Approaches to success at job fairs

3,200. That's how many people attended a job fair in Industry today. It was further evidence that unemployment is real. For me, it was a personal look into the real-ness of the jobless data we report all of the time in this paper.

The sad thing is that 3,200 won't get jobs from this job fair. But it's not as sad, if you look at it another way.

I saw a lot of people today who used the fair as a tool in their job search.

They didn't view the event as a place to get a job immediately.

Job fairs are a place to find out what jobs are out there and perhaps score an interview.

That's success at a job fair, said Robin McCarthy, executive director of Pasadena job resource center Women at Work.

Perhaps the biggest thing is to view the job fair as a way to realize that other people are in the same boat. It's not a job, but at least you know you're not alone.