Preparing for a jobs fair isn’t as simple as putting up a banner and sitting behind a table. It takes a lot of preparation to create an enticing and information-rich display able to catch the attention of job-hunters in a venue packed with competing employers, so is it worth all of the effort?

Some employers would say no – it’s best to stick to traditional techniques and use specialist recruitment agencies to find the very best candidates. However, others would argue that jobs fairs can be used alongside agency and traditional recruitment to bring diversity to the candidate pool, to find promising applicants that may not apply through other routes, and get the chance to meet them in person.

This is the key benefit of jobs fairs, the face-to-face interaction. Individuals who may not be interested in your company can be persuaded and enticed by your display and the passion of your team, while those who haven’t heard of your brand will discover it for the first time. According to Katharine S. Brooks, a U.S.-based personal and career development expert, increasing brand awareness in this way can be invaluable to employers. She explained to Business Insider:

“It’s a way to get your name out in a positive light, to encourage talented job seekers to consider you, and to have a conversation with real people, rather than resumes.”

Leeds digital jobs fair a storming success

It seems that job-hunters are increasingly seeing jobs fairs as a foot in the door to their dream careers, particularly those interested in tech and digital jobs. This is demonstrated at the recent Leeds Digital Job Fair 2.0, which saw over 2,000 people stream through the doors of the First Direct Arena keen to meet representatives from over 46 exhibitors from the local area. The employers exhibiting at the fair reported high attendance but high numbers of leads and conversions too, as NHS Digital recruitment manager Charlotte Goulding told Business Cloud:

“It was the busiest job fair that we have been to so far this year and we spoke with loads of people all passionate about progressing their digital career in Leeds.

“The fair attracted people at all stages of their careers and we spoke to people about apprenticeships, our graduate scheme and opportunities for experienced professionals.

“We’re looking forward to keeping the conversation going with the nearly 200 people who signed up to hear more about working with us.”

The digital and tech industry is strongly associated with large public events such as this, from headline-making product launches from big brands such as Google and Apple to the rise in popularity of TED talks and Digital Expo conferences held throughout the world. This perhaps explains why jobs fairs centred on recruitment for digital, IT and technology jobs have more success and offer more for employers than similar events for other industries.

Looking for a specialist digital recruitment agency, or your dream job in tech? The experts at SOLOS Consultants can help, so get in touch with the team today.

Image courtesy of Pakorn @ freedigitalphotos.net