Although not all job fairs are the same, they share the common goal of recruitment at and three basic interviewing styles. The main career fair categories are:

College or university job fairs
These job fairs are held on campuses around the world and may span a few hours to several days. The purpose of these events is to provide employers the opportunity to canvass, advertise and recruit on campus. Students use them to glance through the potential employers lists, meet possible recruiters and obtain industry specific information. Some of the employers recruit at entry level for the next year's openings.

General and regional job fairs
These events are held once a year at specific locations around the world and are seen as the ideal places to shop for entry level jobs. Several employers from one or more industries exhibit at these job fairs. Since events in these career fair categories are usually well publicized, they attract hundreds and thousands of applicants, implying long waiting lines and severe competition for limited jobs. Unless you did your homework, come early and make an exceptionally good impression, they are merely a place for finding out what is available in the job market. If you plan to attend one of these fairs, target specific employers and research them well before you go. Only visit ten to twelve stands and spend time with the recruiters at these stands.

Professional job fairs

These fairs are aimed at recruitment at middle and higher level. You can expect competition from people with experience and high levels of education. You should be well prepared for these events and willing to accept several 'no' answers. You can still get employment through in one of these career fair categories, if you have experience and professional qualifications. Name dropping and knowledge about the employers will help.

Specialty job fairs
These types of fairs are industry specific, for instance, IT or Marketer's fairs. You compete against people with experience and qualifications similar or higher than you. For this reason, you should do research on the exhibiting employers, the job requirements and contact persons. Create targeted CV's and cover letters that you submit at selected recruiters at the fairs.