GUIDE

University
Career Fairs
A Guide for Employers

EmployersGuidetoUniversityCareerFairs

PlanningfortheCareerFair
Clarifyyourgraduaterecruitmentstrategy

Determinewhichdepartmentsandpositionsinyourcompanyyouwishto
hiregraduatesfor.

Defineyourtargetgraduateprofileincludingsubjectofeducation,
personalityattributesandanysoftskillsrequired.

Identifyyourcompanyskeysellingpoints(valueproposition)forgraduates
includingtrainingoffered,compensation,responsibilitiesandexpectedcareer
progression.

Basedonyourtargetprofileandresources,selectwhichinitiativesyouwish
touseforcommunicatingyourmessagetograduatese.g.internships,
careerfairs,universitypresentations,andstudentcompetitions.

Developyourstrategyforthecareerfair

Chooseyourtargetuniversities,basedonfactorssuchas:

Degreesubjectscovered

Universitysprofileandcaliberofstudents

Yourpastsuccessesingraduaterecruitment

Determineyourobjectivesfromparticipationandhowthecareerfairfitsin
youroverallgraduaterecruitment:

Branding:Promotingyourcompanyasanemployerofchoice

Sourcing:CollectingCVsfromstudentsorgettingthemtosendtheir
CVbyemailoronline

Screening:ReviewingCVs,interviewingandshortlistingsuitable
candidatesonthespot

Choosewhichotheractivitiesmaybesuitabletoperformalongsideyour
attendanceatthecareerfaire.g.sponsoringthecareerfairorrunninga
presentationaboutyourcompany.

Communicatewiththecareerfairorganizers

Getagoodunderstandingofthevenueandfacilitiesavailable,and
communicatetotheorganizersanyspecialrequirementsyoumayhave(e.g.
meetingroomforinterviews).

Ifitisthefirsttimeyouarerecruitingfromaparticularuniversity,getthe
organizersadviceonhowyoucanmakethemostoftheirevent.

Askiftherearestudentvolunteerswhocanbeassignedtoyourcompany,to
helpyourteamgetsetupanddealwithanyissuesduringtheevent.

EmployersGuidetoUniversityCareerFairs

Optimiseyourmarketingmaterial

Makesureyourbrochureorflyerfortheeventclearlycommunicatethe
following:

Yourcompanyprofile

Availablegraduatevacancies

Keyattractions(e.g.training,compensation&benefits,etc.)

Applicationprocess

Ifyouwishtoofferfreegiftsorgiveawaystostudentsvisitingyourstand,try
tomakethemcreativesotheyarememorable,orsomethingusefulthatthey
willkeep.

Choosethestafftoattendthecareerfair

Decidethenumberofstaffyouneedtorepresentyouattheevent,basedon
thesizeofyourstandandexpectedvolumeofstudentvisitors.

Staffmembersyouselecttorepresentyourcompanyattheeventshould
haveexcellentoralcommunicationskills,andshouldincludeamixofHRand
nonHRstaff.

YournonHRrepresentativesattheeventcanincludethefollowinggroups.
Eachofthesemakeadifferentkindofconnectionwiththestudents:

Recentgraduatehires

Alumni:Employeeswhograduatedfromthesameuniversity

Nationals:Stafffromthesamenationalityasthoseyouaretargeting

Seniormanagers:Theseinspirestudentsonwhattheycangrowinto

Unlessyouareattendingamaleonlyorfemaleonlyevent,trytohavestaff
ofbothgendersrepresentedinyourstand.

Prepareyourstaffforthecareerfair

Briefyourteamonyourfactsandkeymessagesforgraduates,including:

Yourcompanyprofile,productsandservices

Youravailableinternshipsandfulltimevacancies

Requiredstudentprofilesforeachvacancy

Learningandtrainingopportunitiesforgraduatehires

Typicalcompensationpackageforafreshgraduate

Applicationprocess

Typicalstudentquestionsinpastevents,andsuitableanswers(FAQ)

Ifpossible,preparesummarizedhandoutsoftheabovepointssoyourteam
canreadandfamiliarizethemselveswiththem.

EmployersGuidetoUniversityCareerFairs

ManagingyourpresenceattheCareerFair
Beapproachable

Arriveatthevenuewellbeforetheeventstarttime,toensureyourstandis
setupandyouarenotdistractedwhenthestudentsarrive.

Manystudentscanbenervousaboutapproachinganemployer.Dontsit
backatyourstand.Trytobestandingandmakingeyecontact,sotheyfeel
welcometoapproachandengagewithyou.

