It's the evolution of the Job Fair. The Chronicle's new approach to the familiar job fair mixes the interactive elements of the web, the power of face-to-face meetings and complete flexibility for both job seekers and employers.

That's the message from Scott LeVander, who has designed a novel approach that refreshes the age old job fair. The Chronicle's new job fair allows job seekers to use the web to submit their resumes for advance review by employers. Meanwhile, the new system allows employers to pre-screen candidates and arrange for face-to-face meetings during the fair.

The Chronicle's new system makes all existing resume services seem old-fashioned.

"To date, online resume services generally don't work very well for anyone," said Robert S. Cauthorn, vice president of digital media at the Chronicle. "I think that Scott's innovation cracks the code of how to make online resume delivery relevant by combining the interactivity of the net and the personal contact of a job fair. The value we're bringing to job seekers and employers is extraordinary."

We caught up with LeVander, who manages the Chronicle's rich multi-channel suite of recruitment tools, to talk about what the Chronicle is doing.

Q: What's unique about this new approach?

Scott LeVander: Well first of all, candidates can upload their resume in less than a minute. Have you ever spent time posting a resume on a national or regional job board? In most cases, it takes longer than 15 minutes to post, with most of the job-seeker's time spent filling out a profile, key word match, career objective, self-promotion, etc. Secondly, we allow applicants to present a resume to employers the way they want it to be seen, not in some pre-determined format. And finally, these resumes are being uploaded for an upcoming job fair. That means employers can take a sneak preview of the candidates before the actual fair.

Effectively, this feature gives them the opportunity to pre-schedule an interview with prospective employees before or during the show. That sure beats landing in some enormous online dumping ground.

Q: So you're talking about a person's flow between an interactive web experience and the real world?

A: Precisely. I mean, when was the last time you were hired sight-unseen? It doesn't happen. A candidate's resume only captures their work history and experience on paper. In today's extremely difficult employment conditions, you need to make an impression to land a job. That's a tough thing to do with a simple posting. It's very easy to get lost in what we call "resu-mess".

Q: Resu-mess???

A: Yes, an avalanche of resumes. The idea here is to create an online environment for employers to screen the resumes before the job fair. Once an employer signs up for a show, we give them access to pre-qualify prospects via the Web, 24-7, with the next step of making the face-to-face meeting. Since our fairs are typically two to three months apart, not only are the jobs current, but so are the candidates.

Q: So you're more focused than your online competitors?

A: That's by design. We choose to be. Unlike national job posting services, we're local and we're fresh. The best talent pool lives right here in the Bay Area. Why is there a need to recruit nationally? There are also many expired postings on other sites where positions no longer exist. Add in the component of non-candidates who aren't currently seeking a job, whose resumes can still be accessed by employers, and you've got a stale process. Our concept is to mesh local applicants and fresh opportunities together.

Q: What's in it for employers?

A: Aside from the ability to pre-qualify candidates before the show, it will save them valuable time sorting through stacks of resumes from the day of the show. For example, we have the Diversity Job Fair on April 2 at the South San Francisco Conference Center. We offered some incentives for the first 300 candidates to pre-register, including the opportunity to meet with the participating employers an hour before the noon opening to the general public.

Q: What's the biggest advantage using this process?

A: We've effectively taken the important online element and made it human. That's quite an evolution.