Your Guide to Hosting a Successful Virtual Job Fair

Virtual job fairs and hiring events allow recruiters to seek out talent anywhere on the globe, removing the obstacle of travel and the expenses that go along with an in-person event. Employers can connect with top talent regardless of geographic location. Without the limitation of travel, organizations can have more representatives take part in the event and meet with more candidates, making finding the right candidate easier than ever. Virtual fair technology allows recruiters to meet face-to-face, group chat with multiple candidates at once, give presentations or conduct panel discussions, all from the comfort of your own workspace.

Planning an online career fair doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ve created a guide that will help you host a successful event. Here are the top five things to do when planning a virtual career fair.

Choose a Virtual Event Platform

How to choose the virtual event platform that is right for you begins with identifying your organization’s goals and how you would like to engage with candidates. Identify the features that are most important to your team.

Some of the features included in the CareerEco Virtual Event platform include group chat options, video and audio presentations, one-on-one meetings and a candidate queue to manage busy chat rooms. Candidate data is also available within CareerEco. Recruiters have access to candidates’ resumes and contact information at any time before, during and after the event. The message option allows you to reach out to candidates through the platform prior to the event and up to two weeks after the event—a great way to engage with registrants before the event even happens.

Use a platform that is made specifically for recruiting. CareerEco has been known as a leader in virtual hiring for more than ten years, designed specifically with the recruiter in mind.

Have a Strategy

Planning in advance is the best way to ensure a successful online job fair. Choose a date or time frame and work backwards, giving yourself 2-3 months lead time before the event. A few things to think about are the number of representatives needed to attend, registration questions and data to collect from candidates, and graphics for your event. The event graphics will be used on the event landing page as well as promotional materials to candidates such as emails, job board ads and social media.

Make a plan for event day that includes who will be staffing your event and what each representative’s role is. When hosting a job fair using CareerEco, we suggest having a few reps managing the group chat with candidates in the organization’s main chat room, one or two to conduct presentations and a few to manage private, one-on-one chats with candidates. Giving yourself ample time for planning, preparing presentations, and promoting your event to employers and candidates will lead to better results.

Set Up Your Event

Once you’ve decided on the type of event you would like to host, whether a group event with an open flow for the entire duration, or a scheduled event featuring private meetings with select candidates at specific times, the next step is to set it up. Depending on the platform used to host your virtual fair, the set-up process can vary. CareerEco makes it easy by doing the heavy lifting—we set up your event landing page, build out the registration, generate automatic email reminders and add your event to our upcoming events (unless you prefer to keep your event private) available to all candidates on CareerEco.com.

Be Prepared

Doing your homework and learning about all the features available within the virtual event platform and how they work will ensure your event runs smoothly. Don’t wait until the day of the event to explore the platform’s features. Test your broadcasting features to ensure the camera and microphone are accessible and practice any presentations ahead of time. Utilize the resources and training materials provided or schedule a training session with your team. Several platforms, including CareerEco offer open training sessions led by an event specialist. Being prepared will allow recruiters to focus on the event, engage with candidates and build relationships that nurture your talent database.

Launch Your Event

Once your event is live, getting the word out is key. We suggest using multiple channels to promote your event: job boards, emails and social media to name a few. Your recruiters are an essential asset to your marketing plan. The companies and recruiters taking part in your hiring event should be sharing the event information through their channels to widen your audience. Keep your attendees informed by sending out reminders, prep materials, schedules and encourage job seekers to upload their resume. CareerEco has auto-generated email reminders to take this step off your plate. Feel confident about hosting a virtual job fair by following these five steps—your talent acquisition strategy will thank you.

CareerEco offers a virtual event solution that makes hosting a hiring event or career fair simple and seamless. From beginning to end, CareerEco offers customer support so that you as the host can focus on recruiting.