TOP 10BEST PRACTICESFor Employers

Copyright © 2017, Sheryl Gillum. All Rights Reserved.

BEST

PRACTIC

ES

Best practices, in short, are those

methods or programs that have

been found to be successful in

accomplishing goals, and that

can be used in your circumstances.

WHY FOCUS ON BEST

PRACTICES?

Your Business Challenges are not Unique…

Whatever challenges you’re facing, other

businesses have experienced them before

and found solutions that work. The answers

are out there, but it can be hard to find the

time to research different options.

Here are the Top Ten Best Practices for Job

Fair Success for Employers, compiled from a

network of associates including business

owners, managers and business specialists.

SOMETHING

TO CONSIDER

1. BE PREPARED

Responsibility of preparation is a two-way street. Your Job

Fair coordinators invest a lot of time, effort, and

resources to set up Job Fairs.

Job Seekers appreciate company representatives who are

easy to approach and have clear answers to their

questions.

If employer representatives and job seekers both prepare

adequately, Job Fairs can be great successes for

everyone!

2. CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE JOB

OPENINGS WITHIN YOUR COMPANY

A board that reads, "Now hiring for..." and lists

the available opportunities can go a long way to

ensure that the right candidates stop by.

If you are a company known for hiring general

laborers, you may not get that Human Resources

Professional you need if you don't let job

seekers know what you are currently hiring for.

3. BRING USEFUL AND ORIGINAL MATERIALS

Potential candidates can learn almost everything about

your company with a quick internet search. Make their

time at the job fair worthwhile by offering information

they couldn't easily find elsewhere.

For example, if your website doesn't have any visuals of

the physical workspace, bring a laptop to the career fair

and play a slideshow or video that offers job seekers a

virtual tour of the office.

4. SET UP AN EYE-CATCHING BOOTH

THAT WILL ATTRACT JOB SEEKERS

Have an attention-grabbing display that will

make people more likely to stop by and visit

your table.

The more job seekers you attract, the greater

your talent pool will be at the end of the day.

5. MOVE FROM BEHIND THE TABLE

You have to stand out in a crowd (literally), says William

Jones, a director in the Rutgers University Career Services

office.

"Push your table out of the way and show your own

enthusiasm for the work that you do. You can't expect

talent to always come and find you — especially when you

are competing with other similar organizations looking for

the same skill sets."

6. PREPARE QUESTIONS OR A BR IEF

INTERVIEW TO PRE -QUALIFY APPL ICANTS

Chitchat is great, but the goal of attending a job fair is to find

candidates for your jobs.

Prepare brief interview questions to ask those who express an interest

in your company to pre-qualify them.

Have a packet of material about your company to hand potential

employees.

Give them your card and take theirs if they have one along with their

resume. Be prepared to use that information to follow-up with them.

This ensures that you don’t waste your time, or theirs.

7. BE OPEN TO ALL MAJORS ANDBACKGROUNDS

Don't present materials that will only attract a specific

group of candidates. For instance, you should avoid

displaying signs that say things like: "Looking for finance

majors!" or "Are you an IT professional? This is the

company for you!“

You could be missing out on a highly qualified candidate

who'd be a great fit.

8. DON 'T JUST REFER JOB SEEKERS TO

YOUR WEBS ITE

The No. 1 complaint from job fair participants is that they talk to the employer

and then they're told to "go online and apply."

Candidates want to know that they have an "in" or a special relationship because

they came to the fair.

"Otherwise, they could have just stayed home and applied online".

Job Seekers know that their resume says nothing about their integrity or their work

ethic so they are coming to introduce themselves to you.

Katharine S. Brooks, executive director of the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest University

9. RESPOND TO INQUIRIES AND

FOLLOW UP ASAP AFTER THE EVENT

When you speak to a job-seeker get their name, number, and

what they are interested in on a sign-up sheet so that you can

contact them after the fair.

Be sure to follow up and respond to all inquiries as soon as

possible after the event. Finding employment is a serious

matter for any job seeker, so don’t keep them guessing.

10. GIVE FEEDBACK

Your survey responses will be your way to provide the

reliable feedback needed to improve the next event and

help you reach your goals.

Be sure to respond to survey inquiries as soon as

possible after the event.

Your responses can unlock understanding to promote

informed business decisions.

Summary

Following these best practices will increase your success before,

during, and following the job fair.

Best practices are born from failure and success stories. Our

goal is to help you to avoid what doesn’t promote likely

successful outcomes while encouraging you to learn from the

challenges of others and provide for you more successful Best

Practices.

Contact Information

Katherine Anderson, Yavapai College, 928-776-2008, Katherine.Anderson@yc.edu

Sheryl Gillum, Arizona@Work Employment Services, 928-759-1673, SGillum@AZDES.gov

Patrick Kuykendall AZ DES Veterans Workforce Specialist, 928-759-1678, PKuykendall@C.gov

Dwayne Miller, Northern Arizona Council of Governments, 928-778-1422, DMiller@NACOG.org

Deeidra Skipton, Goodwill, 928-515-6540, Deeidra.Skipton@GoodwillAZ.org

Laura Warne, Prescott Chamber of Commerce, 928-445-2000 ext. 114, Laura@prescott.org