Exhibitor Area: Making the most of the fair

Who am I going to meet at this event?

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In previous years this event has welcomed around 400 students, and we are hoping to attract a similar audience this year. We can’t predict exactly who will attend – based on previous years we would expect around 75-80% from the School of Engineering and 20- 25% from other STEM subjects like Physics, Maths, Geosciences, Informatics and Chemistry. The event is open to students at any stage in their course. It is very hard to predict but based on previous years we expect around 40% to be 3rd/4th years,  20% to be Post-Graduate Taught students, 20% of attendees to be 1st/2nd years, 10% to be 5th years and 10% Post Graduate Research students.

The event is aimed primarily at Engineering students but if you are also targeting e.g. Geosciences then consider bringing along a rep who can talk about specific opportunities for them.

We are proud to have a very diverse student population – our international students make up over 44% of our student population and come from 167 countries. 31% are from non-EU countries and you may find they have questions about visas, so give thought as to how you will handle these enquiries on the day. Recruiting international students can be easier than you think. Read through our guidance and familiarise yourself with your organisation’s procedures.

We provide a useful insight into our student body on our website - it is worthwhile reading this to get a feeling for the range of students you may meet.

The School of Engineering has provided a more detailed insight into their student body - including helpful tips on industrial placement timings - please see below:

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Outside of the fair, there are other ways that you can engage with our Engineering students:

Preparation you can do

We encourage students to prepare for the fair by researching the organisations who are attending. We also share some of the information you provided on your booking form.  Realistically though, we know that some students will not have done as much preparation as others – but they may still be great potential candidates for you.  You can make the most of your interactions with students by:

• Being prepared to answer a wide range of questions - even if your main aim is to talk to students relevant for your graduate level roles, early year students may still ask you advice on what they can be doing now to enhance their applications later.  
• Talking about opportunities you have currently, but also giving students a general picture of how your organisation recruits - so that they understand how they can increase their chances of finding roles you may have in the future.  
• Talking on a personal level – be prepared to share detail of your own career path, and give real life examples of what you/your colleagues are working on.  The benefit of the face-to-face communication at this event is to allow students to get a level of insight that may not be possible from your website.