Rabbi Mordechai Kruger. I would like to introduce you to two job hunters, Beryl and Yankel, who are considering attending a job fair, for example, the Parnassah Expo- or maybe they won’t. Beryl has a background in sales, and would like to find a company that is hiring salespeople. Yankel is looking for his first job. So of course they should go to a job fair-shouldn’t they?

Well, Beryl has some inside information on the companies that are going to be in the hiring section of the Expo, and there aren’t any that are looking for sales people. Yankel hasn’t been able to find much information at all, so he doesn’t know if there any options for an entry level position of any kind. Both of these job hunters know that to take full advantage of a job fair, they should prepare ahead of time, so they can start networking, and writing a resume that is specific to the position they are seeking. So if they can’t do that, what’s the point of going, right?

I have a general rule about job hunting. It says that whenever there is a question of whether you should pursue an option, or stay home and not pursue anything that day, the right answer is, get out and try something.  I’m not saying try anything. I don’t mean that at all. I mean you should be doing research and reading about job hunting, so you have a good idea of how to use the opportunities that come your way.  (Reading this column is a good start.) In this case, it would be nice to know that there are going to be companies at the fair that are hiring for the kind of positions you are looking for. Well, I can guarantee that there will be companies there that will be looking to hire people just like Beryl, or Yankel, or you.   

What I mean is that companies come to a job fair with a list of the positions they want to work on filling today. So today, they may not be taking resumes for sales positions. But tomorrow? Who knows? And that includes the companies that aren’t in the hiring section of the fair at all. If they employ human beings, then there is a possibility that tomorrow, or the next day, they may have an opening. People move away. Or retire. Or decide to expand a department.  Or whatever. And then they just might need someone just like you.

So regardless of whether someone at the fair has a job that fits you perfectly, or if there’s nothing there that fits you at all, there is something you should be doing. You should be learning all you can about the companies that are there. Beryl should come home with a list of the companies that have their own sales departments, and a list of the distributors that are used by the ones that don’t. Yankel should have a list of which companies hire entry level workers, and for what kinds of positions. Because the Expo will definitely be over at the end of the day, but Beryl and Yankel have a long-term project. They need to build a professional network that will help them learn about positions and companies, and they need to build themselves into the kind of candidate that can succeed when that dream position comes along.

Some days bring perfect opportunities, and some days bring lemons. But if you look at every day as a chance to learn and expand your network, then you’ll have a life-long supply of sweet lemonade