How is a Refugee
Hiring Event Different?

MORE THAN JUST a career fair

Refugee Hiring Events are unique events to connect refugees with employment opportunities across Canadian cities, leveraging their skills and talents.

To learn about future Refugee Hiring Events, contact us.

Who is this event for?

For Job Seekers

The Hiring Event matches forcibly displaced persons with the qualifications required for available job openings as listed by participating employers.

Get Started

FOR EMPLOYERS

Unlike traditional job fairs, the Hiring Event invites companies with vacancies to interview pre-screened refugee candidates. The aim is to secure meaningful employment, either through immediate job offers, second interviews, or consideration for the company’s hiring process.

Get Started

FOR COMMUNITIES AND AGENCIES

To organize a Refugee Hiring Event, download this guide. It supports municipalities, community agencies, and employers in connecting talented refugees with job opportunities.

Get Started

Key Features

The Hiring Event model stands out from traditional job fairs due to these four key features:

1. Collaborationpark_admin2024-09-11T00:18:14+00:00

1. Collaboration

The Hiring Event model is unique due to its reliance on the collective participation of employers and refugee-serving community organizations. Successful collaboration relies on mutual trust and understanding, creating synergies that are more effective and impactful than unilateral events.

Moreover, multi-agency collaboration leverages each organization’s skills and contacts to their fullest potential.

2. Employer Selectionpark_admin2024-09-11T00:18:54+00:00

2. Employer Selection

Recruiting employers is a collaborative effort between all hiring event stakeholders. In consultation with agency partners and the central convenor, employers are selected based on a diverse range of job postings, including various industries, sectors, and job levels. Employers must:

Submit open vacancies to facilitate actual hiring.
Send interviewers or recruiters with decision-making authority to offer jobs on-site or flag candidates for further interviews.
Attend the preparatory session to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Report hiring outcomes to the Hiring Event committee with supporting data.

3. Pre-Screeningpark_admin2024-11-25T21:14:56+00:00

3. Pre-Screening

Pre-screening applications, while labour-intensive, is crucial to the success of the hiring event model. A thorough review of resumes and applications benefits both candidates and employers: it ensures interviewees have the required skills and significantly enhances candidates’ chances of success.

Once pre-screening is complete, the lead agency partner sends lists of invited candidates to all partner agencies, categorized by the candidates’ registered agency. Agency partners, especially employment counselors, then schedule customized preparatory sessions for their clients to address role-specific requirements. For candidates not registered with an agency partner, the lead agency partner organizes these preparatory sessions.

4. Action-Orientedpark_admin2024-09-11T00:20:50+00:00

4. Action-Oriented

The hiring event prioritizes action-oriented next steps. Participating employers must assign staff authorized to make hiring decisions on-site. For each interview, employers should clearly communicate next steps with a timeline or customized feedback.

Hiring managers are expected to provide one of three outcomes: a formal offer, an invitation for a second-round interview, or feedback for candidates not moving forward. Post-event, employers must report interview outcomes to the hiring event committee.