How to Host a Successful On-Campus Recruiting Event

Talent acquisition is the most difficult challenge facing HR. And it’s likely to get tougher. Since 2021, job openings have outnumbered candidates. Combined with a declining birthrate, that means the pool of available entry-level candidates is shrinking.

The data shows that more than 91% of employers use on-campus recruiting to recruit entry-level talent. In this reality, competition for talent is fierce. You need an effective strategy for attracting and hiring top entry-level candidates. That means you need to meet them where they are, and:

• Understand their values and career expectations.
• Engage with them authentically across multiple channels.
• Share what makes your company a great place to start a career.

By basing your campus recruiting event strategy on these principles, you can build meaningful connections with the next generation of professionals. Get it right, and you’ll attract top candidates and build a strong pipeline of future talent.

Read on to learn what you need before you start, how to engage students during recruiting events, and how to follow up with them effectively to maximize your recruiting results.

Rule number one: Understand your audience

Today’s students are well-informed, highly connected, and socially aware. And while understanding how to engage candidates is always important, for Generation Z, the rules of engagement are different. To engage them, you need to show that you understand what is important to them.

The top three factors that influence how students evaluate work opportunities are:

• A sustainable work-life balance (78%)
• The ability to do work they’re passionate about (73%)
• The opportunity to develop advanced skills in their field (63%)

Let’s explore how you can authentically craft your employee brand message so it reflects these factors.

Flexibility and work-life balance

Showcase your company’s commitment to work-life balance by highlighting how you support employee wellbeing and personal time. Describe how you support employees via remote working policies and flexible time options. Share real-life examples and employee stories that show this commitment in action.

With an increasing focus on return to the office, this message can help your organization stand out to students and younger job seekers, especially.

Values and community impact

Share your company’s values and commitment to diversity and inclusion, social responsibility, ethical practices, and any social or community initiatives where your company makes a positive impact. This can include volunteering, sustainability efforts, inclusivity policies, or charitable partnerships. Be authentic and provide specific examples instead of generic statements.

Opportunity to develop skills

Attract skills-focused candidates by showing how your company supports skills development. Emphasize benefits like skills training relevant to employees’ roles, tuition reimbursement, mentorship opportunities, or learning stipends.

You can also highlight opportunities for increased responsibilities, promotions, or recognition programs that celebrate learning. Illustrate typical career paths using examples of employees who have advanced within the company through successful skills development.

With these values in mind, let’s talk through how to prepare for a campus recruiting event.

How to prepare for a campus recruiting event

To make the most of your time on campus, start by making a plan. Here are the steps:

Set your recruiting goals

Begin by deciding on what you want your campus recruiting strategy to accomplish. Setting goals helps you determine which types of recruiting events to host. To help you focus on your recruiting goals, ask questions like:

• What current and future roles do you want to fill?
• Do you want to increase your brand awareness?
• What specific skills or academic backgrounds would the ideal candidate have?
• Are you offering co-op or internship opportunities?

Decide how you'll measure performance

After setting your goals, select the recruiting KPIs and metrics you can use to measure the impact of your recruitment strategy. You can use this data after each event to evaluate performance and identify areas of improvement.

Here are some metrics to pay attention to:

• The number of qualified applications you receive from event attendees
• The student engagement rate at the event (number of visitors/attendees)
• The cost per hire from campus recruiting efforts

Choose target programs and schools

Next, choose your targets. Use resources such as the Princeton Review's “Best 390 Colleges” to find academic programs and schools nearby that have graduates excelling in your field. A good strategy is to seek schools with strong career services, as they can be your biggest ally in your search.

Get creative with recruiting activities

By aligning your recruiting activities with popular formats, you can attract a larger audience. But your on-campus recruiting efforts don’t need to stop at your career fair booth. Invest some of your efforts in unique events to help you stand out and engage students, such as hosting seminars or organizing micro-events like pub nights.

Data from a 2024 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey highlights the range of different types of recruiting events that students attend. Their survey found that, in addition to career fairs, many students also attend events like employer presentations, coffee chats, and Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions.

Make the first impression count: Attract students to your booth

Now it’s showtime. Let’s look at the elements of a successful campus recruiting event that captures potential candidates’ attention and brings them to your event.

Get the word out

Students get inundated with career information. To make your recruiting process stand out, you need to be clear and authentic, and you’ve got to reach students via multiple channels.

Network with alumni and student organizations

Unlock your employer brand ambassador network by connecting with alumni and student clubs. Ask employees and alumni to share information about your event with students and provide introductions to your company. A great way to do this is by offering to host Q&A sessions or seminars on different career paths in your industry.

