Every employer here is hiring, and nobody at a stand is allowed to say "apply online".

A real, open vacancy — Named, with a band, live on the day. "Building our talent pipeline" is not a vacancy, and those stands are most of why people stopped coming to these
No "apply online" at the stand — Where somebody is right for a role, take their details and move them forward. Pointing at a website is what a poster does, and a poster costs a great deal less than a stand
Every CV handed over gets a reply — Within two weeks, written by a person. It is the condition most often queried before signing, which tells you something about the norm it replaces
Somebody who does the job, on the stand — Not only recruiters. An hour with a person who actually does the work is what most attendees came for and it is what almost nobody provides
The band on the card — Written on the stand rather than disclosed on request. A fair where every salary is a conversation is a fair that wastes a whole afternoon of everybody's time
No unpaid roles advertised — Including unpaid internships and expenses-only placements. It isn't a judgement about anybody's budget — it's a rule about who a free event is for

Who's coming, three weeks ahead — Every employer, every role, every band — published rather than revealed on the day. Whether it's worth your travel is your decision to make, and you can only make it with the list
Which stands are hiring for what — So an hour can be planned instead of a room walked. Most people need three good conversations, not twenty short ones
Where each one is — A floor plan, out the same day as the list. Nobody should spend their first twenty minutes finding out the layout
What to bring — Printed CVs are useful and nobody is turned away without one. Bring nothing at all if you'd rather — several employers prefer to take details on the spot anyway
Whether it's worth coming at all — If the list has nothing in your field, don't come. That's a perfectly good outcome and it is exactly why the list goes out early rather than on the morning

A quiet first hour — Lower noise, no music, fewer people, and no queueing — stands take one conversation at a time. It's for anybody who finds the main room impossible, and no explanation is needed to use it
Step-free throughout — Every stand, the seating, and the toilets. Where a venue can't do that, we don't book the venue and we say which one it was
Somewhere to sit down — Away from the stands, with water, for as long as anybody needs it. A careers fair with nowhere to sit was designed for the employers
A named person to ask — In a visible colour, all day, whose only job is that. Not a volunteer who is also running a stand and looking over your shoulder
A travel bursary — Say so when you register. It's paid in advance rather than reimbursed, and asking is the whole of the means test
Bring somebody with you — A friend, a parent, a support worker. They don't need a ticket and nobody will ask you why they're there

What the fee pays for — The room, the chairs, the quiet hour and the bursaries. Nobody is paid a commission on a hire made here and there is no placement fee afterwards
Breaking a condition — One conversation, then no stand next time. It has happened twice and both were the "apply online" one
No sponsored positions — Nobody buys their way to the front of the list or a bigger stand. The layout is decided by which roles the registrations say people are actually looking for
Attendee data — Employers get your details only if you hand them over at a stand. The registration list is never sold, shared or passed on, and it is deleted a month after the day

Getting there — Put the real transport detail here — which buses, which station, how long the walk is, and what the walk is like. "Well connected" tells nobody anything
Parking — Say whether there is any, what it costs, and whether accessible spaces can be reserved in advance
If you're late — It doesn't matter. There's no session to miss and stands are staffed the whole day
If the weather is bad — It runs anyway, and the page says so by the evening before if that ever changes