What you are promoting is rising, which suggests you’re most likely seeking to fill new roles and develop your workforce. And also you’re trying to do that in a novel and efficient method. Enter: job festivals for employers.

A research by Linkedin discovered that 60% of job candidates search for new jobs on-line—that leaves one other 40% of the workforce in search of alternatives elsewhere, largely at in-person networking occasions like job festivals. Although job festivals is usually a giant funding upfront for enterprise house owners simply beginning out, they’re a good way to attach with potential candidates and put your organization in entrance of numerous keen expertise looking for work.

However first, you’ll must study the ropes. On this article, you’ll study all about job festivals for employers: why it is best to take into account them in your hiring course of, how you can put together for a job honest, how you can take advantage of out of a job honest occasion, and a guidelines you possibly can take with you if you’re able to dive in.

What’s a job honest?

A job honest is an organized in-person occasion for corporations and companies to promote open roles to potential candidates. Job seekers attend job festivals to distribute their resumes to hiring corporations, community, and doubtlessly safe new employment on the spot. 

Usually, your small business would pay a price to take part in a job honest. You’d arrange a sales space or desk for a day or longer, relying on the size of the job honest. It’s a preferred method of discovering and hiring nice candidates which may have gotten misplaced within the pile of on-line purposes, and likewise provides you an opportunity to fulfill individuals nose to nose.

What’s job honest recruitment?

Job honest recruitment is when corporations or companies take part in job festivals to determine and appeal to potential candidates to fill their job openings. It includes organising cubicles or tables on the job honest for recruiters or hiring managers to interact with job seekers, accumulate resumes, consider their suitability for accessible positions and arrange follow-up interviews with the most effective candidates.

Actively taking part in job festivals for employers also can enable you community with different native companies you could possibly accomplice with, and foster future collaboration and talent-sharing alternatives. Job honest recruiting works for all sorts of enterprise; whether or not you’re a small enterprise in search of hourly hires, or a franchisee looking for the following assistant supervisor. It doesn’t matter what you’re in search of in your future staff—there’s most likely a job honest for employers that’s the suitable match for you.

How job festivals for employers work

Because the hiring firm, you need to be excited about job festivals as “recruitment pace relationship”. You’re in search of your dream workforce gamers in a brief span of time, and your job candidates are additionally attending to know you and what your organization has to supply. 

On the honest, job seekers will strategy your sales space, so that you’ll have to be prepared to interact them in significant conversations, reply their questions, and supply details about your small business and accessible positions. You don’t should essentially rent on the spot, and we advocate not making any instantaneous selections. As an alternative, accumulate resumes and interact a few of your potential hires in dialog to get a way of their expertise and in the event that they’ll be the suitable match in your workforce.

Job festivals for employers provide the alternative to showcase your organization and appeal to potential candidates. An interesting sales space is essential–you’ll need a arrange with visually interesting shows, brochures, and job descriptions. However you don’t have to interrupt the financial institution. Go along with what you already know: in case you’re a native espresso store, have some free and recent espresso accessible for candidates. Skateboard store? Have a number of stickers to disclose to candidates. Landscaping enterprise? Have a number of enterprise playing cards prepared at hand out, however perhaps go away the grass clippings at dwelling.

While you chat with potential hires, you’ll must create a memorable first impression by actively listening to their aspirations. Make clear your job necessities, and spotlight the advantages of working in your firm. By amassing resumes and speak to data from candidates, you possibly can comply with up with them after the occasion to proceed the recruitment course of.

Scorching tip: Use an all-in-one software program answer like Homebase and have potential staff enroll on the spot utilizing a pill or smartphone proper at your sales space. Homebase makes it straightforward to trace your candidates and maintain every part organized in a single place, all the way in which from interview inquiries to your new rent’s first paycheck.

Following the job honest, assess the collected resumes, shortlist certified candidates, and proceed with additional interviews or assessments. You’ll additionally must measure the ROI of taking part in a job honest to find out if it’s one thing you’ll wish to do once more. By actively taking part in job festivals for employers, you possibly can have interaction and get to know nice candidates face-to-face, promote your organization’s model, and doubtlessly discover appropriate candidates to fill your job openings.

