# A robot at job fairs and in employer branding: how a humanoid robot draws candidates to your stand

URL: https://merarobotics.com/blog/robot-at-job-fair-employer-branding-how-to-attract-candidates
Language: en
Publisher: MERA Robotics (https://merarobotics.com)
Updated: 2026-10-07

> A humanoid robot at a job fair draws people to the stand, but candidates stay because of a conversation about what working at the company is like and a quick hand-over to a recruiter. The robot should talk about teams, atmosphere and career paths, not assess candidates or collect CVs. MERA Robotics (Warsaw, Poland) rents out Unitree G1 and H2 robots with its own operators for job fairs and prepares their conversations in its MERA OS software.

A humanoid robot at a job fair works like a magnet: people walk up, take photos and ask questions. For an HR team, though, that is only the start. An employer's stand wins when, after a few minutes, a candidate knows what the company does, what it is like to work there and who to talk to next. Here is how to plan a robot so that it supports employer branding rather than just drawing a crowd.

## Why would an employer bring a humanoid robot to a job fair?

A humanoid robot at a job fair solves the first problem of every stand: getting candidates to stop at all. At university and industry fairs, dozens of companies stand side by side with similar roll-up banners, and a robot that talks, gestures and poses for photos gives people a reason to come over and start a conversation.

The second reason is the message. An employer that shows a robot tells candidates something about itself: that it works with new technology, or that it is willing to do things differently. This works best when the robot fits the employer's profile, for example in technology, manufacturing, logistics or engineering.

The third reason is what the conversation is about. In the Randstad Employer Brand Research in Poland, pay, a good team atmosphere and job security were named as the most important factors of employer attractiveness by 71, 63 and 61 percent of respondents respectively. Generation Z respondents put a friendly work atmosphere first (64 percent), ahead of pay (60 percent) and career development (55 percent) ([Randstad Poland](https://info.randstad.pl/hubfs/REBR%202025%20-%20czynniki%20atrakcyjno%C5%9Bci%20pracodawcy.docx)). For a stand at a student fair, that is a useful hint: the robot should talk about people, teams and growth, and pass salary questions on to recruiters.

## Which role should the robot play on an employer's stand?

The robot's role on an employer's stand depends on what the HR team wants from the fair. The most common options:

| Robot role | What it does | When it works |
|---|---|---|
| Stand host | Greets people, asks about their degree or profession, directs them to the right recruiter | Large fairs with several company departments |
| Guide to openings | Talks about teams, internships and graduate programmes | University career fairs |
| Company quiz | Asks a few questions about the employer and rewards answers | When people need to stay longer |
| Face of video content | Records short clips with candidates and employees | Employer branding campaigns on social media |
| Stage appearance | Talks with a company representative during a panel | Fairs with their own stage or talks area |

The robot does not replace a recruiter. Its job is to create the first impression and bring the candidate to the person who will hold the real conversation. We cover the stand itself in more detail in [Robot at a trade fair: how to draw people to your stand](https://merarobotics.com/blog/robot-at-trade-fair-how-to-draw-people-to-your-stand).

## What should the robot know about the employer?

A robot at a job fair should know what candidates ask most often and explain it in language a student or a career changer understands. Before the event, collect from HR:

- what the company does and in which cities and countries it operates,
- which teams are hiring and who they are looking for (degrees, experience, languages),
- internship and graduate programmes: dates, structure, how to apply,
- what the recruitment process looks like step by step,
- a few concrete employee stories (with their consent) the robot can tell,
- a list of questions passed on to recruiters: salaries, contract terms, hiring decisions.

In MERA OS, this knowledge goes into the event profile, and the robot's persona (name, character, way of speaking) is matched to the employer's brand. At fairs with international candidates, multiple languages help: MERA OS holds conversations in more than 30 languages, including Polish and English.

## Can the robot collect CVs and assess candidates?

A robot on the stand should not assess candidates or decide who moves forward. The EU AI Act lists as high-risk AI systems those intended for the recruitment or selection of people, including analysing and filtering job applications and evaluating candidates ([AI Act, Annex III](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/annex/3/)). A conversation with a robot at a fair should therefore inform, not select.

