Diverse Careers

In sales, there's a technique many seasoned salespeople would tout as the most important tool to have in your kit- the 30 second sales pitch- aka, the elevator pitch.

Selling your brand means grabbing someone's attention and getting information out in the most effective way possible, even if you only have an elevator ride to speak to them. This means you need a script in your head, ready for whoever you might bump into- you never know, it might be your next major client you're speaking with.

The same scenario can apply to job seekers. It may not seem that way sometimes, but when you are on a job hunt your ultimate goal is to sell yourself to a company in hopes they will invest in you and take you on to the team. You may find yourself in situations where you have less than a minute to sell yourself to the CEO or hiring manager to a company, and it's a good idea to have your "sales pitch" ready at a moment's notice.

According to this article by Businessweek, a person can make a lasting impression on someone in as little as 2 seconds- and you'd definitely want that to be a positive lasting impression on a potential employer.

Here are some tips for creating your elevator pitch-

Diverse Careers is pleased to announce that our 2011 calendar of events has been finalized and posted on our website. We will be exhibiting at the following places over the course of 2011:

• Los Angeles, CA
  January 20, 2011
  

• San Diego, CA
  February 24, 2011
  

• Ontario, CA
  March 23, 2011
  

• Santa Ana, CA
  April 21, 2011
  

• Los Angeles, CA
  May 12, 2011
  

• San Diego, CA
  June 22, 2011
  

• Ontario, CA
  June 29, 2011
  

• Santa Ana, CA
  August 25, 2011
  

• Los Angeles, CA
  September 21, 2011
  

• San Diego, CA
  October 6, 2011
  

• Ontario, CA
  November 16,2011
  

• Santa Ana, CA
  December 8, 2011
  

Event details- including lists of exhibitors that will be presenting- will be posted closer to the event date. We're looking forward to a productive year bringing employers and job seekers together at our career fairs!

The Orange County Career Fair is almost here- it's December 8th at the Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County Airport. As always, the event is free to job seekers, and no pre-registration is required.

Here's a look at the employers that will be exhibiting at the event:

• Aflac
• American Career College
• Auto Club of Southern California
• BluFi Direct Mortgage
• Bridget's Essence of Beauty
• Brownson Technical School
• Farmers Insurance
• Forest Lawn Memorial
• Independent Capital Management
• International City Mortgage
• Kaiser Permanente
• National University
• New York Life Insurance Company
• Pre-Paid Legal Services
• Standard Tel Networks
• The Art Institutes
• The Wellness Company
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• University of Phoenix
• Wells Fargo
  

The address for the event is 201 East MacArthur Blvd., Santa Ana, CA 92707

Please dress professionally and bring several copies of your resume.

Employers interested in exhibiting at the event please email info@diversecareers.com for more information.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Inland Empire Career Fair wrapped up last Wednesday, November 17th, with around 840 job seekers attending the event.

We were pleased to see many returning exhibitors, such as the LAPD, Farmers Insurance, and Enterprise Rent a Car, as well as some new faces, like ESRI and AM 1510 KSPA Ontario.

Diverse Careers also had the pleasure of welcoming several delegates from Chinese companies to the fair. The Chief of Protocol from the County of Orange reached out to Diverse Careers, Inc. to have the delegates visit the career fair. The visitors were high level executives and human resource professionals from China conducting labor market research.

The visitors were greeted by a representative from the Employment Development Department and Diverse Careers, Inc. The delegates also had an opportunity to meet and ask questions of some of the hiring managers in order to learn more about the labor market.

One of the recruiting officers from the LAPD even filmed a testimonial at the event for Diverse Careers, which can be seen here:


We're looking forward to one more event to close out 2010- December 8th in Orange County. The 2011 schedule of events will be posted soon, and as always we hope to see you there.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DIVERSE CAREERS, INC. ANNOUNCES ORANGE COUNTY CAREER FAIR
TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH – 10:00am to 2:00pm

Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County Airport
201 E. MacArthur Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92707

Santa Ana, Calif. -- Diverse Careers, Inc. would like to invite job seekers and employers to participate in the Orange County Career Fair on December 8, 2010 from 10am to 2pm at the Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana located at 201 E. MacArthur Blvd., Santa Ana, CA 92707.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to participate. This recruiting event is open to everyone and is FREE to all job seekers.