Easy methods to be a part of a job honest as an employer

Discovering the right job honest takes a little bit of analysis, organizing your assets, and timing. Earlier than even clicking on the appliance button for a job honest, ensure you’re clear on what you’re attempting to attain by attending and that you’ve got sufficient time to organize. 

Right here’s how you can be a part of a job honest as an worker, from discovering the suitable job honest to sealing the deal on a sales space.

1. Do your analysis

Not all job festivals are the identical—and never all job festivals appeal to a expertise pool that’s a match in your explicit enterprise or {industry}. Begin by researching job festivals in your {industry} or location, specializing in respected job festivals that appeal to the kind of candidates you’re in search of. Listed here are some potential sources you possibly can verify:

• Contact your native Chambers of Commerce: They typically manage or have details about job festivals occurring in your space. They’ll present particulars about industry-specific festivals, regional job festivals, or common profession occasions.
• Test on-line directories: There are on-line directories devoted to itemizing job festivals. Web sites like Eventbrite, JobFairing, or LocalJobNetwork present complete listings of job festivals occurring in many various cities. The Nationwide Profession Gala’s web site lists all of the job festivals scheduled for the whole yr forward.
• For extra junior roles, try school and college profession facilities: Numerous post-secondary faculties host job festivals to assist their latest grads land their first job. A few of these festivals may additionally be open to exterior employers. Contact the profession facilities of schools and universities in your metropolis to see when their profession festivals happen and in case you can apply.
• Ask {industry} associations and networks: You possibly can check out industry-specific associations, skilled networks, or commerce organizations associated to your small business. You possibly can verify their web sites, newsletters, or attain out to them straight for particulars.
• Ask your community: Attain out to professionals in your community by way of LinkedIn or e mail. On social media platforms like Fb and Twitter, you possibly can be a part of industry-specific teams or comply with related hashtags to remain up to date on job festivals and profession occasions.

When you’ve recognized the job festivals you’re concerned about, consider them based mostly on their relevance to your organization and the supply of appropriate candidates. Contemplate elements like {industry} focus, location, dimension, and the honest’s observe file of attracting certified candidates. If the job honest’s geared extra in the direction of tech companies and also you’re an area vet clinic, nicely, it won’t be the suitable match.

2. Apply to the job honest

Say you’ve picked the job honest you wish to attend. Now what? Listed here are a number of tricks to get you heading in the right direction:

• Assessment the appliance course of: Go to the job honest’s web site or contact the organizers to acquire details about the appliance course of. Take note of utility deadlines, required paperwork, and any charges related to reserving a sales space. Pay attention to any further supplies or promotional objects they might require you to put money into.
• Put together the appliance supplies: Put together your utility supplies—and get all of the approvals you want—as early as attainable. This sometimes features a accomplished utility kind, details about your organization, job descriptions, and some other required paperwork. Craft a compelling and concise firm profile that highlights your distinctive promoting factors to the job honest organizers and attracts potential candidates.
• Tailor your message to the job honest: When speaking with the job honest organizers, personalize your messages and display your real curiosity in taking part. Point out particular points of the job honest that align along with your hiring wants and the way you consider your organization can contribute to the occasion’s success. 
• Comply with-up: After submitting your utility, proactively comply with up with the job honest organizers to substantiate receipt of your utility and specific your enthusiasm to take part. This helps set up a connection and retains you on their radar.
• Be responsive: All through the communication course of, be conscious of any requests or inquiries from the job honest organizers. Promptly present any further data or supplies they might require. Well timed {and professional} communication demonstrates your dedication and responsiveness as a possible exhibitor.

3: Plan your assets (time, cash, effort)

When you’ve secured a sales space on the job honest, it’s time to plan your spending. This consists of how a lot you’ll spend on any journey or parking, sales space supplies, human effort, and time. 

