Finding and retaining skilled labor and talent has become an increasingly formidable challenge for employers. From manufacturing to the hospitality industry, employers are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to fill important roles and keep their doors open and businesses running. Common strategies include offering sign-on bonuses, flexible hours, and enticing benefits. Even with all of those perks, good employees are still hard to come by. That’s why job recruiting events have become an important part of the overall recruitment process. Read on to find out our best recruiting event tips - and how to find the best tent - for your job fair booth.
#1. Plan Your Recruitment Event
Advance planning is essential for a successful recruitment event. Start by getting your team together to brainstorm recruiting events ideas. Check to see if there is an upcoming community or campus recruitment event that your company can participate in. Other planning tips include:
- Designate a planning team and the booth recruitment members. You don’t want to have too few or too many people inside the booth, so consider carefully.
- Decide on which job fairs you wish to attend. Think about your target audience and make sure you’re strategic about which events will be the best fit.
- Mark your calendars and start promoting your job fair booth via your company’s website, social media, and local / campus events calendars.
#2. Take Care of the Event Logistics
The logistics for your event begin with the time, place, and venue. Will it be an outdoor or indoor event? Either way, you will need some kind of designated booth space. Indoor tents are perfect for career fair events since they are affordable, portable, and easy to set up, take down and store. They are also a sound investment since they can be reused for additional job fairs, trade shows, and other purposes. Other logistics to consider include:
- Weather: For outdoor job fairs, be sure you have a back-up plan for poor weather conditions.
- Booth personnel: Plan for your best recruiters to attend the event and sell your company to potential employees. If you can have a current employee who is an “ambassador” of your company attend to answer questions from job fair attendees, that will definitely add credibility to your recruitment efforts. Remember, job candidates are not only interested in salary and benefits, but most also care about company culture and room for promotions and advancement.
- Booth signage: Make sure you leave plenty of time to design and print signage and other promotional materials, such as hand-outs and brochures.
- Applications: Plan to have a stack of job applications or a laptop set up for applicants to apply on the spot!
#3. Event Promotion and Follow-Up
Your job fair booth will only be successful if people turn out for the event! That’s why it is so important to not only promote the job fair externally but also internally. And promotion doesn’t end when the event is over; follow-up is equally important. The following checklist will help keep you on track:
- Use all social media, including community pages, to promote the event.
- Promote the event internally and offer incentive bonuses for employee referrals.
- If applicable, contact local colleges to promote the event.
- Try to schedule as many interviews as possible, or offer immediate, on-site interviews with a human resources representative.
- Capture attendee information as much as possible and follow up with personalized postcards, emails, and phone calls.
Top Must-Have Things for Your Recruitment Booth
The devil is in the details - especially for career fair booths. After all, you often are competing with many other employers for the attention and mindshare of highly coveted future employees. That means that your recruitment booth has to stand out from the competition and attract those candidates to your job fair booth. Think about the following:
- The booth: Consider customized pop-up tents. They are affordable, portable, and can be customized with your brand and eye-popping graphics to attract candidates. Even the smallest pop-up tents can provide enough room for a recruitment table topped everything you need for the event.
- The signage: Plan for banners, posters, tablecloths, brochures, tabletop easels, and more to prominently advertise job openings and benefits. Be sure to include contact information on all signage and marketing collateral. Include a stack of business cards as well.
- The giveaways: People love free stuff. Branded t-shirts, tote bags, and more can not only drive people to your booth but also advertise your company after the job fair ends. Capture potential candidates' contact information before giving away the swag.
- Snacks and drinks. Never underestimate the value of tasty treats - especially at campus events with hungry potential candidates. Put out a spread of individual sized candy bars, granola bars, and bottled water to attract a hungry crowd.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive job market, you need to take advantage of every job fair event possible. If you’re feeling defeated about the lack of candidates, keep in mind the things that you love about your company, and don’t be afraid to share. Part of what makes your company unique is you and your team! If you are enthusiastic about what you do, it’s bound to be contagious. Just be sure to fill your booth with people who are equally excited about the opportunities you have to offer. To get started, shop for tents and canopies at American Tent. Contact us to start building the perfect booth and make your next job fair booth a smashing success!
