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Job Fair Serves Buffet of Opportunity for Locals

Mar 10, 2016 12:53PM ● By Bryan Scott

By Travis Barton | [email protected]

Ogden - While job searches can be tedious upon the applicants, job fairs can offer quantity and convenience. That’s what the Ogden Community Job Fair hoped to accomplish on Tuesday, March 8 at the Hub 801 in Ogden. 

Shane Lyon, Compass Career Fairs CEO, said what makes these job fairs so unique is the mass appeal because most job fairs are typically put on by educational organizations targeting their student population. 

“For the average individual that graduates high school and decides not to go on to some sort of post-secondary education, there’s really not a mass event out there for them to attend,” Lyon said.     

Hosted by Compass Career Fairs, Lyon said the event was geared to impact the local community in the best way possible. 

“We saw a great opportunity to use our network and connect those employers with the community to help create jobs and strengthen our economies,” Lyon said.  

Lyon said on average, their fairs bring in about 1,000 job seekers per event. The 2015 Ogden Job Fair hosted over 79 employers and 1,300 attending job seekers, while at least 61 employers and partners were planning to attend the 2016 event. 

Lyon said the amount of job seekers at their events helped bring so many organizations.

“Employers come to us because we really are able to network and get the masses to the events,” Lyon said. 

After being involved with job fairs for nine years, Lyon said he felt they were all good but lacked that “special sauce” to keep employers coming back year after year. 

“We want it to be a fun and educational event for them, so we spare no expense when it comes to venues, catering and really when it comes to advertising,” Lyon said. 

Vendors even had access to private interview rooms allowing for job interviews at the event. Those vendors ranged from insurance companies to staffing agencies to construction equipment suppliers. 

The job fair also included giveaways such as an Amazon fire tablet, sports action camera and Bluetooth speaker among the grand prizes.

Lyon said those who pre-registered for the event received an email listing all the attending employers and sponsors with another email sent a few days before the event detailing tips and tricks.

Lyon’s suggestion for job seekers was to focus their approach because there are so many employers to see during a three-hour window.

“Prepare to see the employers they [job seekers] want to talk to most, go see them up front, then go around and network with the other employers,” Lyon said. “Therefore, they can get the best out of the event that’s possible.”

Compass Career Fairs officially formed two years ago. Lyon said the company is always focused on bringing its unique job fair atmosphere to help each community.

“We do these because we knew it’s needed in the community and [want to] help people get jobs; that’s our ultimate goal, that’s the reason why we do this,” Lyon said. 

In addition to Ogden, more job fairs are planned this year for the Davis, Weber, and Salt Lake counties, as well as Vernal and St. George communities. The next fair is scheduled for  July 12, at the Davis Conference Center in Layton. For more information, go to compasscareerfairs.com.