Ministries:Organize a Career Fair
A Career Fair is a opportunity for job hunters introduced to careers that they would not otherwise have considered. Today’s unemployment rate is leaving single adults and families devastated creating a need for Christian Counseling, food out reach program and yes a chance to gather leads for a job.
The scope of the job fair must be a community wide project. Local churches, businesses, and volunteers who speak different languages should be invited to the project. Computer and Technical Skills is a priority and we suggest a class be taken for those attending the fair even prior to the career fair. Don’t single out companies that are invited to offer opportunities, in fact team up with as many companies and service oriented organizations with experience of putting a career fair together.
Evangelistic Resource Center recommends booths similar to trade shows be set up by those recommending ways to obtain jobs, preparation to offer the employer a good presentation on your part, and by those employers attending having a booth where applications are taken, flyers, DVD’s, and other material can be offered.
Select from your volunteer individuals who will help you be successful in the career fair. With their support, your efforts to organize this event will be much easier. Their job will be to gather employers information, schedule their attendance, assign other volunteers to help with printing, copying, job applications and anything that is needed to make the fair a success.
Make sure you have your location in booked in plenty of time prior to the job fair. Have the key leaders report to you how and exactly where each booth is set up. Go to other events similar to a PGA Trade Show and observe how organized the complete event has been scheduled. Your event should be scheduled at least 90 days prior to the actual job fair. Make sure advertisement has saturated the community. TV cable, newspapers, radio, flyers, and word of mouth are great ways of communicating the event. Let the public know they too can volunteer to help the career fair a success.
Locate a donated space, for example , a college, conference center, large church hall to hold the career fair. Make sure donuts, coffee is available in the morning and some type of lunch will make the fair remain full of employers and attendees. As you plan your career fair, a small budget will be needed to make the career day go well. Ask your volunteers to send out letters of donations in advance, and place a donation box at the location during the career fair. We wish you much success!
