If you don’t subscribe to Nick Corcodilos’ Ask the Headhunter newsletter, you are missing out on a wealth of information not to mention his tongue-in-cheek delivery. His newsletter today covered job fairs and HR. Here are a few of my favorite gems from today’s edition:
Unadvertised openings are in managers' heads. HR doesn't know about them.
Companies go to job fairs because HR clearly has nothing better to spend its money on.
I'll bet that job fairs even provide "Useful Tips" to HR departments in which they explain, "You can send your greenhorn clerks instead of expensive managers to the fair! Save money and still get applicants!" So HR saves money while appearing very busy.
I hope that most of my readers (senior finance executives) understand that these two strategies (job fairs and job postings) are the LEAST effective and the biggest waste of time … but since they are easy, their subtle deception serves as a trap.
Remember, job fair representatives are HR, who have no decision-making authority. Jobs are posted by HR whose job it is to screen OUT, not in.
Recently I was asked to assist in putting together a job fair and I politely refused. But that’s what you do and your expertise is needed, came the reply. While that may be true, my high value of integrity would not let me mislead others into doing something I coach my clients never to do.