Are job fairs worth your time?

If you have ever thought about hiring, you’ve probably seen ads for job fairs. It’s important for your small business that you get your name out in the community. Job fairs can help you find your next employees, but is it really lucrative to send out a team to hire for your entry level positions? In a small to midsize business, every penny counts. Can you afford to spend a pretty penny on a job fair? Is it worth it for you? Here are the pros and cons of attending collegiate job fairs.

Copyright : adrianhancu

Pros:

Branding: It looks good on you and your company to send out representatives into the community. That way people who have never heard of your company or mission.

Checking the competition: You can check out who else your potential candidates are looking at working for. See what they have to offer and what you can do to step up your game.

Internships: Instead of looking for people to hire, look at the local talent to see who you could potentially take on and train in your business. They could get college credit, and you could set up your company for growth opportunities.

Hiring: If you spent the money on getting a table, it may be lucrative to find a new employee. It costs a lot of money and time to hire, and you have plenty of candidates with resumes in hand to bring back to your team (or outsourced recruiter).

Cons:

Money: It can cost up to $200 to put a table up at a job fair. Bigger companies can shell out that money easier than a small one can, and they can afford to bring enticing goodies for college students (gift cards, stickers, bottle openers).

No guarantee: For the amount of money you are spending, there is no guarantee that you’ll come out with a new employee, helpful tips, or exposure.

Missing the mark: What are you looking to get out of a job fair? You need to ask yourself exactly what you want to get out of it. Is it possible or likely that you are going to get what you need out of the investment? If not, you could be spending a lot of money on a bad investment.

Job fairs can be a saving grace and some good advertising, but it can be costly. If you have more questions about what you should be doing to bring in the talent you are looking for, contact us!