What is a job fair?

A job fair is an event that employers and recruiters attend to find qualified candidates to fill their company’s open positions. Job fairs often feature employers attending from a variety of industries, offering information about current vacancies and employment opportunities.

Candidates attend job fairs to learn more about available roles in different industries and fields.

These events are valuable for those researching potential employers and career paths. Universities host career fairs for students to find entry-level positions to pursue after earning their degrees. Other organisations hold job fairs for community members and local businesses to attend.

Job fairs are a great place to meet quality candidates and learn about their backgrounds, skills and qualifications to determine if they are a good fit for your company. Meeting with a company representative at a job fair can help candidates learn more about careers and employment options.

Benefits of participating in a job fair

Participating in a job fair is a great way to gain access to many potential candidates who are eager to start a new role. One benefit of job fairs is the ability to connect directly with jobseekers who are interested in your company.

Common benefits of taking part in a job fair include:

• Building awareness of your company and its purpose: if your company is new, a job fair might help others learn more about it and the services that you provide. Job fairs can be a way for candidates and community members to discover your company and tell others about it. They also provide support and advice for both employers and candidates.
• Choosing from a wider selection of candidates: you may find numerous candidates at a job fair, especially if it’s held in a large school or city. This allows your business to build a pipeline of candidates to choose from, which increases the likelihood of finding a suitable employee.
• Networking with other business professionals: there are many businesses and recruiters who attend job fairs. This gives your company’s recruiters and hiring managers a chance to network with each other. Making a good impression at the event can benefit your company’s reputation and help you connect with other professionals. Recruiters often build connections with one another to refer candidates to each other.
• Accessing candidates directly: Job fairs often give you direct access to qualified candidates and those exploring new career paths. By following job fair best practices, you can improve your chances of attracting strong talent who are well-suited to your roles and eager to join your organisation.

How to get ready for a job fair

Before attending the job fair, pick out which materials to bring, select team members to represent your brand and tell others you will be at the event. Be sure to bring several copies of your company materials to share with candidates.

Putting time into preparing for this event makes it easier for you to make a positive first impression. Preparing for a job fair is especially important if you are attending for the first time or want to highlight your work experience.

Follow these steps to get your business ready for the job fair, and remember to maintain a professional appearance and attitude throughout the event:

1. Develop your recruitment and hiring goals.

Meet with your team members beforehand to discuss and determine your goals for recruiting a new employee. Define the qualities, traits and characteristics of your ideal employee. Set goals that establish which roles you’re searching for at the event so that your employees know which positions they are aiming to fill when meeting candidates.

Additionally, consider that some candidates may want to change careers or explore a new career path, which can influence the types of roles and opportunities you present.

Establishing clear hiring goals helps you determine which events are worth attending. For example, if you’re hiring an IT specialist, prioritise job fairs aimed at IT professionals or attend university career fairs when recruiting for entry-level or internship roles.

Job fairs can also attract candidates exploring career changes, giving you access to applicants with diverse backgrounds and transferable skills.

2. Create booth designs and order merchandise.

An effective way to represent your company is through your marketing material, merchandise and booth designs. Order fun merchandise with your logo on it that will make attendees want to stop and learn more about your business. These can be basic and practical items such as pens, pencils or notepads.

Give away unique items as well, such as laptop cases, portable chargers or insulated water bottles.

Design pamphlets and other materials that inform candidates about your company’s benefits, employees and values. Collaborate with your graphic designer to create interesting signs and booth designs that best represent your company and differentiate your organisation from other businesses.

3. Think of questions to ask candidates.

Because you’ll be meeting with several candidates during the event, have a list of questions prepared to quickly get to know each person. Be prepared to speak with candidates and encourage them to talk about their experiences.

Start by asking about their education, experience and career goals to determine if you have any relevant roles available. If you don’t have any open roles for them, request their information to contact them in case a role that matches their skills and interests becomes available later on.

For candidates whose qualifications match any of your open roles, ask them more in-depth questions about their skills and experience. Examples include:

• ‘Do you have experience using the software needed for this position?’
• ‘Why do you think you would be a good fit for this role?’
• ‘What do you already know about this company?’
• ‘Have you ever been interviewed by a recruiter before, or do you have experience with job interviews?’

Remember, speaking clearly and professionally during these conversations is essential to make a positive impression and to help candidates feel comfortable speaking openly about their qualifications.

4. Market and advertise your attendance at the event.

Tell others a few weeks in advance that your company will be attending a job fair by marketing it on social media or announcing it on your website. Write social media posts that inform your followers that you are hiring and encourage them to learn more about your available positions at the job fair.

Using social media as part of the business recruiting strategy adds value for job fairs. Ask your audience to share these posts with candidates in their network who seem like a great fit for your company. Use your advertising budget to boost your social media posts to reach more people.

Tips for a successful job fair

If you have a fun booth design and an engaging team with you at the event, you can attract many impressive candidates to contact later and bring them on-site to interview further. Job fairs are an excellent opportunity to connect with potential candidates and showcase your organisation.

Below are some tips to follow to increase your chances of a successful job fair experience. Be sure to show that you are genuinely interested in the candidates you meet, as this can help you make meaningful connections and stand out to potential jobseekers.

Provide business cards and wear name tags.

Consider wearing name tags and providing business cards with your information on them. Each of your team members wears a name tag for attendees to easily identify them. Recruiters and hiring managers have business cards to distribute to potential candidates.

This makes your company easier to remember and simpler to contact to gain more information about the role.

Arrive early to set up the booth.

Get to the event at least 30 minutes to an hour before it starts. This gives you enough time to get used to the surrounding environment, hang your signs and lay out your materials on the table. You will feel more relaxed and comfortable knowing you have plenty of time to set up and prepare for attendees.

Reach out to candidates after the event.

After collecting names, contact information and CVs, reach out to any candidates you noted as potentially being suited a few days after the event. Contacting them soon may help applicants easily remember you and allows you to meet with candidates before they interview with a different company that they connected with at the event.

Invite these candidates to a virtual interview or an interview in the office to get to know them further.

Measure your results to determine what to improve for the next event.

After interviewing candidates that you met at the event, get together with your HR team and employees who attended the job fair. Ask if they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and impressions of the candidates that they met. Determine how many candidates at the event were valuable, qualified and impressive enough to interview.

If it was successful, decide whether to attend the same event again or sign up for similar events.