{"id":17,"date":"2020-11-07T18:14:16","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T00:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/45.55.41.203\/?p=17"},"modified":"2021-04-01T16:42:32","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T22:42:32","slug":"what-is-a-virtual-career-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eventus.io\/blog\/what-is-a-virtual-career-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Virtual Career Fair?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How to use technology to enable important events in a time of pandemic<\/em>. This article was written in early 2020, after the initial onset of COVID-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Setting the Scene<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To say that it’s a strange time would be an understatement. Businesses, restaurants, even public parks are closed all over the world due to quarantine measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now been two months since the emergence of COVID-19 and #stayathome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some cities are beginning to re-open at partial capacity, many acknowledge that there will be a \u201cnew normal\u201d, where some things are different than the way things used to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Virtual” Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One change that is very likely to stay is the rise of “virtual” events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Large gatherings of people have been deemed unsafe, and many events like music festivals, concerts, and sporting games have been cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, some events are important to not cancel.<\/strong> For example, career fairs are critical events that help students connect with potential employers to find jobs. In a damaged economic climate, career fairs are arguably more important than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of cancelling career fairs outright, some universities have opted to running a \u201cvirtual\u201d event instead. At the heart of it, a virtual career fair is simply running the same event with technology, without requiring attendees to actually congregate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual Career Fairs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what exactly is a virtual career fair? It’s pretty simple if you think about it. What\u2019s the purpose of a regular career fair, and how can we make the same things happen with technology?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, we lay out some basic ideas for a virtual career fair below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual Event Hall(s)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Virtual Career Fairs typically feature a virtual event hall. Just like a physical event hall, employers are featured in easily-browseable booths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left<\/strong>: Employer Booths. Right<\/strong>: Booking Details and Information for Selected Booth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Thought-Out Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just like Career Fairs, Virtual Career Fairs are sophisticated events that can go flawlessly with good planning, or be a disaster with poor planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"VCF
A Basic Example of how a VCF process might work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Resume Uploading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A proper virtual career fair platform should make things as easy as possible for employers as well. In a regular career fair, students hand their resume to employers they meet. In a virtual career fair:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Students should be able to upload their resume when booking interview slots with employers<\/li>
  2. Employers should be able to easily browse resumes of any students that book a slot with them in an easy to use screen<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Other Things<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There are several other things that make a virtual career fair platform useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n