Listed here are some tricks to take advantage of your funding:

Set a finances 

Decide how a lot you’re prepared to spend on supplies, giveaways, journey, and parking. Make sure that it aligns along with your total advertising and marketing and hiring budgets. Take into consideration who might be internet hosting the occasion, and in case you’ll must pay them a further hourly wage.

Plan your sales space

As soon as your sales space utility is accepted, begin planning your sales space structure, promotional supplies, and staffing necessities. Contemplate the way you’ll successfully characterize your organization and interact with potential candidates in the course of the occasion.

Jack Underwood, CEO & Co-Founding father of Circuit, suggests including a self-serving station made up of 1 or two iPads when you’ve got a finances. 

“Whilst you ought to meet and greet as many potential candidates in particular person as attainable, some candidates would possibly want to take a look at assets individually,” Jack says. “And in case your sales space is the hit you hope it to be, chances are you’ll find yourself with lengthy line-ups that deter candidates who don’t wish to wait. A self-serve station helps introverted candidates and people in a rush to make use of an iPad or different fast tech software to enter their contact data for a follow-up later.”

Jack additionally recommends going the additional mile and developing with inventive methods to get your sales space to face out. 

“Host a contest or giveaway to draw candidates to your sales space,” Jack instructed. “When the job honest competitors is fierce, sweetening the pot might help guarantee extra candidates head your method, at the least for a couple of minutes.”

Practice your workforce

Whether or not you’re the one manning the sales space otherwise you’re hiring one among your workforce members to speak to potential hires, ensure you’re ready to reply questions, present data, and interact with potential candidates. Test that everybody is aware of a number of key factors about your organization and why individuals would wish to work there. Put together a short, compelling pitch that may be delivered in below a minute.

Making ready your workforce for the day additionally includes making certain they’ve every part they should carry out. “Your workforce is the face of your profession honest efforts—it’s essential they keep recent and energized to allow them to give 100% to each candidate and make a robust impression,” Jack added. “Monitor your workforce efforts and ensure every worker takes breaks repeatedly.”

Monitor and measure your ROI

Set objectives for the job honest and observe your return on funding. Have a system in place to gather candidate data and observe new hires ensuing from the job honest. Determine how a lot it prices to accumulate a brand new rent by the job honest, and evaluate that to different sourcing methods. Some examples of KPIs you possibly can measure are the variety of certified leads interviewed, candidate conversion charges, time to fill a job, and worker retention charge.

To trace the success of taking part in a job honest, Jon Hill, Chairman & CEO of The Energists, suggests including a query onto your utility that asks how the candidate came upon concerning the function or your organization. He suggested: “This can allow you to collect knowledge about how nicely the job honest labored by evaluating the quantity and high quality of candidates from the job honest to your different recruitment methods, which could be helpful for refining your strategy sooner or later.”

5 advantages of job festivals for employers 

Some key advantages of job festivals for employers embrace:

1. You lower your expenses in your hiring finances

Collaborating in job festivals is usually a cost-effective recruitment technique for small companies. In response to a report by the Society for Human Useful resource Administration (SHRM), it prices employers a mean of $4,129 and takes a mean of 42 days to fill an open place. Moderately than investing vital assets in third-party recruitment companies, a job honest permits small companies to interact with a big pool of candidates in a single occasion. This consolidates recruitment efforts and might result in extra environment friendly use of time and assets. Earlier than the job honest, just be sure you’ve posted your job listings on an built-in web site like Homebase, so individuals have someplace to return and evaluation information as soon as the honest is over.

2. You get entry to a big pool of “offline” expertise

Job festivals appeal to job seekers who’re actively in search of work. They’re additionally well-attended, so that you could be certain you’ll discover a big pool of probably certified candidates. A research by the Nationwide Affiliation of Schools and Employers (NACE) discovered that over 91% of respondents stated they’d attended at the least one profession honest the earlier yr. 

