Conferences are known for being great places to network, learn new industry insights, get acquainted with the latest technology, and hear from expert speakers. However, with so many conferences available throughout the year, it can be difficult to decide which ones are the right fit for your company’s needs. The best conferences give attendees strategies they can implement and see positive results from while also providing big-picture ideas and a look at larger trends. We’ve rounded up 11 conferences that deliver valuable information and learning opportunities every year that any talent professional could greatly benefit from.
Campus and Early-Career Recruiting and Retention
NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Conference + Expo
Focus: Campus Recruiting
Upcoming Date: June 5-7, 2023
Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
NACE has been an authority on campus and university recruiting since 1956, and their annual conference allows them to share the abundance of information they gather. The conference has a wide variety of sessions available relevant to talent professionals, campus career services, or both. The wide variety of topics gives attendees the chance to choose which events are most applicable to them, so they recommend that if you’re traveling with a team, try to divide up and attend as many seminars as possible. NACE offers plenty of networking opportunities with other professionals attending as well as an expo hall for relevant technology and services. To make the conference + expo experience seamless for attendees, they provide a conference app that can be used to keep up on which sessions are taking place and the overall schedule.
RippleMatch will be leading a session at NACE this year, “Today and Tomorrow: A Data Deep Dive on The Landscape of Gen Z Recruitment and What Employers Need To Know to Adapt”. Be sure to catch our discussion, stop by the RippleMatch booth, and book time to chat with us at the conference here!
Campus Recruiting Forum
Focus: Campus Recruiting
Upcoming Date: June 13-14, 2023
Location: Philadelphia, PA
The Campus Recruiting Forum offers a two-day option of their conference, with day one focusing on the fundamentals and day 2 going over the newest trends and best practices. Attendees are able to choose one day or both, and they recommend going to the fundamentals at least one while attending the trends & best practices every year for updates. The fundamentals forum details everything a campus recruiter should know to develop a successful and strategic recruitment process. The day of trends & best practices offers attendees presentations by experienced recruiters, researchers, and professionals. While the first day is made specifically for campus recruiters, the second day is perfect for anyone involved in any part of hiring college students.
REconference
Focus: Early Career Recruiting
Upcoming Date: June 21, 2023
Location: Virtual
RippleMatch is proud to be hosting an immersive half-day virtual conference bringing together industry innovators who will share how they are REthinking their strategies and tools in response to the evolving expectations of early career candidates. The keynote speaker will be Cindy Loggins, Global Head of Emerging Talent at eBay, and other presenting employers include EY, UKG, reddit, Oliver Wyman, and more. There will also be live sessions for conference attendees to engagee with Gen Z panelists, fostering meaningful dialogue to help recruitment teams REconnect with the next generation of talent.
REconference is designed for Talent Acquisition, DE&I, University Recruitment, and Recruiting Leaders who want to innovate and future-proof their strategies in attracting and hiring Gen Z talent. This is your chance to explore how early career programs today are revolutionizing candidate experience, growing DE&I strategies, modernizing tech stacks, and enhancing event programs to shape a better future for all involved in the recruiting process. Register for REconference here.
URx (Past)
Focus: Early Career Talent
Upcoming Date: May 10-11, 2023
Location: Virtual
URx is a two-day conference for anyone involved in recruiting, developing, and retaining early career talent. This includes recruiters, those involved in academic programs or student development, student organization leaders, and people involved in organizations that help individuals return to the workforce. Past conference attendees called the conference, “collaborative and engaging,” and “a must attend for companies that care about taking action and implementing effective diversity & inclusion strategies into talent recruiting & development programs,” in testimonials provided by URx.
In addition to have a booth at the URx conference this year, RippleMatch sponsored an NYC Talent Professionals Happy Hour following the event.
