For Hire, offer you real time access to career pros offering resume critiques and interviewing tips.

Check it out: the Women For Hire Career Expo scheduled for the Atlanta market, on 03/31/09 at Cobb Galleria. And it's not just for women - men are also encouraged to attend! I hope to see you there - join me for my presentation on Career Transition Strategies.

Here are links for other quality career events for the Atlanta Market:

CareerEco's Green Career Forum 03/26/09

MetroAtlantaJobs.com Listing of Career Fairs