On high of that, job festivals appeal to high-quality candidates. One other NACE survey discovered that job festivals are ranked among the many high three simplest strategies for employers to attach with candidates actively in search of jobs.

3. You get to know candidates on the spot

In response to a research printed within the Worldwide Journal of Choice and Evaluation, face-to-face interviews are typically probably the most correct strategy to assess a candidate’s expertise, {qualifications}, and cultural match. By attending a job honest, you’re bypassing the hassle of sifting by tons of of faceless purposes. You additionally get a novel alternative to get a way of an applicant’s character and tradition match.

For Daybreak Boyer, Ph.D., an skilled profession marketing consultant understanding of Virginia, job festivals additionally add a private contact to the hiring course of: “I like assembly people ‘out within the wild’, so to talk.”

4. You get model publicity

There’s a chance you received’t discover and rent candidates on the job festivals you attend. However it’s not a complete loss. While you attend a job honest, you’re additionally promoting your small business to future job seekers. Some individuals won’t be prepared to use to your organization instantly, but when they’d a constructive interplay with you at a job honest, they’ll maintain your organization’s identify in thoughts the following time they’re in search of work.

Job festivals aren’t only a supply of potential expertise prepared so that you can rent. They’re additionally the right time to showcase your organization tradition, values, and future progress alternatives. 

5. You get to community

Job festivals present networking alternatives for small companies to attach with different employers, {industry} professionals, and native assets. Constructing relationships with different exhibitors and {industry} contacts can result in collaborations, partnerships, and potential referrals for future hiring.

Easy methods to put together for a job honest as an employer

Job festivals for employers seem to be a hassle-free, grassroots technique for hiring to this point, however there’s so much to do earlier than, throughout, and after if you wish to get the most effective outcomes attainable. It takes numerous planning, organizing, budgeting, and committing time. 

Create a job honest recruitment technique

Earlier than going to the job honest, you’ll must create a recruitment technique. This can set you up for fulfillment by providing you with quite a few particular objectives and outcomes you’ll wish to obtain in the course of the job honest. A recruitment technique might help you craft an incredible pitch for potential hires, allocate assets successfully, preserve model consistency, and consider candidates in opposition to a set of particular standards.

• Have clearly outlined roles you’re hiring for. Corporations ought to have clear and outlined job openings once they’re actively in search of candidates. It’s necessary to have particular roles accessible and understanding of the abilities and {qualifications} required for every place. Plan not just for the outline of the function, however so you possibly can actively talk about and reply the questions of job honest attendees.
• Manage your recruitment supplies. This includes a little bit of planning and budgeting. It’s a good suggestion to have brochures or flyers about your small business, enterprise playing cards, and job descriptions both printed out or on-line the place individuals can simply view them.Should you’ve bought the finances, it’s also possible to take into account some “enjoyable” merchandise like keychains, water bottles, or espresso mugs.
• Choose who will characterize your organization on the job honest. Select educated and interesting workers members who can successfully talk your organization’s values, job alternatives, and reply questions from job seekers. Ideally, you could be there your self to assist practice somebody for future job festivals, to allow them to see in motion the way you current your small business.
• Determine on the appliance course of for candidates. Skip the paper resumes in case you can (although you possibly can nonetheless settle for them in fact), and have an easy-to-use on-line utility system. Significantly for Gen Z staff, conserving issues on-line will make issues simpler in your future hires, and likewise for your self relating to group. 
• Don’t neglect to do advertising and marketing. Earlier than you attend, take into account promoting that you simply’ll be attending the job honest onn social media. Marnix Broer, co-founder and CEO of Studocu, did this as a part of his job honest recruitment technique. “Let candidates, staff, and employers alike know that you simply’re attending at the least 2 weeks forward of time,” he suggested. “You possibly can create a social marketing campaign to boost native consciousness and ask staff to share the information with any related candidates of their community.”

What to do on the job honest

After getting a gameplan, finances, and assets deliberate, it’s time to attend the job honest. Listed here are a number of dos and don’ts that you simply’ll wish to put together for. 

