Yesterday, I participated in the Employment Guide/FOX2 Hire Commitment Job Fair at Motor City Casino.  Hundreds of people braved the snowy weather to meet with employers…hoping to land a job.  As I talked with jobseekers who visited my booth, some things emerged for me that I’d like to share.

The biggest thing that people are missing is not how to dress (although there were people who were inappropriately dressed) or how to write a resume (yet, there were people taking advantage of the free resume critiquing services) or even how to give your 30-second commercial (but, really no one had a definite pitch to give when they approached me.)  What’s the biggest thing people are missing?  It’s the right attitude.  And I’m not talking about the power of positive thought.

If you want to have a positive job fair experience, you need to go into it with a “success attitude.”  How do you define what a success is?  How will you know you have had a successful job fair experience?  What will you walk away with from the fair that will tell you that your time was well spent?  If your answer is “a job,” you’re setting yourself up for failure.  You have NO control over whether or not you are hired by someone at the job fair.  But, what DO you have control over?  Here’s my story.

I use to think success at a job fair meant that I’d sell lots of books.  But you know what?  I had no control over that, and when I didn’t sell ANY books or just a COUPLE books, I left a job fair feeling dejected and even blaming people for not wanting to invest in their success.  I would spend my time focusing on what DIDN’T happen, and lost sight of the opportunities that were all around me.  I realize now that much like someone looking for a job, I had no control over who bought my book at a job fair.  But I did have control over making every job fair I attended a positive and profitable experience.

My last few job fairs have been extremely positive experiences because I’ve stopped focusing on selling books and started focusing on two things:  connecting with people with whom I can collaborate and helping as many people as possible understand how to conduct a meaningful job search by exploring how they might be getting in the way of their own success.

It’s been an amazing epiphany.  I’ve connected with colleges, universities, and community groups who want to spread my message that YOU CAN LAND A JOB EVEN IN A CRUMMY ECONOMY, and I’ve gotten to talk with people about how they are looking for a job and helping them see the possibility of going at the same game using new tactics to get better results.

Let me tell you, I have left these job fairs feeling hopeful.  I see opportunity.  I hear ah-hah’s.  It’s a great feeling!

So if you’re going to a job fair, and you are leaving feeling worse than when you walked in, ask yourself what your goal was.  Was it something you have no control over (like landing a job right then) or was it something that was more within your reach (like connecting with people that can help you or people you can help)?