CHOOSE WISELY. Some experts insist there's no difference between events called career fairs and those called job fairs. Others believe career fairs are designed for students and interns, while "job fairs" are targeted to experienced workers, entry- or professional-level.
By any name, today's fairs are organized in a range of categories. In addition to fairs arranged by location (usually a city or a college campus), examples include: technical, engineering, security clearance, health, retail, aerospace, sales, marketing, management, professions, military/veteran, women and workplace diversity. A single company may stage a fair, or several companies share sponsorship; more often, fairs are marketed by commercial promoters.
When you learn of an interesting fair, contact the fair's promoter to make sure you're a good fit with the event. Also call the place where the fair will be held to verify that it's happening as its online schedule indicates, advises Susan Joyce, mastermind of Job-Hunt.org, a Web site that lists many important fairs.
LEARN MORE. When you're thinking about trolling fairs for job opportunities, find your footing with adequate online research. In addition to browsing for directories of fairs and the opinions of fairgoers, orient yourself with these two free online resources:
-- nationalcareerfairs.com; click advice
-- quintcareers.com,/a>; search for "career fair tutorial"
(E-mail career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at jlk@sunfeatures.com; use "Reader Question" for subject line. Or mail her at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007.)