Fall 2026 Columbus Job Fairs & Hiring Events: Your Complete Guide
All upcoming job fairs in Columbus
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Fall 2026 Columbus Job Fairs & Hiring Events: Your Complete Guide

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Editor's note (October 13, 2026): Choice Career Fairs has moved the October 15 Columbus Career Fair to the Crowne Plaza Columbus North–Worthington, 6500 Doubletree Ave.; the details below are updated. (October 4, 2026): The library moved the October 5 OhioMeansJobs drop-in session to Wednesday, October 7, same hours and same room.

COLUMBUS, OH — On September 10 the second-floor reading room of Main Library turned into the biggest hiring room downtown Columbus has seen this fall. More than 60 employers and community organizations, from Cardinal Health and JPMorganChase to the Columbus Division of Fire and a row of trade unions, all in one place on South Grant Avenue. Since then the calendar has run on quieter drop-in days, where a state outreach worker sits in a study room and gets people enrolled in the programs that actually pay for training. What's left this fall: Macy's holiday hiring day at three area stores, a resource and employment fair on South Ohio Avenue, a hospital hiring event at Ohio State East, and one more north side fair in November.

Ten confirmed events between September 10 and November 19; six have already taken place. Here they are in order.

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📅 Table of Contents

Life Skills Job and Resource Fair — Thursday, September 10

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM | Main Library, 2nd Floor Reading Room, 96 S. Grant Ave.

This event has passed.

This is the one worth taking a day off for. Sixty-plus employers and community organizations are set up in the reading room for four straight hours. The published list includes Cardinal Health, JPMorganChase, Kroger's Great Lakes Distribution Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, COTA, FedEx, Rogue Fitness, Northwest Bank, the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the SSA Group at the Columbus Zoo, Columbus Metropolitan Library itself, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, the OhioMeansJobs Franklin County Job Center, Franklin County Board of Commissioners HR, Columbus State Community College, numerous trade unions, and the City of Columbus across multiple departments including Fire, Police and Public Safety. That mix is unusually good: public safety, hospital systems, logistics, banking and the building trades in one room is not a combination you get at a hotel ballroom fair.

There is a schedule running alongside the tables. The Human Resource Association of Central Ohio is giving away professional headshots outside Meeting Room 1A from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., first come first served, and running sessions in the Auditorium on strengthening your resume and applications at 11:30, an open Q&A from noon to 1, and one on interviewing and negotiating an offer in the early afternoon. Columbus State runs career-path info sessions in Meeting Room 2B: health care at 11:30, advanced manufacturing at 12:30, information technology at 1:30.

Parking is free in the attached library garage, with free overflow at the Encova lots at 532 Franklin Ave. and 540 Oak St. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. See the library's event listing.

Connect to Career & Training Opportunities — Monday, September 21

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Main Library, Study Room 3, 96 S. Grant Ave.

This event has passed.

Different animal entirely, and don't skip it because it isn't a fair. A Community Outreach Specialist from OhioMeansJobs holds drop-in hours in Study Room 3 and can enroll you in WIOA on the spot. Enrollment is the gate to career exploration, job matching, resume workshops, interview practice, digital skills classes and funded training programs. That last one is the reason to go: WIOA is how people in Franklin County get a CDL or a certificate paid for. You can also just walk in for information on job openings and upcoming fairs without enrolling. Details from the library.

Columbus Job Fair at Crowne Plaza North — Thursday, September 24

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Crowne Plaza Columbus North–Worthington, 6500 Doubletree Ave.

This event has passed.

The first event on this list away from downtown. Best Hire Career Fairs takes over a hotel ballroom up by the Outerbelt for three hours, free for job seekers, with a mix the organizer describes as running from healthcare and finance to logistics and manufacturing. No confirmed employer roster has been published for this date, so go in expecting a broad room rather than a shot at one specific company. Doors open for job seekers up to 30 minutes before 11, and the first hour is when recruiters are freshest. Registration is free with the organizer and strongly recommended; walk-ins get in only if there is room. → See details

Connect to Career & Training Opportunities — Monday, September 28

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Main Library, Study Room 3, 96 S. Grant Ave.

