Standing Out at the Job Fair: Baker McKenzie's Engagement Board
Client: Baker McKenzie Poland
Sector: Legal / Talent Recruitment
Methods: Live graphic recording, participatory engagement board.
Deliverable: Visual engagement board + social media assets
The Brief
Baker McKenzie wanted to attract top graduate talent at a competitive legal job fair — where every law firm had a booth, a banner, and a brochure. The challenge was differentiation. And beyond standing out, they wanted to connect with recruits in a way that reflected their genuine commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity.
Our Approach
Instead of an exhibit that talked at candidates, we built one that listened.
We set up a large whiteboard at their booth with a single question: "What does equality at work mean to you?" As graduate students stopped to talk with the Baker McKenzie team, their answers — their words, their values, their vision — were drawn live on the board for everyone to see.
The board wasn't a backdrop. It was the conversation.
The Process
Step 1 — The question as an invitation A single, open question replaced the brochure as the first point of contact. It signaled immediately that Baker McKenzie was interested in what candidates thought — not just in selling themselves. Students stopped not because they were handed something, but because they were asked something.
Step 2 — Live drawing as active listening As each conversation unfolded, responses were drawn in real time on the shared board. Seeing their words illustrated — alongside those of every other candidate who had passed by — gave students a tangible sense of belonging and contribution. The board grew throughout the day into a collective portrait of what this generation of lawyers cares about.
Step 3 — The artifact lives on The completed board — rich with themes of tolerance, dignity, equal opportunity, understanding, and justice — became a visual asset Baker McKenzie could use far beyond the fair itself.
Why It Worked
Every other firm at the fair was telling candidates who they were. Baker McKenzie asked candidates who they were — and listened visibly.
That shift — from broadcasting to co-creating — accomplished three things a brochure cannot:
It differentiated Baker McKenzie as an innovative, people-centered firm in a sea of identical exhibits.
It deepened connection with candidates beyond a transactional exchange, giving them a reason to remember the conversation.
It produced proof — visual social media content that showed, rather than stated, the firm's values in action.
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The Output
A fully illustrated engagement board capturing the values and voices of the talent pool Baker McKenzie was recruiting from — in their own words, in real time.
The board served three functions at once: a conversation starter at the booth, a visual record of the event, and a social media asset that demonstrated Baker McKenzie's commitment to inclusion with receipts, not just rhetoric.