A Virtual Career Fair is an Online-Only Event that enables students and prospective employers to network. Usually it is a 1-2 day event, and unlike a physical career fair, networking is usually done via video call sessions.
Virtual Career Fairs are generally hosted via some Virtual Career Fair Platform, some of which have different ideas of how the event should go. Because of this, in 2020 virtual career fairs come in several different shapes and sizes without a predominant standard.
In this article, we try to tackle the question: What Exactly is a Virtual Career Fair?
Virtual Career Fairs aren’t particularly well defined
Unlike Physical Career Fairs which have had a relatively standard format for the better part of a century, virtual career fairs are relatively new.
Yes, they have existed for about a decade or so, but it was COVID-19 that really kicked Virtual Career Fairs off. Because they used to happen so sparsely, there hasn’t really been a single definition for what constitutes a virtual career fair.
Some vendors for example have taken the opportunity to “re-imagine” what a virtual career fair can be, opting for features like networking by swiping. Others have opted for a more traditional approach of sticking to the existing career fair format as faithfully as possible.
What a Successful Fair can look like
Let’s walk through what a sample virtual career fair could look like, using Eventus.io’s Virtual Career Fair Platform.
Setting up your Event
Typically, no matter which VCF platform provider you use, the first thing you’ll do is create an event in the system. This step is usually basic, you’ll simply set an event name, date, banner image, etc.
Inviting Employers
At a regular career fair, employers arrive at your venue, and set up their booths. At a Virtual Career Fair, employers typically do the same thing with virtual booths.
At an Eventus.io virtual fair, employers are invited about 2 weeks in advance to the fair. Instead of setting up banner stands and tablecloths, they upload a banner image, icon, and description for their digital booth.
Once that’s done, the stage is set for students to come browse employer booths.
Inviting Students
Once the fair is set up, students are simply invited via an event link, a few days before the day of the event.
Students browse employer booths, and then book appointments with employers they’re interested in networking with. Generally employer-student calls are 15 minutes, in an effort to manage time and also simulate as much as possible genuine interactions at a regular fair.
Day of the Fair!
On the day of the fair, students and employers have their pre-booked calls. Because all the calls are pre-booked, employers and students can be on-time but also step away from their computers at downtimes.
And there you have it!
And there you have it! We hope this article gave you a basic idea of what a virtual career fair looks like.
If you’re interested in using the Eventus.io platform for your next Virtual Career Fair, you can read more about it here: https://eventus.io/virtual-career-fair
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