October 9, 2003 | Read Time: 10 minutes
JOB MARKET
By Lara L. McDavit
Pamela Flamer started attending nonprofit career fairs two years ago, after a colleague at the
Kennedy-Krieger Institute, in Baltimore, returned from one held at nearby Goucher College and sang its praises.
“It was passed down to me that it would be a good idea to participate in this fair, because the applicants we get from that particular institution are very personable, articulate, and well-rounded individuals,” says Ms. Flamer, who works as a staff recruiter in the neuro-behavioral unit of the institute, which serves children with special needs and behavioral problems. She soon found herself sold on not only the local event, but also the whole career-fair concept. The fairs, she says, are a good way to meet job seekers and to help her organization gain visibility.
Attendance at such events has paid off for Kennedy-Krieger recruiters, says Ms. Flamer: Through fairs, the institute has hired employees in a variety of positions, from interns to psychologists.
Nonprofit career fairs can be an efficient way for recruiters to meet many job seekers who are interested in the missions of charities. “Career fairs attract a higher turnout, versus going to a campus and recruiting one a time,” says Jaime Carrillo, nonprofit-career coordinator at Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization in New York that has sponsored dozens of nonprofit career fairs on campuses nationwide for the past two years. In addition, he says, fairs can give charities a chance to spread the word and garner résumés for openings that they have not yet advertised publicly.
Fairs can also help increase an organization’s visibility among the nonprofit talent pool. For instance, a representative of Girls Inc., a youth-development charity with headquarters in New York, attends a career fair once a year at an annual national gathering of American Humanics, a nonprofit group in Kansas City that has created an undergraduate nonprofit-management curriculum found on 80 campuses nationwide. “I go to that fair primarily to inform the students about Girls Inc., and about the opportunities that are possible at the local affiliates,” says Susan Houch, the group’s director of national services.
However, she says, she avoids other career fairs because she is reluctant to spend time recruiting for nonexistent job openings — a problem that also keeps many smaller organizations away from such events. Although Girls Inc. has affiliates in more than 134 cities nationwide, its headquarters fills only 5 to 10 jobs in an average year, says Ms. Houch — most of them senior positions requiring more experience than most fair attendees would have. She says career fairs “would invite more applications than would be useful to us,” she says. “We would be overwhelmed by applicants for jobs that don’t exist.”
Time and Money
Small staffs and limited finances also keep many groups away from career fairs. For example, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, which runs an annual fair, has fielded a number of requests from nonprofit recruiters to shorten its eight-hour event, says Rebecca Bergstresser, who oversaw many such fairs when she served as director of the university’s Office of Leadership and Community Involvement. “Because [these organizations] are nonprofit, none of them are heavily funded, and the staff is generally very busy, they are trying to make their time as productive as possible,” says Ms. Bergstresser, who retired from the university in May. By contrast, she adds, the fair’s organizers have also heard from busy students who want the fair lengthened, to give them a better chance of attending it. The university is currently trying to find a compromise for next year’s event.
The cost of participating in fairs can also deter many cash-strapped charities. “We do not normally attend career fairs because we cannot afford it,” says Moselle Horiuchi, a human-resources manager at Plymouth Housing Group, which serves the homeless in Seattle.
Some career fairs, Ms. Horiuchi says, charge between $500 and $1,000 for a booth. Others, though, are cheaper. Action Without Borders charges a $50 fee, says Mr. Carrillo, for which the organizations’ representatives receive lunch and a chance to participate in social events with job seekers and other charity recruiters. (Ms. Horuichi says the price is right for her group, and has attended four Action Without Borders fairs thus far, finding several entry-level employees through the events.)
To help charity recruiters get the most out of the nonprofit career fair experience, nonprofit employers and fair organizers offer the following tips:
Know the audience. Since nonprofit career fairs usually take place on university or college campuses, recruiters need to consider who the job seekers at a particular venue are likely to be, and whether they have a message that applies to those attendees’ needs. A campus audience, for instance, may be most interested in entry-level jobs. But not necessarily: The University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, hosted an Action Without Borders career fair last year. Of the 18 organizations that attended the fair, the majority of them were recruiting for volunteer and temporary entry positions, says Caroline Peck, a career counselor at the university. Since the institution has a high percentage of students who already have spouses, families, and full-time jobs, many are looking for substantial opportunities to advance their careers, and were disappointed by the fair’s slim pickings.