Wherepossible,proactivelystartafriendlyconversationwiththestudents.
Aftergreetings,youcanstartbyaskingquestionssuchas:

Whatareyoustudying?

Whatkindofcareerareyoulookingfor?

Areyouinterestedinacareerinfinance?

HaveyouheardaboutABCHolding?

Makesurethestandisalwaysstaffedandtrynottoleavetheeventbefore
theend.Anemptystandmayleaveanegativeimpression.

Iftheeventyouareattendingisoutsideyourhomecountry,tryto
understandandbesensitivetotheculturalandprofessionalnormsofthe
hostcountryforexample,ingreetingsbetweenmenandwomen.

Makeconversationsproductive

Trytotalktoasmanystudentsaspossible.Beconsciousofonestudent
takingtoomuchofyourtime,leavingnoopportunityforothers.

Explainyourcompanysattractionse.g.learningopportunities,training,
careerdevelopment,andcompensationandbenefits.

Makeitaconversationratherthanaonewayspeech.Askquestionsand
givethemtheopportunitytoaskquestions.

Makeitclearhowtheyshouldapplyforyourvacancies.

Aftereachconversation,giveoutyourgraduaterecruitmentbrochuretothe
student.Dontusethebrochureasasubstituteforconversation.

Ifpossible,referstudentstootherrelevantcolleaguesatthestande.g.
fromthedepartmenttheyareinterestedinoralumniofthesameuniversity.

IfyouarecollectingCVs,groupthemindifferentfoldersaccordingtotheir
requirednextsteps.Ifpossible,putbriefcommentsonCVstoremindyouof
yourconversations.

EmployersGuidetoUniversityCareerFairs

ThingstodoaftertheCareerFair
Followupwithcandidates

Makesureallstudentapplicationsandenquiriesgetrespondedto.

Ifyouhavetoomanyapplicationstodealwithindividually,prepareandsend
templateacknowledgmentemailstothem,withcontactdetailsiftheywishto
followupfurther.

Reviewapplicationsandshortlistsuitablecandidatesasquicklyaspossible.
Goodgraduatesgetmultipleoffersandemployerswhotaketoolongin
makingadecisionarelesslikelytogettheiroffersaccepted.

Followupwiththeuniversity

Ifpossible,asktheuniversityforaCDofallstudentCVs.

Universitiesarekeentoknowtheresultsoftheirevents.Itwouldbegoodif
youcouldinformthemofanysuccessfulstudenthires.

Getfeedbackfromyourteam

Gatherfeedbackfromyourteamabouteachcareerfair,including:

Studentsfeedbackandreactions

Effectivenessofyourcareerfairplan

Suggestedchangesforthefuture

Bestpracticelearningsfromothercompanies

Documentkeyfindingsandagreedchangesinyourcareerfairstrategy.

Measureperformanceofeachevent

Recordandtrackperformancemetricsforeachevent,including:

Numberofapplicationsreceived

Numberofstudentsinterviewed

Numberofoffersmade

Numberofsuccessfulhires

Measurethetimeandbudgetspentforeachcareerfair.

Comparetheefficiencyofdifferenteventstodecideyourcompanysfuture
participationinthem.

EmployersGuidetoUniversityCareerFairs

AboutthisGuide
ThisguidehasbeencompiledbyGulfTalent,tohelpemployersmakethemostofuniversity
careerfairsfortheirgraduaterecruitment.
Thecontentsoftheguidearebasedoninterviewswithanumberofleadinggraduaterecruiters
intheGulfregion,conversationswithstudentswhohaveattendedcareerfairs,feedbackfrom
universitycareerservices,aswellasGulfTalentsownexperienceofrecruitingatuniversity
careerfairsacrosstendifferentcountries.
GulfTalentistheleadingonlinerecruitmentfirmintheMiddleEast.Withover2.5million
registeredcandidates,itservesastheprimarysourceofbothlocalandexpatriatetalenttoover
4,000employersandrecruitmentagenciesacrosstheregion.
HeadquarteredinDubai,GulfTalentcoversthemarketsofSaudiArabia,Kuwait,Qatar,
Bahrain,Oman,Egypt,Jordan,LebanonandtheUnitedArabEmirates.
Feedback,commentsandqueriesregardingthisguidecanbesentto:
Email:

research@gulftalent.com

Telephone:

+97143672084

Fax:

+97143672782

Website:

www.gulftalent.com

GulfTalent2012.Allrightsreserved.