Is it Worth Exhibiting at Job & Career Fairs?

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<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
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<li>Job fairs can be a valuable tool for recruitment but require significant preparation and investment.</li>
<li>Larger businesses typically gain more from job fairs, but smaller businesses can benefit from targeted, industry-specific events.</li>
<li>Success at job fairs depends on active engagement, professional presentation, and effective follow-up.</li>
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Job and career fairs are events where employers and jobseekers gather to network, learn about job opportunities, and potentially conduct on-the-spot interviews. 

Job fairs focus on promoting local jobs that are immediately available to active local jobseekers.

Career fairs attract trainees and juniors entering the workplace, and those looking to change careers; showcasing industries, companies, and career paths through presentations and workshops. (For convenience, throughout the guide I’ll refer to them collectively as job fairs, as my points generally apply to both.)

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Advantages of Job Fairs

• Mass and immediate recruitment: They are great when you have an immediate and preferably large recruitment requirement.
• Quick engagement: Get direct interaction with many potential candidates in a short time frame.
• Brand exposure: Opportunity to increase brand awareness and showcase the company culture to a large audience.
• Market insights: If the job fair is well attended, you may gain a better understanding of the job market, current trends, and competitor offerings.

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Disadvantages of Job Fairs

• Lack of flexibility: Because you have to work around a specific date, it may not be appropriate for your recruitment requirements.
• Not suitable for ad-hoc recruitment: You might get lucky and have a vacancy during the job fair. Otherwise, job fairs are best for mass and regular recruitment requirements.
• Limited candidate pool: Often attracts local jobseekers only. If the organiser hasn’t done their job correctly, there may be very few applicants!
• High costs: Costs can quickly spiral beyond the space rental to include the design and production of the stand, promotional materials and, most importantly, staff costs.
• Time-consuming: Preparing for, attending and following up after a job fair can be time-consuming. This diverts resources from other productive activities and makes many other Applicant Attraction Channels appear better value.
• Direct competition: You’re often up against other competing employers, meaning jobseekers usually have more choice and leverage.
• No guarantee of success: Not only is there no guarantee of finding suitable candidates, but in my experience, there is a high chance you won’t! 

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Cost Considerations

There are several small costs that add up when exhibiting at a job fair.

• Exhibition space: The cost varies based on the size of space required.
• Stand design and production: Includes design, materials, assembly and longevity - will you want one you can re-use?
• Promotional material: Flyers, brochures, and other handouts need to be designed and produced.
• Staff costs: Travel, accommodation, and time away from regular duties. You’ll need at least two members of staff.

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How to Exhibit at a Job Fair

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Step 1: Identify suitable events

• Search for job fairs relevant to your industry and location.
• Choose established job fairs with positive feedback from previous exhibitors to minimise risks.
• Contact career advisors at local schools, colleges, and universities for career events.

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Step 2: Negotiate exhibition space

• Contact organisers to negotiate space, including any extras like electrics or opportunities to be a guest speaker.
• Specify that you want to be allocated a space away from the entrance/exit (you won't have attendees full attention here), away from presentation areas (these can be noisy) and away from the refreshments (there are risks of queues hindering your stand).

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Step 3: Design your stand

• Create a stand that represents your brand and attracts jobseekers. Avoid excessive text and focus on a clear, striking headline.
• Although you will want to research pop-up stands, pull up banners, etc, after my many years of exhibiting at these events I’ve found the best solution is to use an exhibition company. They can design a stand, create a wooden structure, and stretch a printed fabric design on it. At the end of a job fair, they can disassemble the stand and reuse many components, keeping the costs down. Overall, you get a high-quality stand at a reasonable price, and staff can just come and go.
• There should not be any seating or tables in your exhibition space. Chairs allow staff to sit down and disengage, and tables create a barrier between the attendees and your staff.
• Instead, use a podium or lectern because these don't create a barrier and offer storage for staff to put small bags, coats, and promotional materials.
• Additional lighting is often a good idea as many exhibition halls are dingy. Low-voltage LED lighting can run off batteries, so there is no need to buy electricity.

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Step 4: Prepare promotional material

• Design and print A5 flyers. 
• Avoid unnecessary promotional items (such as branded keyrings, pens, stickers, etc.) to prevent waste and attract only serious candidates. 
• Staff uniform or branded clothing will need to be ordered in advance.

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Step 5: Train your staff

• Ensure staff are well-prepared to engage with attendees and represent your company professionally.
• When a jobseeker notices your exhibition stand, staff should make eye contact, and with a warm smile, ask, “Hi, are you looking for work at the moment?”
• If you’ve got an interesting jobseeker, take the time to have a proper conversation and get their contact details. A simple notepad and pen is all you need for this; there is no need for ipads or digital forms on laptops.
• No mobile phones or eating should be allowed on the stand because it creates a bad impression. As there should be no chairs in your exhibition space, staff should take their breaks away from the stand.
• It can be tempting for staff to want to finish up when they see other exhibitors taking down their stands early, but they must stay to the end. 

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Step 6: Manage logistics

• Arrange transport and accommodation if necessary.
• Events vary; you may be able to set up the stand the day before, otherwise it will be an early morning start before it opens. Also allow time to take it down at the end of the fair.

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Step 7: Follow up

• After the fair, promptly follow up with potential candidates to maintain interest and move forward with the recruitment process.

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Step 8: Evaluate

• One month after an event, measure its success. 
• Forget all the vanity metrics like the number of attendees you spoke to, the number of names you collected, or the number of follow-up calls you had. Instead, focus on the most important thing: how many attendees will you offer a job to?

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Additional Resources

• Recruitment book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employees
• Downloadable PDF guide; Discover the True Value of Exhibiting at Job & Careers Fairs
• Article; Employers' Guide to Job Fairs: Book Hiring and Brand Visibility!
• Article; Advantages & Disadvantages of Using Job Fairs & Career Fairs for Recruiting Staff.