First Committee Meeting Agenda


In your first meeting, please discuss the following questions, which are the initial responsibility of your committee. 

What Students Will Your Event Serve?

Look at what other programs exist and where you can best support students in their career exploration journey. We recommend inviting students between sixth and eighth grades, sometime before they enroll in high school. 

When To Host Your Event?

We recommend scheduling your event so that the students who are participating haven’t yet enrolled in high school. Spring of seventh grade or fall of eighth grade are ideal times, but work with your local schools to determine a good time that fits around other events and enrollment timeframes. We typically hold events in the mornings to avoid conflicts with after-school activities, or we look for dates that fall between sports seasons. 

Where To Host Your Event?

You’ll need an event space that offers a large space for the welcome session (an auditorium, ballroom or gym will work), plus approximately 12 large breakout rooms for each session your event will include. Each of these rooms need to hold approximately 30 students plus space for activities. A college student union, a school, or an event center could work well. See if you can find a partnering organization willing to let you use their space before looking at options that will increase your overhead costs.  

What Breakout Sessions Will You Include at Your Event?

Study the standard 12 HirePaths career categories and determine industries that are represented in your community. Do you have businesses and organizations working in all these sectors who will want to participate? If not, decrease the number of sections your event will offer. 

Also consider if your community has a specific strength or an extreme workforce need you’d like to emphasize. If so, you could create a new category to add to your event that highlights jobs in that industry. Let us know ASAP if we need to make you a custom sign and adapt your enrollment forms accordingly. 

How Many Students To Invite?

Most Career Hunt events are organized to host 360 or fewer middle-school students. This number is based on hosting three consecutive breakout sessions with 12 breakout rooms during a half-day event. Each room should be large enough to hold 30 students at once, plus space for your employers to set up activities (12 x 30 = 360). If your school has, for example, 250 kids in one of your seventh-grade classes, you can decide to host an event just with 250 kids, which would allow for a smaller number of kids per room (providing more individual attention), or you could invite some of your neighboring districts, private schools or homeschoolers to join you (allowing you to serve more students across your region). 

If your facility’s space is limited and your room sizes are smaller, ensure that your rooms are large enough to accommodate 30 students plus room for speakers to facilitate activities. If your space is more conducive to smaller groups, you may want to cap it at 20–25 students per room and adjust your overall numbers. And that’s OK, too! It’s most important for the students and your speakers to have a great time, rather than to cram in more kids than you can comfortably accommodate. 

If your district has class sizes significantly larger than 360, you should consider how to narrow down your group. Or consider hosting a morning and an afternoon session, which increases your capacity to 720 students. The morning and afternoon schedules can overlap so that while your morning group is in its final breakout session, the students participating in the afternoon are attending their welcome session. Our event is customizable to meet the needs and features of each community. If you’re stumped, ask your event coordinator for ideas!