Hosting and preparing virtual career fairs involves a lot of hard work. The presentation showcased is the representation of the company and it is implemented in a way to lure potential employees. For hosting a job fair online, the individuals have to engage in a detailed step-by-step process. Proper planning and strategies need to be considered for hosting an online career fair. The article represents a guide on hosting a virtual fair.
Selecting a virtual fair platform
One can make use of two types of virtual career fair software on the market.
1. A simple webpage style that consists of a chat window allowing the participants to chat with recruiters at a designated time.
2. The second one is the elaborate design that imitates a physical career fair with webinars, booths, exhibit halls, and a resource center. It is a robust solution for conducting a virtual career fair.
Companies with a limited budget consider only the chat-only option software. On the other hand, employers that desire to create a brand and include multiple virtual fair features like educational webcasts, resource centers, and booths, will opt for a more well-defined platform.
Creating a virtual career fair budget
Developing a virtual career fair budget is a critical step in successfully hosting one. Several factors are responsible for the cost of a virtual career fair. They are:
· The number of events one wants to host
· The features required to host a virtual job fair
· The scope of the event, which refers to the local employers versus global employers
Generally, the cost of hosting a job fair virtually will range from $9000 to $90,000 for a single event. This might seem a huge amount, but it is still way more cost-effective than conducting a physical career fair or event. Once the budget has been fixed by an employer along with the specific business needs, considering a virtual career fair software is the next important aspect.
Strategic planning for an online career event
Establishing an effective strategy covering all the basics and objectives of a fair is vital for succeeding as a host. The following points must be kept in mind.
· Choosing the best date possible is the first step one should give importance to. The recruiter must select a date to host a career fair that can have an excellent turnout.
· The host must be plan and schedule time for creating content, including text, images, and videos for the virtual career fair
· The next step is to decide the ideal number of participants to target
· Finally, setting goals for the expected participants and thereby attract sponsors and companies accordingly
The company or organization hosting a job fair determines the scope and size of the fair or event. The larger the event, the more resources one has to allocate for marketing efforts and staffing of the virtual fair or event. Thanks to the presence of virtual career fair software which makes strategic planning for the creation of any large and small event an easy affair.
Customizing virtual booth
The best aspect about a virtual booth is that it allows the host to be creative in presenting the format and information to potential candidates. Starting from content creation to branding, one can personalize virtual booths similar to the physical career fair booths. Even if the host doesn’t have any experience in designing booths, he/she can utilize pre-built templates using virtual career fair software.
The following are the must-have components for successfully creating a virtual career fair booth.
· A list of present company openings
· Easy-to-download benefits of a company
· The location map of the company
· Current stock information of the company
· Easy-to-find corporate videos
Collaborations and setting expectations
As the date of the virtual career fair gets closer, the host must reach out to event sponsors (tips here), partners, and even speakers and render them the requirements and expectations for the fair. The host along with the event partners and sponsors to be on the same page before the online career fair begins. More than anything else, the host wants the career fair participants to get hold of knowledgeable hiring managers or recruiters.
While hosting a job fair, the recruiters and hiring managers are available to answer the queries and questions of the fair attendees during the event hours. Furthermore, the host must ensure to have the right number of staff ready to help the job seekers and candidates with all their questions regarding the job role and the company.
Establishing and executing a marketing plan
The most challenging aspect of conducting a virtual career fair is getting attendees to attend. A company might have the most interactive, and interesting event, but that doesn’t assure the attendance of potential candidates. The challenge has a solution and it lies with the right marketing technique.
The host can consistently market and promote the event via public relations, advertising, email, direct mail, social media platforms, and other channels, like partner companies. Integrated marketing campaigns is the best for promoting virtual career fair. The more diverse the techniques of marketing, the better the chances of reaching more potential candidates. It is always better to have someone involved with marketing to take charge.
Launching the virtual career event
After doing all the hard work, the host can finally officially launch the online virtual event. If the fair software provides a platform with resource center access, it is suggested to load with downloadable content from the virtual career fair. This is one of the most effective ways companies and organizations make use of virtual career events for the generation of leads. Organizations considering hosting interactive virtual career fairs facilitate building brand for the business and also have quality candidates lined up.
Conclusion
Hosting a job fair virtually includes several steps including thorough research, planning, designing, analyzing, and finally executing. It is necessary to follow up with the talented candidates with that recruiters have interacted. The career fair software helps to monitor the candidates in the hiring process, and track their activities related to the career fairs online.