This event has passed.

Same session, same room. Useful if you went to the September 10 fair, came away with three leads and realized you need a certification none of them will wait for. Come with your paperwork sorted. Details from the library.

Connect to Career & Training Opportunities — Wednesday, October 7

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Main Library, Study Room 3, 96 S. Grant Ave.

This event has passed.

Moved from Monday, October 5 to Wednesday, October 7, with the same hours and the same room. It is not the last one: the library has more drop-ins on the calendar on Wednesday, October 21, Wednesday, October 28 and Monday, November 2, each from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Study Room 3. Details from the library.

Columbus Career Fair — Thursday, October 15

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Crowne Plaza Columbus North–Worthington, 6500 Doubletree Ave.

This event has passed.

Back to the Crowne Plaza up by the Outerbelt, the same hotel that hosted the September 24 fair. Choice Career Fairs moved this date from the Hilton Garden Inn near Easton, so set your map to Doubletree Avenue. It is a free three-hour fair where employers take tables and you talk face to face with the people doing the hiring. No employer roster has been published for this date, so expect a general room rather than one specific company, and bring more resumes than you think you need. Registration is free and not required; the organizer's event page has the sign-up, and registered job seekers get a VIP pass for faster entry. → See details

Macy's Holiday Hiring Day — Thursday, October 22

Times vary by store | Macy's at Polaris Fashion Place, Easton Town Center and Tuttle Crossing

Not a fair, a store-by-store hiring day. Macy's runs a nationwide holiday hiring day on October 22, and the three Columbus-area stores at Polaris on the north side, Easton on the northeast side and Tuttle Crossing in Dublin are all taking walk-in applicants for seasonal store jobs. Hours vary by location, so call your store before you go, apply online first, and bring a photo ID and your real holiday availability. Macy's has not published a headcount for any Columbus store. Miss it, and there is one more Macy's hiring day on Thursday, November 19. → See details

All Hands on Deck Resource and Employment Fair — Thursday, October 29

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | St. John Community Center, 640 S. Ohio Ave.

The St. John Learning Center's fall fair, co-sponsored by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, puts employers and the services that keep a job search going under one roof: expect information on housing, employment, health care and social services alongside the job tables. It is free, and registration is optional. The organizer says a list of participating employers and organizations will be posted, but none is up yet, so call (614) 547-2171 if one specific employer is your reason to go. Details from the learning center. → See details

Ohio State Nursing, Perioperative & Patient Care Hiring Event — Tuesday, November 3

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Ohio State East Hospital, Wallace Auditorium, 181 Taylor Ave.

A single-employer recruitment, not a multi-employer fair. Ohio State Wexner Medical Center brings its hiring team to East Hospital on the Near East Side, a few blocks from Franklin Park, looking for nurses, patient care associates, surgical technologists and sterile processing technicians, plus other roles. No headcount or list of open units has been published, and the listing doesn't say whether registration is required or walk-ins are taken, so check the medical center's hiring events page before you go. Bring your license or certification details and the shifts you can work. Note the address: this is East Hospital on Taylor Avenue, not the main campus near Ohio Stadium. → See details

Columbus Job Fair at Crowne Plaza North — Thursday, November 19

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Crowne Plaza Columbus North–Worthington, 6500 Doubletree Ave.

Best Hire Career Fairs comes back to the north side hotel for one more three-hour fair before the holidays, free for job seekers. It is pitched at a wide crowd: career changers, people returning to work and anyone hunting for a next step. No employers have been named yet; the organizer says logos will be added to the event page as companies sign on, so check back in early November. Register through the organizer's event page. → See details

⚠️ Read This Before You Go to a Drop-In Session

The OhioMeansJobs drop-ins have a hard requirement the fairs do not: two forms of identification. A driver's license, state ID card, birth certificate, passport or Social Security card all count. Bring a copy of your resume or a written work history too. Show up without the IDs and you can still get information, but you cannot get enrolled, and enrollment is the whole point. Sorting that out beforehand is the difference between a useful morning and a wasted bus ride.

