Military Installation Job Fairs: Setting Realistic Expectations for Veterans

This week I attended yet another job fair on a military installation, and I am slowly starting to discover a disappointing trend. These are not job fairs.

The Disconnect

These types of events are constantly being advertised and hosted on military installations under the idea that these employers are coming to base to find elite and dedicated candidates with unique skills and perspectives and are ready to hire ‘on the spot’. From personnel and multiple experiences, I can tell you that these are resource fairs, not job fairs.

Multiple times, I have signed up, waited in line, and walked from table to table clutching a stack of resumes during a job fair, only to walk away with the same pamphlets and ‘swag’ items that I pick up at every fair. I can’t really shove any more tins of mints or pens with a flashlight into my junk drawer.

A Better name for Military Job Fairs

I recently wrote an article titled ‘Veterans, Please Go To Job Fairs’, and with this recent revelation, I still believe in that, but I want to speak directly to the facilitators of these events. Do not call them job fairs; call them resource fairs. Veterans and service members are walking into these events with the hope that they will walk out with a job offer or letter of employment. But that is just not going to happen.

In most cases, the vendors attending these events cannot even hire ‘on the spot’. Government agencies have a lengthy hiring process that requires multiple tests and physical exams. And these are the organizations that actually attend. Many times, several of these agencies don’t realize that there is a vetting process to get on the installation that the event is held on, and they don’t plan ahead to get screened to set up in time to assist excited and nervous prospective employees.

What is the solution?

The bottom line is this: if you know the organizer of a hiring event, really take a look at the attendees and see who is actually hiring. Can they hire on the spot? Is that representative even able to offer a job, speak to what the company is looking for other than showing off a QR code for hungry veterans to scan, or fill out a last-minute Excel spreadsheet asking for personal contact info? If they can’t, and that company cannot provide a subject matter expert or HR representative, it is technically a resource fair. It may be a useful tool for some early in their job search, but for those farther along, it can be discouraging.

The right questions will help companies and veterans make the right connections at the right time. Empty billets and frustrated job searchers aren’t the intended outcome. But if we’re not careful, that is what we’ll have at the end of the day. It’s important to set expectations and change the process where possible.