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All companies need staff, and all recruiters should believe they can find them. Sometimes, though, it pays to take the reins by organising events which put your business in direct contact with the very people you could be hiring.
Recruitment events give you a much closer look at each individual to determine whether they have the necessary drive, skills and personality to succeed. To put it bluntly, they save you time in considering those that will never work out, and help you impress the ones that might.
Have a look through some of our recruitment event ideas to see which suit your goals for hiring:
The walk-through tour
The job application process gives small hints and clues regarding life at a company. What you can’t do is speak with the staff, get a feel for the environment or envisage a day at the office.
Any business with a good and preferably large workspace should be looking to present a ‘day in the life’ to their prospective newcomers. Be sure to include presentations by staff, a full tour of the office, a lunch at the canteen and anything that might encourage the best talent to come forward.
Enforce a cap on attendance (maybe four groups of 20) and have each attendee book their place via an online form to prevent any overspill.
The real-world test
Ideal for whittling down a list of 20-30 candidates to just a couple is the equivalent of a job interview 2.0: the real-world test.
Some roles require lots of different skills and cross-department communication. Having tests at each relevant stage is a good way of seeing whether someone can tick all the necessary boxes.
For example, if I’m looking for a marketing intern, I might have them sit down for small quizzes and tasks with people in areas like content, events, branding and communications, as well as marketing itself.
A quick note on this one. If you’re hiring someone for a senior role then they should already have the relevant skills on their CV, or at least be able to explain how they can fulfill the job requirements. Less experienced workers applying for less experienced roles don’t often have that luxury, which is where the real-world test comes into play.
The job fair
In a large company? Need to hire more than one role? Put a fresh spin on the exhibition model by holding your very own job fair, complete with stands for each department.
You should have knowledgeable staff positioned at key points, delivering answers to any questions that might come their way. It’s also good to have a few less experienced workers to provide reassurance and a relatable point of reference.
Job fairs are great for showcasing all the different sides of your company as well as all the possible routes that someone can take with you. Even if you’re only hiring for a few roles, by collecting people’s contact details via the process for booking tickets, you can opt them into communications about new openings when they get advertised.
The conference
Think of a conference. Now think of a smaller version, with less emphasis on sponsors and selling, and more on content and learning. You’ve got speakers and sessions, you’ve got opportunities to network, you’ve got prospective hires, and you’ve got an event.
If you’ve ever been inspired by a TED talk or similar, you’ll recognise the power of speech on influencing people’s views and decisions. Scaled-down conferences give you the chance to sell your company to a whole list of potential candidates. And once you have their details, you can keep them in the loop about opportunities to come aboard.
The off-site party
If you’d rather avoid hosting an event at your office but would like to see candidates mixing with staff in a fun, relaxed environment, the bowling alleys, restaurants, gyms, function rooms and bars are awaiting your call.
This event is quite different to our real-world test in the sense that you shouldn’t be discounting people simply because they’re not the life and soul of the party. You’re not looking for the best bowler or the biggest drinker; you should be seeing who integrates with the team and manages to say the right things.
Try this approach as a more scaled down version of the job fair, capped at around 50 people. You should be looking for one member of staff for every two candidates – that way everyone has a chance to connect.