As the economy slowly improves, the battle for talent begins! Each spring and fall, countless employers show up at job fairs and have little or nothing to show for it. This article will give you tools and insights to make sure you get a good return on your investment of time and energy, whether you are a small business owner or a seasoned recruiter.

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Fishing for Candidates
at Spring Job Fairs
By Kevin R. Panet, MS HRM, SPHR-CA
March 25
th
, 2014
Spring has sprung for many job seekers, and that
means shifting their job searches into high gear.
Your goal of course is to fish for the special few who have what you are looking for in a
new employee. The problem is that most job fairs only give you three or four hours to
fish, with hundreds of job seekers streaming past your table. It takes real skill and talent
to hook the right ones. Here are a few tips to help you catch the winners.
Know what fish you are looking for. You can’t possibly be looking for “any applicant”
— there are too many of them. Consider the skills, knowledge, and abilities that you are
looking for in an applicant. If you are looking for individuals who will want to make
money in financial services, that’s a very different type of “fish” than someone who is
looking to make a difference in the world in social services. Design your pitch and your
recruiting materials accordingly.
Catch and Release. As the fish swim by your table, you’ll notice that many of them
have a glazed look in their eyes. They are often overwhelmed by all the different
companies, and many are not sure what it is that they are after. Engage them: All it
often takes is a friendly “Hello, what type of opportunity are you looking for?” If they say
they are looking for a job in sales and you are looking for engineers, wish them the very
best of luck and throw them back into the water to find their dream job. You are looking
for the special few applicants that work out well for your organization.
Weigh and Measure. Many job seekers in their quest for gainful employment will
attempt to throw their resumes at you, despite not having a clue what positions you
might have open. And while it’s fun to think of them as fish who are doing their best to
jump into your boat, you don’t want to get caught with a bunch of catfish if you are
fishing for trout. So, here’s a simple tool that you should have in your tackle box — a
“Job Applicant PreQual Form.” For example, you can draft a simple one-page document
that asks for basic qualifying information, depending upon the positions you have open.
If you are looking for drivers, it could ask if they have a good driving record. If you are
looking for security officers, it could ask if they feel confident they could pass a
LiveScan DOJ background check. If it applies to your business, you might ask if they
feel they could pass a drug test. And finally, given them room on the form to explain why
they want to work for you. It gives them an opportunity to compose a cover letter to
submit with their resume, based on your requirements. If they don’t meet your
qualifications, you won’t waste your time with them later in the recruiting process.
Don’t Let The Good Ones Get Away. If you have truly found some good candidates
at the job fair, make sure you follow up with them within 24 hours of the job fair. Call
them. Most would be amazed you actually remembered them. If you have an online

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process, send them a link and make it easy for them to apply. You weren’t the only one
who was out fishing that day — others are certainly after the same fish you sought to
bring into your boat.
Don’t Get Distracted. With only a few hours and so many potential applicants to
choose from, you can’t afford to be distracted by non-value-added activities. Your
challenge is to speak to as many people as possible who might turn into actual
employees. The next time you’re at a job fair, notice how many exhibitors (more than
half are not actual recruiters) are just passively sitting there, talking with each other, or
texting on their phones. If you went to all the time and trouble to be at the job fair, get
the most out of your efforts. Keep casting, keep reeling them in.
Evaluate Your Catch. How do you know if that last job fair was a good place to find
fish, and would you return again next year? At the end of the job fair, count the resumes
you have received. The ones that appear to have potential to turn into actual
employees, place their name on a spreadsheet, noting the date and location of the job
fair. Do this throughout the year and you’ll know which job fairs are worth the (fishing)
trip next year.
Not all businesses benefit from job fairs, but many can. If you are committed to showing
up for one of these events, make sure you do everything possible to increase your
return on that investment.
Kevin Panet, MS HRM, SPHR-CA, serves as a Human Resources Manager for a 300-employee
non-profit foundation in Los Angeles, California. He has a BS in Business Administration, a MS
in Human Resources Management, and he holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources –
with California certification (SPHR-CA) from the Human Resources Certification Institute. Kevin
is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the National Human
Resources Association (NHRA) and is a board member of Professionals In Human Resources
(PIHRA) District 4. Kevin also teaches as an adjunct professor for the University of Redlands
Burbank campus, in support of their Human Resources Certificate program. He can be reached
at Kevin@KevinPanet.com, or via www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpanet/.
This article was written by Kevin Panet and was first published at ERE.Net (http://goo.gl/exIYRz) on
3/27/14.