Job fairs: Companies now go it alone

by Jahna Berry - May. 21, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The job fair, a traditional avenue to search for work, has been downsized.

And some say its most recent incarnation is better for job hunters and employers.

Local employers are eschewing traditional fairs where job seekers could meet representatives of several companies from a smorgasbord of industries, hiring experts say. Instead, individual companies hold their own events to fill dozens or hundreds of jobs in a few days.

McDonald's hired 1,300 of the 14,000 Arizonans who applied for jobs during a one-day hiring spree in April.

Chandler-based grocer Bashas' interviewed 2,600 people over four days to fill 400 jobs this month. This week, financial-services company Vanguard sought to fill more than 90 jobs at its Scottsdale call center during two days of face-to-face interviews, and Phoenix energy-efficiency company Green Monster attempted to fill 100 jobs.

The new approach has advantages for both applicants and companies.

Employers have a chance to fill openings faster because managers can meet hundreds of job candidates face to face during a short period. Hiring managers can better spot talent that they might have missed otherwise, and the companies get a publicity boost during uncertain economic times.

For people looking for work, the pared-down job fairs provide coveted face time with hiring managers and the chance to be better prepared because of the specific focus on only one company or those in related fields.

The downside: The events still can be intimidating or overwhelming, some job seekers say. Arizona has a 9.3 percent unemployment rate. Economists say it will take four more years for the state to recover the 300,000 jobs it lost over the past 3?1/2 years. As a result, many hiring events, even for a single employer, can draw hundreds or thousands of applicants.

The crowds are a vivid reminder of how competitive the job market is, said Marvin Maldonado, 47, of Florence.

"It's elbow to elbow; they are pretty congested at times," said Maldonado, who was waiting for his turn to be interviewed for a call-center job at Vanguard's hiring event this week. The former warehouse manager has been trying to find full-time work since he lost his job in 2009.

"Everyone," the Florence resident said, "is trying to get that job for themselves."

Traditional fairs on wane

Single-company job fairs are popular because the old way wasn't working well, hiring experts say.

During traditional job fairs, companies from a range of industries would vie for the same pool of candidates. The economic downturn ensured there would be crowds, but those people wouldn't necessarily be the types of workers whom the participating companies needed.

Also, job seekers often could not adequately prepare for interviews because they might not know the full list of job-fair employers.

There were other problems, too. Around 2009, Jobing.com was beginning to have difficulty recruiting companies for its large job fairs because many firms either were cutting jobs, trimming their recruiting staffs or could not afford job-fair booth fees.

In February 2009, Jobing.com hosted a job fair with 150 employers that drew 15,000 job seekers. At the peak of the pre-recession boom, as many as 375 employers would attend to fill positions.

The online job-listings company hasn't held a similar event for roughly two years, spokeswoman Theresa Maher said. Since then, the company has focused on holding smaller hiring events that feature one or a handful of employers.

Now, Jobing.com as well as non-profit workforce groups like Goodwill of Central Arizona and government agencies are helping companies stage and publicize hiring events. Some organizers, such as Goodwill, will help companies with interviews and other event tasks if firms don't have enough staff to handle it on their own.

Selective hiring spree

The pared-down job fairs also seem to help answer pleas made by thousands of job seekers in recent years: Give me some human contact and make a hiring decision quickly.

Eighteen months ago, even a year ago, companies were often reluctant to publicize openings because they feared they would get a deluge of desperate job seekers. Applicants were encouraged to apply online first, and many companies discouraged face-to-face contact until they had a handful of finalists. Job seekers were often frustrated because, unless they were selected for interviews, their applications seemed to disappear into cyberspace.

Even at single-company job fairs, the online application isn't necessarily going away. People who apply in person at hiring events often are asked to submit a traditional online or paper application.

But the personal contact at single-company fairs can help employers save time and money, hiring managers say.

First, a person who shows up in person for an interview at a hiring event often wants the job more than some who merely sent in an online application.

"You see a different level of commitment," said Erik Navarro, human-resources director for the Rocky Mountain region of McDonald's USA LLC. "It's easy to send 29 applications online."

Also, a single-company job fair allows recruiters to get a quick face-to-face first read on industry-specific skills, which allows them to indentify good job candidates who may have slipped though the cracks online.

"When you interact with someone, you get an immediate sense of how they might interact with customers right off the bat," said Kristy Nied, spokeswoman for Bashas'.

"Sometimes, you get applications, and on paper, they sound like incredible candidates, and they lack the customer-service skills or vice versa."

A particular perk of single-employer job fairs is the chance to spread good news about the company.

Until recently, employers were loath to publicize that they had job openings because they didn't want to deal with the overwhelming flood of applications, said Sherene McLemore a workforce-project manager for Phoenix's Community and Economic Development Department.

"Now, companies are better about it," she said. "Also, it's kind of a way to say, 'We are here and doing well.' "

Making a case

For job seekers, hiring events offer precious time with hiring managers or a prospective boss in a field they hope to enter.

Ultimately, applicants hope to drive home points that aren't in the application and, potentially, elevate their application to the top of the pile.

At a Bashas' hiring event early this month in the West Valley, Ronny Maldonado, who has been out of work for several months, arrived at 9 a.m. and got an interview for a cashier job. "I'm optimistic," he said. "I think the interview was positive."

This week, newly minted Arizona State University graduate Mark Easterling II, 23, of Mesa, was interviewing for jobs at Vanguard's hiring event. He started looking for urban-planning jobs about two weeks before graduation but started looking in business-related fields because he saw few opportunities.

Easterling said he wasn't intimidated by the crowd of roughly a dozen well-dressed applicants sitting with him in Vanguard's lobby.

"I am here to outhustle. I am here to outshine," said Easterling, who added that confidence and researching the available positions ahead of time is key.

It appears that the strategy worked. Later, Easterling said that he was called back for a second interview.

Republic reporter Max Jarman contributed to this article. Reach the reporter at jahna.berry@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter at @jahnaberry.

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/21/20110521phoenix-job-fair-local-companies-events.html

clarence house contact detroit lions keane 49ers thorn