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At most careers fairs you are given a table and a little floor space beside it, so the best display stand for careers fairs is usually a roller banner next to the table with a printed tablecloth on the front. The banner tells students which company you are from and which industry you work in from across the hall, and the tabletop stays clear for conversations, leaflets and a laptop. If the organiser gives you open floor space instead of a table, a fabric wall with a pop up counter in front of it is the step up.
Below is how I would choose between the options we sell for a careers fair or job fair, with a pick for each type of event. Recruitment fairs, university open days and school open days each get their own section, because the space you are given and the people you are talking to are different at each one.
Quick picks by space and budget for a job fair stand
Start with what the organiser is giving you, then choose from this table. Most employers only need the first row.
| Your space | My pick | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| A supplied 6ft table | Expovision 600mm roller banner and tablecloth bundle | £135.95 ex VAT |
| A table with room beside it | Mantis 850mm roller banner | £70.95 ex VAT |
| Table only, no floor signs | OneFabric 5ft tabletop display | £307.95 ex VAT |
| A message at the front of the table | Breeze A3 desktop banner | £58.95 ex VAT |
| Leaflets and brochures | Zed-Up Lite A4 literature stand | £129.95 ex VAT |
| Open space with no table | Soft Touch 2.4m fabric wall | £356.95 ex VAT |
| Open space that needs a desk | Hop-up fabric pop up counter | £332.95 ex VAT |
If you only buy one thing, make it the Expovision roller banner and tablecloth bundle. The tablecloth is made to fit a 6ft x 2ft trestle table, which is the size many careers fair organisers supply, and the open back lets you keep bags and spare stock out of sight under the table. Both are custom printed in full colour, and you can send different artwork for the banner and the tablecloth at no extra cost.
How to choose the best display stand for careers fairs
The most useful thing you can do before ordering is read the exhibitor information for the fair. It should tell you whether you get a table, how big it is, and whether you can put anything on the floor beside it. Some careers fairs pack tables close together in a sports hall, with only room for one banner between neighbours. Others give each employer a marked-out area. The right display depends on which of those you have, so it is worth asking the organiser if the pack does not say.
Once you know the space, the key decisions are these.
- Height. Candidates walking down a busy aisle see the top of your display first. A 2000mm roller banner puts your company name and brand above the heads of the people at your table, which is what catches the attention of students further down the hall. A tabletop display does the same job from the table if floor signs are not allowed.
- Width. A roller banner 600mm to 850mm wide fits beside a table without blocking your neighbour. Anything wider needs an area of its own.
- Carrying. Graduate recruiters and school liaison teams can go to several events in a month, sometimes by train. A 1.4kg banner in a bag is very different to carry from a counter in a wheeled case.
- Reuse. Your brand and what the business does will stay the same for years. The jobs you are hiring for will not. Keep the changing details off the big display so it can be reused.
The diagram shows why a roller banner is the usual first buy. At 2000mm it is taller than the person standing next to it, while a counter at 1020mm sits at waist height and is mostly hidden once people gather in front of it. A 1524mm tabletop display standing on a table ends up around the height of a roller banner or a little taller, which is why it works when the floor beside the table is off limits.
Roller banner, tabletop backdrop or fabric wall for a career fair table
These three formats cover almost every careers event, and the choice mostly comes down to where the organiser lets you put things.
Roller banners are the simplest option. The graphic rolls into the base, it goes up without tools and it stands on the floor beside your table. The Mantis 850mm roller banner is 2000mm tall, weighs 2.3kg and comes with a padded carry bag, so one person can take it to a fair on their own. It has twist out feet for stability and a one-year warranty on the hardware.
A tabletop backdrop stands on the back of the table instead of the floor. The OneFabric 5ft tabletop display is 1524mm wide and 1524mm high, which fills the back of a 6ft table and leaves a gap at each end for a desktop banner or a laptop. It is the better buy when the organiser does not allow floor-standing displays, or when tables are so close together that there is no room for a banner beside yours. The hardware has a lifetime warranty and the graphic has one year.
A fabric wall is for a larger space with no table, which you are more likely to get at a big recruitment fair held in an exhibition hall. The Soft Touch 2.4m straight fabric display is 2350mm wide and 2320mm high, packs into a padded bag and is fire rated to DIN 4102-1 B1, which some venues ask for. You would usually put a counter in front of it so staff have somewhere to stand and leave leaflets.
If you are not sure which one you will get, buy the roller banner first. It works at a table, it works in an open space as a second display, and it is the cheapest of the three to replace if your branding changes.
The best display for recruitment fairs
For an employer going to several recruitment fairs a year, the best display for recruitment fairs is a reusable roller banner with general company branding, plus a small desktop banner for the roles you are hiring for right now. I would pick the Mantis 850mm for the floor and the Breeze A3 desktop banner for the table. The Breeze is 440mm tall, weighs 0.27kg and the graphic swaps in easily, so when the jobs change you only reprint the A3 graphic.
