Employer Tips

TIPS TO PREPARE FOR A CAREER EXPO

Consider having at least two recruiters present to avoid being overwhelmed at especially busy times.
Reps should be personable, outgoing, knowledgeable and passionate about your company and job openings.
Reps should work the crowd and not hide behind phones or the table.
Reps should be willing to seek out & engage job seekers, not wait passively to be approached.

Make sure your reps are easily identifiable—wear a badge or a shirt with your company logo.
Make your table stand out and be memorable. This is a great opportunity to brand your company.
Use tabletop displays, banners, backdrops, and panels to attract job seekers to your booth.

Be prepared to provide a list of open positions for which you are recruiting. At a minimum, list the types of jobs for which you typically hire.
Provide printed handouts with a list of open jobs for candidates to take with them.
Ensure that your reps know about and are able to talk knowledgeably about your positions.

Tap into your company’s marketing resources to get the word out that you will be at the Expo. Draw more job seekers to your booth by letting the world know that you will be there.
Make use of your company’s social networking tools (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to announce your participation in the event.

“No one accepted my resume.” “Everyone told me to apply online.” “Why did I bother to come?” These are sentiments we often hear from job seekers.
Change the perception and make your company stand out at the same time by considering ways to make job seekers feel great about your company and their interaction with you.
Don’t just send job seekers to your website! Ultimately, they may have to apply online, but consider taking steps to ensure job seekers feel they made good use of their time:
- Have plenty of business cards on hand so that candidates can follow up with you after the event.
- Utilize a sign-up log to record candidates’ contact info.
- Use our Candidate Database to review and follow up with those you met after the event.

To help make candidates comfortable and to gather valuable information, ask questions like:
- “What is your area of expertise?”
- “What types of careers are you interested in?”
- “What motivated you to come to the RVA Career Expo?”

Get out in front of your table
Greet candidates, shake their hands, smile and say hello.
Do what you can to make them feel at ease.
You have a short time to make an impression; give them an opportunity to make an impression.
Keep the phone in your pocket and listen to what they can offer you.

Don’t wait for job seekers to come to you.
Stand in front of your table and draw them into the conversation as they walk by. They may be on their way to another table and you’ll miss them if you’re behind your own. (Especially important if you represent an employer they might now be familiar with.)
Approach the candidates. Ask what sort of positions they are looking for. Have a match? They’ll love hearing about it.

If you are able to accept them, DO. This alone makes many job seekers feel their participation in the Expo was worth it.
Getting their resumes into the hands of an employer is much more personal and satisfying than applying anonymously online.
If you can’t accept resumes, take a few minutes to explain why. You don’t want top prospects to think you are not interested in them.
You know it’s nothing personal. Explain it to them.

The number of job seekers may be dwindling as it approaches 2 pm, but unless you absolutely have to, don’t be tempted to leave early.
It is very disappointing for job seekers to arrive as exhibitors are packing up or already gone. Some make a tremendous effort to attend, even traveling hundreds of miles.