If you are planning to hold a virtual career fair, there are a lot of things you need to plan to make your virtual career fair a success. One of the most important things you need to plan in advance is the platform you will use. A platform is software you intend to host your virtual job fair.
Generally, there are numerous platforms in the market you can choose from. This can make it pretty overwhelming to choose the right platform. There are plenty of things you need to pay attention to when choosing a platform. Choosing the right platform is crucial if you want a successful virtual career fair.
Some platforms are better than others in terms of features. Platforms with great features tend to cost more. When assessing some of the various platforms to choose from, you need to find the right one that suits your needs and budget. In addition to that, you may need to consider any potential issues that may arise ahead of time and find ways to fix them so that your event can be successful.
If you are in the market looking for the right platform to host your virtual job fair, you are in the right place. In this article, we give you some of the factors you need to consider when choosing a virtual career fair platform. Let’s explore them.
- The scope of your event
Different virtual career fair platforms can be used differently. For instance, some platforms tend to lean towards large conglomerate-style events, while others may be best suited for small or medium-sized networking events.
When choosing a virtual career fair platform, it is crucial to pay attention to the type of recruiting event you want to host. By clearly defining the scope of your event, you will be in a better position to understand the features that will suit your event needs.
- Ease of use
Another critical factor you need to pay attention to when choosing a virtual career fair platform is its ease of use. No matter the amazing features the virtual career fair platform has, if it is pretty hard to understand how it works, its features will be of no good.
It is upon you to figure out if a virtual career fair platform is easy to use or not. You can do that by reading the reviews of the platform on the internet. If you find it difficult to understand how the platform works, chances are that the virtual career fair platform may be difficult to use.
Ease of use is vital for the success of your event. That’s why you need to pay attention to it. If your recruiters and job seekers are finding it hard to understand how the platform works, they will lose interest in your event. You wouldn’t want that. So, the best thing you can do is find a platform that anybody can use without any hitches.
- Medium of communication
Most of the virtual career fair platforms are geared towards video or text chats as the main communications medium between recruiters and job seekers. So when choosing your ideal platform, make sure that you understand the platform’s medium of communication.
Generally, video chats are the most preferred medium of communication as they are more engaging and express more context than text chats. But if you prefer a less formal face-to-face communication method, you can go for text chats.
It is worth mentioning that the medium of communication that your virtual career fair platform provides is crucial for the networking experience that you want your participants to have.
- Cost
Another most important factor you need to consider when choosing a virtual career fair platform is cost. Since there are various platforms available, they also come at different prices. A lot of people usually believe that more expensive platforms provide better quality. But this isn’t usually the case. Some platforms are expensive but they don’t offer some of the additional perks that can make your event a success. If you find a platform that meets the needs of your event and is easy to use, that is the right platform for you. After all, those are the two crucial things that will determine the success of your event. The cost should just be a bonus. So just look for a platform that offers features that suits the scope of your event and is reasonably priced.
- Time zone accommodations
With a virtual job fair, job seekers and recruiters don’t have to be in the same location as you. They can be in different locations across different time zones during the virtual fair. That’s why it is necessary for you to ensure that your virtual job fair platform accommodates various time zones.
When connecting recruiters or employers and job seekers, the platform should easily adjust time zones for different perspectives so that you don’t have to continuously communicate time zone differences to the attendees.
- Timeline
While this is something that many people ignore when choosing a virtual career fair platform, your own internal timeline for your career event is just as important as any other aspect. When choosing a timeline for your virtual career fair event, you need to determine the right time to invite recruiters, employers, job seekers, and graduates. This could take as little as two weeks or as long as three months.
In addition to that, you need to ask the vendors how long it will take to effectively implement their platform for the various participants. Once you have achieved that, you need to ensure that the platform can be effectively deployed within your own internal timeline.
Final thoughts
While choosing the right virtual career fair platform seems quite challenging, if you know what you are looking for in a platform, it can be very easy. So, pay attention to the above factors, and you will surely end up picking the right virtual career fair platform that will make your event successful.
