Tech Career Expo @ SXSW...by the Letter E

Being without a job is no fun. Regardless of your age, sex, or location in the world not having a job can be one of the most frustrating times for anyone. I think if there is any consolation during this bleak period it is the small pin point of light that comes to the dark in the form of job fairs. I like them. They are a one stop shop of varying employers willing to hire people on the spot, or connect with them and exchange information to be in touch at a later date. This year I had the pleasure of attending the Tech Career Expo at Austin, Tx South by Southwest event. This event was held this year at the Austin Music Hall in the center of downtown Austin. Even with the day starting out rainy and cold, the turnout for the event was still non-stop. The good people with Dice.com were manning the doors getting every participant who entered to 'connect' with them on Twitter at #DiceConnect. This enabled real time tweets to and from potential employers and job fair participants throughout the event. If a participant noticed a job that a company 'tweeted' they would then be able to connect with them through twitter as well as on the floor. Brilliant idea, however it may have been poorly executed as I didn't see much participation from employers other than the good Dice folks. Perhaps next year they will enlighten the masses just a little more with some insight on what they have planned.

Over 71 different organizations and companies participated in this job fair which, much to the delight of the high tech community in Austin all appeared actually be hiring and not just participating because they bought the booth. So, as I perused the aisles of kitschy giveaways and hordes of people with stacks of white resumes eager to distribute them...I passed out a few of my own. Ok, so perhaps I took some time last night preparing for this event by creating an interesting cover letter and perhaps I may have designed small business cards of my own invention to be memorable but there are so many people out there and I needed to be noticed. Having distributed my resumes to my list of employers and not overly excited about heading back out into the rain, I took a few minutes to sit in on the seminars that they were holding. Overall this was an enjoyable upbeat, and exciting job search environment. Perhaps it was the live music streaming in from the foyer, or the bar with every drink imaginable, or maybe it was the guy dressed as a giant shark for Whale Shark Media...whatever the reason I had a great time and I hope to discover next week that the people I spoke with did too. First impressions are paramount. Thank you to SXSW and Dice.com for putting on such a rewarding and fun job fair. Hopefully next year I will be able to return as an employee of one of the great companies I discovered today.

For more information on the job fair please visit them at their site.

http://techcareerexpo.com/

This SXSW job fair moment was brought to you today by the Letter E.


Seize the day y'all!
~E