An Unofficial Guide For Attending The Birmingham Recruitment Agency Expo

The Recruitment Agency Expo Birmingham is just under a month away and I haven’t seen too many guides, advice and tips around the event so I thought I’d weigh in with my half baked opinion. Take this as an unofficial guide on The Birmingham Recruitment Agency Expo from a non-seasoned professional but from someone who’s been a fair few times over the past 10 years and has been to Birmingham International Railway Station more times than I count (I used to work at Mercury Recruitment CRM who are based around the corner in Coleshill). 

WHERE & WHEN 

It’s taking place at The Birmingham NEC on Wednesday 9th October and Thursday 10th October (next month!).   

TICKETS

Pretty basic but make sure you register for your ticket. It only takes a few minutes and will save you a bunch of hassle on the day. 

TRAVEL

Last year the exhibition was hit with at a strike across a lot of the major railway companies on the first day. I ended up having get the Megabus up to Birmingham, which was surprisingly OK. This year we should be fine with no strike action on the horizon. 

Make sure you travel to the Birmingham International Airport Railway Station (if you’re getting the train) as opposed to Birmingham Snow Hill, Moor Street, New Street or any of the various other stations around. 

Getting a taxi around Birmingham between 8am - 9am is always tricky as all of the taxi firms seem to be booked out doing the school runs so book yourself a taxi now if you need one on the day. 

If you are driving down then there’s a large car park just outside Birmingham International Railway Station. 

HOTELS

If you’re attending the expo on both days, then you’ll probably need a hotel room. There are hotels all around the NEC but they tend to be pretty expensive, around £200-£400/night and a few of the nicer ones are already booked out for those dates. It might be worthwhile looking at a 3 or 4 star hotel for around £100-£150/night in Birmingham city centre and grabbing a taxi to the NEC. The NEC is around a 20-30 minute drive from the city centre. I hate the logistics of booking holidays so I’m probably the worst person to ask on this subject. 

ADMINISTRATION

It might be an idea to save your LinkedIn QR code as your mobile phone wallpaper or screensaver, which will hopefully mean making connections and adding people to LinkedIn will be a whole lot easier. 

Reach out to anyone who you think might be going and arrange to meet up. Exhibitions are always so much better when you get a chance to meet up with business partners and old colleagues. 

On the day you’ll probably want an outfit that’s smart with comfortable shoes - I’m always surprised at the amount of walking I do at exhibitions. And bring along a jacket and umbrella - you can always leave them in the cloakroom if need be. 

On the day, remember to take breaks from the event, it can be a little overwhelming for some so pop out and grab some fresh air or get a drink to get a little space. 

MERCHANDISE

Bring a rucksack, hand bag, laptop bag, suitcase or Santa sack for all the free merchandise everyone is giving out. You can expect all the usuals such as pens, notepads, sweets, bottle openers, keyrings, and so on. 

FOOD & DRINK

Just by Birmingham International Railway Station, (which leads into the NEC) you have a WH Smith, Subway, coffee shop and also cash machines. 

Also just outside the venue you have Pendigo Way, which is lined with various bars and chain restaurants such as Pizza Express, Five Guys, Nando’s, etc. 

If you’ve skipped breakfast or are looking for a second breakfast then swing by the JobAdder stand as you can't beat their pancakes! 

If you’re in need of a pick me up coffee then visit the team at the Bullhorn and CloudCall stands for freshly made coffee.  

Looking for something a little stronger later on? Then swing by the Broadbean stand and grab yourself a complimentary cocktail from the team there. 

Also Rocket Recruitment tend to have a cocktail stand too so swing by their stand for a little pick me up. 

Too wrapped up in the event to leave and grab lunch, don’t worry we got you covered - or more like Sonovate has you covered with their amazing canapes, which will be served at 12:30pm. 

There’s normally a bunch of drinks in the bars around the venue so have a chat with old colleagues, new friends and the exhibitors to get an idea of where everyone is going for the after party! 

SPEAKERS

There is one speaker you need to go and see and that's me, Robert Garner! I'll be speaking on Wednesday morning at 10:30am on the Elevate Stage. I'll be talking about practical tips and advice to get your recruitment website onto the first page of Google! 

Take a look at the speakers and work out who you want to see. It’s easy to get wrapped up chatting away with friends and old colleagues and end up missing out on some great talks.  

When you arrive, get an idea where all the stages are so you won’t be running around frantically 2 minutes beforehand trying to locate your talk. 

Also be sure to take notes during the talks, you’re likely to forget most of the content from the day. 

Here’s the speaker programme to make it a little easier for you.  

EXHIBITORS

A major part of the exhibition is obviously the recruitment industry suppliers. Yes they’re trying to sell their products and services to you but I see it as more of an educational piece. These are companies that can offer better finance rates for your contract recruitment agency, companies that specialise in legal advice to the recruitment sector and you’ll need a good solicitor as your company scales, recruitment CRM providers offering new services that your current provider just can’t. Essentially these are companies that can help increase the efficiency of your consultants and increase your agency’s profits. 

Take time to look through the full list of exhibitors & recruitment industry suppliers and determine which services might be of benefit to your agency and make a note of any companies that specialise in those areas. 

GIVEAWAYS

On top of all the free merchandise there’s normally a bunch of competitions and giveaways.

Tracker are giving away an iPhone 16 if you sign up to a demo at the show.

AFTERWARDS

After the event, put some time aside to reach out to all the new connections you’ve made, look through the brochures you picked up and reach out to any exhibitors that might be of interest and set up some conversations. 

Be sure to go through your notes from the talks and put plans in place to implement them. 

And if you see me walking around then feel free to grab me for a chat!