When it comes to career events, virtual job fairs are now all the rage. In this post, we have explored options to be successful at these online job events. The Covid 19 pandemic has further brought virtual job events to the mainstream.
These virtual career events offer a fabulous way to meet industry experts, employers, and learn how to get ahead in your career.
Moreover, these are convenient and inexpensive. Thanks to technology. Physical career fairs usually end up costing employers and job seeker oodles of cash.
Let’s now discuss the virtual job fairs in details and we have also included handful of tips for the job seekers to be successful at these online fairs.
What are Virtual Job Fairs?
As you are all here, it is safe to assume that you already know quite a lot about online career fairs.
With Covid-19 pandemic disrupting lives all over, virtual job fairs are going to gain more prominence in the coming years.
These are online job fairs where participants can interact with agency reps, drop off resumes, attend educational webinars, and visit a myriad of virtual booths.
These fairs are pretty much the same for job seekers as they would in a live career event. The only difference is that it is all online.
There are generic online career events and there are niche virtual job fairs as well.
You would find a huge number of tech career fairs online all around.
Similarly, an online hospitality fair would bring together global top-notch hotels, hotel service providers, restaurants, and so much more.
These online career fairs are way more popular these days that you can assume.
If you are a job seeker looking for a career change and have not yet got used to these career events then you are missing a trick.
Most of the traditional top job boards are now moving towards online job fairs and so are a lot of Fortune 500 companies.
A simple google search for us came up with a lot of upcoming online job fairs. And the top positions on the search are taken by some of the familiar job portals like Monster, Flex Job, Indeed etc.
Have a look at the screenshot below to see for yourself. So, you are literally a click away to find a lot of job opportunities.
Simply do a quick search on Google to check upcoming virtual job fairs and start attending. You will be glad you did.
Pros and Cons of Virtual Job Fairs
Online Job events open up a plethora of career opportunities for professionals from across industries.
With all these options, applicants will certainly be spoilt for choice.
There are numerous advantages of Virtual Job fairs for both job seekers and employers.
We have presented a few of the advantages and a few disadvantages of virtual career fairs here.
Advantages of Virtual Job Fair
- The job seekers are saved from hassles of travelling.
- Applicants are not required to take leaves.
- Employers also get global candidates in a one-stop environment.
- Saves time for both employers and job seekers.
- The online job fairs are cost-efficient for both hiring managers and applicants.
- No queues of candidates and less or no waiting times with efficient scheduling.
- Candidates can take convenient breaks between interviews.
- You can avoid the anxiety of an unknown location by attending the online job event from the comfort of your home, office or a cafe.
Have a look at the below infographic on how the Online job Fairs are a one-stop destination for all job seekers.
These were the pros of online career fairs. However, there has to be a few cons of these fairs as well.
We have also presented here some of the negatives of these online career fairs.
Disadvantages of Virtual Job Fairs
- Can be too technical to set up and execute especially for non technical hiring.
- The personal connect is absent to an extent.
- Practical tests requiring physical tests are not possible.
- Physical networking is not possible.
- Behavioural analysis of job applicants can be difficult in a virtual environment.
- Requirement of software and dependence on hi-speed internet can lead to issues at times.
- The integrity and reliability of interviews online have been questioned in the past.
So, there are advantages as well as disadvantages to these fairs. However, advantages in the current times outweigh the cons especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic disruption
In these online fairs, candidates are able to give interviews from the comfort of their homes and apply to companies in multiple geographic locations.
Employers too can conveniently hire candidates from various geographic locations.
Virtual Job Fairs give more freedom and option to both Employers and Jobseekers.
Moreover, these online career events are extremely easy to set by recruiters. There are even a lot of free software and online platforms to set up these fairs.
There is a lot more to the virtual job fair.
When everything is going online, Virtual job fairs have changed conventional methods of hiring through SaaS and Artificial Intelligence.
The online Job fairs are gaining in importance and are sure to be more popular in future.
Now moving on to how to get the best out of these Online Job Fairs.
Tips for Getting the Most of the Virtual Job Fairs
1. Spruce Up Your Resume
Much like you would for a live interview, prepare your resume accordingly.
The last thing you want in a virtual job fair is to update or make tweaks to your resume when you could be interacting with agency representatives and recruiters. Our checklist to perfect resume would give you more details to build a perfect resume.
2. Work on your LinkedIn profile
Be sure to have an up to date LinkedIn profile.
Your LinkedIn profile will serve you multiple purposes in your job search.
Make sure your social media profiles are up to date and in line with your career expectations.
Actually, you can even land a job by just having great social media profiles especially the one on LinkedIn.
3. Test Your Connection and Computer in advance
This is important. It might seem like a no-brainer, but making sure your internet connection and computer are in working order is paramount.
Please ensure there are no network outages planned for the period. Even better to have a backup computer, internet connection for any issues.
4. Be Responsive and Enthusiastic
You want to charm your way into the hearts of recruiters and agency representatives. Be enthusiastic when expressing your interest in a company.
Don’t forget to be sincere and responsive.
5. Complete Your Profile while registering
Yes, you have attached your CV but make a sincere effort in completing your profile while registering for the online job fairs.
No one has time for incomplete profiles; ensure that your photo, resume, contact details, and so forth are listed.
6. Do your research beforehand
It’s crucial that you do your homework.
Identify which of the key recruiters will attend the online career fair. This way, you can scour their websites for relevant information beforehand.
Go fully prepared. Be ready to answer industry-specific, employer-specific and job-specific questions.
7. Be Prepared to Spend More Time
When it comes to the virtual job fairs, it’s important to hive off more than an hour of your time.
Between talking to recruiters, attending webinars, and other components, time will easily fly.
There are a lot of opportunities to increase your visibility and that might grab the attention of recruiters.
8. Dress Appropriately
Sure, virtual job fairs don’t call for a particular dress code. But, when you dress for success you will likely carry yourself well and stay focused throughout the fair.
Professionalism speaks for itself. So, attend these virtual career fairs as if you are attending a physical one.
Conclusion
Here, you go. A few tips to ensure great success at virtual job fairs.
Hope you found the information regarding the online career fairs comprehensive and interesting.
We sicerely believe that these online events should be in every job search plan in 2021 and beyond.
Treat these as any other job interview. Not to forget the advantages that you can give job interviews for multiple companies for multiple locations. And that too online from the comfort of your home.
