idealist.org

In a competitive job market, finding good people for your organization can be a constant challenge. In addition to our online job matching on Idealist.org, we saw a need in the nonprofit sector for cost-effective events that would bring together organizations, job seekers of all levels, and career services professionals from area schools. In 2001, we launched a series of Nonprofit Career Fairs around the United States, hosted by colleges and universities, and planned in partnership with local nonprofit coalitions.

Since 2001, Idealist has organized over 100 nonprofit career fairs in 30 cities, bringing together some 4,700 organizations and 57,000 individuals. Ninety-five percent of the organizations that attended these events said they would come back to our next career fair.

If your organization has affiliates across the country, consider coordinating your plans to attend our various events. Many of the job seekers attending are willing to relocate and may be interested in working with your organization in different parts of the country.

These events will introduce you to a large and diverse group of individuals with a specific interest in nonprofit careers, but they are also intended to showcase the nonprofit sector as a viable and exciting career path. Please help us in this effort by discussing with job seekers the variety of career paths available in your field, in addition to any available opportunities within your organization.

For more information, contact our Career Fair Team at fairs@idealist.org

"If you are looking for career fairs to participate in I would recommend these to you for your consideration for your recruitment efforts. We participated in the career fairs they conducted in Portland and Seattle. They were among the best that I have ever participated in. They promoted the fairs well, were well organized and well run, and even though they were held on college campuses, there were large crowds of mostly adult serious job seekers. At both fairs we received a number of quality resumes - much better results than most other career fairs that I have attended. Their staff is excellent to work with. And the cost to participate was only $50 per fair."

Bruce Everstine
Human Resources Director
Girl Scouts - Totem Council
Seattle, Washington

"Thank YOU! We had an amazing day at the fair. We were very pleased, and all of our creature comforts were taken in to consideration (food/water/restrooms)... perhaps we're not demanding enough! Truly, you all deserve great kudos for putting on such a successful, well-attended, and pleasant to participate in career fair. We were so busy, I don't think I took a breath for 4 hours straight. KUDOS from All One Heart!"

Michele Orgell
Executive Director
ALL ONE HEART
Los Angeles, California

"Even though I went home with laryngitis from speaking so much to interested job seekers (which is in fact a good thing!), I wanted to tell you what a great job you did with the job fair. I thought it was really well organized (and obviously well publicized!). The lunch (served to me at my table, no less) was really helpful and such a thoughtful touch. Keep up the great work!"

Maria Pignataro Nielsen
Human Resources Director
Human Rights Watch
New York, NY

"District 1199P/SEIU, Pennsylvania's largest health care workers union, had a very positive experience at the 2001 Nonprofit Career Fair in Pittsburgh. We had an opportunity to speak with many exciting, committed people who were interested in pursing a career in non-profit work. It was very encouraging that a significant number of them were aware and supportive of recent developments in the labor movement. Best of all, the Career Fair resulted in a number of job applications and the actual hiring of one of those applicants for a full time position on our staff. We hope to duplicate that success by participating in the next fair in 2002."

Tom Debruin
District 1199P/SEIU
Pittsburgh, PA