Dress nice and wear deodorant.

If you have arthritis or another disability find out what accommodations are available; e.g., you may not enjoy playing the 'musical chairs' game for 1/2 hour while waiting for your 3 minute pre-interview.

The research plus no speeding ticket is funny, and true. Living in Detroit, I got an interview at a 'company' in Ann Arbor. I hit traffic on the 45 minute drive and got pegged for a points laden ticket on the way.

Showed up to what turned out to be the lobby of a Best Western conference center where one guy was hiring people for a glorified pyramid scheme under the guise of "Management" positions.

I ended up wasting more then half a day, plus payed more then 100 bucks out, for nothing.

Wear a freakin' tie, at least.

I won a job fair in a raffle one time. I didn't know what to do with it, so I never claimed it.

Women, wear a cross-body bag if you have a lot of resumes, or just hold your resumes. It makes you look clumsy if you've got a tote or purse that fits around one shoulder, and when you go to shake hands or lean down to take something off the table, your purse falls. Best case scenario: you avert disaster. Worst case scenario: you knock a bunch of stuff off the table and look like a mess.

Women should also dress professionally, as if they're going to an interview - because meeting HR people at a job fair constitutes as a first interview. HR people will not call you if you're dressed professionally.

Men need to wear a nice, clean tie, and an unwrinkled suit. Please match your shoes with your suit. No Vans or Converse, as cool as you think the look may be.

@pecan 3.14159265: No brown shoes with black pants either.

@downwithmonstercable: Patent leather white shoes go with everything.

Remember to be patient with the HR folks and explain your qualifications in non condescending way if they don't immediately understand what a CISSP, MCITP, CCIE is. They may not have the experience in your particular field.

Our Governor in Mississippi spent the better part of a week patting himself on the back for a job fair he put together a few months back. Just about EVERY recruiter there was giving out pamphlets giving the companys website address to go to and apply. I could have done that without wasting gas.

@HiPwr: *snicker*

Don't be offended if someone asks you to apply online instead of accepting your paper resume. Make the most of it; follow directions and follow up with an e-mail or phone call rather than huffing and stomping away like they just kicked your baby. Instead, compliment them on going green.

And go easy on the swag! One can only take but so many pencils and caribieners before it looks greedy.

@pecan 3.14159265: I am of the opinion that you should not bring your purse into the job fair/interview at all (for many of the reasons that you stated). When I do a training class for college seniors, that's one of the things I tell them - no bags if possible. If not possible, nothing that draws the eye, will dangle, or slide down your arm and take off my hand when we're shaking hands.

@pecan 3.14159265: I just wear my purse around the opposite shoulder so when I reach with my dominant hand it stays where it is.

@Aennan: Well, some people go to job fairs with resumes, and they know they'll have stuff they'll carry around with them. Sometimes it's easier to store that in a professional bag than to have it in your hands, especially if you need to shake hands a lot.

I got a job when I went to a job fair 3 years ago. In fact, I had 2 job offers from going to the job fair. But, unfortunately, I was laid off 2 years later when the bank failed and was seized by the FDIC.

My wife got a job at a job fair one time.

She didn't really have a resume, just filled out an application saying she was a self employed homemaker.

It was just a temp job with County Elections, but they wanted to hire her.

I filled out the same application, stating my years of work experience and I didn't even get a call back for an interview. I wore a tie that day.

I think she wore shorts and a t-shirt and no make-up.

Try and find a way to volunteer at the fair. I worked every fair my school held in college and it was a great way to schmooze as well as look productive and involved. I'd ask them if they needed water or anything and just chat about random stuff not related to the job at all and then after the fair I would e-mail them with my resume and a friendly note. However don't overdo it. There is a fine line between a friendly, social person and cheesy suck-up.

Don't wear a bluetooth headset!

@CommanderLogjam: Temp jobs are exactly that - temporary. If you're an upwardly mobile professional looking to get a job, chances are, you're looking for something permanent, and you've got the skills to qualify for something permanent so what's to stop you from jumping ship 3 months in when they wanted you there for 5? Your wife probably seemed much more reliable because she was looking for something to do, or to start a career in something. She wasn't likely to leave for a full-time permanent job.

@sicknick: I hear ya. The I696 roadtrip is a bear at times too but at least there are four to five lanes to keep things going most time.

@Shoelace: I agree 100%.

I had a co-op in college at an investment firm. It was one of those places where even the programmers come dressed in business professional every day.

