News of the pandemic broke in March 2020, just as the peak K-12 teacher recruiting season was beginning. As schools quickly transitioned to online learning, K-12 recruiters canceled in-person career fairs and recreated them virtually.
This virtual career fair “experiment” achieved its goal, allowing teacher job applicants to continue getting in front of recruiters without shaking hands. Some recruiters appreciate the convenience and breadth of reach that online career fairs offer, predicting that they will become a permanent and essential part of their new teacher recruitment strategies. However, reality does not match these predictions of all recruiters.
Although there are exceptions, most news in the world of K-12 recruiting points to a trend back toward traditional in-person recruiting events. Evidence for the pivot abounds, including data from surveys of K-12 recruiters, anecdotes from college career center staff, and statistics on education career fairs hosted by colleges and universities.
But virtual career fairs, which remain a cost-effective way to reach a wider pool of applicants, are not completely gone.
Since the pandemic, the preference of many K-12 recruiters has shifted back to in-person career fairs.
The EdWeek Research Center annually surveys hiring trends among K-12 human resource professionals. After just one year of collecting that data, it revealed concrete changes in the way K-12 recruiters meet teacher applicants.
In December 2022, 36% of survey respondents said they were attending more in-person career fairs than before the pandemic, compared with 33% using virtual career fairs.
Just one year later, in December 2023, recruiters were found to have more faith in the power of offline career fairs than virtual alternatives. When asked, “Which of the following recruiting strategies are you using more now than before the pandemic?” nearly one-third of survey respondents selected “Attending in-person career fairs.” 17% chose to ‘attend an online career fair’.
College and university education career fairs are returning in person to drive student engagement.
This trend favoring in-person educational career fairs extends to colleges and universities that host career fairs for educational candidates.
The American Association of School Personnel Administrators tracks career fairs held by its members. By 2024, fewer than 10 of the more than 100 education career fair events listed in the AASPA database will be virtual.
Kelly Coash-Johnson, the association's executive director, acknowledged that AASPA's list of education career fairs is not comprehensive. However, this does seem to indicate a strong trend towards in-person events, especially at universities where they make up the majority. AASPA Track Hosts Career Fairs.
“Very few career fairs are being held virtually this year. Most have gone back to in-person,” Coash-Johnson said.
Like many other universities, the University of Maine at Farmington has moved back to on-campus recruiting events. “Having an in-person career fair better meets the needs of our students and employers. Our entire campus is a residential community. It’s a better fit for our culture,” said Cyndi McShane, associate director of career services at the university.
In March of this year, approximately 70 education majors scheduled to graduate from public universities attended the face-to-face education job fair held at the public university student center. For graduates looking for employment, the event is a must. But McShane said school officials found it worth investing the participants' time. In addition to connecting students with more than 32 Maine school districts and other educational institutions, the event was followed by a morning of professional development, including a presentation by Maine's Teacher of the Year.
McShane explained that each year the in-person event tends to feel like a huge homecoming for the many district representatives who attend. Approximately 40% of our alumni are educational professionals, many of whom remain in the state after graduation. But it's not uncommon for school districts from other states, including Alaska and Florida, to regularly appear in Farmington for career fairs, McShane said.
Where virtual trade shows fit in
“Everyone is trying to figure out where virtual career fairs fit in,” said Chris Guzek, general manager of CareerEcho, a technology company that supports virtual career fairs, including those trying to connect K-12 school districts. was essential,” he said. We work with job seekers through an online platform. Now, he acknowledged, colleges are bringing career fairs back to campus as a way to engage students.
But virtual events continue to be influential when it comes to attracting diverse candidates with racially, ethnically, or neurodiverse perspectives. Of the more than 100 education career fairs tracked by AASPA in 2024, fewer than 10 were virtual, but nearly half of those events specifically targeted candidates of color.
Virtual career fairs also present a more cost-effective way to reach a broader pool of applicants. This is one of the reasons the Michigan Department of Education continues to host virtual career fairs.
“School districts do not have to incur travel, lodging, meals and other costs to attend career fairs in person. They can access information at their desks for job applicants without having to leave their district,” said Sarah-Kate LaVan, director of the state agency’s Office of Educator Excellence.
Positive feedback from education stakeholders on previous virtual career fairs was also a driving force in the department's decision to continue them. Several universities in the state have even committed to hosting these events themselves, LaVan noted.