Our job fair series banner week is NEXT week, and it just for you the older worker! Visit WiserWorker.com for an event in your city. Are you ready for the job fair series?    My hope is that we can help you get ready so when you get to the job fair you are ready to get hired!  If you need more information drop me an email or call me (813) 775-6279.  I would love to hear from you!

Annually The Employment Guide holds hundreds of job fairs and our most common issue at job fairs is job seekers not knowing what to wear to a job fair.  Usually before we hold an event it is not uncommon to get many calls from job seekers asking that “what should I wear”?  I always answer the question the same: Dress like you would if you were going to an interview.  Because you are, job fairs are a place where you can and will talk to possible future employers in an interview setting.

Let’s face it—first impressions stick. Studies conclude that people form an impression of someone within the first 15-30 seconds. Given this time frame, your outward appearance makes up a majority of a potential employer’s first impression. Follow these simple rules to ensure you are dressing the part.

Standard Interview Dress: Men

Wear slacks

Wear a dress shirt or nice colored shirt

Wear dark dress shoes in good condition

Wear socks that match

Wear a belt that matches your shoes

Have well-groomed hair and nails

Standard Interview Dress: Women

Dress conservatively (preferably dark colors)

Wear a pantsuit, jacket and skirt, dress

Wear dark dress shoes with 1-3 inch heel in good condition

Wear hosiery that matches your outfit  

Have well-groomed hair and nails

As with a job interview, first impressions at a job fair are important. How you represent yourself sends an immediate message to employers about how serious you are in your job search. It isn’t always necessary to wear a suit to a job fair. However, you should leave the jeans and T-shirt at home. Business casual is usually the most appropriate — slacks and a collared shirt for men, and slacks or a skirt and a blouse for women. Make sure your clothes are clean and pressed.

Check WiserWorker.com blog for the latest tips on how to get the best experience at a job fair.

Best of Luck!

As a company we selected this statement to represent WiserWorker.com and our older worker program and almost 2 years later I look back and think of all that this statement stands for: Older Workers, Baby Boomers and helping them find jobs.  I remember sitting around the conference table trying to select a statement that truthfully described what we were doing and what we hoped to accomplish in the future and thinking “hmmm I wonder if WiserWorker.com will live up to this”. 

So what are we doing to help you the Older Workers find work?

As company our hope is that through the continue education and awareness process we will help make a change in the recruitment world, because recruiters are the people who are make the hiring choices. Still I think older job seekers have doubts…so our job is not done.  I wrote a blog about benefits and the part time employee. I received feedback asking: “do these companies really in fact hire older workers?”  Well the companies in that particular blog are part of AARP’s national employer team as well as advertisers on our site.  I have in the past worked with them and to the best of my knowledge not only do they hire older workers they make it a practice.  Apply with confidence and know you are the best candidate!

WiserWorker.com: We created an online job board specifically designed for the baby boomers and older worker demographic. We make changes to the site based on feedback we get from job seekers. Our product was designed to be user friendly and for you, so if you would like to see a change email and I will see what I can do.  

Job Fair Series: Along with The AARP Foundation are co-hosting our biggest job fair series ever.  Last year The Employment Guide hosted over 40,000 job seekers in 40 cities nationwide and we are here to top those numbers in 2008.

Helping YOU the job seeker; I implore you to confidently attend job fairs. Contact your local WorkSeach program provided by the AARP Foundation, you will be amaze!  Finally apply for jobs that interest and share your knowledge and experience with others

WiserWorker.com has been online for 6 months and our job fair series is in its second year, while we have scratch the surface of the older worker issue, and sure we have made some strides, I realize that we have a lot to do still.   Our goal is to create a marketplace where older workers can easily find the job of their dreams. We aren’t there yet but we are closer.