Job Fairs are an effective recruiting tool, because they can attract a lot of people who are most interested in what you do. If the promotion is targeted to the right audience, masses of people won’t show up – but the ones who do come to the event are prime candidates. It’s still quality over quantity.

In 2015 ALCC’s second go-round with a job fair on February 25, 2015, arises from lessons learned at that risk-taking event in 2014.

Location/location/location. The 2015 event will be in downtown Denver in response to requests for a more central location. The McNichols Civic Center Building is located near the Civic Center Bus Station and is a quick walk or ride on the Mall Ride from light rail. There are a number of car sharing services that serve the area and plenty of public parking. This location will be more accessible to job seekers.

Strategic partnership. New in 2015 is ALCC partnering with the Office of Economic Development, which includes the Denver Workforce Center and regional Veterans outreach office to increase our exposure. We expect that our combined media contacts will provide more coverage in large media outlets.

Promotion. We have increased our print and radio advertising this year, with a stronger presence in Spanish-language media, including the #1 Spanish-language radio station KXPK. We are able to utilize marketing channels through the Denver Workforce Center, connectingcolorado.com, hireacoloradovet.org, and the City of Denver. This include placement on web sites and online calendars and emails blasts sent from each group to their network of community organizations.

Better timing. The hours of the job fair have been condensed based on our experience in 2014 and the experience of our partners. The first hour will be reserved for Vets only, and from 1pm to 3pm the fair will be open to the general public.

Advance registration and more. We will collect information from employers about open positions and will share that in advance will registered job seekers who can target the employers they want to meet. We will also invite job seekers to submit resumes in advance and will allow our employers to review resumes prior to the job fair so that they may contact job seekers and invite them to visit their booth.

This year, we hope to attract at least 350 job seekers. But more importantly, our focus is on quality not quantity. We hope to target our outreach to bring in job seekers who are either qualified (experienced in the industry or equivalent skills) or who are specifically interested in a career change to the landscape industry.

The ALCC Job Fair isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for recruitment. It is one facet of our efforts to support our members as they look for new hires. New partnerships with educators and civic organizations have helped us discover a number of helpful resources in the metro Denver area—and around the state. In 2015, we hope to offer venues through which our members can connect with these community resources to help with recruiting. Watch your inbox for ongoing updates

Read more in this issue of Colorado Green NOW:

Are you satisfied with 2014?
OSHA plays big in recent spending package