March is here, which means spring is around the corner!  It also means that it is Job Fair Season! 

Job fairs can have dozens and dozens of booths, so you have to stand out to get noticed.  Read on to find out how to do just that!

1. Smile and have fun!  Really. If you aren’t having fun, then the attendees will assume that your company isn’t fun, and no one wants to work there!  I recently visited a business (not a client, mind you!) and no one smiled.  It was a gloomy morning, so I’ll give them that, but no one will be excited to work with you if you aren’t excited to talk to them.  By the way, this booth boost is FREE! Smiles cost ZERO dollars! 

2. Well-branded booths are better booths.  If you want to recruit professionals, you have to look professional (and be professional, but that’s another story).  Using a custom table cover in your company colors with your logo printed across the front sets a professional tone for your booth. Branded apparel is another way to up your professional look. Want even more attention? Use a 10’ tent indoors!  It’s a fantastic way to get attention and tents can be customized with your logos as well. Consider using branded chairs and even a logo’d cooler with bottled water to share.  A taller cocktail table is perfect to hold a computer if prospects need to fill out a digital form or if you want to demo a company website or software. 

3. Don’t hide behind the table!  The table is not a shield.  Use it as a place to hold handouts and giveaways, but don’t stay behind the table! In fact, you could consider putting the table on the side of the booth rather than the back to create more open space for group discussions.

4. Stick with a theme!  Whether your theme is a Hawaiian luau or simply your brand, go with it and keep it cohesive. You want the prospects to walk away with a mental picture of your booth, so days later when they are going through their notes, they will remember you and your company better because of the cohesive visuals.

5. Giveaways!  You knew we would say this, right?!  Do. Not. Go. To. A. Job. Fair. Empty. Handed.  Even a teeny-tiny budget should allow for branded pens and grocery store candy.  If you have more money to spend, check out the following guidelines for great job fair giveaways.

   1. Focus more on finding something that prospects will keep and use rather than something that goes with your industry.  For example, let’s say you are a construction company recruiting students from a trade school.  You are SO tempted by the small (inexpensive) tape measure key chains.  Think again!  These students likely already have heavy duty, nice tape measures, and will likely never use yours.  When was the last time you saw a contractor measure with a 2’ keychain tape measure?  Instead, consider a car coaster or car charger because they often use their trucks as mobile offices, so a car accessory would be used and seen every day!

   2. Consider a tote for larger shows.  I know, I know, people have lots of totes.  Hear us out!  If you can offer a large, great tote, then the attendees will start carrying all of their stuff in YOUR branded tote!  Your logo will walk all around the fair, and more than likely it will be the tote that holds all of their job fair info for days/weeks to come!  That’s incredible exposure.

   3. Create a spectacle.  Well, maybe not a spectacle because you have to be professional right, but this goes back to having fun.  Consider giving away something just plain fun. We had a client give away pedometers and have a larger prize for who comes back with the most steps.  You could give away lighted balls and be playing with them while you wait for the next attendees to come by.  If nothing else, they’ll stop because they want what you have, and you never know who you’ll meet that you wouldn’t have otherwise!

6. Follow Up!  If you met someone who knocked your socks off, follow up with them!  And if giveaways for an entire show isn’t in your budget, this is a fantastic opportunity to follow up with a branded gift box with more information and a few branded pieces.  Show you care and you want to learn more about them.  

Now, go plan your best job fair ever!