Virtual Job Fair Planning Timeline Checklist

For many, hosting a virtual hiring event is uncharted ground. Naturally, you want your event to run smoothly, stand out in attendees' minds, and attract qualified candidates to your business. However, virtual job fair planning requires a lot of effort. Fortunately, organizing a virtual job fair doesn't have to be difficult with effective strategy and cutting-edge virtual job fair technology.

The procedure for organizing an event follows a logical path. It begins the moment you have the idea to host a job fair. From there, you begin to specify your objectives and how the event can assist you in achieving them. However, if this is your first time considering "going virtual," you may find the sheer number of possibilities to be overwhelming. But don't worry! To assist you in preparing the event down to the last detail, we have created a virtual job fair planning checklist.

6+ months before the event

Set your event goals

A successful recruitment event requires you and your team to clearly define its objectives from the very start. Define the goals of the event and the criteria you'll use to assess the outcomes or determine success. Remember that it's not just about your business. You should also set goals for the attendees' experience. Make sure you ask your internal stakeholders to describe the main takeaways they want attendees of the virtual job fair to have.

It’s wise to make sure your goals are simple, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-bound.

Define the budget

Establish your budget restrictions and whether your budget will allow you to obtain the desired results. Fortunately, hosting your job fair online is less expensive than holding it in person, meaning you may stretch your budget further. Furthermore, advanced event technology solutions can better engage your guests, so the quality of your event won't suffer.

It's a good idea to have various budget strategies for potential outcomes. For example, create an ideal budget for a virtual event and an ideal budget for a hybrid one. Alternatively, develop optimal spending plans for events with a limited number of people and events with a larger audience.

Choose a virtual job fair platform

Your next step will be to select the virtual job fair platform that will host your event. The number of companies offering virtual event solutions has grown over the last two years. Unfortunately, this can make it challenging for event planners to decide between competing platforms. That is why it is crucial to know which questions you should ask before choosing your virtual career fair platform.

The b2match online job fair platform offers you features that ensure you will successfully organize your virtual or hybrid job fair with ease. The platform consists of applicant profiles, which allow job seekers to create and customize their profile to appeal to potential employers, company pages, which allow companies to create their page and entice job seekers, and job boards, where businesses can publish searchable job posts that can be enhanced with files, images, and videos.

A virtual job fair, much like a physical one, allows companies to set up booths so that companies can more easily introduce themselves to possible employees. Because bright, branded, and user-friendly booths are more likely to catch people's attention, the b2match platform lets you personalize the color of your booth and add pictures. You can also set up content like videos, info packages, virtual tours, live broadcasts of guest speakers, and meeting rooms for in-depth interviews.

One of the strongholds of b2match virtual job fair software is networking during the event. b2match uses AI event matchmaking features to ensure that every participant's needs are met and that they connect with the right participants. This artificial intelligence event matching tool increases engagement and high-quality match interactions. Companies and applicants can use the search feature and filters to connect or schedule any type of in-person, hybrid, or virtual B2B meetings they wish.

The b2match virtual or hybrid job fair platform automatically detects a hybrid event's requirements. For instance, if we specify that we want to plan a hybrid event, the program automatically adds extra features, like table allocation, to speed up the planning process.

It is advisable to use an online job fair software to handle all the work so you can concentrate on the other aspects of the event, including attracting businesses and ensuring your students get the ideal job placements they deserve.

3 months before the event

Set up the event

The next step is to design your virtual job fair space. You'll need to set up appealing and adaptable virtual booths that you'll provide to the exhibitors. Keep in mind that different virtual job fair platforms will offer different features for their booths. The booths' features will depend on the types of professions being displayed.

Additionally, based on the size of your virtual job fair, you could also want to plan other areas, like specialized branded networking sessions for interviews. You might also want to set up extra capabilities like video hosting, virtual tours, and dynamic webinars.

Recruit event staff

Based on the event plan, you should have a general sense of the number of staff and volunteers you'll need to recruit. Depending on the type of virtual job fair you plan to organize, you may need a group of experts, including administrators, content creators, graphic designers, and chat room moderators.

Secure exhibitors and sponsors

The following stage is to introduce your virtual job fair to prospective employers, speakers at the event, experts, and other exhibitors you'd enjoy having. Explain how the virtual job event will benefit them, including the anticipated turnout, the demographics of the audience, the management and operation of the event, and so forth.

If you want to secure sponsors, this is the time to do so by promoting your sponsorship packages. It is always best to first develop your strategy, event plan, and schedule before reaching out to exhibitors and sponsors so that you can more effectively communicate the value of your event.

Promote the event

Even the most carefully planned events won't be successful if the right audience is unaware of them. There are several good ways how to promote your virtual job fair.

You should, without a doubt, promote your virtual career fair before the event by utilizing social media sites, PR channels, email campaigns, and cooperative advertising with other companies. Try employing integrated marketing campaigns and a variety of marketing platforms to promote your job fair to reach as many individuals as possible. Making marketing toolkits for partners and exhibitors and asking them to promote the event are additional options. You'll have less work to do as a result, and you'll be able to interact with more people.

The b2match virtual or hybrid job fair software gives you the chance of designing an event landing page with editable content. An event landing page is a website designed to provide prospective attendees with all the specific information they need to decide whether to register for your event. b2match makes it easier to communicate with people from all over the world by allowing users to customize the page in different languages. To ensure that every participant gets the same experience, you can even create an optimized, mobile-friendly version of your landing page.

1 month before the event

Train your team

Ensure that your staff is adequately taught about the event technology and any applicable apps, as well as on the event's day-of agenda.

Preparation is essential. That is why you should have stakeholders see the technology in action and conduct practice runs.

Don't forget to prepare the team members conducting the interviews as well as the event organizing team. Explain how a virtual interview might not feel the same as an in-person one. For instance, without clues like body language, it would be challenging to tell whether there is good chemistry between participants. There can also be technical difficulties, like internet speed. Encourage patience from your interviewers and share some career fair networking tips for students.

Build reports

Plan to compile metrics to demonstrate the event's success and locate employment opportunities. The metrics listed below are a fantastic place to start:

• Number of attendees who registered for the event
• Demographic data that assists you in better identifying your candidate pool by providing details like location, age, and gender
• The number of potential hires the event may generate

Day of the event

Test the software

It is recommended that one of your team members logs into the virtual event networking platform approximately 20 minutes prior to the start of the event as an attendee to test your audio and video capabilities.

Don't be alarmed if something goes wrong. b2match will help you during setup and provide you with advice on how to make the best possible version of your event. The event customer support will highlight aspects that might be interesting or beneficial for your event and offer advice on improving participant engagement.

To make sure everything is functioning efficiently, run a quality check on the entire configuration before the event is published. If something goes wrong, customer service ensures that all problems are fixed as soon as feasible. Support is available by chat and email.

Enjoy the fruits of your hard work

Congratulations! You successfully organized your virtual job fair. Now the only thing to do is enjoy your hard work and engage with your attendees. As a side point, ensure that your IT department is always available to handle any potential technical issues as promptly as they arise for both companies and job searchers. Finally, don't forget to follow up. To nurture any leads and carefully examine the data to determine the success of your event, send thank you emails to every participant and to the employers who contributed.

If you still have some questions about how to host a virtual career fair or want to book a demo, contact our sales team to learn more.