Why do I even bother?

So I went to a job fair today.  I always get my hopes up when going to one of these things.  "Oh, it's going to be great, I'll talk to some potential employers, they'll need someone with my skills, I might even get an interview on the spot!"

Then I go to it.

They're all the same really.  Cramped quarters, you're lucky if they have a sign (or even a printed handout) with their open positions listed, some tables always get swapped around so the map is incorrect, and even more aren't clearly labelled and it just looks like people are hanging out and talking.

I did talk to several potential employers and things did seem positive across the board, but there was a disturbing trend.

"Oh, apply online."

Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of going to a job fair?  I might as well just have looked at the list of everyone who was going to be there, and gone to their websites to apply.  I put on uncomfortable semi-dress clothing, updated and then printed out fifteen copies of my resume, and drove all the way here to talk to you about working for you and "apply online" is all you can say?

Speaking of those fifteen copies of my resume I printed out, guess how many got asked for by the companies I talked to.  Go ahead, take a wild guess.

You ready for the number?

Zero.

What a waste of paper, printer ink, power, and time.

Also, about my skill set.  Apparently, even though I feel fairly well skilled, the only open positions in anything IT or otherwise computer or internet-related are senior staff positions that require a lot more intimate knowledge of approximately everything than I currently have.  Come on, you're coming to a job fair held right next door to the University of Virginia, and you don't have any entry or mid-level positions open?

At least I got three streetpasses.