1. Plan ahead as a group — Make sure marketing materials are ready, schedules won’t conflict on the day of the event and everyone who’s attending knows the details.
2. Pick the right folks to go — Some job fairs are tailored to specific audiences — for example, some emphasize diversity, and some are for college students and recent graduates. Go with a group the crowd can relate to.
3. Tell the organizers what positions are open — Often, the group running the fair will put out ads listing the companies attending and the jobs they’re trying to fill. Don’t miss the opportunity to build up some advance interest.
4. Be proactive and inviting — Some attendees might not know the best way to approach your company’s table, especially if it’s an event for recent graduates. It’s the recruiters’ job to introduce themselves to candidates who pass by. One way to help is to stand in front of the table instead of sitting behind it.
5. React quickly — Odds are, if someone hands you a resume, they’ve done the same with a lot of other companies at the fair. It’s important to act quickly when you find a desirable candidate. Many companies even conduct initial interviews on the spot when they find a great applicant.

(As part of an ongoing series, we’ll have practicing HR managers present real problems they faced and how they solved them.)

Recruiting the right people was a challenge. We’re in a pretty crowded industry, and our competitors were hogging a lot of the talent pool.

Raising our starting salaries wasn’t an option –- we already offered what we thought was generous, and we didn’t exactly have the extra money lying around.

Most people we do hire are happy here. They like the environment and the kinds of work they do. We figured we could use that as a recruiting tool. The key was just getting people in the door. So we decided to invite them.

Get them inside

We held an in-house, on-site job fair. We ran ads for the event, listing the different positions we’d be talking about and taking applications for.

To reach the widest possible audience, we put the ads in a variety of publications.

It was a big success. Lots of people showed up, and from there it was just a matter of making a good first impression. We served food, gave a tour of the facility and let people apply for jobs they were interested in.

A lot of good candidates applied just on that day. And many of them are now great employees.

(Nick Marcovecchio, VP of HR, Magnolia Hotels, Denver)

The first thing to pay attention to before you sign up is what companies have already done so. You can find out by calling the fair organizers. A good rule of thumb: Don’t be the first. If a fair has trouble attracting employers, it’ll have trouble attracting candidates. You want to see a good number of companies similar to yours, or companies seeking similar positions. That likely means there’ll be more candidates with relevant experience.

Next, learn about the fair’s advertising strategy. If they don’t have one beyond setting up a Web site, that’s a bad sign. Preferably, whoever is in charge will spread the message through multiple media outlets. In fact, the best fairs are often the ones that are sponsored by media companies (newspapers, for example), since they have the power to push a lot of ads.

In the end, if you decide not to actually recruit at the fair, it might still be worth your time to check it out, especially if it’s a recurring event. That’s not always possible, depending on the location and other time constraints. But popping your head in for a quick peak might let you know whether or not you’ll want to reserve a table next time.