Personal data also needs care. The Polish data protection authority (UODO) reminds employers that they should process only the data needed to make a hiring decision, and must not reuse data from one recruitment for later ones without the candidate's consent ([UODO guide for employers](https://uodo.gov.pl/file/1469)). In practice, the simplest solution is a QR code to the company's application form on the stand screen, with the robot only encouraging people to apply and never asking about age, family or health.

## How can the robot support employer branding after the fair?

A humanoid robot in employer branding produces content that lives longer than the event itself. A few proven ideas:

- short reels with candidates' questions and employees' answers,
- coverage of the fair on the company's careers profile,
- a video series in which the robot "visits" company departments and talks to teams,
- a robot appearance at an open day or a graduate meet-up.

Edward Warchocki, a robot run by MERA Robotics, shows how a humanoid robot works in the media: he has appeared at the Warsaw University of Technology, at Industriada 2026 in Rybnik and at the Evertiq Expo trade fair in Kraków, and his video with wild boars was covered by Reuters, CNN and BBC News. We write about planning university demos in our article on the [robot at a university and open day](https://merarobotics.com/blog/humanoid-robot-at-university-science-conference-open-day-demos-education), and about video content in the article on the [robot in marketing campaigns](https://merarobotics.com/blog/humanoid-robot-in-marketing-campaigns-social-media-reels-live-streams).

## How do you choose a partner for a robot at a job fair?

A partner for a robot at a job fair is easiest to assess against a few checkable criteria:

1. **Own operators on site** who look after the robot and the people around it all day.
2. **Conversation software** with a persona and knowledge about the specific employer, not just generic small talk.
3. **Languages**, if candidates from abroad attend the fair.
4. **Robot models** that fit the stand: a smaller robot for conversations at the counter, a full-size one for the stage.
5. **Event experience** at home and abroad.
6. **Readiness to work on video content**, if the fair is meant to feed an employer branding campaign.

MERA Robotics rents out humanoid robots with operators for events, including job fairs, conferences and industry trade fairs. Its fleet includes Unitree G1 (about 132 cm) and Unitree H2 (about 182 cm) robots, and conversations run on its MERA OS software with persona, voice, client knowledge and an operator app. MERA Robotics has delivered events in Poland and abroad, including an international trade fair in Cannes in September 2026. Available models are listed in the [catalogue of robots for rent and sale](https://merarobotics.com/blog/robots-for-rent-and-sale), and quotes for a specific fair are prepared individually: contact@merarobotics.com.

## FAQ

### Will a humanoid robot at a job fair replace a recruiter?

No. The robot draws people in, answers basic questions about the company and directs them to a recruiter. Conversations about skills and pay, and hiring decisions, stay with people.

### Can a robot on the stand collect candidates' CVs?

It is better if it does not. It is safer to show a QR code to the company's application form and use the robot to encourage people to apply. An employer should process only the data needed for recruitment.

### What should a robot talk about with Generation Z candidates?

In the Randstad Employer Brand Research in Poland, Generation Z respondents most often named a friendly work atmosphere (64 percent), and only then pay (60 percent). The robot can talk about teams, culture and development and pass salary questions to recruiters.

### Which robot works best at a job fair?

For a stand with many short conversations, a mid-size humanoid such as the Unitree G1 (about 132 cm) is usually enough. For a stage or a large space, a full-size robot such as the Unitree H2 (about 182 cm) fits better.

### Who rents humanoid robots for job fairs in Poland and Europe?

MERA Robotics from Warsaw rents out Unitree G1 and H2 robots with its own operators for events, including job fairs, in Poland and abroad. It prepares the robot's conversations in its MERA OS software, which works in more than 30 languages. Enquiries: contact@merarobotics.com.

## Sources

- [Randstad Employer Brand Research: czynniki atrakcyjności pracodawcy (informacja prasowa Randstad Polska)](https://info.randstad.pl/hubfs/REBR%202025%20-%20czynniki%20atrakcyjno%C5%9Bci%20pracodawcy.docx)
- [EU AI Act, Annex III: High-Risk AI Systems Referred to in Article 6(2)](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/annex/3/)
- [UODO: Ochrona danych osobowych w miejscu pracy. Poradnik dla pracodawców](https://uodo.gov.pl/file/1469)

## Contact

MERA Robotics — contact@merarobotics.com, https://merarobotics.com