Employers The 10 Dos and Donts Of Career Fairs

Employers The 10 Dos and Donts Of Career Fairs FacebookTweetLinkedInPin1EmailShare1 With the Manchester Digital Talent Day just around the corner, we thought it was time to look at the topic of jobs and careers fairs again but this time weve decided to give our post a bit of a twist. You see, weve covered jobs fairs and the Dos and Donts from a student/candidate perspective numerous times (here, here and here) over the past couple of years but weve never looked at it from an employer perspective until now! Yep, we thought it was about time we turned the tables and dished out our best advice to any businesses who are preparing for Talent Day and/or any other career fairs this month. Without further ado then, here are our top ten employer Dos and Donts of career fairs: Do: Be Prepared Whether its printing out marketing material, liaising with the HR team to find out what the hiring plans are for the next year or pre-ordering your freebie pens, just like anything else in recruitment, when it comes to jobs fairs you need to prepare ahead of time. If you dont have all the information and marketing material you need in advance, youre going to find yourself stressed out and in a bad mood on the day of the fair itself which is never a good thing. Dont: Arrive Late If you think you can turn up at the last minute, Id urge you to think again. When it comes to a jobs fair, the position of your stand is pretty important as it can have a direct impact on how many attendees see your stand and pay you a visit so needless to say the best, most prominent stands always get taken first. Try and get there at a reasonable time to bag a prime spot and set up then you can always nip out for a last minute coffee just before the fair opens. Do: Have A Clear Action Plan When it comes to jobs fairs, it might sound silly but recruiting new staff isnt always the name of the game so you need to think carefully about what your aims are before you arrive. Is it to actually find new employees? Raise your brand profile? Network? Scope for future talent? You need to establish your main aims ahead of time so you can have a clear action plan of what you want to discuss with attendees at the fair. Dont: Get Distracted When it comes to jobs fairs, theres normally so much going on that it can be easy to get distracted but you really need to focus on the task in hand. Do: Be Willing To Approach Attendees For some attendees, jobs fairs can be an overwhelming experience and they wont necessarily have the confidence to come up to your stand and start chatting so sometimes you need to give them a helping hand. If an attendee is hovering around your stand, its highly likely they want to talk to you so dont be afraid to start the conversation! Dont: Give Up On Candidates Easily At jobs fairs we always find that as soon as you mention the word digital to them, some candidates get scared and walk away because they think its all about coding and building websites but as soon we stop them and explain that digital careers are extremely diverse and cover things like copywriting, SEO and display advertising, they start to become interested and valuable conversations begin. At jobs fairs its all about putting in time and effort to ensure your message is being delivered and the ideal candidate doesnt walk away because theyve got the wrong idea. Do: Think Outside The Box In Terms of Freebies If one thing is guaranteed at jobs fairs, its freebies. Whether its pens, stress balls, sweets or pizza (yes, really!), youll always find freebies at jobs fairs because theyre great for marketing and spreading a brand message and really, who doesnt like freebies? To stand out from the crowd, try and produce innovative freebies that stand out from the crowd and are actually useful and functional this way, every time a candidate uses your freebie, theyll think of your brand, so the more useful you make it, the more familiar your brand becomes. Dont: Be Too Pushy Remember how I just said you need to put time and effort into candidates? Well, there is a line and its important not to cross it. Yes, its important to try and get your message out there but you need to be careful not to come across as too pushy or you could risk damaging your brand in the long run. Do: Have A Way To Collect Information Thanks to the sheer number of attendees, jobs fairs can be invaluable for gathering contact details which can then be used later down the line should more vacancies become available and for other marketing purposes. That said; you need to ensure you have a way to collect this data on the day in the form of a sign-up form or something similar or you could miss out. Dont: Forget Youre Representing Your Brand When attending jobs fairs, its important to remember that youre being judged not only be attendees but other exhibiting employers too so you need to act accordingly. Dont forget to dress relatively professionally and be sure to have a couple of business cards on you just in case any networking opportunities crop up!