Summer Career Fairs are a Great Place to Start Your Job Search

Many online and in-person career fairs are taking place this July and August. Taking part in a career fair is a good way to practice talking about yourself, your skills and your strengths. Career fairs also give you an opportunity to learn more about what kinds of jobs you might like and about job openings from employers and recruiters. You may even get an interview on the spot!

Ticket to Work Virtual Job Fair (Online)

The Ticket to Work program will host its next Virtual Job Fair on August 24, 2016, from 11:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. ET. This is a national event, so participating employers will have jobs throughout the United States. Sponsored by Social Security, the job fair will connect you to companies that work with the government. These companies have job openings for people with many different skill and experience levels. They are most interested in hiring qualified people with disabilities.

You should register if you are:

•   A Ticket to Work participant,
•   Using your ticket to get services from an approved Employment Network (EN) or your state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency, and
•   Ready to work 

Here’s how to register:

•   Fill out the consent form at www.choosework.net/vjfconsent,
•   Give the form to your EN or state VR agency to keep on file, and
•   Register at  https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/QReg.htm?ShowKey=32842
  (we’ll confirm your registration after checking your eligibility to participate)

Diversity Employment Day Career Fairs (In-Person)

Diversity Employment Day Career Fairs give recruiters access to the largest pool of diverse, multi-cultural, qualified professionals in the United States. It is the only career fair that targets women, minorities, seniors, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people and people with disabilities (all groups covered under the Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964). Diversity Career Fairs are held every year in most major cities where the mayor and/or governor proclaim "Diversity Employment Day."

• July 20 – Seattle, WA
• July 27 – Orange County, CA
• August 17 – Denver, CO
• August 24 – Portland, OR

Veteran Recruiting (Online and In-Person)

Veteran recruiting virtual career fairs connect service members, veterans and military spouses leaving the service to employers in real time. These career fairs are conducted online so you can participate from anywhere in the world. More than 150,000 veterans have been hired by companies participating in the online veteran recruiting fairs.

•   July 15 – CAREERS & the disABLED Career Expo (New York, NY)
  Register online for this free, in-person Annual Career Expo to meet with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies recruiting employees
•   August 16 – Disabled Veterans Virtual Career Fair 10KDAV (Online)

Hiring Our Heroes (In-Person)

Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, helps veterans, service members and military spouses leaving the service to find meaningful employment. Hiring Our Heroes has hosted more than 560 hiring fairs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

• July 12 – El Paso, TX
• July 15 – Detroit, MI
• July 16 – Houston, TX
• July 26 – Montgomery, AL
• July 28 – Fort Indiantown Gap, PA  
• July 28 – Atlanta, GA
• August 2 – Columbia, SC
• August 4 – Lexington, KY
• August 9 – Washington, DC
• August 10 – Omaha, NE
• August 18 – Kansas City, MO
• August 25 – New Orleans, LA

RELATED RESOURCE: How to get the most out of a Virtual Job Fair