I frequently get asked about whether or not I recommend companies participate in job fairs to find qualified candidates.  But open houses are often a more effective means of initiating face-to-face contact with a large number of potential recruits.  In an open house, you invite candidates to an event at your organization’s offices or a neutral offsite location, provide them with background on your company, and conduct initial conversations to determine interest and fit.  As open house events are expensive, you’ll want to look at them in terms of their bottom-line results and how many qualified leads you can realistically expect.  Here are a few open house tips.

• Determine the purpose of the event.  For example, will informal cocktails that will serve as a sophisticated introduction to your organization suffice, or do you want to leave the event with a group of pre-screened candidates in hand?

• Assess if it’s appropriate to line up a guest speaker, such as an industry name or one of the organization’s top executives.  Such remarks can make an event more attractive to candidates. 

• Advertise your event internally and externally, online and offline, and ask for RSVPs so you have some idea of the number of attendees.

• Resolve security issues for your visitors ahead of time, so you don’t have problems admitting people to your building. 

• Serve refreshments that suit the mood and time of day of the event, and print plenty of copies of your strongest collateral material.

• Recruit enough employees to staff the event, handling traffic flow and responding to questions.

• Execute a plan for following up promptly with all promising attendees.