Could your students run your school career fair?
When a group of students suggested organising a career fair, the school took them up on their offer – and the student-led career fair was born
Marsha Oshima
During my time as a university counsellor, I have run or helped with careers fairs using different approaches. These include a career speaker panel, small-group “speed-dating” rotations and an information-table career fair arrangement.
At my current school we reassessed our approach to careers fairs after a pause caused by Covid restrictions. Then a group of students asked about organising a careers fair and a new model at our school was born: the student-led career fair.
The format
We have so far held a small fair with between eight and 10 information tables, featuring parents from different professions. Attendance was limited to year 12 students (juniors). We hope momentum continues and each year a new group of students steps forward, making this a new tradition.
The student role
The students initiated the plan, recruited the parent speakers and arranged a meeting with our administrative coordinator to schedule the date and logistics. The students communicated with the speakers and promoted the event.
The school role
Our administrative coordinator met with the students to guide them on a plan and to help organise the logistic details. The workload on the school side might not significantly decrease with a student-led model.
Outcomes
We have held two student-run fairs that were smaller in scale (about 10 tables) and focused on one year group. The size has been appropriate for the students to manage and for keeping expectations in check.
Lessons learned
Students need a good amount of advice about how to create a timeline and how to think through the details. Regular meetings are important. They also need a specific staff member to supervise and help troubleshoot.
Students need help mentally walking through an event so that they understand timing, potential logistical needs and how to communicate with speakers. The supervising staff member should plan to ask a lot of “What if…” questions: “What if speakers arrive early?”, “What if a speaker cancels at the last minute?”, “What if no one is going to a particular table?”
Remember that the students are new to event planning and gently guide them. But avoid doing things for them. Accountability and good communication are valuable skills but extra time and meetings may be needed.
Ideas for the future
In future, we hope to increase the number of tables to cover more professions. A larger fair means more work and planning for students and greater accountability.
We are considering an application process for student organisers, as well as setting specific deliverables such as an attendee survey.
An additional idea is to pair the fair with taster sessions on various courses or majors, led by university faculty.
A student-led career fair might not be less work for a counselling office. But the benefits for students in terms of instilling new skills for the student organisers and buy-in from the school community (for students, by students) could be a fit for your school.