Planning A Career Fair

Tips for Teachers

It usually takes about 2 months to organize a Career Fair. Here are some basic guidelines to planning and hosting a Career Fair at your school.

Pre-Planning

• Set a date: Talk with your school principal to decide the best time of year for this career fair. Be sure to keep in mind holidays/ exams/ special school events/ when students have to apply for college or university, etc.
• Set a time: You will have to decide if you would like it to be a full-day or half-day
• Some things to consider:

  • Quick Tip Speakers donate their time, so it is best to maximize it: the less amount of time they spend doing nothing, the better

    If this is your first career fair, it’s best to keep it small
  • Not all speakers can stay a full-day
  • If it’s a full-day, in the morning or in the afternoon, you might want to consider things such as providing lunch, a light breakfast, or afternoon snack for the speakers
• Determine the grade level involved: This will depend on how many students you would like to participate in the career day. The more students involved, the larger the career fair.
• Number of Speakers: What careers would you like to see represented? It’s good to have a variety of occupations, but the number will ultimately come down to a few factors:
  • Time frame (full-day or half-day)
  • Number of students per speaker
  • Number of classrooms/ Space available
  • Format for the day
• Set an Agenda for the day: How would you like the day to unfold? Some common formats are:

  • Quick Tip Not all speakers have displays. One option is to have a Career Studies Course prepare one for them.

    Students rotate from classroom to classroom, visiting speakers during specific time frames (Note: it’s easier for speakers to remain in one classroom instead of rotating to avoid having to set-up and taking down any equipment)
  • Speakers are set up in the gymnasium with displays and students visit each speaker (traditional format)
  • Combination of classroom rotations and ending the day with an open forum in the gymnasium

Finding Speakers

• Once you have a general idea of what you would like your Career Fair/Career Day to look like, it is time to find your speakers. You have to decide what careers you’d like to see represented:
  • Ask your students what types of careers they’d like to know more about or have considered pursuing
  • Depending on the number of speakers, you may like to have a focus on “Skilled Trades”, “Science and Technology”, “Health Care Careers”, “Social Service”, “Non-traditional Occupations”, etc.
  • Or, you can go with an overview of possible careers, hosting a speaker from each of the following categories: Trades/ Technology (Auto Mechanic, Engineer, Welder, Hairstylist), Service (police officer, firefighter, Customs Officer), Science/Health (Nurse, Doctor, Nutritionist, Fitness Instructor), Computers (Graphic Design, CAD, Draftperson, Computer Programmer)
• After you have a general idea of what areas you’d like to cover, follow the simple steps to make the requests in the previous menu (How to Make a Request).
• The Speaker Spot Coordinator will call, fax or email you the confirmations as they come in
• You are to contact the speakers when you receive the confirmation to ensure they have everything they need to feel comfortable with the Speaker Spot request. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Quick Tip A good idea might be to send a letter outlining the details to each speaker after confirming their attendance.

    Objectives of this Career Fair
  • What you would like them to talk about
  • Agenda for the day
  • Parking
  • Directions to school
  • Where to report to
  • When to arrive
  • Information about the students (type of students, what they like/respond to)
  • If they need A/V equipment
  • If they need any handouts photocopied

2 Weeks Prior to the Career Fair

• Quick Tip Avoid asking questions that might make the speaker uneasy such as questions about salary.

  Follow-up with speakers to verify that they are still coming and go over any last-minute changes or additional information
• Ensure all A/V equipment required is booked and functioning
• Have students prepare questions for the speakers
• Prepare thank you letter for the speakers. You may wish to give it to them on the day of the career fair or send it out after.
• Make copies of the speaker’s handouts and the agenda
• Order food and beverages, as needed
• Assign a student to each speaker. This student will greet the speaker, direct to where the washrooms are, help bring in and set up any equipment and answer any other questions the speaker might have
• Assign teachers to classrooms to introduce the speaker, deal with disruptive behaviour during the presentations and other teachers to monitor halls (note: if students are rotating together, assign a teacher to a group)

One Day Prior to the Career Fair

• Attach a sign to each classroom indicating which speaker (occupation) will be in that classroom, as appropriate
• Ensure that each speaker has a chair and table

The day of the Career Fair

• Ensure student greeters are present to welcome the speakers

The day after the Career Fair

• Follow-up with a thank you to speakers.