--- title: "How to Run a Trades Career Day Booth That Gets Student Follow-Ups" description: "A booth checklist, 15-minute demonstration, career handout, and school-approved follow-up plan for a small trades crew." url: "https://www.novatori.us/field-notes/trades-career-day-booth/" source: "Markdown twin of https://www.novatori.us/field-notes/trades-career-day-booth/ — generated for AI agents." --- Field notes # How to Run a Trades Career Day Booth That Gets Student Follow-Ups A booth checklist, 15-minute demonstration, career handout, and school-approved follow-up plan for a small trades crew. Published October 14, 2026 Show one piece of work your crew actually does. Explain how a beginner learns it. Give interested students one next step you have confirmed with the school. A small crew can do that with a table, a sample, and a one-page handout. For the wider hiring process, see the [guide to recruiting apprentices in the trades](https://www.novatori.us/field-notes/how-to-recruit-apprentices-trades). This checklist covers the career day booth and the handoff afterward. ## Before the event: confirm the plan [NCCER recommends career days and contacting local schools](https://www.nccer.org/newsroom/tips-for-finding-and-retaining-talent-for-your-contracting-business/) when promoting construction careers. Ask the organizer: - Where is your table, when can you set up, and is power available? - Which materials and demonstrations are allowed? What safety limits apply? - May students share contact details? If so, how may your crew record and use them? - Which follow-up channel does the school approve? - Are there age-related requirements to account for before offering a visit or application? Choose one visual task from your crew’s work. A plumber could assemble dry pipe fittings on a table. An HVAC crew could explain a filter or airflow mockup. A painter could compare prepared and unprepared surface samples. Confirm your specific activity with the organizer. Pack the approved materials, a finished sample or permitted photo, a small sign naming the customer problem, and copies of the handout below. Bring a way to record interest only if the school approves it. ## At the booth: make the work easy to see - Put the finished result where students can see it from the aisle. - Have one crew member demonstrate while another answers questions, if two are available. - Start with the customer’s problem before naming tools or materials. - Reset the demonstration between groups. - Point out the approved next step before students leave. Try: “When a customer has [problem], we do [task]. This step matters because [plain-language reason].” ## A sample 15-minute demonstration Adjust this sequence to the student group and the organizer’s rules: 1. **Minutes 0–2: Show the result.** Name the customer problem it solves. 2. **Minutes 2–6: Show one approved step.** Explain what you are doing and why it matters. 3. **Minutes 6–9: Describe a beginner’s first tasks.** Say what your crew teaches and how it checks the work. 4. **Minutes 9–12: Take questions.** Cover a typical workday, training, career paths, and only pay details your business can verify. 5. **Minutes 12–15: Give the next step.** Point to the school-approved option on the handout. NCCER identifies [career paths and ongoing training](https://www.nccer.org/newsroom/tips-for-finding-and-retaining-talent-for-your-contracting-business/) as points to explain. Describe the paths and training you can discuss accurately for your own crew. ## Make a one-page career handout Fill in this template before printing. Use words a new crew member would understand. **What we do:** [The work your crew does and the customer problem it solves] **Starting role:** [A real entry role or type of first task; do not imply you have an opening if you do not] **What you learn first:** [Two or three tasks a beginner would learn] **Training and supervision:** [How your crew teaches and checks those tasks] **Pay:** [Current, verified information for your business, or the approved contact who can answer] **Want to learn more?** Ask [school-approved contact] about [approved next step]. Leave any unconfirmed detail off the printed sheet. Give the organizer a copy so the school knows what students are taking home. ## Invite interest through the approved channel Tell students how to use the handout. For example: > If this work interests you, take this sheet. Ask the school contact listed here about the follow-up option, and we’ll explain what a first step with our crew could look like. Use the route you confirmed with the organizer. If the school does not permit direct collection of student details, do not start a sign-up list at the table. ## The next business day: complete the handoff - Assign one crew member or office person to handle follow-ups. - Keep only the interest or contact information the school permitted you to record. - Send what you promised through the approved channel. - Arrange any conversation, visit, or application through the process agreed with the school. - Note the questions students asked most often, then use them to improve the next handout and demonstration. Before you load the truck, confirm the demonstration and follow-up route with the organizer. Then print the handout and practice the one step you plan to show. Keep going ## Want to talk through what you just read? Tell us how your business runs today, and we’ll talk through how this applies to it. [Talk to us](https://www.novatori.us/contact)