Career fairs provide an excellent venue for job seekers and employers looking to come together and share job information, apply and even host interviews. From college students to entrepreneurs, all sorts of people attend these events in order to find their dream job.
However, career fairs have evolved over the years. Now, a simple booth with basic information about your company doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to entice job seekers to come over and check out what you’ve got to offer. Fortunately, this article will help you do just that by giving you a couple of tips on how to transform your company into the centrepiece of any career fair.
Customise Your Booth
One of the most important things you can do to stand out from other booths is to customise yours. That will give attendees a reason to check it out, so you can then entice them with your offer.
Decorating your table with a personalised table throw is a great way to share information about your company without specifically saying it. If you let the table do the talking, attendees will come over out of sheer curiosity. But if you want to use a basic tablecloth, you can give your booth some style with a branded table runner. While it will still show your company logo and some information about it, a table runner is easier to fold and carry around.
Besides your table, you can draw more attention to your booth with a couple of colourful banners. Try to keep them simple and avoid filling them with too much information. You can go for banner flags or hanging flags, depending on the size of your booth. Just don’t overcrowd it with all sorts of decorations, otherwise, you might stick out like a sore thumb.
And lastly, you can use tabletop displays to share information about your brand in a fun and appealing way. They allow attendees to read what you have to offer and then prepare questions while they wait in line. It also makes the whole experience feel more natural, as you won’t have to bombard them with too much information.
Don’t Ignore the Effectiveness of Flyers
Unfortunately, not every attendee will remember what they learned at the career fair. In fact, most will quickly forget about your brand and what it does. However, you can prevent that by sending them home with some helpful information that they can read on their own.
You can print flyers that include everything from your company’s mission statement to your job offering. Your flyers also need to feature contact information for people that want to get in touch and learn about job opportunities. But be careful not to overwhelm your attendees, as too much information can turn them away.
Have Your Employees Ready
Although you can use flyers and your booth to convey as much information as you want, nothing can beat human interaction. That’s why you need to train your employees how to effectively engage attendees. You could host a team meeting right before the fair to ensure that everybody is on the same page. There, you can instruct them on what information they need to provide and what job opportunities they need to present to attendees.
You should also prepare a presentation and rehearse it with your team. During that time, you can request feedback and suggestions from your employees and make adjustments if necessary. After all, you never know when something sounds too generic or if you should include some additional information until you tell your team what you have in mind.
To make your staff look more professional, you can equip them with branded lanyards. That way, attendees will have an easier time knowing who represents your company and who’s just another member of the audience. Doing so will also encourage people to ask questions whenever they bump into one of your employees, even outside your booth area. So don’t shy away from identification items like lanyards, personalised name badges, and even corporate business apparel.
Show Product Samples
While your goal is to attract potential employees, people still want to know what your brand offers to the world. As a matter of fact, attendees will use that information to decide if they have a place in your company. Above all, you want to hire people that understand your core values as well as your merchandise.
By displaying a couple of products, you will improve your presentation and entice people to check out your booth. Try to explain as much as you can about what your brand offers, and you’ll get even more attention, which translates into more potential employees. If possible, allow attendees to test your products for themselves. That way, they’ll see first-hand the results of other employees’ work and decide if they want to join.
But if your company focuses on services instead of products, you can invite some of your customers to share their experiences dealing with your brand. Or, you can explain why your services are so popular and what makes people choose them over your competition. Regardless of which approach you pick, you should focus on showing rather than telling.
Plan Fun Giveaways
Every booth has some sort of giveaway, and yours should do the same. Branding some items with your company name and contact information and then giving them away will positively impact the opinion of your audience, days after the fair. In other words, you should see promotional giveaways as an alternative to traditional business cards. The only real difference is that your promotional item has a lower chance of ending up in the bin than your card.
What Should You Give Away?
With so many promotional items, it can be hard to find one that can accurately represent your business. Here are a couple of popular items that companies frequently give away at career fairs:
- Printed Keychains: With a wide range of sizes, colours, and shapes that you can pick from, keychains are one of the most versatile promotional items. In fact, thanks to their size, your attendees can put them in their pockets without having to worry about carrying your branded keychains all over the fair. And since everybody uses keychains, your gift will be highly valued by recipients.
- Advertising Pens: If you want a practical gift that your attendees will use daily, there’s no better items than branded pens. They are affordable and sought after, making them ideal if you want people to remember your brand after the fair. Additionally, branded pens will also increase your brand awareness, as people will notice your logo wherever your audience needs to write something down.
- Logo Printed Water Bottles: Career fairs can become really tiring, especially for those that want to check out every booth. By gifting people water bottles, you help them hydrate while also reminding them about your brand. You also make them more likely to choose your career opportunities and think more positively about your company.
- Branded Magnets: If you still want to give away business cards, but you are not sure about their effectiveness, you should consider magnets with your logo and business info. They are a modern take on the classic concept of cards, which makes them more appealing to younger generations. Thus, your recipients are less likely to toss them away and will instead put them on their fridge. So, whenever they’ll get something to eat, they’ll notice your brand and remember your presentation.
Related content:
Get Ahead of Competitors with These Unique Branded Products
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, your goal is to scout the market and find the best potential employees. However, to do so, you need to know how to entice them to learn more about your business. People are not going to pick your booth over another if you don’t make a conscious effort to attract them.
Thus, you need to give them a reason to come over, such as an interesting giveaway or a product display. Afterward, your employees will have the opportunity to initiate productive conversations and tell attendees more about your brand. Only by doing that will you be able to find high-quality people that can help grow your business!
You may also like:
Business Topics
If you need even more info about how to organise a successful career fair or any other related subject, we are here for you. Give us a call at 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
