One good side effect of the pandemic is that today’s job hunters don’t have to put on a suit and go into an office for an interview.  Today the best way to find the best job is a virtual job fair.

Virtual Job Fairs

A virtual job fair is just like going to a regular, in-person job fair, except candidates don’t physically go anywhere.  It’s a lot like a webinar.  People who have participated in a webinar will have no trouble with a virtual job fair.   You only need a good internet connection to be able to participate.

When applying for a job, the hiring company provides the candidate with a website and a time and the candidate logs on.  Going to a virtual job fair is the perfect way to find the perfect job. Everything is done online – resumes are submitted online and interviews are done online.

How A Virtual Job Fair Works

IT candidates will find a virtual job fair a very easy activity. IT people are on the computer all the time and at a virtual job fair, everything happens on one online platform.  Tech-savvy people will be totally comfortable looking for a job through a virtual job fair.

Prep

Before logging on to a virtual job fair, candidates will need to do their homework.  Candidates will need to spend time on recruiting websites.  Everyone is familiar with LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter.  But there are literally hundreds of different websites to search for the best job.

A few more recruiters to check out  Craigslist, Snagajob, and Facebook.  Just search for “recruiters” and find hundreds of options to choose from. Many recruitment websites are industry-specific.  If a nurse is looking for a job, they would choose a website like nurse.com.  Also, the general websites usually have their jobs sorted by industry.

Next Step

After finding a job opening that they would like to pursue, the recruiting site will tell the applicant how to apply.  Most times the company will want to see a resume ahead of time.  This gives the company the chance to weed out people they are not interested in.

At other companies, the hiring personnel have set up an application they prefer.  Many companies need specific questions answered and prefer their own forms over a resume.

Once the company has received your resume, if your qualifications and experience match their needs, they can give the candidate the information on how to attend the virtual job fair.

Other times, companies just have an open job fair, where anyone who is interested can attend.  Typically, at this type of job fair, the first part of the fair will be an overview of their company.  They will give applicants helpful information about the company, and perhaps about their benefits programs.

This is a good way for the applicant to decide whether or not they want to continue.  If the company overview doesn’t seem like a good fit, the applicant can log out.

On the other hand, if the applicant wants to continue to pursue the job, some virtual job fairs will set up several event booths, one for each open position.  This way applicants only spend time talking to the people who are responsible for filling a particular position.

Talking

At some point in the virtual job fair, candidates will actually get the chance to talk to the hiring personnel.  How many steps this takes is up to the company.  Candidates may have to talk to several different company representatives before proceeding to the final step.

Sometimes the first step is a text-based chat.  This is another way for the company to determine who they want to continue to talk with.

Then the job fair website will be set up so that the candidate can talk face to face with the company representative. They get to see the candidate and see the candidates present themselves. Candidates can ask questions about the job and the company culture. Some candidates may be hired right on the spot – or others may be scheduled for a follow-up, physical interview.

Sometimes virtual job fairs are scheduled for different days and different times to give applicants a better chance of finding a time to attend.