Diverse Careers, Inc. is a job board website and career fair management company located in Southern CA. Diverse Careers, Inc is proud to promote and support Diversity in the workplace. We also believe in creating an inclusive environment for all job seekers. The mission of Diverse Careers, Inc. is to connect the best talented job seekers with great companies while supporting Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. Career opportunities range from entry level to senior executive. Career Fairs are held in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire.

Companies are still registering for this event, but some of the exhibitors include: Aflac, Auto Club of Southern California, Farmers Insurance, Forest Lawn Memorial, Kaiser Permanente, National University, The Art Institutes, United States Customs and Border Protection, University of Phoenix, Wells Fargo, and many more!

Upcoming events include: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, and Inland Empire.

Employers and Recruiters interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event should contact Marcel Abandonato at marcel@diversecareers.com.

Exhibitors interested in participating may also click here to register.

For more information please visit www.diversecareers.com.

The Inland Empire Career fair is rapidly approaching- it's November 17th at the Hilton Ontario Airport. The event will open at 10 am and will go until 2 pm. The career fair is free to job seekers- so come dressed professionally and bring copies of your resume.

Here's a look at the employers who will be exhibiting at the fair:

• Aflac
• AM 1510 KSPA Ontario
• American Career College
• Auto Club of Southern California
• Employment Development Department
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• ESRI
• Farmers Insurance
• Kaiser Permanente
• Los Angeles Police Department
• New York Life Insurance Company
• NTMA Training Centers
• Prudential Financial
• The Art Institutes
• Trilogy Financial Services, Inc.
• University of Phoenix
• Vantani, Inc.
• West Coast Ultrasound Institute
• World Financial Group
  

Past events at the Hilton were a hit with both employers and job seekers- view some of the comments here:





If you have any questions or comments about the event, please contact info@diversecareers.com

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010
10:00am to 2:00pm
Hilton Ontario Airport
700 N. Haven Ave.
Ontario, CA 91764

Much like the job-seeking individuals I discussed last month, businesses have a lot to gain from social media- it's not just for posting pictures of the kids or wasting time online. With millions of people spending hours online perusing the delights of Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, it would be silly not to tap into that vast resource as a means to brand, advertise, and recruit for your company. Not only can a business interact with customers on a more social level, the can conduct market research, receive product or service feedback, and they can advertise open positions within their company. Here's a look at what your company can do to start implementing a media program:

1) Have a goal. With so many people on social media sites, it's important to not just post and hope something will happen. Keeping a goal in mind, whether it's increasing site traffic, gaining customer feedback, or boosting company rapport, will help drive your online conversation, and keep your content from becoming too disconnected. This isn't to say that you should only work on one thing- just plan something to work towards to keep your conversation more focused and to hopefully bear some results.

2) Use it frequently. Once you've established your Facebook page, Twitter profile, or blog, don't just abandon it with a few posts. The more frequently you update, the higher chance you have of appearing in real-time search on Twitter or in Google results. Similarly, frequent posts shows that you are current, you care, and that you're company is committed to being engaged with the community.

3) Be social, not stodgy. Social media experts- as well as users- agree- no one likes to be spammed. When your posts all read like an advertisement or a promotion, users will be turned off and read it as spam. Make sure to make your content as cordial, friendly, and real as possible- the key word in "social media" is "social" after all.

4) Interact. Facebook pages and blogs are a good place to initiate forums and take polls of your customers, as well as a great place to get feedback for your products or services. Take time to read and interact with customers on the site- engage them in discussion, or respond to any comments they may leave on the site- even the bad ones. This is a good way to boost customer morale and show that your company really does care.

5) Track your progress. It's easy to feel like a social media program is doing you no good if you can't see any of the results it may be yielding. Sites like Google Analytics can track traffic to your website, while Facebook pages for businesses have built-in insights and they can send you weekly updates on your traffic. Twitter Counter is also a great way to track your tweets- it gives you analytics on followers, content, and replies.

