6 Impactful Career Fair Tips for Employers

While online job platforms and social media dominate the recruitment industry today, career fairs still hold significant relevance in certain settings. A successful hiring strategy comprises a diverse set of sourcing initiatives, and career fairs are one such initiative that can prove to be a valuable asset in your overall recruiting program.

So the big question is how can you make the most of career fairs and stand out in the sea of competitors? Here are 6 impactful career fair tips employers can consider adopting. 

#1 Review your hiring needs and goals

First off, career fairs don’t apply to every recruiting scenario. For instance, if your company has only a few job openings or is looking for candidates with complex or specialized skills, then you should consider other hiring methods. 

As for high-growth organizations seeking to fill many positions or for those looking for entry-level candidates, career fairs can offer quicker and more direct access to numerous candidates at once.

Therefore, start by evaluating the positions you’re trying to fill first, then only determine if your goals can be attained through a career fair. Some crucial questions you can ask yourself:

• What type of candidates is the company looking to reach this career fair? Are we looking for new college grads, interns, or candidates with specialized skills and experiences?

• How many candidates are we hoping to engage with? What percentage of them do we expect to continue to the next step of submitting a portfolio or being offered an interview?

• What are the overall hiring objectives this time? To fill a high number of positions? To build employer brand awareness? 

Your answer to these questions will help determine your next steps. 

#2 Plan your company’s booth setup ahead

Preparing and planning before a job fair will help ensure it goes smoothly. First, check with the fair’s organizers for requirements and specifications on the size of your booth and the materials they’ll supply. Some venues offer simple set-up materials, such as tables and chairs, while others require you to bring your own. 

Discuss with relevant team members how you’ll utilize your booth to attract career fair attendees. Do you need banners? Digital media such as TV monitors or electronic screen displays? Promotional or any printed materials? Once you’ve got the gist of what you’ll need, assign relevant teams to work on them.

Don’t forget that it’s going to be crowded, so anything you can do to stand out from so many others will help catch the eyes of potential candidates.

#3 Choose your manpower

Ideally, choosing your booth staffers is good based on what makes sense for that particular fair. For instance, choose a few alumni if it is a university career fair. But make sure that all the staff working at the event clearly understand the goals you’ve outlined above and come prepared with deep knowledge about your company (more on this point below).

Also, having more than one or two members is recommended since career fairs can be long and exhausting. Send enough people so your team members can have adequate breaks while keeping your booth occupied at all times.

#4 Prepare key talking points

Based on the goals and needs you’ve set in #1, determine what questions you will be asked to help evaluate and pre-screen candidates to attain those goals. In addition to preparing these questions, make sure you and your manpower come prepared to share the types of open positions you are looking for, the company’s culture, benefits, and why they should consider working. According to LinkedIn, the most common complaint from career fair attendees was the lack of information provided by booth staff. So remember, come prepared. 

#5 Spread the news

Once you’ve done almost all the planning, spread the news as much as possible. Use your company’s social media platforms to inform followers about the upcoming event. Announce it on the events page of your website. Keep a lookout for pre-event publicity opportunities provided by the fair’s organizers, such as adding your company’s name and contact information to a media list, and engage in these opportunities wherever possible.

#6 Actively engage with fair attendees & discuss the next steps

Now that you’ve arrived at the event, make the most out of it by having your staff members on their feet and actively engage with the attendees. Again, this is why it’s more efficient to bring several team members to share the staffing responsibility.

Once the fair winds down, follow up with top prospects as soon as possible. Many other companies will be reaching out to arrange interviews, while some may have already extended job offers. So act fast, enlist appropriate hiring team members to follow up with great prospects, and hopefully onboard new exceptional talent to your team. 

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