Jobs Fairs Or Help, I'm A Small Business Owner, Get Me Out Of Here!!!

I would like to share with you today the delights of the Job Fair.





Whilst aimlessly wandering around the pages of the local rag, I came across a full colour spread on the local careers and jobs fair at the local leisure centre - why not I thought, after I had spotted that Business Link were going to there in the flesh, so I went along...

It is not often I picture myself standing in full suit and polished boots, in the middle of a basketball court. Not only was I inappropriately dressed for such a pounding match, but I also found myself surrounded by a maze of haphazardly erected plastered boards, not that dissimilar to an episode of Crossroads.


Standing alongside poor examples of personal hygiene

At the fair, which as you can imagine, was fairly popular (might have had something to do with the 2 million unemployed we now have roaming the streets) I was astounded by the examples of people looking for work, or at least I think that's what they were attempting to do - very few had actually made an effort with their dress. If there is one thing I have learned about business and that is this: If you want to be in business, dress like it.

This may be strange to swallow but I sit at my desk every day, albeit in the makeshift spare room in my house, in suit and waistcoat. Nothing odd about that, but consider this. If you were taking your company seriously, can you honestly say you would be able to conduct your business in your PJ's or something worse? If you could then great. Keep the Deputy Dog pyjamas on, but if not, then by all means put on what you would wear to the office normally. You can then find it easy, if nothing else, to separate work from home. When you finished work - you get changed.

The three elements of the Job Fair ranger

Whilst standing in the queue for the Business Link guru, I noticed that there were indeed three types of people who were trailing the aisles looking at all the various stands. They were:

• The white collar: There were only a mere handful of these and your heart went out to them. They obviously were not used to the cattle market approach to the Job Fair, and appeared to be fearful of diving into the middle like standing at a crowded bar waiting to be served. These people simply didn't look like they were actually going to come out of the fair with not even as much as an interview. If it were an ideal world, they would have been taking the Fair themselves and telling everyone all their wealth of experience and the working world.
• The faithful wife: These few ladies were a lot harder to spot. They were strong women, slightly down dressed but nevertheless serious about the day's conquest. They roamed each stand with a careful eye, sizing up the competition and standing patiently for a turn with the representative. They clutched their mountain of notes and CV writing info's and you know instinctively that they were going to be read and pondered with certainty, and why? Because behind each and every one of these working women, was a nervously looking man, who looked too frightened to find a job himself.
• The student: I use this term loosely because it covers a multitude of sins. They were the easiest to spot out of all of the groups, even the white collars. They were the unemployed and happy to remain so. Badly dressed, badly washed and not at all pleased to be there. I had never seen so many pairs of unkempt flip flops in the middle of May before, and not even a matching pair of socks. These people were ones you would not employ, even if you were eventually going to be an employer yourself.

All in all, these events are simply what you make of them. You can flit like a social butterfly from one business card to another, weaving a tightly knitted web of networking so tight that even your victims won't be able to get away from you, or you can drift in like the others, half interested and half not, stay for ten minutes then complain that there was nothing there. I would suggest in future that if for any reason you feel tempted to jump back into employment then go - they will make you feel better about yourself and when walking in a sea of helplessness, you'll find each rep on each stand trying to trip you up as you pass because they will want to employ you there and then. If, on the other hand, go if you find Business Link are going to be there. To be honest, I can't praise them enough, but the principle stays the same - they will help you as much as you are willing to help yourself. Step into the game halfheartedly and your return will be equalled...

onemum 2009