For further reading on the topic, Inc.com put together a great list of 30 tips for social media for businesses- there’s some really good tricks to kick start a social media plan. So get out there, connect, be yourself, and have fun. It’s possible to be professional and friendly, and your customer base will be happy for it. And if you do it properly, your business will be better for it.

Even though they're still a relatively new form of interaction, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have become so popular it would be silly not to have some kind of presence online if you're job hunting. Creating a presence online lets you put your personality out there, allows you to interact with other people, and it's a great networking tool.

It's important to not just jump into it and post willy nilly, however. If you're out to make an impression and connect with the business world, there are certain things you'll want to know, and certain things you won't want to say.

1) First things first-Always read the privacy statement before signing up. In particular, Facebook changes it's privacy policy relatively frequently, so it's a good idea to know how your information is being used (such as allowances to use what you post on your site for targeted ad purposes), and how to protect yourself if you feel it's being misused. Facebook is rife with rumors and people posting status updates about privacy policy rumors (such as the ever-popular "Facebook is selling pictures of your kids" rumor), so knowing what you are actually dealing with is a good way to avoid panic.

2) Know who can see your profiles. If you don’t want people seeing your information or able to Google you, make sure the privacy policy allows a totally private profile. That being said, it’s not necessarily a bad idea to have some info public, especially if you want to make an impression on an employer searching for you. On Twitter especially it's far more common to have a public profile than a private one- one of the many great things about Twitter is unique in its ability to allow interacting across the globe without fear of having too much personal info public (on Twitter your profile has a picture and a your tweets- not much else to show your identity unless you choose to tweet about it). However, even though it's fine to have a public profile, you need to be extra careful what you say if you chose to have one (and please, don't publicly post any private information like phone numbers). A potential employer can and will search for you on the net, and your Twitter and Facebook pages will come up- and any public information will be added to their impression of you. So if you tweet that you hate your job, or post a status update of something vulgar, a potential employer could see that and gain a negative perspective of you.

3) Be aware of who you’re interacting with. For the same reasons you don’t want employers to see you posting anything too wild or crazy, you wouldn’t want them to see that your friends tagged you in an album featuring tequila shots last Saturday. You can “un-tag” yourself in any pictures your friends have posted on Facebook, removing yourself from the possibility that an employer would see them on your Facebook page. The same goes for any unflattering wall posts your friends may have made- it’s fairly simple to take them down. Don’t want to take them down? Just make sure your wall and your photos are marked as “Friends Only.”
4) Speak up. While it’s important to watch what you say, you don’t just want to be a lurker. Interact, connect, share, and comment- anything that will show your personality, your strengths, and your intelligence. This doesn’t mean you should just comment on everything and anything so you can get your two cents in- think it through, make it count, and people you are trying to connect with will really get a chance to see you shine. One great way to show your expertise? LinkedIn Answers allows users to create Q & A forums in which you can post answers to work force-related quandaries.

5) Follow companies you are interested in. On top of receiving the latest news on promotions, events, and changes within the company, following a company on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn is a good way to stay on top of the hiring game. Many companies not only host jobs on social media sites, they will post news and links to hiring or hiring events they are holding.

6) Join LinkedIn. LinkedIn is especially great for job seekers- you can get recommendations from current and former coworkers, connect with professionals, and participate in job-related forums. It’s important to build your network on LinkedIn- since its atmosphere is solely professional, it’s quickly becoming one of the first places employers look when they are checking out applicants or doing recruiting. LinkedIn can serve as a good replacement for Facebook or Twitter if you feel those sites are too personal to be public- the platform is professional, but there’s enough interaction on the site that you can easily build a positive presence online. It’s easy to build relationships with professionals too- using the “degrees” feature, you can see who your network is connected to and ask for introductions from your friends. It’s like Six Degrees of Separation, LinkedIn style- instead of ending up at Kevin Bacon, you end up adding more professionals to your network.

