Triangle Career Expo October 13 in Cary: Free Job Fair for Raleigh-Area Job Seekers

Published: September 11, 2026 | By LocalJobPage Team

RALEIGH, NC — One of the biggest free job fairs on the Triangle's fall calendar is set. The Triangle Career Expo returns to Embassy Suites in Cary on Tuesday, October 13, and the organizer's roster lists more than 40 employers, from WakeMed and the City of Raleigh to Thermo Fisher Scientific and NCDOT. If you are job hunting anywhere between Knightdale and Chapel Hill, this is a rare day when a big slice of the region's hiring managers will be under one roof.

Four hours, one ballroom off I-40, free admission and free parking. Pre-register and bring a stack of resumes.

Ready to search? Skip straight to the job links and begin searching now →

📍 Triangle Career Expo at a Glance

Event	Triangle Career Expo 2026
Date	Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Time	10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location	Embassy Suites Cary, 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd., Cary, NC 27513
Cost	Free for job seekers
Parking	Free
Format	In person, employer booths
Registration	Free job seeker registration
Organizer	Capital Area Workforce Development and the Capital Area NCWorks Career Centers

🔥 Who's on the Employer List

The expo is run by Capital Area Workforce Development, the public workforce board behind the NCWorks career centers in Wake, Johnston, Chatham, Lee and Orange counties. That public backing shows in the roster. The official expo site currently lists 47 employers, and they sort into a few clear groups:

Local government: City of Raleigh, Wake County Government, the Wake County Sheriff's Office, the towns of Apex, Holly Springs and Rolesville, plus Johnston, Harnett, Chatham and Orange counties and Chapel Hill Transit.
State government: NCDOT, the Departments of Public Safety, Adult Correction, Information Technology and Insurance, NC Commerce's Division of Employment Security, and NC State University's Facilities Division.
Health care and human services: WakeMed, Duke Health, UNC Health, Cedars of Chapel Hill, Community Alternatives of NC (Sevita) and Triangle Disability & Autism Services.
Life sciences and manufacturing: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Grifols, Arauco and Vulcan Elements.
Construction and the trades: Blythe Construction, Caton Construction Group, Fred Smith Company, Kirlin Way Mechanical, Air Experts Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, Giant Development and Summit Design and Engineering Services.
Distribution, automotive and services: Sysco, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Discount Tire, Precision Tune Auto Care, The Budd Group, Parks Hospitality Group and the Triangle Apartment Association, alongside CBS-17 and several staffing firms.

One honest caveat. The organizer has published who is coming, not what each employer is hiring for or how many openings they bring, and rosters shift in the weeks before any expo. Treat the list as a map of who will be in the room, then check each employer's own careers page before you go so you walk up to the booth already knowing a job title or two.

Why This One Is Worth a Weekday Morning

Many of the hiring events on the Triangle's fall calendar are single-employer sessions or campus fairs limited to students. This is neither. It is a regional, public-sector-backed expo that the organizer says draws more than 1,200 job seekers a year, and it puts city, county and state recruiters in the same room as hospital systems, contractors and manufacturers.

That mix matters. Government hiring tends to run through long online applications and longer waits. Ten minutes face to face with a recruiter from Wake County or NCDOT won't skip the application, but it can tell you which posting to target, which is exactly the kind of help the portal never gives. The same goes for the trades contractors, where a good conversation at a booth can still turn into a callback.

It is also a practical location. Harrison Oaks Boulevard sits right off I-40 on the Cary side, a straight shot from downtown Raleigh, Garner, Morrisville and the Research Triangle Park corridor.

📋 How to Show Up Ready

Register first. Job seeker registration on the organizer's Eventbrite page is free and takes a minute.
Print more resumes than you think you need. With 40-plus booths, 15 copies is not overkill.
Pick your top eight. Four hours goes fast. Map out the employers that fit you and hit those first.
Know your credentials. Nursing licenses, CDLs, trade certifications and security clearances move conversations along quickly.
Dress one notch up. The organizer hasn't set a dress code, but business casual never hurts in a hotel ballroom full of HR managers.
Go early. Doors open at 10:00 AM. The last half hour of any fair is when recruiters are packing up.

Want a resume review before October 13? The NCWorks Career Center on Swinburne Street in Raleigh offers free resume help and practice interviews. Call 919-250-3770.

🔎 Start Searching Before Expo Day

The best expo conversations start with a specific posting. Look up the openings now, apply where you can, and tell the recruiter at the booth you already did.

Start here:

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is the Triangle Career Expo 2026?

Tuesday, October 13, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Embassy Suites Cary, 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd., Cary, NC 27513.

Does it cost anything to attend?

No. Registration is free for job seekers, and parking at the hotel is free.

Do I need to register in advance?

The organizer asks job seekers to register through its free Eventbrite page. It takes a minute and helps the organizer plan for the crowd.

Which employers will be there?

The official expo site lists 47 employers, including WakeMed, Duke Health, UNC Health, City of Raleigh, Wake County Government, NCDOT, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Grifols, Sysco and Coca-Cola Consolidated. Specific openings have not been published, and the list can change before the event.

Is the expo only for Cary residents?

No. It is a regional event for job seekers across the Triangle, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the surrounding counties.

What if I can't make it on October 13?

The NCWorks Career Center at 220 Swinburne St., 3rd Floor, in Raleigh helps with job searches, resumes and interview practice year-round. Call 919-250-3770 for hours.

Get Your Search Moving This Fall

Create a free LocalJobPage account to get alerts when new Raleigh-area jobs post, and browse every open job in the Raleigh area before expo day.

Employers: hiring in the Triangle? Post your openings on LocalJobPage and reach Raleigh-area candidates directly.

Harrison Oaks Boulevard, just off I-40, Tuesday morning, October 13. Bring the resumes and your best handshake.