AGCAS

In January 2007 Staffordshire University began development of a software system that enables it to set up and manage online career fairs.  The intention, as with all fairs, was to bring exhibitors and graduates together at the same place and to facilitate meaningful dialogues between them. Mark Kent, Head of Careers and Employability Service, describes how it works. The reasons for going online were pragmatic:  the university doesn't have lots of large employers nearby that might attend a physical fair and we can't easily attract employers from further afield.  Also local, smaller employers have limited time and resources to attend physical fairs and for this reason are difficult to attract.  Online fairs would potentially enable employers to engage with our fairs at a distance and allow them to slot these engagements around their busy schedules.

Staffordshire University is based on several sites and so locating a fair at one would disadvantage the others.  An online approach therefore also offers advantages of accessibility for graduates and in particular for disabled graduates.

Our fairs work as follows:  we set up a fair in our administrator function, with header and footer graphics and opening and closing dates.  We then make it visible before the ‘opening' date and take pre-registrations of graduates and exhibitors and their vacancies.  Exhibitors submit their details with their logos and vacancies for us to approve.  Once they are approved they are published to the site.  Fairs are free to exhibitors, who can choose to pay to have their logos prominently displayed on the front page as ‘sponsors'.  In this way we can generate income from exhibitors without restricting take-up.

At this stage graduates can create their accounts and browse exhibitor details but can't communicate with them.  On the opening date this communication channel is opened and graduates can pose questions.  Automated e-mails notify exhibitors of waiting questions and graduates of their replies.  Each then log into their accounts to read communications and make replies.  At any stage graduates can upload their CVs to exhibitors.  Communication is asynchronous rather than ‘live chat' so that exhibitors aren't tied to being by their computers at specific times.

The intention of our approach is to showcase exhibitors and to allow searchability by employment sector, location and occupation type.  Once graduates have identified employers and vacancies of interest, they can then enter one-to-one dialogues and upload CVs to chosen employers.  By opening fairs for one month, time is made available for these dialogues to take place.  We have been able to monitor online conversations between exhibitors and graduates and have seen arrangements for interviews taking place.

Funding for our first fair (25 June - 20 July) was specifically targeted at graduate retention in Staffordshire.  This restricted us to working with exhibitors in Staffordshire but allowed us to look to the future and to develop software that was generic and could be used to set up fairs with other target groups in mind; for example we plan to run a national fair in November. 

We marketed the Staffordshire fair to exhibitors via our local Chambers of Commerce, employer networks, via mail shots and the local press.  We were surprised only to register 30 exhibitors from this activity.  We managed to register over 400 graduates from 65 universities and felt that this was a reasonable number considering the limited geographical coverage.  Overall the level of activity helped to prove that the concept worked, although at the time of writing we have yet to evaluate exhibitors' and graduates' perceptions of the fair.

Our approach seems capable of delivering a viable version of a fair, in that it brings exhibitors and graduates together at the same place and facilitates meaningful dialogues between them.  It enables exhibitors and graduates to use their time efficiently, and increases accessibility.  Now that the system is set up new fairs are easy to generate and to populate, and the workload involved for the service is reduced and spread over a longer time compared to a physical fair.  These features make it a powerful tool that we are keen to exploit.

The following link gives more information:

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/careers/fair

The University of Derby recently piloted a three-day online careers fair to try to reach more of its diverse student body. Christine Dare, Employability Development Coordinator, outlines Derby's approach and shares the lessons learnt from the experience.

AGCAS members who have registered with this site and signed in can download Christine's report in full below.

This article was first submitted to Phoenix (May 2009). 

Sheffield Universities Recruitment Fairs, a jointly managed partnership between the careers services at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, has been using video technology to improve student and employer experiences at careers fairs.

Having initially worked with Here Comes The Boss in 2007 to produce video 
footage of the fairs themselves, Sheffield has since developed its own video player and can now combine video technology with all of the fairs it hosts. 

The pilot for the video player was combined with the launch of the UK’s first Virtual International Careers Fair in November 2008, allowing employers to upload corporate videos and show students what working at their company is really like.

In addition to the employer clips, the software shows short careers guidance videos and clips from previous fairs. 