Social media may seem like an invasion of privacy or an invitation to be wild on the internet, but it’s not- with the right mind set, your online presence can boost your potential, which is something we all can hope for when searching for a job.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DIVERSE CAREERS, INC. ANNOUNCES INLAND EMPIRE CAREER FAIR
TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH – 10:00am to 2:00pm

Ontario, Calif. -- Diverse Careers, Inc. would like to invite job seekers and employers to participate in the Inland Empire Career Fair on November 17, 2010 from 10am to 2pm at the Hilton Ontario Airport located at 700 N. Haven Ave., Ontario, CA 91764.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to participate. This recruiting event is open to everyone and is FREE to all job seekers.

Diverse Careers, Inc. is a job board website and career fair management company located in Southern CA. Diverse Careers, Inc. is proud to promote and support Diversity in the workplace. We also believe in creating an inclusive environment for all job seekers. The mission of Diverse Careers, Inc. is to connect the best talented job seekers with great companies while supporting Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. Career opportunities range from entry level to senior executive. Career Fairs are held in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire.

Companies are still registering for this event, but some of the exhibitors include: Aflac, American Career College, Auto Club of Southern California, Employment Development Department, ESRI, Farmers Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, NTMA Training Centers, Prudential Financial, The Art Institutes, University of Phoenix, and many more!

Upcoming events include: Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Employers and Recruiters interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event should contact Marcel Abandonato at (951) 479-1350 or marcel@diversecareers.com.

For more information please visit www.diversecareers.com.

Diverse Careers' latest career fair, help in San Diego, was another successful event. We had 25 companies exhibiting at the Doubletree Hotel. Nearly 650 attendees came out to meet the recruiters, all eager to see what they had to offer.

Many of the employers expressed that they were pleased with the event and look forward to the next one.

“I’ve been with my company for almost 9 years and am always excited when Diverse Careers comes to San Diego," a representative from Mass Mutual Financial Group said. "It is very well organized and the candidates I meet are 'qualified and professional.' To take part in the event has always been successful for us. Thank you for the opportunity.”

As always, it's a pleasure to hear such great comments from exhibitors. We're looking forward to putting on the next career fair, to be held in the Inland Empire, and to the next great crowd of job seekers!

Diverse Careers is pleased to announce that the following employers will be exhibiting at the San Diego Career Fair:

• Aflac
• Big 5 Sporting Goods
• Bridget's Essence of Beauty
• California American Water
• California Dental Certifications
• Coleman University
• Independent Capital Management
• ITT Technical Institute
• Kaiser Permanente
• Mass Mutual
• Matrix Direct
• New York Life Insurance Company
• Primerica
• Pacific Tank Lines
• Prudential Financial
• Register Tapes Unlimited L.P.
• San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.
• The Art Institutes
• The Wellness Company
• University of Phoenix
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego/Mission Valley, from 10 am to 2 pm on October 14th. Come dressed professionally and bring copies of your resume!

We hope to see you there!

So you sent your resume, applied for a job, and you scored an interview. You go in, meet with the recruiter, shake some hands, and answer some questions. You know that your interview went really well, but you also know that there's quite a few other people vying for the same position. What should you do to ensure you stay ahead of the pack?

Well, according to some online experts, the number one thing to do is follow up!

Following up with a company you interviewed with not only shows that you are appreciative of the time and effort they spent in meeting with you, it also shows initiative and respect, and it's a good common courtesy to extend to someone. According to Admin Secret, following up is a great added way to leave your mark on an employer- and given the right process, this could definitely benefit your job search.

Here's some expert tips on following up after an interview:

1) Send a follow up email. According to Huffington Post consultant Christine Hassler, it's a good idea to shoot the person you interviewed with (be sure to find out how to contact them before leaving) a brief email stating your appreciation for their time and that you are looking forward to their response. This gives you a chance to open the discussion for follow up- Christine recommends naming a date you'll be calling them- and to re-address anything in the interview.