Do: Arrive on the job honest early

Relying on the kind of honest, arriving early would possibly assist you make sure that you get a great spot in your sales space (if it wasn’t assigned beforehand). It’ll additionally enable you have interaction candidates earlier than the push and lengthy traces pile up later within the day.

Do: Arrange a sales space that stands out

You are able to do this through the use of vivid colours, distinctive shows, freebies, contests and giveaways, or interactive parts to be a focus for job seekers. Make sure that your small business identify and emblem are extremely seen, together with any key details about the positions you’re hiring for.

Do: Have interaction job seekers in pleasant dialog

Smile, make eye contact, and don’t be afraid to strike up a dialog with job seekers who stroll by your sales space. Present that you simply’re inquisitive about who they’re, their background, expertise and pursuits, and share details about your organization and accessible positions.

Do: Have sufficient materials to provide away

Be certain that you convey sufficient brochures, flyers, and different advertising and marketing supplies to provide out to candidates. Convey sufficient enterprise playing cards in your workforce in order that they’ll hand them out to potential candidates. This can assist job seekers bear in mind your organization and speak to you later if they’ve any questions or are concerned about making use of. 

Don’t: Spend an excessive amount of time speaking to job seekers who aren’t match 

Whereas it’s necessary to interact job seekers in dialog, you don’t wish to waste an excessive amount of time with somebody who isn’t match in your firm or the positions you’re hiring for.

Don’t: Be too aggressive

Job seekers don’t wish to really feel pressured or uncomfortable. Be sure to preserve a pleasant and approachable demeanor with out being pushy or overbearing. Bear in mind to respect their private area and provides them time to browse your sales space and ask questions at their very own tempo.

Don’t: Overlook to take notes 

Taking notes will enable you determine tendencies and customary questions or issues that job seekers have as a way to modify your recruitment technique sooner or later. 

Josh Snead, CEO of Rainwalk Pet Insurance coverage, is a giant believer of taking good notes on every candidate you speak to: “This fashion you will get a greater look of everybody you interviewed after the honest is over. The perfect half about interviewing at job festivals is that you simply get have a look at who’s who. You possibly can see who thinks on their toes greatest, who’s critical concerning the job, and who comes ready. All qualities you need from staff.”

Don’t: Overlook to be inclusive 

It’s necessary to create an atmosphere that’s welcoming to job seekers from all backgrounds and experiences. Keep away from utilizing unique language and ensure your sales space is accessible to all. Moreover, take into account reaching out to organizations that assist underrepresented teams to advertise the job honest and encourage their members to attend. By being inclusive, you possibly can appeal to a wider pool of candidates and present that your organization values variety and inclusion.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to suppose outdoors the field and have enjoyable! Job festivals for employers could be crowded and overwhelming, however don’t let that discourage you from attempting one thing new and artistic. You possibly can provide a novel giveaway or exercise at your sales space to draw extra job seekers and stand out from the group. You possibly can additionally attempt internet hosting a mini workshop or informational session about your organization or {industry} to interact job seekers in a extra significant method. 

3. What to do after the job honest

After the job honest, there are a number of necessary steps you’ll wish to take to maintain the momentum going. 

• Debrief along with your workforce. Focus on what labored nicely, what didn’t, and any modifications you wish to make to any future occasions. Evaluate notes on the totally different candidates you spoke to and determine any standouts that ought to transfer to the following spherical of the recruitment course of.
• Assessment resumes and purposes. Slender down the record to the candidates who’re the most effective match for the positions you’re hiring for. Then, Attain out to schedule interviews or cellphone screenings. Bear in mind to make use of these debrief notes we talked about earlier and prioritize the candidates who stood out or appeared like a robust match for the function. Lastly, you should definitely replace your applicant monitoring system or some other recruitment instruments you employ to maintain every part organized and transferring ahead easily.
• Comply with up with high candidates. Attain out to your high candidates inside every week of the job honest to schedule interviews or present further details about the open positions. Use the notes you took in the course of the job honest to personalize your follow-up and present that you simply bear in mind the dialog you had with them.
• Consider your recruitment technique. Have a look at the success of your sales space, the advertising and marketing supplies you offered, and the actions you performed. Determine any areas the place you possibly can enhance or attempt one thing new for future job festivals.

