These days, technology has been thoroughly integrated into the recruiting and hiring process for most employers and employment agencies. Whether it is online applications, utilizing career-based social networks like LinkedIn, or video interviews with applications like Zoom. In fact, due to the Covid-19 global pandemic many companies who weren’t already using these strategies had to quickly adapt to them in order to keep their business functioning effectively.
This is especially true when it comes to finding new employees. While rising unemployment rates meant there was an abundance of competition for most positions, maintaining the safety of current employees while adhering to preventive and social distancing guidelines made it a little more challenging for everyone.
Thankfully, through online job boards like the one here at Optimum Staffing, and virtual job events, many organizations have continued to get connected with the best possible candidates through virtual job fairs.
What is a Virtual Job Fair?
Just like the name implies, a Virtual job fair is a job fair that has gone virtual, along with most things in 2021. Similar to a webinar, they usually take place at a designated time. At a virtual job fair, job seekers get a chance to meet with recruiters in a virtual space, exchanging job postings and information through resources like:
- Video Calls
- Chat rooms
- Teleconferencing
- Webcasts
- Email
Virtual career fairs have become extremely popular resources for connecting with potential employers/employees, and have been adopted by:
- Employment Agencies
- Universities
- Trade organizations
- Local governments
- Individual businesses
Virtual job fairs make professional networking more effective in many cases because they can be focused to fit a more specific industry or type of job. If you are a skilled laborer with a trade, or a student studying a specific major, you can look for job fairs that connect you with a wide range of potential employers in a specific field of work. That is how you optimize your job search.
Not to mention, with so many businesses offering more positions working remote, eliminates geographical barriers that might prevent a connection through traditional routes.
Again, with the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on employment and the conventional recruiting process, virtual events offer their own opportunities. In fact, experts predict that even after the pandemic, it is unlikely we will see many organizations revert to traditional, in-person job fairs too soon. According to a recent survey in early April, companies polled said 80% of recruiting will remain virtual for the foreseeable future.
How Recruiters Can Help
When a staffing agency holds a virtual job event, it gives them the chance to connect with far more potential candidates and employers looking to get connected. So how do recruiters make this process more effective for employers and job seekers?
Getting You Engaged
First and foremost, with a virtual career event hosted by the staffing agency, your recruiter is getting you engaged from the beginning. They are the ones who set the time and format of the meetings you’re invited to, and they can target those meetings to fit your specific experience and qualifications.
In other words- they do what great recruiters do! Job recruiters helping to organize virtual job fairs can create video chats, teleconferences, and other communications based on who is hiring for what, and who the best candidates are. From there, they make introductions and can steer meetings to optimize each virtual interview.
Think of it as getting a digital foot in the door.
Improving Your Resume
As always, recruiters from staffing agencies can help you ensure your resume has been optimized to most effectively represent the specific skills and experience you have that make you the best candidate for a position.
Because you will be sharing your resume with so many potential employers during a virtual job fair, it’s crucial that your resume is proofread and polished. Recruiters will work with you to make sure it’s up-to-date, and they may even help you highlight specific qualifications based on the positions available.
Help Staying Connected
With a virtual job fair, you’re given the opportunity to connect with a lot of potential employment opportunities. For both job seekers and employers, this means keeping track of even more contact information, making it a challenge for some to maintain optimal communication. Thankfully, working with a professional and respected employment agency makes the process of staying in contact easier.
Because the recruiter is often serving as the facilitator of the virtual job fair, they will already have access to:
- All up-to-date contact information available
- Details and requirements for each position available
- Resumes and work history of candidates
If they are great at what they do, a job recruiter will help job seekers keep track of positions they were most interested in and qualified for so they can assist in the follow-up process. Likewise, they will be able to connect businesses with the candidates they feel are best fit for positions they need to fill, streamlining the communication process.
Overall, working with an agency like Optimum Staffing gives you access to professional recruiters who know how to leverage online networking events and other resources to connect the best job seekers with the best opportunities for meaningful employment, and we are ready to help you today!