2) Send a thank you note. According to this article by Admin Secret, only a few interviewees ever send thank you notes- which means if you send one, you have a great chance to stand out from the crowd. On top of that, as mentioned before, it shows you respect the interviewer and appreciate the time he or she took to meet with you. Be sure not to use any flowery, frilly, or otherwise unprofessional stationary- you still want to maintain a professional appearance with the company. And another thing- employers will be interested to know that you have good communication skills- a thank you note (the same with an email) is a great way to show off your writing proficiency, as pointed out by Admin Secret.

3) Make a phone call. After you've sent the email and a thank you note and waited an allotted amount of time, many experts say that it is OK for you to call an interviewer back- just be sure not to be a nuisance. Employment blog Movin' On Up suggests trying to get in contact with an actual person (preferably one who was present at your interview) and avoiding leaving a message. Don't leave too many messages either- keep in mind that it's possible the person you interviewed with may not be ready to contact you.

While good interviewing skills are important, a great follow up could be the edge you need to secure a position with an employer. Second impressions do count, so remember to keep it professional, keep it brief, and please, always make sure to proofread.

The LA Career Fair is rapidly approaching- it takes place this week Thursday, September 23rd, at the Hilton LAX. Here's a look at the employers who will be exhibiting at this fair:

• Adrianna's Insurance
• Aflac
• American Career College
• Argosy University
• Auto Club of Southern California
• Carmax Auto Superstore
• Casa Loma College
• Coca-Cola Enterprises
• Forest Lawn
• GMAC Mortgage
• H&R Block
• Kaiser Permanente
• LA College International
• Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Los Angeles Fire Department
• Los Angeles Police Department
• Loyola Marymount University
• Mid Valley Periodontics & Dental Implantology
• National Life of Vermont
• New York Life Insurance Co.
• Prudential Financial
• SOS Nurses On-Call
• Southern California Edison
• The Art Institutes
• University of Phoenix
• West Coast Ultrasound Institute
• World Financial Group

For more information on the fair, please check out our Facebook page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DIVERSE CAREERS, INC. ANNOUNCES SAN DIEGO CAREER FAIR
TO BE HELD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14TH – 10:00am to 2:00pm

Doubletree Hotel San Diego/Mission Valley
7450 Hazard Center Drive
San Diego, CA 92108

San Diego, Calif. -- Diverse Careers, Inc. would like to invite job seekers and employers to participate in the San Diego Career Fair on October 14, 2010 from 10am to 2pm at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego/Mission Valley located at 7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92108.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to participate. This recruiting event is open to everyone and is FREE to all job seekers.

Diverse Careers, Inc. is a job board website and career fair management company located in Southern CA. Diverse Careers, Inc is proud to promote and support Diversity in the workplace. We also believe in creating an inclusive environment for all job seekers. The mission of Diverse Careers, Inc. is to connect the best talented job seekers with great companies while supporting Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. Career opportunities range from entry level to senior executive. Career Fairs are held in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire.

Companies are still registering for this event, but some of the exhibitors include: Aflac, California Dental, California American Water, Coleman University, ITT Technical, Kaiser Permanente, Prudential Financial, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, The Art Institutes, Wells Fargo, and many more!

Upcoming events include: Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Inland Empire.

Employers and Recruiters interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event should contact Marcel Abandonato at (951) 479-1350 or marcel@diversecareers.com.

For more information please visit www.diversecareers.com.

Career Fairs can be tricky to navigate, for both job seekers and employers. You need to meet with a lot of people, give a great impression, and find out what you need to know from a recruiter or a job seeker in a very short amount of time. On the spot interviews require a great deal of finesse on the part of the recruiter. Here's a few tips to make that on the spot interview great, picked up from some online experts.

DO Have a goal for the meeting: According to this article by Jobing, you'll want to have a pretty solid idea of what you are looking for in a candidate before you even meet them. This goes especially for on the spot interviews- soft skills, personality, and a short amount of background will all need to be garnered in a 5-10 minute meeting, and it will all go smoother if you know what to look for, and thus, what questions to ask.

