Recruitment events, also known as career/job fairs/expo are a good way for the job seekers to find out information about their potential employers and build networks of business contacts.
Also, recruitment events are a tool for the hiring employers to fill a certain number of vacant work positions or internship slots by collecting applications and starting to screen candidates during the event.
Visitors to a recruitment event can get the chance to meet the HR teams of companies they are interested in working for and discuss with them any advertised or/and potential job opportunities across the company’s portfolio.
Recruitment agencies can also present themselves during recruitment events and be signing up candidates for the temporary or permanent positions they are recruiting for at that moment or for future vacancies that might be given to them to fill.
It is not unusual for the organisers of the recruitment event to arrange experienced HR professionals (including recruiters) to speak on a variety of recruitment-related topics and share their insights with job seekers as well as with their fellow recruiting and HR colleagues.
Most common types of recruitment events
There is a variety of different types of recruitment events the employers or the universities can organise, but the most usual are:
Open Days – are usually held at the employer’s premises or at a rented neutral location. The details of the event are advertised beforehand as well as the list of vacancies the employer is going to accept applications for during the event. If the Open Day is held at the employer’s location then a tour of the workplace might be also included for the visitors and potential employees.
On-campus recruiting – such as Graduate Job Fair usually involves employer presentations as well as an opportunity for students to make a head start in the recruitment process as employers will remember the students who impressed them during the event.
Virtual Career Fairs – in case employers are open to recruit candidates for work-from-home positions or to work in virtual teams from remote locations, then they will most probably organise virtual career fairs where candidates connect online in real time with recruiters and employers.