Virtual Job Fairs: Best Practices for Employers

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A job fair is a program where employers search for fresh talent, interview candidates for a job opening, and provide them relevant information related to the recruitment process. Recently, virtual job fairs have enjoyed a rise in popularity.

Apart from talent hunting, job fairs are an opportunity to showcase your brand. They can help you build brand awareness and build networking opportunities with other recruiters.

Although employers have mostly held in-person fairs, virtual career fairs have seen a rise in popularity. Companies have quickly realized the multitude of benefits they offer. For example, virtual job fairs offer increased attendance and enhanced recruitment methods. They also give companies a way to offer quick information exchange and a satisfying visitor experience.

Interestingly, statistics show a 90% participation rate for online career fairs, with more than 45% of employers utilizing them since the beginning of the pandemic.

However, you need to follow some successful practices to ensure the success of virtual job fairs. What are some of those practices, and how can you select the best software to host your event? Continue reading to find out.

What Is a Virtual Job Fair?

A virtual job fair is an event where employers and employees meet online and interact on a specific platform online. Recruiters share the time, date, login details, and related information beforehand. This makes the process smoother for everybody involved.

Online job fairs are especially beneficial because they enable you to reach specialized talent across the globe without requiring people to be physically present at your event. Individuals who are presently employed and unable to meet you in person also benefit tremendously from such events.

It is vital to select an efficient platform for virtual career events. The platform you choose plays a crucial role in enhancing candidates’ experience and highlighting your company’s achievements. A superior platform will enable efficient communication by helping you organize video chats and providing access to various features.

What Are the Best Practices for Employers Hosting Virtual Job Fairs?

The success of a digital career event depends on your ability to incorporate the best practices. Here are the essential ones.

Showcase Your Brand Effectively

Candidates will be drawn to your company only if your brand attracts them. It is therefore of the utmost importance to showcase your brand effectively by focusing on its strengths, achievements, and future goals.

You might consider highlighting your company’s unique selling propositions (USPs) during your virtual event. You can do this by utilizing custom virtual exposition booths. In your booth, you can share your company’s videos, brand stories, and other assets that showcase your culture. It would be helpful to inform candidates about the growth opportunities awaiting them at your organization as well as other benefits of working with you.

Include Group-Based Activities in Your Virtual Job Fair

You can assess an applicant’s ability and willingness to work as part of a team by observing their interactions during group activities. This will help you get an idea of their cooperation skills. You may want to include activities such as case studies, presentations, and role-playing tasks in order to make it more engaging and interactive.

If the virtual event platform has the capability to let you set up virtual break-out rooms, you could include your company’s employees in different break-out rooms so that talent can interact with them one-on-one. There, they can ask questions about the company, a team they’re interested in, and any prospective job roles.

Enable Video and Live Chat Options

It is crucial to enable video and live chat options at your virtual job fair. This is the only reliable way of assessing an individual’s expertise, knowledge, and skills. To this end, recruiters can hold one-on-one interviews in virtual breakout rooms at the event. You will defeat the very purpose of an online job fair if don’t give yourself the ability to evaluate candidates effectively. One-on-one interviews will also enable you to screen job seekers quickly.

You could also consider setting up a networking chat room where candidates can interact with each other while waiting for their interview.

Offer Promotional Products

As mentioned earlier, online recruiting events are also an opportunity to showcase your brand. Distributing promotional products or company swags is one of the best ways to do this. You could share links to products at your virtual booth or at the virtual event lobby. Some company swag ideas are tech accessories, self-care items, eco-friendly items, fitness gear, and coffee mugs.

Ensure the Booths at Your Virtual Job Fair Are Interactive

An interactive booth will help your company stand out from the others, assisting candidates in identifying it quickly. For instance, as mentioned earlier, you could share online links to your social media websites and offer short company introductions. Be sure to use videos, brochures, employee testimonials, and so on to highlight your brand’s strong points. Also consider including links to job openings.

Here Are Some Things to Check Before Choosing a Virtual Job Fair Platform

You should check whether the platform you’re choosing for a virtual job fair offers you the option of video chats for one-to-one interactive meetings. Does it enable you to hold virtual workshops to analyze a candidate’s skills and abilities?

The software you choose should also allow you to create customized booths. You will also want to let various departments have their own dedicated virtual booths. Additionally, you need to be able to set up custom break-out rooms. You should also be able to connect with suitable candidates through effective in-platform networking tools and reward individuals for participating with company swag.

Sometimes, you might also need to set up virtual rooms with reserved seats for candidates’ interviews so you can evaluate them holistically. This will enhance the job seeking experience for both the employer and the job-seeker. It would help if the software provided that option. Lastly, check the software to learn if it has advanced security ratings such as GDPR and ISO 27001.

Conclusion

Consider using these practices for virtual career fairs to attract the best talent, showcase your brand’s strengths, and ensure your event is a success. Selecting the right platform will allow you to organize the best digital hiring events.

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