DON'T Come unprepared. Even if you are only recruiting for a few positions within your company, it's a good idea to have a general idea about other potentially open positions, company policies (such as benefits, hiring processes, and human resources procedures), and job descriptions, according to this article by recruiter Kirk Baumann. Many job seekers might be attending a fair looking for an entry level position in your company, even if you are only recruiting for upper level management. You don't want to turn down a good potential candidate because you don't know what your company is offering. At the very least, according to the article, know where to send the job seeker for more information, such as the company's website.

DO Ask about experience, but be sure to ask for specifics. This article by HR Manger lists some very common interview questions that employers ask. While it's not bad to ask these questions, the questions can lead to generic answers from job seekers who have heard that question before. Ask more directed, specific questions about the job seeker's experience, that way they won't give you a rehearsed answer and you'll get a better idea of the candidate's character.

DON'T Ask about personal life. While it may seem benign, asking about age, race, disability, and religion in an interview is illegal- something you definitely want to avoid in an on the spot interview, according to this article by Yahoo Finance. In order to protect employees' rights against discrimination, laws have been put in place at the federal, state, and local level to ensure employers don't ask questions that could disqualify an employee based on discriminatory information. You want to hire an employee based on his or her experience and qualifications anyway, so keep the conversation away from topics that could be construed as discrimination.

Some further tips:
DO Ask the person what they are looking for career-wise. It's a good idea to find out right off the bat what the candidate is looking for, that way, you can establish early on if your company is offering what he or she is aspiring for.

DO Follow up. Candidates that you spoke with will be looking forward to your call. It's a great courtesy to follow up soon with someone you interviewed with, even if it's to tell them that they weren't right for the position. Being polite, respectful, and courteous can soften bad news. And remember, potential candidates can also be potential customers or clients for a company, so it's a good idea to make positive connections with anyone you come across in a career fair.

DO Maintain a positive outlook. Interviews can be nerve-wracking for both recruiters and job seekers- who hasn't been nervous for an interview? Just be sure to smile and keep a positive attitude- your positivity will come out in the way you talk and put the candidate at ease, which will be better for both of you.

Thursday proved to be a good day for many employers attending the Orange County Career Fair at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana. A total of 21 employers exhibited at the fair, while approximately 830 job seekers came out to put their best face forward and meet with the recruiters.

Many employers were pleased with the turn out and expressed that they would be interested in coming to the next one.

"Another great event!" was the comment from Trilogy Financial Services.



With summer vacation ending, we're hoping to see an even larger attendance at our next career fair- September 23rd at the Hilton Los Angeles. For updates, information, and a full list of employers at the next event, stay tuned, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for updates!

This coming Thursday, we will be hosting a career fair at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana. We hope to see you there, dressed to impress with lots of resumes on hand. The following employers have already registered:

• Aflac
• Allied Business Schools
• American Career College
• Auto Club of Southern California
• California Dental Certifications
• DebtPro123
• Farmers Insurance
• Forest Lawn Memorial
• Los Angeles Police Department
• New York Life Insurance Co.
• Pacific Life
• The Art Institutes
• The Wellness Company
• Trilogy Financial Services, Inc.
• United States Army
• University of Phoenix
• Wells Fargo
• World Financial Group
  

The fair is free to job seekers, and will begin at 10 am. Hope to see you there!

Positivity seems to be an increasing trend in the economy as of late. News channels seem to be airing fewer stories about the downturn, and the job market seems to be slowly but surely leveling out.

According to a recent Labor Market Outlook study done by SHRM, employers are even becoming more confident about the job market. According to the survey, 56% of participants reported “some level of confidence in the U.S. job market” (LMO Q3 2010, pg 1).

Furthermore, as shown in SHRM’s latest LINE Report (Leading Indicators of National Employment), more employers are looking at taking on more employees and making fewer layoffs. The report also shows new hire compensation in the manufacturing and service industry growing, an indicator that the market is turning around.

With statistics like these, it’s hard not to be positive. Staff levels within companies are, for the majority, staying solid or taking on new people, rather than making layoffs- only 15% were making layoffs in the third quarter, as opposed to 22% this time last year. With any luck, the positive trends will continue to increase and both employers and job seekers can hope for a better job market to search.

