Jena, April 24, 2026 – Anyone looking for new professional perspectives can discover them this early summer while strolling through downtown Jena. On June 6, 2026, the “jobwalk” format will stop at the Saale and transform the center into a large-scale open-air job fair.
- What: Open-air job fair “jobwalk 2026”
- When: Saturday, June 6, 2026, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Where: Marktplatz, Jena
- Scope: 80 to 110 exhibitors, approx. 1,000 vacancies
- Special features: Free admission, no pre-registration, no dress code
Career Building in the Fresh Air
The “jobwalk” deliberately breaks with the traditions of classic career fairs. Instead of appearing in large exhibition halls, companies present themselves directly in the pedestrian zone. The concept is specifically aimed at passers-by who wish to gather information spontaneously. Without a formal dress code and without prior visitor data collection, the focus is intended to be on genuine, informal conversations. In addition to Jena, the event will also stop in Regensburg and Erlangen this year. The format originally started as an experiment in the Franconian university city of Erlangen in 2018 and has since established itself nationwide.
Small Businesses Alongside International Corporations
Between 80 and 110 exhibitors are expected on the Jenaer Marktplatz. A special feature of the jobwalk is the uniform space allocation: every company, regardless of its size, receives an identical stand area of three by three meters. However, the costs for these areas are socially tiered. While small businesses with up to five employees pay 295 euros, correspondingly higher rates apply to large corporations with 10,000 or more employees.
This solidarity-based pricing system enables local craft businesses and newly founded IT startups from the region to present themselves at eye level and directly next to global players such as Siemens or DHL. This ensures an unusually broad mix of the jobs on offer.
The historical Marktplatz in Jena, surrounded by the town hall and numerous gastronomic facilities, has always been the social heart of the city. By shifting recruiting events to such high-frequency public locations, the threshold for applicants drops drastically. Human resources development experts have been observing a strong trend toward “low-threshold recruiting” for several years. Especially in times of skilled labor shortages, companies must actively go where potential employees spend their normal daily lives – the classic path, where the applicant comes to the company in an exhibition center, is increasingly losing importance.
Source:
Jobsuche mal anders: Der jobwalk 2026 kommt nach Jena – mit Bühne, Beratung und 1.000 Stellen
Transparency Note: This article was automatically generated, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.