Online career fairs are typically events where job seekers or graduates can interact with recruiters or potential employers. Since everything happens online, attendees can ask questions, visit booths, gather information, and even build networks all from the comfort of their homes. That’s quite fun, right?
Virtual career fairs offer plenty of benefits, such as saving recruiters, companies, and prospective employees’ time and money. It is also a safer option during this COVID-Q9 pandemic and it doesn’t restrict any graduate or job seeker from attending. But how can you plan a virtual career fair? Well, planning an online career fair is pretty easy. Here are steps to help you plan a successful virtual career fair.
1. Select a virtual career fair platform
First thing first, you must choose a virtual career platform. Make sure that the platform offers features, such as chat rooms, live streams, branded booths, and the ability to add videos and presentations. Additionally, make sure that the platform meets your needs.
2. Develop a strategy and a timeline
Remember that virtual career fairs don’t just happen out of the blues; you must plan them in advance. Prepare a list of all the things you will require, such as the staff you will need to hire, resources, and additional software you will need to purchase. From there, you can come up with a detailed plan and timeline of how and when these tasks should be completed.
3. Prepare your budget
Another essential thing you need to keep in mind when organizing a virtual career fair is your budget. While virtual career fairs can help you save a lot compared to traditional ones, you still need to work out your expenses.
4. Get the virtual career fair ready
Just like traditional career fairs, online career fairs also have booths where graduates and job seekers can obtain more information, network with other interested applicants, and interact with recruiters and employers. So one of the ways to get your virtual career fair ready is by creating booths. Make sure the booths are easy to navigate. You can also set up additional spaces and features, such as meeting rooms, virtual tours, live streams of guest speakers, videos, etc.
5. Market the event
Define how you will market your event. You need to identify which marketing channels you will use, the type of content you will use, the type of materials you will need, and how users will sign up for the event. If you have a large virtual career fair, it may be ideal to hire someone to handle all the marketing requirements.
6. Engage with participants
Once graduates and job seekers have registered for your virtual career fair, you will be able to send out reminders, workshop information, preparation tips, and guest speaker details. Connect with the attendees through social media and try to find out what else they want to see at the fair. You can also encourage candidates to submit their resumes before the event. This can give employers a chance to gather information about potential hires before meeting them.
