As we all know the world has gone digital and the percentage of virtual events has increased exponentially in 2020. The event industry has adopted new ways of organizing events and went completely virtual. Right from organizing recurring meetings to a virtual career fair, every physical event is transformed into a visually rich digital environment.
Today, virtual career fairs and virtual job fairs are being organized on virtual fair platforms. It has become an integral part of the recruiting industry. Virtual fairs enable recruiters to tap the top talent around the globe that best suits the job role. Hosting a virtual career fair on a virtual fair platform is not an easy task. It requires a tremendous amount of time and effort to prepare for a virtual career fair or virtual job fair. Virtual fairs represent the company in front of potential employees. However, it becomes even more important to run a virtual career fair smoothly without any glitches.
What are Virtual Career Fairs?
You must be wondering about what are actually virtual career fairs or virtual job fairs? Here is the answer: Virtual job or career fairs are organized on a web-based virtual fair platform that allows organisations to host recruiting events. It enables top leading organisations to tap the most qualified candidates around the globe. Whereas experienced job seekers can tune in from their remote locations to be part of a virtual job fair.
It works the same way as physical job fairs work. Jobseekers can have 1:1 interactions at the virtual booths with the preferred recruiters. It helps them to discuss their qualifications, previous experiences, and the roles that best suit them. The virtual fair platform enables organizations to customize the virtual lobbies and virtual booths as per their brand image. Virtual fairs offer enormous perks that are far beyond the reach of in-person job fairs. In this post, we have shared an easy-to-follow guide to host a virtual career fair. Let’s get started!
Steps to Host a Virtual Career Fair
1. Select the right virtual fair platform
Leveraging the right technology is a must to host a successful virtual career fair. Select a platform that enables 3D virtual event setup along with customizable services, engaging, and interactive features. It helps in delivering real-life experiences to attendees. Go with a platform or software that offers robust live chat capabilities and data tracking features. Live chat functionality enables job seekers to have 1:1 audio/video interactions with recruiters. Whereas data tracking tracks every digital attendee move right from the registration till the event ends. How they navigated? No. of virtual booths they visit? What they interacted with virtual booth representatives? Files they shared and downloaded? Each and every move of the digital attendee is tracked. It helps in creating a detailed analytics report that helps in measuring the performance metrics.
2. Create a budget for your virtual career fair
Every event needs a budget so does a virtual career fair. Create a budget for a virtual career fair before selecting a platform. Decide upon the number of events you want to host and determine the number of potential attendees.
3. Create an effective virtual event strategy
Creating an effective virtual event strategy is a must to deliver a successful virtual fair. Set your event goals and what you want to achieve out of the event and develop the strategy accordingly. Keep the following points in mind while creating a virtual career fair strategy:
- Do a little research and select the date for hosting a virtual career fair accordingly that can have maximum attendance. Ensure that there are no competitive events on the same date as it will directly affect the attendance at the event. Decide the date for hosting a virtual career fair beforehand. It will allow the team to plan up with other necessary requirements.
- Create effective content that appeals to your potential audience. Plan your content (video, images, text, audio) accordingly.
- Decide an approximate number of companies to participate in a virtual career fair.
- Set goals and objectives for virtual fairs to attract sponsors and organizations.
4. Customize virtual booths for career fairs
Customise your virtual career booths with relevant information, brand logos, colors, and themes suiting the brand image or organisation. It helps you to present the company in the best way possible in front of potential employees. The virtual fair platform enables you to customise your virtual career booths in the same tradition as in-person booths.
Some platforms offer pre-designed template designs for the welcome at the gateway or virtual booths. If required, you can select from there too. To have a successful virtual career fairs booth you must have a list of open job roles, company benefits, location maps, corporate videos, latest news, articles, and so on. It helps your potential employees to know about the company in a better way and get well versed with it. Apart from it, it enables job seekers to have live audio/video chats with recruiters at the virtual booths. A virtual fair that delivers answers to the questions asked by the jobseekers during the fair hours is sure to achieve tremendous success.
5. Build partnerships and set up your expectations with the event
As the date of hosting virtual career fairs comes close, take time to build partnerships with sponsors, event partners, and speakers. Make them aware of your event requirements and expectations. Ensure that everyone is on the same page before the event starts. You can ask your virtual fair platform service provider for a dry run. It helps in gaining an insight into how tools and features work and utilise it accordingly at virtual booths.
6. Have the right staff for helping jobseekers
The most important aspect of virtual career fairs is to have knowledgeable recruiters who can answer questions asked by job seekers. Ensure that your virtual career fair has the right staff to help job seekers be it interns or your potential employees.
7. Create a marketing plan to promote your virtual fair
It does not matter how good and well planned your virtual fair is, if your potential attendees are not aware it will not result in anything. Creating a marketing plan is the first step towards making your attendees aware of your upcoming career fair. It helps in ensuring maximum attendance at the job fair. Leverage social media marketing, direct email, advertising, public relation, websites, and so on to promote your virtual career fairs. Integrated marketing campaigns are one of the best ways to promote virtual career fairs as it reaches an ample amount of potential attendees.
8. Launch your virtual career fair
By following the above-mentioned points you are now ready to officially launch your virtual career fair. Launch your career fairs on a comprehensive virtual fair platform that offers high levels of interactivity and engaging features. It helps in building a brand image that keeps the organisation’s pipeline stocked up with quality candidates.
9. Do not forget to follow-up with attendees
Once your virtual career fair gets over don’t forget to follow-up with the candidates who seem to be a potential match. Follow up with the candidates who interacted with recruiters or hiring managers during the fair and exchanged information. Utilize any contact information received during the fair to reach out to potential candidates who have saved their job and yet not applied. If they have any questions to ask, answer them. Virtual career fairs have an added advantage over traditional fairs. While face-to-face interaction holds its own significance and will always be part of a robust event program. But today, virtual fairs have closely replicated the same and offer high interactivity level and brand building. Virtual career fairs keep the organization’s pipeline filled with the most promising candidates thus resulting beneficial for organizations and job seekers.