Preparing for a Job Fair

As the winter continues to trudge along and we Ontarians patiently wait for the first signs of spring, many industries will begin to hold job fairs for both seasonal and full time employees. Job fairs can be a great opportunity for both employers and employees to see what their options are and try and snag the best of the best. However, come unprepared and you can get lost in the crowd and waste valuable networking time. Many job fairs are open to everyone, read: no pre screening. And the jumble of resumes you take home at the end of the day can lead to an unorganized mess it could take you days to sort through. In which time those few star potential employees can slip through your fingers. The right prep work can help ensure your time is well spent and your candidate search is successful.

 

 

Do your prep work. Work with the organizers of the event to make certain that your company and the jobs you’re hiring for are accurately listed. If there is an online write up read it for errors. Many candidates will preplan who they want to speak with first based on the jobs advertised. Making sure you are properly advertised can in itself help the screen your candidates. You should also make sure to have signage that promotes your company name and the specific jobs you are hiring for. For those attending who don’t have such a game plan and choose to wonder.

 

Prep your team. Whom ever you are going to be taking to the event with you should be well trained on who you are looking to hire. Take some time in the weeks or days leading to the event to build a specific outline of your ideal candidate. Consider building multiple ideal candidates. Ideal candidate B vs A or C could have different skills but still be equally important to your company. Giving these tools to your team can help ensure they get the application clipboards or iPads into those peoples’ hands first. Building in a form of screening on the go.

 

Be attractive. Is your booth going to stand out? Bright, full colour banners with pictures of the amazing work your company is doing. Passionate people working behind your booth. Fun business oriented giveaways tying to your brand. These are all ways to catch the candidates’ eye. When ordering your promotional material consider the entire company and the many events you may attend all year. Purchase larger banners to suit many events. Then consider ordering smaller more cost effective signs for specific events. Try to keep branding the same but this could help you get the most use from your money spent. Take time to pump up your team. You’ve prepped them but you need to get them excited. Also try and plan a mid afternoon coffee and doughnut run. Sugar and caffeine can help keep even the most sluggish of teams moving with a smile. And everyone loves giveaways, this doesn’t have to be a big prize. A small denomination gift card to a popular coffee shop can be considered a win. A few of those can always attract lots of fans. Try and keep the activity on brand, and use the extra time with candidates at your booth to get to know them better.

 

At the end of the day you should walk away feeling confident that you both impressed and spoke to some great candidates. Job fairs can be exhausting events but with the right prep work the follow through becomes a breeze and your time is well spent.

 

And if you are ready now to move forward with the process of finding your ideal candidate you can contact us by clicking here.