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Earlier this week I asked the question "are job fairs still relevant?" The easy answer to this as an HR professional would be yes but nowadays with fairs I've attended being under-attended and lacking stellar candidates, I'm not so sure that job seekers would agree with me. That's most unfortunate because the whole purpose of a job fair is to connect businesses that have vacancies with potential candidates looking to fill them.

While job fairs tend to be under-attended, this could be a great time for you, the perfect candidate, to swoop in and shine! How, might you ask? Follow these tips:

Understand the purpose of a job fair. Employers devote time and resources to attend resources with the intent of attracting top talent for their organization - not to window shop. Sometimes employers use fairs to create a candidate pool for future, undefined ("TBD - To Be Determined") positions but employers mostly attend to fill specific, tangible vacancies. Take your next job fair seriously because honestly, your potential employer does.

Dress for success. Dress for a job fair like it's an interview. This means clean, pressed, fragrance-free business attire. Remember that your first impression will be a visual one and presenting a positive image of yourself can leave a lasting impression on potential employers.

Preparation goes a long way. Before you attend a job fair you will want to do background research on the companies attending and what positions they are recruiting for. Generally you can find open positions on the company website. This can help you discern whether or not your potential employer of choice is recruiting for a position that you may qualify for or not. Update your resume as well and be sure to bring enough copies to pass along to potential employers. Do we need the very expensive paper? Absolutely not because we're more than likely going to have you fill out a formal application at some point or another that requests the contents of your resume anyway. That application will probably be online but we'll know to look out for your name once you've submitted your application versus being one of hundreds of online candidates that rarely see the light of day.

Click here for things that have impressed, and some major turn-offs I've seen at job fairs.

Joey V. Price is an experienced Professional in Human Resources (PHR) who has been featured in Ebony Magazine, CNN.com, Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Workforce Management Magazine, and more.  In 2010, Joey founded Push Consultant Group, LLC ,  a career search services firm specializing in resume, interview, and career search services. Find more great tips at PushConsultantGroup.com