🔎 How to Pick the Right Ones

  • You want a room full of recruiters: November 19 at the Crowne Plaza North, free for job seekers.
  • You want holiday retail work: October 22 at any of the three Macy's stores. Call ahead for hours.
  • You need more than a job lead: October 29 at the St. John Community Center, where housing, health care and social service help sits in the same room as the employer tables.
  • Nursing, the operating room or sterile processing: November 3 at Ohio State East Hospital.
  • Skilled trades: a drop-in session if an apprenticeship needs prerequisites you don't have yet.
  • You need training paid for, not a job next week: the next drop-in sessions on October 21, October 28 or November 2. WIOA enrollment is what unlocks it.

✅ What to Bring

  • Printed resumes, more than you think you need for a full room
  • Two forms of ID for the drop-in sessions, non-negotiable
  • A written work history if your resume isn't current
  • Certification and license numbers written down
  • Your real availability, including nights and weekends if you can work them
  • A notebook for names, so you can follow up inside 48 hours

🔎 Where to Aim This Fall

Ten events across three months is one channel, not a job search, so keep applying between them. On pay: Ohio's minimum wage rose to $11.00 an hour on January 1, 2026, with $5.50 for tipped workers, under the constitutional amendment voters passed in 2006 that ties the rate to inflation. Employers grossing $405,000 or less a year, and 14- and 15-year-old workers, sit at the federal $7.25 instead. It is one number statewide, with no separate Columbus rate on top, and the address where the work is performed sets the floor. In practice the employers at Main Library on September 10 were competing for people well above it.

Start here:

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to register for the October events?

No. The October 29 All Hands on Deck fair says registration is not required and offers an optional free sign-up. Macy's hiring day on October 22 takes walk-ins at the store.

What do the October fairs cost?

Nothing. The St. John Learning Center lists the October 29 fair as free.

What do I need to bring to the OhioMeansJobs drop-in sessions?

Two forms of identification and a copy of your resume or work history. Acceptable IDs include a driver's license, state ID card, birth certificate, passport or Social Security card.

What is WIOA and why does it matter?

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is the federal program OhioMeansJobs enrolls people into. Once you are in, it opens up job matching, resume and interview workshops, digital skills classes and funded training programs. For a lot of people in Franklin County it is the only realistic way to pay for a certification.

Where exactly is Main Library and can I park?

96 S. Grant Ave., on the east edge of downtown near Topiary Park. Parking is free in the attached garage.

Will more Columbus events be added this fall?

Almost certainly. The library has OhioMeansJobs drop-ins scheduled for October 21, October 28 and November 2, and posts new dates as they are scheduled. We update this guide as new events are confirmed.

Don't Let It End at the Fair

A room full of tables is a good afternoon. It is not a job search. Create a free LocalJobPage account and set alerts so new Columbus openings reach you between events, then browse the Columbus Career Center for role-by-role guides.

Employers: a table at a fair reaches the people who walked in that day. Post your openings on LocalJobPage and reach Columbus job seekers every day of the fall.

South Grant Avenue is a ten-minute walk from Broad and High, and Study Room 3 is still where a paid-for certification starts. The rest of the fall's hiring rooms are in the Macy's stores, on South Ohio Avenue, on Taylor Avenue and out on Doubletree Avenue.

Updated October 21, 2026: added the Ohio State nursing, perioperative and patient care hiring event at East Hospital on Nov. 3. Updated October 13, 2026: added Macy's holiday hiring day at Polaris, Easton and Tuttle Crossing on Oct. 22 and the Columbus Job Fair at Crowne Plaza North on Nov. 19. Updated October 4, 2026: the library has added OhioMeansJobs drop-ins at Main Library on Oct. 21, Oct. 28 and Nov. 2. Updated September 28, 2026: added the Columbus Career Fair on Oct. 15 and the All Hands on Deck Resource and Employment Fair on South Ohio Avenue on Oct. 29. Updated September 20, 2026: added the Columbus Job Fair at Crowne Plaza North on Sept. 24.

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