When managers plan their first virtual hiring event, they may be confused about all the different platforms that are available. A platform is basically the operating system that enables a piece of hardware to work. Managers may feel like every different person they talk to gives them different advice on which platform to choose.
Many different companies offer platforms for employers to use to set up a virtual hiring event. The trick is to find the one that works best for that particular individual business.
What should employers look for when they are looking for the best virtual hiring event platform? It’s simple. They want a virtual event that feels as close as possible to going to a physical job fair and allows employers to choose the best applicants.
Start to Finish
When applicants first log into a good virtual hiring event, they should feel like they are being welcomed into a physical event. Some platforms show videos of people milling about as they would be at a physical job fair. Others show an audience going to their seats for the initial presentation.
These videos are just for ambiance. Some employers don’t find this helpful. Many other employers find it helps candidates feel like they are really at a job fair.
A lot of the choices for the best virtual hiring event platform depend on the type of event being hosted. There are essentially two different types of hiring events. Deciding which way to host the event will help the employer choose the best platform.
Hosted by Only One Employer
The first way to present a job fair is when the entire job fair is hosted by only one employer. Very large companies, or hospitals, or universities may host this kind of job fair. They may have many openings, so rather than setting up booths with different employers the hiring manager will set up booths for each individual department that has openings.
For example, a big university might have several different kinds of positions available in many different departments. In addition, they might also own a research hospital and have many openings to fill at the hospital as well.
In this case, the university is the only employer present at the hiring event. They will want the best virtual hiring event platform to be able to showcase their university. They will want a platform that allows all the booths to be occupied by hiring personnel for the university, rather than having the booths filled with many different employers.
This virtual job fair should offer an option for applicants to do text-based chats with employer representatives. They should also offer chat-to-video interviews.
Several Different Employers
The more common type of hiring event is a job fair where several employers are hosting the event. In this case, each booth is a different business looking for employees. So, the focus will be different in this second type of job fair. There will not be an overall employer, but all the booths might be in the same industry.
The best virtual hiring event platform in this case will offer employers ways to make their booths unique and provide ways to attract attention.
For example, there could be a virtual career fair where all the employers are different IT companies who are looking for help desk employees. In this case, the best virtual hiring event platform would offer a way for employers to do live video broadcasts so that applicants can attend a webinar within the job fair.
Other Options
The best virtual hiring event platform would offer other ways to enhance your event. At career fairs, the platform could offer an option for companies to provide online skills training. This sort of option attracts good candidates who will want to take advantage of an opportunity to improve themselves.
Another option that should be available is an option where candidates can network. More good candidates will attend the job fair when they see they can meet other people in their industry.
For universities, the best virtual hiring event platform will extend to the graduating college students who will soon be out on their own looking for work. The platform should be able to offer a webinar to students that offers tips and strategies for participating in virtual career fairs.
Candidates who are searching for jobs in the technology field could attend a job fair hosted by various IT companies and companies who need help in their own IT departments.
Employee Diversity
The best virtual hiring event platform will offer employers ways to increase diversity among their job applicants. This is often a challenge for hiring managers. Having a platform that already has this option is a great help. The best platform will have inclusion-focused events and job fairs that concentrate on jobs for military veterans.
After the Hire
The best virtual hiring event platform can still be used after the employees are hired. Good platforms offer options to help hiring managers develop their orientation, safety, and training programs for new hires. A good platform can also be utilized for employee benefits enrollment presentations.
Mobile Devices
When a hiring manager chooses the best virtual hiring event platform, the virtual job fair will be accessible from all mobile devices. The program will be written so that candidates can use their cell phone to attend, or their iPad, or their laptop.
Advantages for Applicants
The best virtual hiring event platform will help out the people looking for work. Good platforms allow applicants to ask questions in different ways – chat, audio, video.
Another advantage for the applicants when the hiring event platform is top-notch is that applicants aren’t left with a pile of brochures and flyers from all the different employers. The best virtual hiring event platform will have all these documents available on the job fair website in digital form so applicants don’t have to try to keep track of what company said what.
Lastly, the platform should make it easy for applicants to send a thank-you note to anyone who interviewed them. All the companies who host the event should be listed, with personnel identified, so that applicants can make that important follow-up contact.