Gamma Iota Sigma
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The 12 Step Process to Organizing and Executing a Successful Career FairTaken
from Sigma Chapter, Temple University 1997 Black and Gold Award Winner “Guide
to Organizing and Executing a Successful Career Fair”
Step
1 – The date and location
The first
thing that must be done is to decide on a time and date, which is most appropriate. This decision should be made such that are no
known conflicts with respect to the members other responsibilities, such as during spring
break, mid-terms or finals. The Sigma Chapter
has found success in holding its career fair on a Monday, either at the end of February or
in the beginning of March. The event has
traditionally last from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., however, we requested that each
organization arrive about an hour early in order to set up. With respect
to the location, it is very important to confirm a reservation with whichever facility is
deemed as the site of the event. Confirmation
of this reservation should be received prior to making any public announcements of the
date and location to the member and/or attending organizations. It has been in the favor of our chapter to locate
this event off campus, at a conveniently located hotel ballroom. This has provided a professional atmosphere at a
reasonable cost. The planning
for the date, time and location of the career fair should begin approximately six (6)
months in advance. Thus, considering the date
for which the Sigma Chapter holds its annual career fair, we complete these arrangements
in the month of September. Step
2 – Develop leads
Once the
specifics on the date and location are finalized, it is time to begin developing leads. Keep in mind that this process will get easier as
the years go by, because you will continually develop lasting relationships with various
organizations. To begin
this process, you may want to consult with your faculty members to develop the best leads. However, another excellent option is to utilize
the chapter’s alumni contacts. They may
have the ability to push for their organization participation internally. Another
mechanism for developing leads is through journals and periodicals. Three years ago, when we first began our Sigma
Chapter Annual Career Fair, many companies were contacted after generating names through
the local papers. Currently, we have
developed the program such that we not longer use this mechanism; rather we rely on
existing relations with our alumni and other industry professionals. Step
3 – Initial telephone contact
Once leads
are generated, it is time to begin contacting them to determine their interest in
attending the chapter’s career fair. In
most cases it will be to your benefit to speak with the human resources department of an
organization, yet in some instances you may want to contact other company representatives,
such as alumni, as well. Begin
contacting the existing leads via the telephone no later that five (5) months in advance. Your initial goal is to determine the interest of
the organization. Keep in mind that it may be
necessary for you to explain the benefits in their attending. Focus on how their attendance will assist them
greatly in their recruiting efforts. If they
insist that they are not currently recruiting, attempt to communicate the importance in
their building name recognition among the students. Even though
a company may not currently be recruiting, they probably will be at some point in the
future. It will be beneficial to develop a
relationship early on, such that when the time comes for them to recruit, your members
will get the first consideration. You never
know, they may even be so impressed with the caliber of your members such that they decide
to make an exception and recruit, contrary to their initial plans. Step
4 – Initial mailing
It is now
time to send out your initial mailing. This
is also an excellent time for you to develop a committee to assist in the details of the
career fair development. This mailing should
be sent to the companies, which you determined were interested during your telephone
contacts, as well as to those organizations, which you were unable to reach via the
telephone. This mailing
should be done approximately four (4) months prior to the date of the event, and should
include all of the details of the fair, such as date, time and location. It should also include a blank registration form,
which you should require the company to complete and return, in order to confirm their
attendance. A deadline for the completed
registration form should be set for about two (2) months prior to the event; however, you
may need to be a bit flexible in this area as some companies may have internal policies
which slow this process. In addition
to the completed registration form, request each company to return a brief one to two
paragraph description of their organization and any positions for which they will be
recruiting. Step
5 – Follow-up telephone contact
Approximately
three (3) months before the big event, you should begin following up with the companies
you had sent the mailings to. The purpose of
these follow-up calls is to remind the companies of the upcoming deadline for the
completed registration, as well as for the requested company description. You must be relentless in getting this
information. This is another excellent
opportunity to get your committee involved. Step
6 – Designing the booklet
As you begin
to receive the completed registration forms and the company descriptions, it is a good
idea to start putting the information into the computer immediately. This will help you avoid any problems, which
result from waiting until the last minute. You should
consider having a committee meeting at this time to delegate duties with respect to the
program design and the follow-up calls. Identify
individuals with strength in the area of typing and word processing, as they can assist
you with inputting and formatting the company data. Also,
determine those individuals with the strongest communication skills, such that they can
assist in making follow-up calls. Contact your
local copy center to determine the cost of designing the booklet and the number, which you
will need, printed. Depending on your budget,
you may or may not want to have the booklet bound. Step
7 – Final follow-up telephone calls
Conduct
final follow-up calls no later than one month prior to the actual event. You should stress the importance of receiving the
required information from those organizations, which are overdue. In a professional manner, remind them that they
have exceeded the imposed deadline, and that you are coming up on your deadline with
respect to informing the facility of the final total number of attendees. At this
point it is probably not wise to leave voice mail messages, rather it is better off to
either hold for the person or continue to call them back. Step
8 – Confirmation letters
Send
reminder letters to all confirmed companies two weeks prior to the date of the fair. Make sure to include what time they should arrive,
where they can park, directions or any other information deemed necessary. Step
9 – Final committee meeting
Hold a
committee meeting the week before the career fair to delegate responsibilities to the
members. At this time they should sign up for
a time slot to work the registration table. It
is at this registration table where all members should sign in and receive nametags. Committee
members’ should also sign up and be made responsible for a certain number of the
attending companies. This responsibility
includes greeting the company representatives, assisting them with setting up,
periodically checking to insure that everything is running smooth for the company, and
getting a business card from each of the representatives.
Stress the importance that each committee member writes a personalized thank
you letter to each of the representatives of the companies with whom they were
responsible. Step
10 – Distribute the booklet
During the
week prior to the fair you should hold a general meeting to go over the specifics of the
event. This is also an excellent opportunity
to distribute the booklet with the company descriptions, which you and your committee
worked so hard to develop. Step
11 – The Career Fair
Arrive early
the day of the career fair, along with committee members, to welcome companies and
students. Bring your chapter banner to hang
behind the registration table. Also bring
the booklets, resume books, nametags, pens, markers, tape and a sign-in sheet for the
Gamma Iota Sigma members. After the
fair, gather the remaining literature and the banner. Step
12 – After the event
Send thank
you letters to all attendees of the career fair. Professionals
only! Make sure that this is no later than
two days after the fair. Develop
addenda to this guide, with a concentration to the details, which assisted your specific
chapter. This will enable your chapter’s
career fair to continually develop and improve, and make it so that each year there is not
a “re-invention of the wheel.” Finally,
thank everyone that helped. This includes
your committee members, the faculty and your fellow officers. This will be an event that benefits all! NOTE: An extensive
manual with sample registration forms, sample committee meeting agendas, and an example of
participating companies’ descriptive material, is available upon request from Sigma
Chapter, Temple University |