They sent me to my school's job fair to recruit co-ops for the next year (collect résumés, take notes, etc) and one of my friends (a very talented programmer) showed up in jeans and a dirty t-shirt. I probably would have had no trouble talking the HR folks into hiring him if he hadn't shown up in such attire. As it was, other folks from the company saw him and surely noted his appearance.

Sure, dressing in a suit isn't going to get you a job by itself. But coming to a career fair dirty and smelly is a sure-fire way not to get hired.

@HiPwr: What a coincidence, I once won a raffle in a job fair! It was a $50 Visa gift card. Actually turned out to be pretty useful.

Would have been nicer to win an actual job, though. That would be a much better item to raffle off.

@pecan 3.14159265: I bet that dude had a better chance than most in that picture though. Check out the guy in a black t with his hands in his pockets. Yep,,,bet he's working at 7-11.

@pecan 3.14159265:

That should be a tip for life, not just for job fairs.

Last year, I traveled cross-country to a job fair specialized for my industry, only to hear several "HR reps" tell me to check for available jobs at their website, go to careerbuilder.com, go to indeed.com. The ones that did take interest, gave me their card and told me to email them in addition to applying online, I didn't hear back from. And I emailed them twice, only to be ignored. Wasted time; the vacation was very nice though.

@pecan 3.14159265:

This suggestion works in everyday life, too!

Remember folks, just because you're at a job fair, doesn't mean the drop the recruiters in the dunk tank. The State Fair of Texas is going on, and I don't think I've seen the deep-fried Resume yet.

I have found them useless. I dress professionally and always bring resumes in a nice leather binder, but never got anywhere with a job fair. Usually they are just there to talk about the company and refer you to the online application process. The MOST success I've had is by going door to door to businesses asking about openings and asking to talk to management, or finding someone you know within the company. Of course, by success I mean I actually get to talk to human beings before being rejected.

I've worked behind the table at a lot of job fairs and here's one really important piece of advice --- leave the dad-gummed kids at home! Pulling along 3 kids and your no-account hubby in his sweatpants and a "Home of the Whopper " t-shirt isn't going to impress me that you can manage your affairs enough to show up for work.

And don't send your mother table-to-table to pass out your resume because you were too tired to make it for a 2 pm job fair.

I don't even bother - just find who's going to be there, checkout their web sites and apply from there.

The last time I went to a job fair it was a dog show. None of the folks there were prepared to talk with engineers, but they were bragging how much they needed them. I figured I was wasting my time and left in disgust.

@pecan 3.14159265: I don't go to job fairs, but a professional bag or just a nice binder works way better than a purse for interviews in general.

The author didn't get a speeding ticket, she got a ticket for running a red light by an automated camera.

Anyway, my tip for avoiding speeding tickets is just to go 8 mph over all the time. I have gotten many speeding tickets in my life, but none in the last 5 years since I adopted this principle.

@LeChiffre: It was right at 275 and 7 mile, before getting on 14. Livonia cops are some of the worst about never giving you a break at all.

Be persistent but not annoying. My daughter was told at a job fair that "You have to be pre-screened to talk to the Pharmacuetical/Medical companies, and you must have Pharma/Med sales experience." Well, she didn't have any experience, but she finagled her way into that section and talked to them anyway. She got hired by one of the biggest medical companies in the world, and now, 3 years later, she's been promoted and they are also paying half her tuition at grad school.

Of course, she also wore a suit, behaved professionally, perfected her resume, etc. That should go without saying, though.

I agree wholeheartedly that you should dress appropriately and be organized with your resume and info, but honestly - if the job fair reps are screening people based on purse-shoulder-location-placement then it's probably not a job you want to look into anyway.

My advice: have resumes ready when you go to a job fair. When I went to a local school district's job fair years ago I spent time in the days ahead making several presentation folders with copies of my resume, teaching philosophy, transcript, diploma, and test scores (and I was dressed in a business suit). I interviewed with 5 schools that day and everyone of them was impressed when I stood up to leave from the interview and didn't ask for the folder back. The way I saw it, that resume folder was a visual reminder of who I was: "Hey you! I know you're sitting in your office now thinking about who you interviewed, but don't forget me!" I realize this won't work for everyone or every job, but I'd like to think it helped me get that job and showed that I thought ahead.

The last job fair I went to was the most depressing experience. Most of the jobs there were for call centers, convenience stores Domino's and Discount Cab. *sigh* I got all dressed up for nothing.

Oh, and armed services recruitment. What was more depressing were the amount of people in jeans and t-shirts, booty shorts and talking on their cell phones while taking information from the booths.

I haven't been back to one since then.

@pecan 3.14159265: NO WHITE SOCKS WITH DRESS SHOES!