The students’ response has been very encouraging with many viewing the videos prior to the fairs taking place. Having the videos accessible before a fair has also helped to improve the quality of questions that employers are asked, ultimately improving the employers’ experience of the events.

See the video player in action

To find out more, contact Michelle Dexter, Fairs Manager, Sheffield Universities Recruitment Fairs
.

This article was first submitted to Phoenix (May 2009).

The University of Sheffield's second Virtual International Careers Fair (VICF) ran in November 2009 as a collaborative venture with Sheffield Hallam University. <!--EndFragment-->

<!--EndFragment-->

Gill Anderson, Administration Manager at the University of Sheffield's Careers Service, said:

'Developing an initial idea into the final product led us into areas where we had little prior experience and took us on a journey, which has added greatly to our knowledge and insights into international recruitment.'

Find out how they went about organising the fair in Gill's report below, which is available to AGCAS members who have registered with this site and signed in.

This article was first submitted to Phoenix (January 2010).  

 

The annual careers fair, held in November, gives you the opportunity to speak to potential employers and find out what careers, jobs, placement and study opportunities are on offer.

Open to all students and graduates.

Representatives from a variety of different companies, industries and employment sectors will be attending.

Information about further study and funding opportunities will also be available.

For more information on the careers fair visit the website. We look forward to seeing you there!

The October Careers Fair, organised by the Careers Centre for all students will be held on Wednesday 20th October 11am to 3pm at Garthdee Campus.

Come along to meet and talk directly to a variety of Graduate Recruiters.   Find out what they are looking for from newly qualified graduates.

Date: Wednesday 20th October

Time: 11am to 3pm

Location: Garthdee Campus

Further details on attending employers to follow

This Fair aims is to offer recent graduates from across the UK a range of graduate employment/job opportunities.

As in previous year's, exhibition space priority will be given to those companies/organisations who have current vacancies, and can directly offer employment to graduates. 

So if you still have vacancies for 2009 or if you want to start raising your profile for 2010 then this national graduate recruitment fair, organised by the University of Nottingham's Centre for Career Development, is for you. 

It will give you the opportunity to engage with a variety of candidates including:-

- the 2009 final year group graduating in July.

- current students preparing for their final year.

- postgraduate students graduating in December.

- graduates located in the East Midland.

For further details please visit:

With around 5,000 students graduating from Portsmouth in 2010 and students actively encouraged to take a placement year, this fair provides an excellent opportunity to promote your company and meet our students.

We would be delighted if you are able to support this event.  If you would like to join us this year, please contact christine.firkins@port.ac.uk  or by telephone on 02392846564 for further information.

The Scottish Graduate Fair is the highlight of the recruitment season.  Now in its 20th year, it is the biggest graduate, postgraduate and internship recruitment event in Scotland attracting over 4,000 students and graduates of all disciplines and approximately 120 graduate employers and postgraduate recruiters. Students and graduates from all universities are welcome to attend.

This AGCAS event is organised by the University of Strathclyde Careers Service.

Timing
13 October 2009, 14:00-19:00hrs
14 October 2009, 11:00-16:00hrs

Full details can be found at www.scottishgraduatefair.org.uk.

Wednesday 10th March 2010
Heaton Mount, School of Management
University of Bradford
11am - 3pm - Free to attendThe aim of the Business & Management Careers Fair is to bring together regional and national employers along side students and graduates who are all enthusiastic about business. We are targeting students from the School of Management who are studying both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Business Management, Accountancy & Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Law.

Bradford University School of Management is one of Europe's top business schools and our students and graduates have a wealth of knowledge and experience that could benefit your organisation. Whether you are recruiting now or in the future, covering a temporary need or planning project work consider tapping into the talent from the School of Management.

The Fair will provide an informal venue for you to meet our students and is free to attend. Additionally parking and lunch will be provided. For further information and to book your place contact the Careers Team at careers.mgt@bradford.ac.uk

 

The Univeristy of Bath Graduate Recruitment Fair is an ideal opportunity for you to promote your immediate graduate vacancies at the end of the academic year.

The fair will be held in our Founders' Sports Hall on campus and has capacity for 75 stands.

We particuarly welcome new employers and can offer a discounted rate to SMEs who do not attend our other fairs.

We have attracted up to 500 students at our previous fairs, with the majority being Bath graduates and from a wide range of degree disciplines.