**Image source: SHRM Labor Market Outlook Survey, Q3 2010

Diverse Careers, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming Orange County Career Fair. It will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana on August 26th, from 10 am to 2 pm.

The career fair is free to job seekers. Come dressed professionally with copies of your résumé on hand.

We invite employers to register- you can email info@diversecareers.com for more information, or just use the registration form.

Several news outlets, including Yahoo, Reuters, and Google have the full press release listed for the fair. You can find the release here or join the event page on Diverse Careers' Faceboook page.

In today's digital age, it's pretty common for job seekers to submit a resume online and allow themselves to be screened solely by the online submission process. When you make the choice to attend a career fair, you get the chance to take your job hunt a little farther than the online search- you can personally hand your resume to a recruiter, rather than hope it will get through the online submission. For this reason, it's important to maximize the little amount of time you get to spend with a representative at a career fair. You may only have a few minutes to make an impression on a potential employer, and you want to make sure you really shine.

With the right attitude, anything is possible. Here's a few tips to make a great impression at a career fair.

1. Dress professionally. Whether you wear a suit, a skirt, or a tie, make sure it's professional looking, neat, and clean- and make sure to iron whatever you wear. Ladies, avoid anything too short or revealing; men, avoid jeans or sneakers. You want to give the impression that you care about your image and that you can present yourself in a professional manner, both of which are qualities that employers look for.

2. Make positive eye contact. Showing a potential employer that you are confident is important, and you can do this by maintaining eye contact. While you don't need to stare the representative down, you should definitely make sure you look the person in the eye while talking to them. Looking at the ceiling or the ground tends to make you seem nervous or shifty, and can make you seem unapproachable or unwilling to talk. Employers want to see you have confidence in yourself and confidence speaking to people you are unfamiliar with- after all, when you start a new career, you won't be familiar with everyone, and you're going to need to be confident talking to new people.

3. Smile. Similar to making eye contact, smiling is a great way to show a recruiter that you are approachable and friendly. Smiling will put both you and the person you are speaking to at ease- it relaxes the muscles in your face and can prevent you from looking worried or nervous, which in turn will trick your mind into feeling less nervous.

4. Talk to everyone. When you attend a career fair, chances are that you might not see the ideal company you're looking to work for there. Sometimes companies can't make the scheduled date or the selection just isn't what you hoped it would be. Don't give up! Though you may be dismayed at the number of companies in attendance, many companies will be at a career fair recruiting for multiple positions and departments- and that position just might be the one you were hoping for. If you don't talk to representatives, there's a good chance you'll miss out on all the opportunities they are offering. Bring a stack of resumes and make sure you shake hands with everyone that you can. Who knows, even if they aren't recruiting your ideal job at the fair you're attending, they might keep your resume on file and keep you in mind when they open up new positions. Stay positive and make a good impression.

5. Grab business cards. When you submit a resume online, often the submission process leaves you in the dark about who you're directly submitting it to- you may know the company or the department you sent it to, but sometimes it's difficult to find a person to talk to to check the status of your application. As mentioned before, the great thing about career fairs is the ability to get face to face with recruiters and representatives. You'll be able to shake hands and take names. Make sure you make the most out of that connection- grab their business card and follow up after the career fair. Talk to the people you meet at the fair and ask them for the names of the hiring managers in the departments you're looking for a position in.

6. Stay positive. Even if you don't find what you're looking for, the important thing is not to get down on yourself. There's an ideal job for you out there, you just might need to keep looking. Try not to get discouraged, and try to keep your attitude upbeat, especially when you're talking to recruiters and representatives. As previously mentioned, even if they're not hiring in your field, if they like you and the impression you made, they will keep you in mind for the future.

So get out there, job seekers, and put your best foot forward. With some resumes, a smile, and a positive attitude, there's no telling what kind of connection you'll make at a career fair. Dress nice, talk to everyone, and be sure to follow up- you never know who you'll impress.

As the Orange County Career Fair approaches, I'd like to take a moment to point out three great reasons to register for a career fair.

