How to Follow Up with Students After a Career Fair (and Turn Connections into Enrollments)

Summary

• With 54% of candidates abandoning recruitment due to poor communication, a strong follow-up strategy is essential to protect your career fair investment.

• Act fast with a personalized follow-up email within 24-48 hours, referencing specific conversations to stand out from generic blasts.

• Build relationships beyond the first email by connecting on professional networks and providing valuable content, positioning your institution as a helpful resource.

• Overcome the challenge of scaling this personalized approach by using an AI assistant like Havana to automate outreach, pre-qualify hundreds of leads instantly, and free up your team for high-value conversations.

You've just packed away your university's banner, collected your promotional materials, and your feet ache from standing all day at the career fair. The real work, however, is just beginning. You're now sitting on a goldmine of potential student contacts, but as any experienced recruiter knows, what happens after the fair often determines your true enrollment success.

Many students express frustration with career fairs, feeling they're a "total waste of time" when they're simply shown a QR code and told to "apply online." This creates an extraordinary opportunity for institutions that follow up with a personal, value-driven approach that stands out from the crowd.

The stakes are high: according to Criteria's 2023 Candidate Experience Report, 54% of potential candidates abandon recruitment processes due to poor communication. For admissions teams, this means your significant investment in career fair participation could yield disappointing returns without an effective follow-up strategy.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through a step-by-step approach to mastering your post-career fair follow-up. We'll cover everything from immediate actions to multi-channel engagement strategies, while addressing the challenge of scaling your efforts without losing that personal touch that turns interested students into enrolled members of your campus community.

The First 48 Hours: Laying the Foundation for Success

Organize and Triage Your Leads Immediately

The moment you return to your office, gather all collected materials: physical resumes, business cards, and any handwritten notes from conversations at your company booth. This prevents valuable information from getting misplaced in the post-fair shuffle.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Use a spreadsheet or, ideally, a recruiting CRM to log every student interaction

2. Include columns for their name, contact information, program of interest, and a "Notes" section

3. In the notes, capture specific conversation details: a unique project they mentioned, a specific question about campus life, or their career aspirations - these details will be gold for personalization

According to the University of Utah Career Success center, organizing these details immediately is crucial for effective follow-up.

Send a Prompt, Personalized Thank-You Email

Timing is everything. You must reach out within 24-48 hours while the conversation is still fresh in the student's mind. With students receiving over 1,500 college emails annually, generic blasts will simply be ignored.

Email Example:

Subject: Great to meet you at the [University Name] Career Fair!

Hi [Student Name],

It was a pleasure speaking with you yesterday at the [Fair Name]. I particularly enjoyed our conversation about [mention a specific topic, e.g., "your impressive research project on renewable energy" or "your questions about our study abroad program in Spain"].

As promised, here is more information about our [Program Name] and a link to a virtual tour led by a current student: [Link].

We believe our program could be a great fit for your career goals. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

[Your Title]

[Contact Information]

This personalized approach demonstrates that you were genuinely engaged in your conversation and helps you stand out from the dozens of other institutions the student may have visited at the fair.

Building Momentum: A Multi-Channel, Value-First Approach

One email isn't enough to build a relationship. To truly engage prospective students, you need a multi-faceted approach that provides value at every touchpoint.

Connect on Professional Networks

Within a few days of your initial email, strengthen your connection by reaching out on LinkedIn or other professional platforms.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Send connection requests to students you met

2. Crucially, include a personalized message referencing the fair

3. Example message: "Hi [Student Name], it was great chatting with you at [Fair Name] about your interest in [Field]. I'd like to connect and keep you updated on news and deadlines from [Institution Name]."

A blank connection request is too easily ignored, especially by busy students managing multiple follow-ups.

Provide Value, Don't Just Ask for an Application

Position your institution as a helpful resource, not just a seller. This builds trust and keeps students engaged even if they aren't ready to apply immediately.

Actionable strategies:

• Share Relevant Content: Send links to faculty research, student success stories, or industry trend reports related to their specific field of interest

• Offer Informational Interviews: Propose a brief 15-minute chat with a current student, an alum, or a program career adviser - this provides insights they can't get from your website

• Use Interactive Content: Instead of plain text emails, include a poll ("What are you most excited about in our program?") or a quiz about your school's culture to make the interaction more engaging

These approaches demonstrate that you're invested in the student's success, not just in hitting your enrollment targets.

The Scalability Challenge: How to Personalize Follow-Up for Hundreds of Students

This is where many admissions teams hit a wall. The strategies above work beautifully for a handful of high-potential students, but what about when you've collected 500+ leads at a major fair?

Acknowledge the "Admissions Staffing Crisis"

Most admissions teams are stretched thin. High turnover and burnout are rampant, creating what Forbes has termed an enrollment staffing crisis. Manually sending hundreds of personalized emails, making follow-up calls, and tracking every interaction is simply unsustainable.

When your team is already overwhelmed, valuable leads inevitably fall through the cracks - especially those requiring multiple follow-up attempts.

Augmenting Your Team with an AI Co-Pilot

This is where technology can be a game-changer. An AI-powered assistant like Havana acts as a force multiplier for your team, handling the repetitive, time-consuming tasks while your human advisors focus on high-value conversations.

How Havana Solves the Post-Fair Follow-Up Challenge:

• Instant & Scalable Outreach: Havana can contact thousands of leads from your career fair list immediately via phone, email, and SMS. This ensures every single student receives a prompt follow-up, day or night, maximizing engagement when their interest is highest.

