Some candidates at Careers Fairs are actively looking for work. Others are still considering their options for the future. Our tips for attracting students and graduates will ensure that you are ready to engage with as many qualified candidates as possible.
Be Selective About Which Careers Fairs You Attend
Different types of groups tend to organise Career Fairs. For instance, they can be run by Jobcentre Plus, a University or College, or even a local Member of Parliament. The group running the jobs fair will directly affect the demographic of the people likely to attend
For a college or university, it is likely to be predominantly or exclusively their own students or graduates who attend. However, if it is run by Jobcentre Plus, it is likely to have a lower concentration of students and graduates. The majority of attendees will be people who have been unemployed for a longer period of time. Therefore, if you are targeting students and graduates, it doesn’t make as much sense to allocate your recruitment resources there.
Careers Fair Basics
It is important to decide before attending what you would like to achieve at the Careers Fair. Are you looking to increase awareness of your company amongst the particular demographic attending? In that case, some promotional materials, such as branded pens or webcam covers, would be a great way to keep your company in their thoughts.
Are you looking to identify potential new recruits who can start working with you soon? If you are, then the onus is on you to sell the company to the attendees in the most impressive way possible. Ensuring the company ethos is up to scratch and has a clear equity, diversity, and inclusion policy can help to entice diverse students and graduates.
If you go into the Careers Fair without sufficient focus and direction, it can be harder to measure what a “successful” Careers Fair looks like from your company’s perspective.
Preparing for a Careers Fair
During the Careers Fair
Next Steps
We hope you have benefited from our tips for attracting students and graduate at Careers Fairs. If you have made it this far, consider reading our other article on a similar theme which is also aimed at employers: Why Attend a Careers Fair?
We also have a dedicated employer services and resources page where you can buy credits to post your vacancy on our market-leading jobs board. This is an excellent way of putting your advert in front of qualified leads who meet your target demographic.
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