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Career fairs (part 1): Hosting a successful on-campus event
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Career fairs held by your college or university’s career center can be intimidating, often with more than 100 companies represented. Now, don’t get me wrong, you should always attend these multi-industry fairs for the experience, if nothing else. However, sometimes the best events are those specific to your desired career path.
When I was in college, I hosted my university’s first (and possibly to this day only) public relations career fair. It was an incredible success, with more than 200 students and 30 employers in attendance. How can you duplicate this effort?
1. Contact the president of your professional association’s student chapter on campus. It is probably best for a student organization to plan and run the fair. While the event can be done fairly cheaply, there will still be associated costs. Plus, numerous volunteers will be needed.
2. Set goals and expectations. How many students do you want to attend? How many employers? Should you charge attendees, and if so, how much? (I don’t recommend charging students or employers, unless you really need to generate cash to make up for the cost of the event. You don’t want to exclude potential participants.)
3. Recruit volunteers. Form a committee to plan the event (specific steps below). Also, depending on the size of your event, you will need approximately five volunteers during the career fair: two people to “register” students as they walk in (so you can keep track of how many people attended), two people to set up and take down the room and one person to walk around during the event in case anyone has questions.
4. Pick a date and time. I recommend beginning at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 2:30 p.m. These four hours of the day are most likely to attract foot traffic.
5. Book a room in a central location on campus. Another good reason to plan a career fair through a student organization is they have the capability to book rooms on campus for free. Pick a location that is easy to find and access and has the capacity to support up to 40 employer tables.
6. Arrange free campus parking for employers. I was able to purchase parking passes through my university close to my event for $5 each, which helped entice employers to travel from up to two hours away.
7. Invite employers from the surrounding area. Create a database of all the potential employers of students in your industry within a two-hour drive. Call the organizations to inquire about the most appropriate individual to receive your invitation. Then, send your invitations via e-mail and snail mail, offering a simple way to RSVP. Be sure to indicate that employers not currently hiring interns or entry-level professionals are welcome to attend to conduct informational interviews. (Note: This step should take place two to three months before the event, with the RSVP deadline one month before the event.)
8. Publicize your event. In addition to informing members of the student organization, reach out to all possible interested individuals on campus by posting fliers and sending a press release to the student newspaper. Because my event was the first of its kind, we received coverage in both campus papers. (Note: This step should take place immediately after you have a confirmed list of employers, or approximately one month before the event.)
9. Feed your employers. It doesn’t have to be a large lunch, but make something available for the employers in attendance to eat and drink.
10. Evaluate the success of your event and thank employers for attending. How did your event measure up compared to the goals you set? This information will be useful for planning future events. Also, don’t forget to mail thank you notes to every employer in attendance.
| Part 2: Hosting a virtual career fair --> |
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