Need hassle-free hiring and onboarding? Get all of the instruments it is advisable to develop your workforce quick with Homebase—like free job submit templates, interview scheduling, new rent welcome packets, and extra.

Job honest guidelines for employers

Job festivals for employers: a guidelines

Beneath you’ll discover this information in guidelines kind. Make your individual copy utilizing these prompts and use it to information your planning efforts, your recruitment technique and your post-event follow-ups.

Easy methods to be a part of a job honest 

• Do thorough analysis to determine job festivals that align along with your {industry} and appeal to appropriate candidates.
• Assessment the appliance course of and deadlines for the chosen job honest.
• Put together utility supplies, together with an organization profile, job descriptions, and any required paperwork.
• Personalize your communication with job honest organizers and specific your real curiosity in taking part.
• Comply with up with the job honest organizers to substantiate receipt of your utility and specific your enthusiasm.
• Be conscious of any requests or inquiries from the organizers in the course of the communication course of.
• Plan your assets, together with budgeting for journey, lodging, sales space supplies, and staffing necessities.
• Set objectives and set up a system to trace and measure your return on funding.

Earlier than: What to do earlier than a job honest

• Create a recruitment technique with particular objectives and outcomes for the job honest.
• Outline the roles you’re hiring for and be ready to debate the abilities and {qualifications} required.
• Manage recruitment supplies, together with brochures, flyers, enterprise playing cards, and branded merchandise.
• Choose educated and interesting workers members to characterize your organization on the job honest.
• Determine on the appliance course of for candidates and put together mandatory types or on-line utility portals.
• Promote your participation within the job honest on social media and lift native consciousness.
• Guarantee you’ve a finances and allocate assets successfully.

Throughout: What to do on the job honest

• Arrive early to safe a great spot and interact candidates earlier than the push.
• Arrange a visually interesting and attention-grabbing sales space with your small business identify, emblem, and key data.
• Have interaction job seekers in pleasant dialog, present curiosity of their backgrounds, and share details about your organization.
• Have sufficient recruitment supplies to provide away, together with brochures, flyers, and enterprise playing cards.
• Take notes on candidates to determine tendencies and modify your recruitment technique.

After: What to do after the job honest

• Debrief along with your workforce to debate successes, areas for enchancment, and any modifications for future occasions.
• Assessment resumes and purposes, prioritizing candidates who stood out or are a robust match.
• Attain out to high candidates inside every week to schedule interviews or present further data.
• Personalize your follow-up based mostly on the conversations you had with candidates on the job honest.
• Consider the success of your sales space, advertising and marketing supplies, and actions to enhance for future job festivals.

Job festivals for employers FAQ

What’s job honest recruitment?

Job honest recruitment refers back to the means of attracting and choosing potential candidates for employment alternatives by job festivals. At job festivals, employers arrange cubicles or stands to showcase their firm and job openings. They’re a good way to interact with job seekers who attend the occasion.

What are the advantages of a job honest for employers?

Job festivals provide a number of advantages for employers:

• You lower your expenses in your hiring finances
• You get entry to a big pool of “offline” expertise
• You get to know candidates on the spot
• You get model publicity
• You get to community

Why do employers go to job festivals?

Employers go to job festivals for a number of causes. 

• Job festivals present a centralized platform to attach with a lot of potential candidates in a brief time frame. This enables employers to effectively fill their hiring wants. 
• Job festivals provide a possibility for face-to-face interplay, enabling employers to evaluate candidates’ communication expertise, professionalism, and cultural match. 
• Job festivals are a possibility for model visibility, selling the corporate tradition, and attracting high expertise. 
• Job festivals present networking alternatives, permitting employers to attach with {industry} professionals, discover collaborations, and collect market intelligence.