In previous blogs, we’ve talked a lot about STEM education and how important it is to the future of our job market. While education initiatives are a great tool in raising awareness for STEM programs, another great way to contribute to bringing awareness to the professional STEM world is holding a career fair. Organizing a career fair takes a lot of work and planning. This is a time to provide individuals focused in the STEM field with different employment opportunities and the ability to network with various professionals and hiring officials. If your company actively seeks opportunities to give back to the STEM field, a job fair may be a great way to do so. Here are a few tips for hosting a successful career fair:
Map Out Details
Logistics and details are the first steps in organizing any major event, especially a career fair. Find a location that will be suitable for the size of the job fair and amount of recruiters, companies, vendors, etc; then you can set your date. The time of day is also important. Conduct research to find what time of day works best for both recruiters and employers, as well as job seekers. The audience you’re hosting is key to the success of the job fair.
Focus on Recruitment
Once your time, date, and location is decided and set, you’ll want to focus on your recruitment process. If you’re hosting a STEM-based career fair, you should focus on recruiting STEM-based companies that are actively seeking candidates. Since STEM focuses on multiple areas, such as science, technology, engineering, and math, there are a variety of companies to choose from. For example, the engineering field alone will provide you with multiple recruitment options. You also want to determine if you’ll need to charge employers to have a booth at the career fair, in order to recoup any of the costs you’ve spent. If there is a fee, determine what it’s for.
Promotion and Advertisement
A great way to promote a career fair, in general, is by visiting schools and universities. Just like you’re focused on recruiting employers, your next step is recruiting candidates to attend. Take the time to advertise in the right places. A college campus is full of students that are on their way to seeking full-time employment opportunities – you should reach out to them and spark their interest in taking a visit to the career fair. Additionally, you can focus some of your advertising initiatives on social media and digital marketing; both are great and effective ways to reach the masses.