Career Fair Plus | In-Person Recruiting

Four former college and university recruiters launched CF+ in 2012 based on the shared certainty proprietary software could enhance employer and job seeker interactions during in-person recruiting events.

More than nine years later, millions of applicants have connected with tens of thousands of employers during dozens of different types of recruiting programs.

How to make in-person recruiting events work for you

Before the unanticipated and abrupt shift to online recruiting in 2020, in-person career fairs welcomed employers and candidates, each group ready to shake hands and share basic information. And now these attendees want to bring valuable tech-driven features from virtual events like resume previews, company profile searches, and reserved 1:1 or group meetings to their on-site recruiting.

Integrating these typically virtual opportunities into in-person events is easier than you think, especially when you partner with Career Fair Plus.

Let’s start by answering four questions to re-energize in-person recruiting

Who hosts what type of recruiting events?

Leaders in multiple sectors choose a wide variety of in-person, online, or hybrid events. Whether or not you enhance these programs with technology like a companion app, diversifying the types of programs optimizes the recruiting funnel without negatively impacting quality, personal interactions, or cost.

What is a technology-enhanced in-person career fair?

Sometimes referred to as a digital recruiting event or offering a companion app, a technology-enhanced program optimizes software features to improve the in-person experience. A well-designed, robust recruiting event app (hint: try the CF+ app!) is user-friendly, easy to set up, and includes:

Advance meeting scheduling
Candidate profiles and resumes
Check-in & Analytics
Employer profiles, job descriptions, and welcome messages
Interactive map(s)
Job seeker tips
Push notifications and event announcements
Resume Drop

Use the CF+ booth assignment tool and our Spring ‘22 trends and stats to save time planning your in-person career fair!

Should I offer a companion app with my in-person recruiting events?

Ideally, yes, especially if you’re hosting a technology-enhanced career fair. A user-friendly companion app brings the preferred features of virtual recruiting into your in-person event and:

‣ Simplifies resume collecting

CF+ virtual Resume Drop improves resume collection, eliminates overstuffed manilla envelopes, and prevents lost cover sheets. The CF+ app also centralizes note-taking and ranking candidates, accelerating the hiring process.

_

‣ Provides virtual branding space for employers

A companion app for an in-person recruiting event lets employers showcase their organization in advance. Company videos and messaging typically increases intentional booth traffic, which as a bonus, might simultaneously reduce “swag-only” visits.

‣ Offers real-time access to employer profiles

With Resume Drop, candidates can update and distribute their resumes to preferred companies in real-time. They can tailor the elevator pitch to match employers’ profile messages and job openings, leading to more productive face-to-face conversations.

‣ Uncovers the deeper analytics hiding in your on-site events

Check-in & Analytics creates more meaningful candidate-employer engagement and collects richer data to report ROI. Candidates scan your event-specific code on arrival and unique codes at employers’ booths.

‣ Accommodates the pre-scheduling feature Meetings

The random, stand-in-line meetings of in-person career fairs are predictably less appealing to candidates and employers who’ve enjoyed pre-scheduled on-line meetings CF+ event hosts can offer Meetings, enabling candidates to reserve meeting times on recruiters’ 1-on-1 or group session schedules.

‣ Increases efficiency for employers and recruiters

A platform that includes an interactive map helps job seekers pre-plan their event day, “favorite” their priority employers, and find the best route to arrive at scheduled meetings on time.

Additionally, today’s job seekers evaluate positions on far more than title, salary, and benefits. They’re looking at a completely different type of benefit: how they feel about an employer’s brand and culture. An effective and attractive company profile should answer these common jobseeker questions:

What will I work on, and how will it make a difference in the world?
Will I work with a team, and if so, what are they like?
What does my career path look like in your company?
How does your organization give back to the community?
Tell me about someone who succeeded in your company that’s similar to me?

Current job seekers also prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability goals over job status or paid vacation days. So, encourage employers to address these potential deal breakers in their company profiles to maximize in-person recruiting opportunities.

Get the details on Check-in & Analytics and Resume Drop and how to Achieve Success With a Digital Career Fair

Augmenting an in-person event with a feature-rich companion app gives employers and job seekers more information. A well-planned day clarifies expectations which often creates more relaxed and engaging conversations.

How do I plan an on-site recruiting event?

Trust your experience and what you learned hosting virtual recruiting events.

The key tasks are very similar, made easier with time-saving automation, customizable schedules, multiple meeting formats, and a bunch of easy-going, happy people at CF+ ready to help!

‣ Before

Five to six months is usually enough time to accomplish the following:

Define your event - Will you host a large event or a smaller, targeted program?
Set your budget - Venue rental, A/V equipment, tables, chairs, marketing materials, paid advertising, employer meals or snacks, and printing costs are typical expenses for an in-person event. Also, budget for staff salaries, ground transportation, parking, and meals as needed. Finally, include potential technology costs, too.
Choose your venue - select a space large enough to accommodate registration tables and employer booths as well as the recruiters staffing these tables and, of course, job seekers as well. Your venue needs adequate parking and easy access to unloading/loading areas. And if your budget allows, providing quiet interview spaces is usually appreciated.
Invite employers - recruiters’ schedules finalize quickly, so invite them at least four months in advance.
Market your event - create the webpage, use social media, hang flyers as allowed, and consider posting on job boards
Help candidates prepare and set expectations.
Assign employees and volunteers their planning and day-of tasks

‣ During

Ready your check-in location
Confirm your staff and volunteers are in position and know what they need to do when
Help coordinate employer booth setup
Provide a help desk (another spoiler alert: CF+ is really helpful with this part!)

‣ After

Send thank you notes to your team and employers
Solicit feedback from attendees
Share what you learned with your team and save it for future reference
Invite CF+ to your next planning meeting. We’re delightful and quite helpful guests!

Ready to see what Career Fair Plus can do for your events?

Enhancing In-Person Career Fairs and Recruiting Events

Our purpose at Career Fair Plus (CF+) is to help event organizers improve outcomes for their job seekers. We listen to employer and candidate feedback to continually improve our recruiting technology.