• Advanced Lead Pre-Qualification: The AI can be configured to ask key qualifying questions about academic background, financing, and program eligibility. This automatically filters and segments your list, so your team spends their limited time on the most promising candidates.

• Lifelike, Multilingual Conversations: Unlike rigid, script-based systems, Havana uses generative AI to have natural, unscripted conversations in over 20 languages. This is especially valuable for international student recruitment, providing a superior experience that overcomes language barriers.

• Automated Appointment Setting: Once a student is qualified and engaged, Havana can seamlessly schedule a meeting directly on your advisors' calendars, eliminating the frustrating back-and-forth of manual scheduling.

By automating these routine but critical follow-up tasks, your human recruiters can focus on what they do best: building meaningful relationships with qualified, engaged prospective students.

The Long Game: Nurturing Leads and Building Your Pipeline

Not every career fair lead will be ready to apply immediately. A strategic approach to long-term nurturing can dramatically increase your ROI from these events.

Tier Your Follow-Up Strategy

Segment your career fair leads based on their engagement level:

• High-Engagement Students: These are your warmest leads who actively respond and show interest. Increase touchpoints by inviting them to exclusive webinars, virtual open houses, or application workshops.

• Low-Engagement Students: These students may not be ready yet, but don't discard them. Add them to a less frequent, long-term nurturing campaign that provides value while keeping your institution top-of-mind.

By differentiating your approach, you can allocate resources appropriately while maintaining connections with all potential applicants.

Revive Dormant Leads and Maximize ROI

What happens to the students who stop responding after initial interest? Most human teams eventually give up, but these leads represent a sunk cost.

This is another area where technology can help. Havana's Dormant Lead Revival capabilities can run systematic, multi-touch campaigns over time to re-engage cold leads, asking if their plans have changed and qualifying their renewed interest. This unlocks hidden revenue from your existing CRM data without requiring additional human effort.

Leverage Your On-Campus Allies

Your relationship with the host institution is a valuable asset in your follow-up strategy.

Actionable Step: After the fair, send a thank-you note to the school's career counselors or work-based learning coordinators. Share a (permission-based) list of students who expressed strong interest. This builds goodwill and allows them to reinforce your message on campus.

As noted by recruitment experts, these on-campus allies can be powerful advocates for your institution.

From a Handshake to an Enrollment

Effective career fair follow-up is both an art and a science. It requires a strategic blend of speed, personalization, value, and persistence. The difference between institutions that excel at this process and those that struggle often comes down to having the right systems in place.

The challenge of scale is real, but it's solvable. By augmenting your talented human team with intelligent automation, you can ensure no lead is left behind and every student interaction is meaningful.

Stop letting high-potential students slip through the cracks after career fairs. Empower your team to build relationships at scale while maintaining the personalized touch that today's students expect. Whether you're managing follow-up manually or exploring how AI assistants like Havana can transform your process, implementing the strategies in this guide will help you convert more career fair connections into successful enrollments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is personalized follow-up so important after a career fair?

Personalized follow-up is crucial because it makes students feel valued and sets your institution apart from competitors who use generic communication. Many students feel career fairs are a "waste of time" when they only receive generic instructions to "apply online." A personal touch, referencing your specific conversation, demonstrates genuine interest and can prevent candidates from abandoning the recruitment process, as studies show 54% of candidates drop off due to poor communication.

What is the best way to organize student leads after a fair?

The best way to organize leads is to immediately log all student interactions into a centralized system like a recruiting CRM or a detailed spreadsheet. Gather all physical materials like resumes and notes as soon as you return. For each student, record their name, contact info, program of interest, and most importantly, specific details from your conversation. These notes are essential for crafting personalized follow-up messages later.

How quickly should I send the first follow-up email?

You should send the first follow-up email within 24 to 48 hours of the career fair. Timing is critical. Reaching out while the conversation is still fresh in the student's mind significantly increases your chances of engagement. A prompt, personalized email ensures your institution stands out amidst the many other schools they may have spoken with.

How can my team personalize follow-up for hundreds of students?

Personalizing follow-up at scale can be achieved by augmenting your team with technology, such as an AI-powered assistant. Manually personalizing hundreds of messages is often unsustainable for stretched admissions teams. An AI co-pilot like Havana can handle instant, scalable outreach via email, SMS, and phone, pre-qualify leads with key questions, and even schedule appointments, freeing up your human staff to focus on building relationships with the most engaged candidates.

What should I do if a student stops responding?

If a student stops responding, you should move them into a long-term nurturing campaign rather than giving up on the lead. Not all students are ready to apply immediately. For these low-engagement leads, a less frequent campaign that provides valuable content (like industry news or student success stories) keeps your institution top-of-mind. Automated systems can also run "dormant lead revival" campaigns to re-engage these students later, maximizing the ROI from your career fair efforts.

Beyond email, what other channels are effective for follow-up?

Besides email, connecting on professional networks like LinkedIn and using SMS for timely updates are highly effective follow-up channels. A multi-channel approach helps build a stronger relationship. A personalized connection request on LinkedIn referencing the career fair reinforces your initial conversation. SMS can be used for reminders about deadlines or invitations to virtual events. The key is to provide value at every touchpoint, regardless of the channel.

Learn how Havana's AI-powered assistant can transform your follow-up process and help you exceed your enrollment targets.