1. It's cost effective. As the host of the career fair, we do the advertising for you, so there's less need to host ads on multiple online outlets. It's our job to get job seekers out to career fairs, and so far, our advertising methods have been successful (our last career fair had over 1,500 attendees).

2. It saves time. At a career fair, you can see a lot of potential candidates at once- and face to face, for that matter, something that's often taken for granted in the digital age we live in. Job seekers will come through the career fair all day, and you'll have an opportunity to shake hands and give them a few minutes of your time, as opposed to a traditional interview, in which you would need to spend around 20-30 minutes with an interviewee after first browsing through resumes to handpick candidates. Furthermore, it's a good opportunity to see soft skills (for example, confidence level and verbal skills) that you can't see on a resume. It's possible for a recruiter to get an idea of a potential employee's personality in a few minutes, rather than sitting through an entire interview with someone who may not be right for the position.

3. It's a good public relations opportunity. A large amount of job seekers come out to career fairs, giving your company an opportunity to get its name out in the community and really shine in a public spectrum. You can meet potential employees while promoting your company as you relay information on what your company does to anyone who's interested. Plus, it puts a good face on your company, and allows potential employees to meet people who already work for the company and see the type of people they might be working with.

Overall, career fairs are great for both job seekers and employers. It's cost effective for all involved, it's a great opportunity to meet people face to face, and both parties can put their best face forward and get their name out there.

Last week’s career fair was quite the success- 35 employers and over 1,500 job seekers showed up to the Ontario Hilton, both parties hoping to shake hands and make connections.

The morning started off strong, with the bulk of the crowd showing up at 10 am when the doors opened. Lines quickly formed around employers like Kaiser Permanente and Loma Linda Medical Center, but each employer made sure to talk to seekers who patiently waited their turn.

"Nobody took a break at our booth," said Ben Bunker, representative for Loma Linda. "We had a line all day, so it was exceptional."

A wide variety of employers were featured at the event- insurance companies like Aflac and Farmers, as well as cable provider Time Warner, rental service Enterprise, and law enforcement entities like the FBI and the LAPD. We were pleased to see a few familiar faces in the crowd- representatives from Farmers Insurance, Trilogy Financial, and Prudential have all come to previous career fairs.

The overall atmosphere was busy but excited as both employers and job seekers got the opportunity to get out and meet new people.

We even got the chance to sit down with some happy job seekers and some employers who were eager to talk about their career fair experience:





Hopefully the next career fair will be as good as the last! We'll be visiting Orange County next- details can be found on our Facebook page or on our website, DiverseCareers.com. Mark your calendars- August 26th, at 10 am. Employers, if you're interested in registering, please email info@diversecareers.com

The Inland Empire Career fair is under way at the Hilton in Ontario!

We have 35 companies here and job seekers lining up through the lobby of the Hilton to talk to potential employers. So far, the turn out is great- so great, in fact, that parking was a bit difficult.

Updates, more photos, and videos will be posted later.

Thanks for everyone who came out- the event is going great!

Diverse Careers, Inc. would like to invite job seekers and employers to participate in the Inland Empire Career Fair on June 23, 2010 from 10am to 2pm at the Hilton Ontario Airport located at 700 N. Haven Ave., Ontario, CA 91764.

The event is free to job seekers and will feature the following employers:

•Aflac
•AM 1510 KSPA
•American Custom Coach, Inc.
•American General Life & Accident Insurance Company
•Auto Club of Southern California
•Avon
•Bidding Bar
•California Dental Certifications
•DeVry University
•Employment Development Department
•Enterprise Rent-A-Car
•Farmers Insurance
•FBI
•Franklin Career College
•General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
•ICDC College
•Independent Capital Management
•Kaiser Permanente
•Little Caesars Pizza
•Loma Linda University Medical Center
•Los Angeles Police Department
•MBM Food Service
•New York Life
•NTMA Training Centers
•PHP
•Primerica
•Prudential Financial
•The Art Institutes
•Trilogy Financial Services
•University of Phoenix
•West Coast Ultrasound Institute
•Westech College
•World Financial Group

Please dress professionally and bring several copies of your resume. We look forward to seeing you there!