At most college career fairs, college students tend to walk around each booth puzzled before deciding to leave. Sometimes the feeling of intimidation and nervousness becomes overwhelming for the student when they approach a recruiter to ask information about a particular job.

As recruiters, you can do a great deal to eliminate uncertainty and generate interest in your business and promote meaningful conversations with our students. Here are a few suggestions for a successful Career Fair experience:

Preparation of your goal

• Establish a recruitment program that is designed to provide full/part-time employment or internship opportunities.
• Share information about career opportunities, new programs and services within your company.
• Create a professional atmosphere to enhance your company’s image and name recognition.
• Be prepared and punctual (early setup). Motivated students tend to arrive early to job fairs.

“Displaying Excellence” to your exhibit!

• Think of your exhibit as a stage for exchanging information and you are the main attraction.
• Exhibits should provide some form of visualization (pictures) of the nature of your company’s mission.
• Color enhances a persons initial reaction to an exhibit.
• Bring enough literature to last throughout the day is a foolproof way of initiating conversation about your company.

The “Right” Staff (YOU) = SUCCESS!

• Establishing a good first impression can go a long way. Students will always remember a representative’s personality and professionalism.
• Distributing the right information to students can produce excellent results.
• Standing at the front of your exhibit with assertiveness can gain more attention to your organization.
• Conducting post-fair follow ups to all inquiries will show your company’s credibility and desire to hire.
• Unless you absolutely have to leave, it’s a good idea to remain at your booth so that no on-looker is missed.

Design an “Award Winning” Booth

• Project an image that will represent a style of professionalism and interest that can ignite attention to on-lookers.
• Creating legible displays will not only attract interest, but establishes credibility.
• Using enticements such as promotional gifts can serve as “icebreakers” to develop better connections with students.
• Remembering to include business cards, applications, brochures & signup sheets (for follow-up calls) will ensure success.