Job Fair Tips for Success

A well-developed plan for your Job Fair will help increase your chances for a successful event. Below are steps and strategies to assist you in your planning.

Visit the DWD web site to view a statewide list of Job Fairs. This helps to collaborate or avoid conflict when scheduling your Job Fair.
To list your Job Fair at the DWD web site, contact the Job Fair page author with your information.
Have a strategic planning/coordination meeting with participants from Employer Services, Job Service, Apprenticeship, Job Seeker Services, DVR, DER, Youth Apprenticeship, and others about providing information/services at the Job Fair.
Use the suggestions and ideas below to create a successful event:

Before the Job Fair begins

Offer a seminar for employers that will address some of their critical issues:

Hiring employees
Retaining employees
Labor laws
Motivating, rewarding and recognizing employees

Host workshops for job seekers, such as:

Resume writing
Interviewing techniques
Proper attire

Ask employers for a brief company profile that can be available to job seekers.

Announce the list of participating employers. This offers publicity to the business, and gives job seekers the opportunity to research the company/organization.

Designate booths for every employer participant and make a floor plan that is distributed to job seekers to easily locate their employer of choice.

In coordination with participating employers, develop a generic work application form for job seekers to complete. Make copies, and distribute it to all employers. The Work Application (DET-5011) is ready-made for this activity.

Send this reminder to participating employers: If your company uses an on-line work application, bring brochures or informational cards containing company information and the web address of the application to distribute.

Develop a video of employees at work within the company and run it during the Job Fair so job seekers can see what it is like to work at that business/organization.

Make sure your location provides ample space for your event: adequate parking, tables, seating, and so on, down to the pens job seekers will need to complete applications.

Door prizes, given away every half-hour, make a nice "perk" for job seekers and a good marketing tool for employers. Ask for employer contributions to this effort.

Make arrangements to provide a copier on site. In exchange, you can give a copier rental firm free exposure.

Encourage job seekers to present resumes to Job Center staff. Staff can then make copies, organize the resumes according to broad occupational groups and offer the packet to employers participating in the Job Fair. This may be offered to employers as a fee-for-service.

Have representatives or advocates for special interest groups present (determine this based on your population), such as:

Older workers
Veterans
Youth
Persons with disabilities
Persons with limited English proficiency

Invite local transit services to provide information about bus routes, fares, to the event. They might be invited to sell bus passes or distribute route information (connecting to participating employers) during the event.

Include a booth for state government jobs, and Apprenticeship opportunities.

Invite a local childcare referral service to offer information about day care providers, sick child care options, and so on.

Provide something for kids to do (and advertise this in your flyers!):

Craft Table (an idea might be to ask your local fast food restaurant to donate coloring books and crayons and then designate the table as sponsored by them)
Storyteller area
Play area with toys
Provide on-site childcare (advertise this, too!)

Advertise your event in creative ways:

"Shopper Stoppers"
Grocery stores
Laundromats
Bowling alleys
Movie theaters
Skating rinks
Restaurants
Retailers
Schools - even elementary to reach parents who may volunteer there
YMCA/YWCA
Colleges and Technical College Campuses - include in their newspaper, post flyers etc.

Use your community organizations to promote your event:

Parent Teacher Organizations
Chambers of Commerce
Local community center
Faith organizations
Rotary Clubs

Make sure the staff knows what to do:

Circulate around the room to assist with questions or position staff in strategic spots
Designate staff with name tags and ribbons (or star, etc.) so they might be easily recognized
Greet job seekers and employers and provide directions.
Provide nametags for employers and job seekers, with an identifier "JOB SEEKER" or "EMPLOYER" and space to fill in their name

Hand out information about your programs and contact persons.

Make sure all literature, signage, and displays have been proof-read for accuracy. Twice!

Provide a break room for employers and serve a lunch (box lunch, sandwich buffet, etc.). Build the cost into the booth fee. Cookies and soda are also a nice touch

Periodically, offer to get soda, coffee and snacks for employers who cannot get away from their booths.

Staff can offer to relieve the employer to give him/her a chance to leave the booth for a bit.

Provide a list of employer events and services at every booth to promote your Job Center. Post job seeker events and services near the entrance or provide a flyer at the registration table.

Offer to assist employers with booth set-up and take-down to unload and load booths, equipment and materials.

Allow companies to display their products (in such businesses as tractors, autos, boats, etc) outside the building for an interesting attention-grabber.

Encourage businesses to offer tours of their facilities to job seekers.

Involve your local high school students as "helpers" during the Job Fair. This initiative will also help make the Job Center connection to the classroom and the classroom to work.

Students can greet participants and hand out materials.
Schedule them for one-hour shifts.
Provide a 15-minute overview of expectations of job seekers at Job Fairs to the students prior to the Fair (how to dress, resumes, how to approach employers, etc.)
Students can also photocopy applications and resumes for job seekers to free up Job Center staff for other work.
Evaluate the Job Fair using comment cards, surveys or evaluation forms. Ask employers, job seekers and others that participated for feedback about the event location, date, day of the week, time, number of applicants interviewed, how many were hired.
Review what worked well and adjust plans for future events.

Have a great and successful event!