Preparing students for a fulfilling career is a primary role of schools. And, career fairs, where students are able to interact with industries and service sectors in their community, are a standard practice for realizing this goal. They are an important part of the process for expanding students’ understanding of what careers are possible and providing opportunities for professionals to connect with students and teachers in local schools.

In many schools and districts, the structure of career fairs has not changed in many years; the practice of having students go from table to table in a school cafeteria or gym while spending a few minutes hearing about different career roles has been a common right of passage for decades. Student participants pick up brochures, pens, and other mementos, but the experience of this approach for the students and professionals is often limited to the hours of the event itself. 

With some planning and simple tweaks, a career fair can be elevated to have a lasting impact on students, professionals, and the collaborative efforts between schools and local businesses. Using the best practices highlighted below, educators can design a career fair that helps students find alignment between their passions and interests with tangible career opportunities, connect with open roles for work-based learning opportunities and internships, and cultivate relationships between schools and industry partners to propel workforce development efforts in a community. 

Forge and Strengthen Connections with Industry Partners

Schools are continuing to recognize the critical role industry partners can play in career readiness efforts. Career fairs offer a valuable opportunity for schools to connect with industry partners, and they can serve as a springboard for ongoing relationships that provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, facilitate student internships, and inform strategic workforce development planning in schools. 

• Ensure A Diverse and Unique Lineup: The greater the variety of businesses, the more fields and careers that students are able to learn about and consider. Showcasing a wide breadth of industries helps connect educators and industry partners to reinforce the importance of written communication for marketing, public speaking for sales and customer service, and analytic skills across many fields. Cultivate a long list of participating businesses that are representative of a variety of industries, and ensure that the businesses in attendance reflect the current and growing job market of the community to assist students in learning about careers and fields that will be available to them as they enter the workforce in the near future. 

• Provide Ways for Students to Experience a Career: Students learn better when they can see and do rather than just hear and read about things. At the career fair, invite industry partners to bring in any part of their work that can provide an opportunity for students to try out elements of a certain job. A veterinary clinic might bring in an animal with some medical instruments to show students how they care for animals. A technology company might bring in virtual reality equipment that showcases their current products. These interactive and engaging experiences allow students to truly experience a career path and build excitement for postsecondary planning.

• Support Industry Partners: Professionals who attend career fairs take time out of their day to participate and present. It is important for schools to make the experience inviting and worthwhile. To show gratitude for their efforts, counselors can post about the value of their contributions on social media, send thank you notes that they can showcase in their places of business, or otherwise reciprocate the support. Doing this helps to create lasting connections, rather than just a one-time meeting at the event. 

Expand and Personalize Opportunities for Students

‍Most students aren’t familiar with careers beyond what they know from family, friends, and media. Career fairs can offer a window into the variety and diversity of jobs that are available within a community. 

• Map Companies Attending To Students’ Interests: Before a career fair event, help students complete an inventory of their own interests and passions, and invite students to participate in a survey about the types of careers they are interested in learning more about at the fair. Use that information to inform the participants who are invited to attend. This process reinforces that the careers students choose should reflect what they like and are good at. Students will be more likely to attend and engage at the career fair if the careers represented are ones that are interesting to them. Of course, it is also valuable for students to learn about careers that are not on their radar, so inviting a wide variety of industry partners can help to accomplish both goals. 

• Have a List Of Open Opportunities Posted Ahead Of Time: Consider sharing a list of businesses that will be in attendance to give students the opportunity to research companies and think about how their skills and interests might map onto their work. And, if businesses have open internship positions, consider helping students create resumes or brainstorm pitches so they are fully prepared for the fair. This effort can help the career fair have a deeper and longer lasting impact as students build connections and can learn more about applying for work-based learning opportunities. 

• Invite Partners to Conduct Interviews On-Site: Students need to have practice in preparing for and then being interviewed, and many local companies welcome the opportunity to have their Human Resources professionals practice interviewing candidates. Additionally, partnering businesses often have a much more positive experience with participating students through interviews, mock or authentic, than they do just having a table for distributing information. 

Extend the Impact and Benefits Well Beyond the Career Fair

‍Instead of a career fair being a single, one-off event, it is most effective when it is viewed as a core component of a school’s overall career readiness approach. Career fairs can provide an opportunity for learning and networking that becomes a conduit to long term partnerships and opportunities that benefit students, industry partners, and the entire community. 

• Ask For Feedback On Future Events and Ideas: The purpose of a career fair is to serve the needs of students and businesses, so getting their feedback is critical. Find ways to iteratively meet the needs of students and industry partners by asking how the event can improve or what other events might support career readiness. Industry partners likely have experience at other career fairs or workforce development events, so their insights are valuable in shaping future planning and events.

• Offer Follow-Up Panel Discussions, both in Person and Virtually: While it is a best practice to have panel discussions or keynote speakers on the day of a career fair, it is also strongly suggested to have these events continue after the fair. This will build off the interest and excitement generated on the day of the fair, allow for industry-focused events to have deeper dives, and offer opportunities for follow-up on feedback from the general career fair.

• Track Data and Results: Collecting data about the career fair can help counselors monitor growth and success over time. Consider which data points–student attendance numbers, diversity of student attendance, industry partner attendance, opportunities available, internships filled, or even a quantifiable survey score–might be most helpful to track year to year. Many states are requiring additional reporting on college and career readiness metrics. These data points can show participation in and growth of workforce development and career readiness opportunities for students. 

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