Use social media

According to Forbes, nearly half of Generation Z (46%) use social media to search for information. Maximize engagement with short reels and videos that highlight your company culture, like behind-the-scenes glimpses, employee stories, and event highlights. Forbes lists the top three Gen Z social media platforms as:

• Instagram: 65%
• YouTube: 63%
• TikTok: 58%

Don’t forget to include calls to action in your messages, like “Follow us for updates” or “Link in bio for more info,” to encourage students to connect with you.

Engage Faculty and Career Services

According to the NACE, 92% of college faculty members reported that students had asked them for career advice. Along with career services teams, faculty are strong allies for campus recruiting. They can help you engage students by connecting you with students, promoting your company to the college community, and providing you with resources.

Set up your booth

If it’s an in-person event, you’ll likely have a booth. And your booth will likely be one of dozens, possibly hundreds, of booths. How do you stand out?

You only get one chance to make a first impression. For most students, your booth will be their first real experience with your company. Make sure it’s a welcoming space that reflects your values, company culture, and the careers you’re offering.

According to a Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPBWWD) survey, free items like swag were a top draw. But it’s not all about the freebies—the survey found that the most attractive feature is some kind of hands-on activity.

This could include something relevant to your business, like an engineering challenge. Or it could be something purely fun, like a ring-toss game. The goal is to make a visit to your booth useful and memorable.

Consider how you can use visuals, technology, and messaging to make your booth approachable and accessible to students. Ensure the space is designed to encourage conversations, with enough room for your team and students to interact, and materials like job summaries and company brochures nearby.

Prepare for crowd control

Your booth will get busy. Ensure that students who are waiting to speak with a team member can still engage with your materials. For instance, you can place a QR code or a tablet at the entrance to your booth. Doing this allows candidates to register their interest in your company and lets you respond quickly to their inquiry by scheduling a meeting.

Students are seeking real-world perspectives from people currently in similar roles, rather than just meeting with recruiters and HR staff. Make sure your booth team is up-to-date on their training so they know how to effectively engage with candidates.

Prioritize accessibility

Accommodate students who are unable to access the career fair or your booth. This means ensuring your booth is physically accessible and providing information in various formats for students with disabilities. Consider setting up a virtual booth alongside your on-campus location to accommodate students with disabilities who may not be able to attend the career fair in person.

Spotlight diversity and inclusion

Students are looking for authentic inclusivity—65% of students say they wouldn’t apply to a company that doesn’t share their values. Make your booth welcoming and barrier-free for all students, and genuinely reflect a diverse and inclusive work environment. Students want to see representation, so make sure your team reflects the diversity of your workforce.

Proactively engage candidates

Once you’ve attracted students to your booth, proactively engage them to turn initial interest into productive conversations. Here are some ways you can do that.

Provide real value by showing you care

It’s not just about presents—it's about presence. Branded pens and notepads are great icebreakers, but you can really drive engagement by providing real value. When you show you care about their future, students see your company as a genuine partner in their career journey.

Build strong connections that resonate long after the career fair ends by offering free services that students really need. For example, you could offer resume reviews or practice interviews to help them develop their job-finding skills.

Gather candidate information

Set up a system to gather students’ contact information and resumes during the event. Be sure to include a drop box for students who want to drop off a paper resume. Ensure that team members proactively gather students’ information and have a way for them to add notes about their conversation.

Post-event follow-up and evaluation

The event is over, but the recruiting isn't! Now it’s time to sort through the resumes, nurture the connections you made, and measure the effectiveness of your recruiting strategy.

Reach out to students you couldn’t meet

Connect with students who couldn’t meet with a team member but sent you their information. Send a general follow-up email expressing regret for not meeting them in person and inviting them to explore your careers page and connect with your company on LinkedIn.

Make follow-up timely and personal

Reach out to students within 24 hours of the event. Mention your conversation and their specific interests. If you meet a large number of students and can’t respond personally to each one, segment your emails based on their interests and the roles they inquired about, or the specific step of your hiring process you discussed.

Segment collected candidate information

Categorize candidate resumes by specific career interests, skills, or academic program so you can send targeted content and job alerts that are most likely to meet their interests.

Analyze KPIs and feedback

Track event KPIs like the number of visitors, the number of resumes collected, and ultimately, the number of candidates interviewed and hired from the event.

Also, go beyond the numbers by reviewing notes from your team about engagement quality, what went well, and what could be improved next time.

Building for the future

The impact of a successful campus recruiting event can last for years or even decades. It’s an investment in the future of your team—and the future workforce.

Focus on building relationships and making connections. Stay in touch with the college career services team and any faculty or student organizations you met while you were on campus to build a consistent presence as an employer of choice.

While it may be just a single event, it’s a critical piece of your overall strategy for building a strong employer brand and optimizing your talent acquisition system.