The previous installment gave job seekers some practical insights into the shortcomings of job fairs and how to make the most of their job fair experience. While job seekers have an option to attend job fairs, in most cases HR professionals do not; its part of the job.Even though there are plenty of downsides to being tasked with working a job fair, and I will share my top peeves, if done right, the situation can be played to your advantage. But first, let's explore some of the reasons why job fairs suck for HR professionals:
1. The wasted time. Getting approval to attend the job fair takes time. Rounding up promotional items for the job fair table takes time. Dealing with the job fair organizer takes time. Setting up the day of the job fair takes time. Working the event could take ALL DAY. Sorting, filing and otherwise dealing with the tons of resumes you will be left will can take DAYS. If time really is money, a regrettable amount of each has been wasted for a dismal return on the investment.
2. The no job opening factor. Lets face it, no one wants to be the recruiter that has to explain 1000 times that your company is currently not hiring. While you might meet some really great candidates, chances are slim that if an opportunity actually becomes available that the candidate will be contacted or that the candidate will still be available or interested. The "we'll retain your resume for six months" routine doesn't bode well with candidates and could possibly be a bad reflection on the organization.
3. Quality of candidate pool. Job seekers seem to be catching on to the down falls of job fairs as overall participation levels are declining. For the recruiter that actually has a job to fill, the candidate you want could have very well decided to save the gas and search for a job in their bunny slippers over the internet. In addition, job fairs are not prime sources of passive job candidates. Passive candidates typically shy away from having their job search witnessed by potentially thousands of people due to the risk of being found out by their employer.
If you absolutely must go the job fair route, here are a few tips to turn the event to your favor.
1. Know your organizations future hiring plans. If your organization is planning to add a new division in a few months or a key employee is planning to retire, use the hours that you will spend at the job fair to your advantage. This will be a prime opportunity to survey the talent market for those positions and make some contacts of potential candidates.
2. Grow your network. Make an effort to collect contact information of top candidates and add these individuals to your LinkedIn network within 24 hours. There are several reasons to do this.
- Always keep your career in mind. If this is a top notch candidate, you never know where this person is going to land or how expansive their network might be. The person looking to you for a job now, might be a key contact for your next opportunity, so keep in touch.
- Shifting the focus back to your organization, it never hurts to keep tabs on in-demand talent. Building a relation with candidates that you may want to consider in the future will make it easier to sell a opportunity to them later. You will also be able to learn more about the person's interests and make a more successful placement.
3. Get overly organized. If you have opportunities that you are currently recruiting to fill, there should be a separate box for each position. Even if you are not recruiting for an open position, something still has to be done with those resumes. Prepare boxes for the various departments/functional groups in your organization and immediately sort any resumes received into the most appropriate grouping. This will save a substantial amount of time when you return to the office.
4. Be proactive. You're already committed to this job fair for the day, so make the best use of the time. Be prepared to conduct a phone screen type assessment of candidates that meet the qualifications of open positions. This will allow you to deliver pre-screened, qualified candidates that are ready to more on to the next step in the recruiting process to the hiring manager immediately.
5. Accept online applications on the spot. Instead of just advising candidates to apply online for available positions, bring a laptop capable of supporting application submissions with you. This serves two main purposes. First, the applicant isn't instantly turned away or left to try to find a computer with internet access to apply for the job (not everyone has a computer and internet access). Second, you will spend less time performing data entry into your applicant tracking system. Just make sure to follow all ADA accommodation requirements as it relates to application kiosks.
6. Go virtual. A new type of job fair is slowly emerging-the virtual job fair. Many local government employment agencies are offering virtual job fairs as an alternative to the traditional format. Virtual job fairs are time and cost saving and have the potential to yield better results. Candidates that would not typically attend a traditional job fair, will be more likely to boot up their computer and participate in a virtual job fair. As a human resources professional, you can carry on with your busy day at the office and receive resumes in your email box.
Give these tips a try to make the best out of your next job fair.
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