Job seekers at a recruitment fair are deciding quickly whether a company is worth a conversation. The tall banner should say who you are and what kind of work you offer, for example engineering, care or warehouse jobs. The desktop banner or a QR code on the table can point candidates to current vacancies. A recruitment agency can use the same set-up, with agency branding on the banner and the client roles kept on the table, because one narrow banner cannot explain several employers well.
If the recruitment event gives you an open area rather than a table, choose the Soft Touch 2.4m wall with the Hop-up fabric pop up counter in front of it. The counter is 1060mm wide and 1020mm high with a beech-effect top, an internal shelf for spare leaflets and a wheeled carry bag. That pairing gives your recruitment team a professional looking backdrop for photos and somewhere to talk to candidates without anyone standing behind a bare trestle table.
The decision rule is simple. If a table is supplied, buy a roller banner and a desktop banner. If you get open floor, buy a fabric wall and a counter. If you go to both kinds of event, it can make sense to own both and take whichever suits the fair.
The best display stand for university open days
At a university open day each department usually has a table in a shared hall or atrium, and prospective students arrive with parents who want to take something home. The best display stand for university open days is often a tabletop display behind the table with a literature stand beside it. My pick is the OneFabric 5ft tabletop display with the Zed-Up Lite A4 literature stand.
The tabletop display gives the department a large printed backdrop without needing floor space, which matters when a hall has dozens of departments in rows. The Zed-Up Lite holds prospectuses and course leaflets in six A4 pockets, stands 1460mm tall and folds into a lockable hard case. Families can pick up a prospectus or other printed material without waiting for a member of staff, which keeps the table free for questions about the course.
Universities also run careers fairs of their own, and the same equipment works for the university careers service at those events. If a faculty needs a welcome point at the entrance rather than a department table, a roller banner is the better choice because it can stand on its own by a door or at the bottom of a staircase. The decision rule here is to buy the tabletop display for department tables and a roller banner for anything that needs to stand alone.
The best display stand for school open days
School open days and open evenings are usually smaller events, and the school puts out its own tables in the hall. The best display stand for school open days is a roller banner at the entrance and a printed tablecloth on the welcome table, so families know they are in the right place as soon as they walk in. The Expovision bundle covers both in one order, and at £135.95 ex VAT it suits a school budget better than a fabric wall.
A school open day has a different job to a careers fair. Parents and children are looking at the school as a whole, so the banner should show pupils and the school rather than a list of facts. Subject departments can then use a desktop banner each on their own tables. The Expovision banner weighs 1.4kg and comes with a carry bag, which makes it easy for staff to put away in a cupboard until the next open evening or school careers day.
Schools also go out to events, such as a sixth form college at a local careers fair or a primary school at a community day. The same banner and tablecloth work there too. If the school already owns a banner, the next purchase I would suggest is a literature stand, so prospectuses are not piled up on the welcome table.
Custom branded design and interactive ideas for a job fair stand
The equipment only does half the job. The printed design is what makes a candidate stop, so it is worth thinking about before you order. Keep the company logo and the main message in the top half of a custom roller banner, because the bottom third is often hidden behind the table or the people in front of it. Use one strong photo of your team at work rather than several small ones. Leave the job titles, closing dates and salaries to the desktop banner, a leaflet or your careers page, so the main graphic stays useful for years.
If you want something interactive, such as a laptop showing a short video or a tablet with a quick application form, plan the setup around it. That is another reason to keep the floor-standing display beside the table and the tabletop clear. Every order includes free artwork design or proofing, so if you send us your logo and a rough idea, our design team will lay it out to suit the product.
Frequently asked questions
What size roller banner is best for a careers fair?
An 800mm or 850mm wide roller banner at 2000mm tall suits most careers fairs. It is wide enough for a clear logo and message and still fits beside a 6ft table without blocking the employer next to you. A 600mm banner is a good choice when tables are very close together or you want the lightest option.
Do I need a tablecloth for a careers fair table?
You do not need one, but many organisers supply bare trestle tables, and a printed tablecloth makes your table look like part of the same stand as your banner. An open back cloth also hides bags, coats and spare stock under the table. A tablecloth made for a 6ft x 2ft table fits the usual size.
Is a careers fair stand the same as a job fair booth?
Yes, they are the same thing. Booth is the American word and stand is the one used at UK events. Career fair ideas you find online will mostly suit a UK careers fair stand, but check the space first, because many UK careers fairs only give each employer a table rather than a full exhibition space.
Can a business use the same display at a careers fair and a university open day?
Yes, a roller banner works at both, and it is the most flexible thing to buy if you go to different types of events. A tabletop display also works at both, as long as you have a table. Keep the graphic general, and put details for a particular event on a desktop banner or leaflets.
Which careers fair display has the quickest setup for one member of staff?
A roller banner is the quickest. You pull the graphic up out of the base and fit the pole, with no tools, and the Mantis 850mm weighs only 2.3kg. The Hop-up counter is also quick because its folding frame opens in one go and the graphic stays on it when you pack it away.
How far ahead should I order a careers fair display?
Leave enough lead time before the event to agree the artwork with us, especially if this is your first printed display. Check the organiser deadlines in your exhibitor pack as well, because some careers fairs ask employers to confirm what they are bringing in advance.
