6 Tips for Employers to Attract Talent at a Virtual Job Fair

You’ve got all your job descriptions written. You’ve listed out criteria for your ideal candidates. Your hiring managers and recruiters are on standby to field questions from the masses at a virtual job fair, but…. no one’s engaging with you. Why? 

It could be because you’re not standing out against the competition. 

Virtual job fairs have been around since before 2020, but now more than ever, they’re a necessity. Employers, are eager to find top talent amidst the pandemic, and talent is just as hungry to find their next career opportunity. It may seem as though a virtual job fair isn’t the ideal place to make high quality connections with job seekers. However, Virtual Job Fairs are specifically built to accommodate connection every step of the way! 

How can you make the most of your upcoming virtual job fair? Here are a few tips. 

Engage in gamification

More and more virtual events are using gamification features like leaderboards and scavenger hunts. These activities help lead participants to important spaces within a virtual event. Studies have shown that gamification features within online programs support increased engagement. Being featured in gamification activities will help you get your organization in front of the crowd. Bonus: participants associate you with a fun, positive experience. Speak with the event organizer to have them include a task on the leaderboard that requires participants to speak with one of your recruiters. You’ll get leads who come right to you, and participants will earn points for speaking with you! 

Create a beautiful exhibit booth

Virtual booths are customizable, and there is a lot of opportunity to stand out. Create customized graphics for your booth panels that will catch candidates’ eyes and draw them in to learn more. Once they’re at your booth, you can offer a ton of resources to them, like inspiring videos about company culture, testimonial documents from existing employees, and all your open roles. Make your job even easier by giving them the opportunity to apply to jobs right within your booth! 

Take advantage of speaking opportunities during the virtual job fair

What makes you stand out as an employer? Why do people want to work for you? Establish your employer brand at the virtual job fair by hosting webinars and other speaking opportunities. Having someone present during a live or pre-recorded presentation will not only increase your brand awareness at the event, but it will also contribute to your organizations’ thought leadership strategy. This is also a good opportunity to scout candidates who are actually interested in your company, as they will be the ones participating the most during the live Q&A sessions or within the webinar’s chat. Make sure to monitor and identify any potential candidates you’d like to speak to 1-on-1. 

Be accessible through online meetings

Having multiple recruiters or company reps available throughout the virtual job fair will help increase 1-on-1 engagement, as they’ll be able to book meetings with more job seekers. Use vFairs’ booking tool and let candidates schedule 1-on-1 conversations with a recruiter so they can learn more about the company. The recruiter can also make notes about the candidates they’re speaking with and review them after the event is over. 

This is also a great tool for scheduling interviews. Candidates can review your open roles before the event and book an informational interview. Likewise, if you have hiring managers attending the event that day, they can book interview times with shortlisted candidates. 

Be the first to reach out

vFairs virtual job fair platform offers a unique feature you can take advantage of during events; you can filter resumes by items like experience and education in order to find the most qualified candidates for your roles. Reach out to some top candidates through the chat and invite them to interview with you that day! 

Provide useful resources for virtual job fair attendees

Job seekers can download documents into a ‘swag bag’ or ‘virtual briefcase’ so that they can review company materials later. Make sure that you provide documents and videos that your target candidates will want to revisit. Items like employee testimonials, important contact information, company benefits packages, or an employer branding video are all great options for grabbing job seekers’ attention and getting them excited about working for you!

Key Takeaways

Attracting talent and standing out may seem like a daunting task at a virtual job fair, but if you make the effort to get in front of them, you’ll find yourself with lots of opportunities to fill roles and increase employer brand awareness. Take the time to understand all the various opportunities a job fair presents, and choose the ones that paint your organization in the best possible light. Maximizing visibility, providing helpful information, and being available are all key components to attracting your ideal candidates.