Do I attend a Job Fair?

YES!! In this competitive job environment, getting a face-to-face opportunity with school district personnel is a must! For each job posting, school districts are receiving hundreds of online applications from teacher candidates trying to land a job. Attending a job fair, gives a candidate an opportunity to meet school district personnel, if only for a brief moment and gives the school district personnel an opportunity to put a face with a resume. When attending the job fair, first choose those districts that you are interested in and get to those booths first. You might want to create a checklist of the schools and who you get to talk to. There will be MANY attendees at the job fair, so be patient and have a strategy on which districts you want to target. At job fairs, you may have a "mini-interview"; so it is important for you to review short, concise responses to a variety of questions that you might be asked. Have copies of your resume that you can hand out, and a few copies of electronic portfolios that you can leave with some selected districts that you are more interested in. Find a way to stand out---so that the district personnel will remember you after you leave the booths. Dress professionally, but not too flashy. Do not get frustrated with the job fair process; use it as a learning experience to make contacts and don't expect to get a job at the job fair. Job Fairs are another way to make connections, determine which districts you feel match your beliefs and values, and prepare for applications to those districts once a vacancy is posted.