“These students want career jobs,” says Ms. Peck. “Employers have to be aware of the demographics of who they are dealing with.” Many Utah students, she says, are not interested in the kind of volunteer, seasonal, or entry-level positions, such as camp-counselor jobs, for which nonprofit employers routinely recruit at career fairs.
Come prepared. One of the biggest complaints that Gregory Hatch, a career counselor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign hears from job seekers is talking with an unprepared recruiter. “An organization will send Joe or Mary down to the career fair at the last minute,” says Mr. Hatch. “And I have had students come back and say, ‘I was all set and I went up there, and, other than the recruiter’s direct area [of responsibility], they didn’t know anything.’ I think they need to send people who are going to represent the whole organization.”
Prepared charity representatives enhance their recruiting power, says Kate Kuczynsky, a career counselor at Villanova University, in Pennsylvania. “If you are not hiring for one area, but you think the person would be good in another area, tell them about it, because you never know when you will have an opening,” she advises. “That would encourage the job seeker to look at the [organization’s] Web site and follow up.”
At the fair, set up a display in the recruiting booth that clearly states the organization’s mission, and listings of any current job openings at the organization, at both its headquarters and its affiliates. The latter is key because young job seekers in particular may be open to relocating. says Ms. Horiuchi. Don’t forget to provide contact information for attendees who wish to send in application materials, she says. “I think an important thing is to bring a list of contact people from different affiliates,” she says. “So, if a person wants a job in Memphis, they have the list.”
Recruiters’ knowledge of job openings in other local organizations can not only impress job seekers, but also help recruiters build relationships with those charities. Plymouth Housing Group, for instance, both advertises its own job openings and refers job seekers to four other Seattle nonprofit organizations. “As a recruiter, you can familiarize yourself with what other organizations are looking for. It is a great way to network, and it can be reciprocated,” says Ms. Horiuchi. “When those other organizations are not attending that particular career fair, I will tell interested job seekers to call so-and-so: ‘Check out their Web site. They were looking for that position two weeks ago.’”
Bring plenty of giveaways. A good recruiting display will include items that job seekers can take home with them and remind them of their meeting with the recruiter. “Have materials, business cards, whatever, that allow the student to consider later when they are not so overwhelmed by everything around them,” says Kate Whetman, a career counselor at the University of Utah. Since many job fairs are well attended, anticipate how much material will be necessary to bring to avoid running out. Mr. Carrillo recommends that recruiters contact fair organizers and get their prediction of how many attendees they expect, and judge how much material to bring from that figure.
Many recruiters also bring little treats and gifts for attendees to help make the job-seeking experience less daunting. Ms. Houch says, “I always think it is nice to take giveaways — little trinkets and things that have the logo of your organization on it that you can give to people because it makes it more fun.”
Take time to chat. The brief, one-on-one conversation between a recruiter and job seeker is the heart of the career fair. This is the time the two parties take each other’s measure, quickly. It can be a nerve-wracking experience for job seekers, and recruiters should put them at ease, says Ms. Whetman. “They need to get out from behind the table and actually visit with students,” she says. “We encourage students to make the first move, but they aren’t always that confident to do that. If the recruiters are willing to do that, they will have much better interaction with the students.”
Recruiters also must remember that maintaining a friendly demeanor is part of their job to promote their organizations. “Just be available to speak with everyone to the best of your ability,” says Ms. Flamer. “Try to spend an equal amount of time with each person who is interested in your organization.”
Beyond maintaining good cheer, recruiters must develop the ability to read people well and assess them in a matter of minutes. Since job fairs are so dependent on first impressions, many nonprofit organizations do not recruit at them because they are best for establishing contact, but are not a reliable way to screen future employees. “The people who do best at job fairs are the extroverts who are quick on their feet, have a great smile, they look good, and they have a good sense when they have talked long enough,” says Ms. Houch. “It’s sort of like speed dating. You don’t have time to get to know the person that well. You don’t have time to ask them any good, probing questions.”
Very few nonprofit recruiters conduct full-fledged job interviews during career fairs, due to the time constraints, says Mr. Carrillo. “I believe that many recruiters realize that if they step away from their tables, they may miss out on interested candidates,” he says. “Most recruiters want to meet as many people as possible, and then bring them in for a personal interview after the fair.”
Be honest. If a charity doesn’t have any open positions, says Ms. Peck, it should consider whether attendance at a career fair sends the wrong message. “Especially in a bad economy, many organizations attend job fairs to keep their presence known on the campus, even though they have no job openings,” she says. “They need to be up front with job seekers if this is the case.”
Does your organization attend job fairs? Why or why not? Share your experience in the Job Market online forum.