Technical Recruiting
Talent 42
Focus: Technical talent
Upcoming Date: June 27-28, 2023
Location: Seattle, WA
This conference is specifically focused on recruiting and hiring tech talent, which can be useful for anyone who regularly fills tech-based positions. Some of the talks have included topics like using storytelling in your recruiting strategy, discovering new talent pools, using APIs for sourcing, and coding competition-based interviewing. Talent 42 is especially helpful to stay on top of always-changing tech recruiting trends, and their hands-on roundtables allow a useful Q&A time. Attendees can expect speakers from top tech companies like Uber, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Recruiting/HR Technology
HR Technology Conference
Focus: HR tech
Upcoming Date: October 10-13, 2023
Location: Las Vegas, NV
For over 20 years, HR Tech has focused on showcasing technology that drives success for HR professionals. With sessions presented by industry experts and practitioners, attendees learn about the technologies that can best support their organization’s needs and leave equipped with the insight to make critical HR system decisions. HR Tech also hosts the world’s largest expo of HR technology, giving attendees the chance to learn about products from 450+ vendors ranging from established industry leaders to tech startups
HR Transform (Past)
Focus: Innovations in HR
Upcoming Date: March 27-29, 2023
Location: Las Vegas, NV
HR Transform focuses on the new and emerging trends and technology in HR to help attendees stay up to date on everything they should know within the industry. Over three days, you’ll hear from talent executives from companies such as Amazon, BNY Mellon, 3M, Chegg, and many more. This conference puts an emphasis on entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders to create a unique experience focused on the newest approaches and products talent specialists could utilize. It’s an impressive opportunity for networking and their schedule allows plenty of time throughout the day to connect with other leaders.
SourceCon (Past)
Focus: Sourcing candidates & tech
Upcoming Date: April 12-13, 2023
Location: Dallas, TX
SourceCon is a leading conference for all aspects of sourcing great candidates with a special focus on technology. However, discussions at the event span more than just sourcing and aim to improve recruiting strategies as a whole. There are plenty of discussions to choose from, like how AI is affecting the recruiting industry, utilizing video content in sourcing, and a LinkedIn deep dive, to name a few. They end the first day with a hackathon where sourcers can test out new techniques they learned that day. In 2022, they continued their roundtable discussions and networking opportunities to ensure more peer-to-peer learning time.
RippleMatch was happy to have a booth at SourceCon this year!
General Talent Acquisition
Indeed Interactive
Focus: Data insights & industry outlook
Upcoming Date: September 20-21, 2023
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
From speakers on inclusive hiring tactics to insights on recruiting across different generations, this conference covers all the pertinent topics for any talent professional in today’s market. This huge conference offers a multitude of speakers to choose from – some of the highlights from 2022 include talks on Competing to Win With Employer Branding, Hiring More Equitably, Effectively and Efficiently, and more. The conference also focuses on insights into the future of the industry like tips for surviving and thriving in a tight labor market, but also how to proceed if the future leads to an economic downturn.
SHRM Talent Conference & Exposition (Past)
Focus: Talent Acquisition
Upcoming Date: April 16-19, 2023
Location: Orlando, FL
This conference put on by the Society for Human Resource Management focuses on recruiting standout talent while competing in a tough market. The speakers provide expert information on new ways to access untapped talent pools, communicate the true value of benefits, and keep employees engaged at every level. They have over 70 speakers sharing their expertise on a variety of topics. The 2023 show will feature content tracks on engagement & retention, sourcing and recruiting, HR & Talent Acquisition strategy, DEI strategy, and more.
RippleMatch was happy to have had a booth has SHRM’s conference this year. See photos here.
Other Recruiting Topics
Workhuman (Past)
Focus: Humanity in the workplace
Upcoming Date: April 17-20, 2023
Location: San Diego, CA
Workhuman’s conference promises to be truly unlike any other. Their focus is on bringing more “humanity” into the workplace which means you can expect topics to be covered like bias and inclusion, workplace and hiring culture, personalized recognition, and humanizing HR analytics. They try to make the conference itself a more real, mindful experience, complete with optional meditation and yoga breaks. They have had some big keynote speakers in the past, including Viola Davis and Kat Cole, COO and president of Focus Brands, and you can expect more of the same in 2023.
All of these conferences are great opportunities for expanding your network, learning valuable strategies that you can implement into your existing processes, and finding out new advances in the current landscape of hiring. Whether you attend one, two or 10, you’re sure to come away from your experiences at these conferences with new inspiration for shaping your talent acquisition strategy.
Did we miss any outstanding talent acquisition conferences? Email us your input and we might add it to our list as we regularly update this article with new dates and locations.
Interested in how RippleMatch can support your HR and recruitment efforts? Book a demo today to learn more about our platform and why top employers are turning to us to recruit early career talent.
