Schedule presenters from a wide range of careers to spark the interest of a larger majority of the students. Each student has a different set of interests and will be intrigued by different careers. Offering many options helps keep it interesting for everyone.
Offer free handouts to the students that relate to the careers. For instance, for a job in sports, offer a frisbee or small ball to the students. Give out coloring books to younger students at an elementary school career day that reflect one or more of the careers present.
Set up colorful displays to illustrate what the career accomplishes. Include color pictures, drawings and descriptions of the work involved for each career. Students like to look at pictures and often prefer them to verbal presentations, which require sitting for longer periods of time.
Play games with the students that relate to the various careers available. For instance, run a game where students name as many bones as they can for the medical careers. Or play a matching game with pictures related to a specific career, such as police officer, firefighter or businessman.
Offer handouts to older students, particularly at high school career days. These handouts can illustrate the important aspects of the job, including educational requirements, so those students who are serious about the career know what is involved and what steps they need to take.
Position booths around the room to keep kids moving from one to the next. If you put the stereotypically "boring" booths together, students will likely avoid that portion of the room. Instead, position these booths between those that are more interesting to allow more access to all of the students.
Advise presenters to keep any oral presentations shorter and full of interesting information. Save any details for students who ask. If a student is interested, he will ask for more information. However, if he is not, he stands to learn something regardless of his interest level.
Encourage any presenters who have an extremely interesting job to do what it takes to showcase that career. For instance, a military presenter can bring a tank or other military vehicle and a firefighter can bring the fire truck or ambulance.