Career fairs are one of the most important ways to meet employers and get on their candidate list for internships and jobs. This year, employers are changing the way they meet and hire students. Virtual recruiting is taking center stage, and Handshake is the leading place where you’ll be able to connect with employers at virtual career fairs and events.
What is a virtual career fair?
Virtual career fairs on Handshake give you the opportunity to meet recruiters and other employees through video sessions. You'll learn more about employers hiring at your school, and connect with companies that will want to hire you.
Attending video sessions, instead of an in-person fair, means there is no waiting in line to talk to recruiters. When you register for a virtual career fair on Handshake, you sign up for specific session times—securing your spot to meet with the employers you’re interested in.
There are two types of virtual fair sessions:
Group sessions. During these sessions you’ll join other students to meet recruiters and other employees at the organization. You’ll learn about job and internship opportunities, company culture, and more. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask your own questions.
One-on-one sessions. This is an opportunity to chat directly with a recruiter or employee ambassador about jobs and internships. Recruiters that want to meet you will be able to invite you to attend virtual sessions with them.
Recruiters will likely review your profile before a session, so be sure to update your Handshake profile with your role and location preferences, as well as skills, organizations, and work experience!
How to find virtual fairs on Handshake
There are a few different ways to find virtual fairs and events for students at your school.
- Event recommendations. Just like job recommendations, Handshake will recommend upcoming virtual events for you based on your profile and interests.
- Events page. To see a full list of upcoming events, click the Events tab on your Handshake dashboard. On the Events page, you’ll see filters to narrow down events by date, and whether they’re a Career Fair and Virtual. You can also search for events using keywords such as marketing or engineering.
- Employers you follow. You’ll be notified when the employers you follow are attending a virtual career fair at your school. If you haven’t already, start following the employers you like!
- Employer pages. When you view an employer’s page, you’ll be able to see which upcoming events they are attending or hosting.
When you click on a virtual fair page, you’ll see which employers will be attending and a list of their sessions and speakers. You can also filter the list of all employers by location, industry, and more.
Registering for a virtual fair
To claim your spot at a virtual fair, click the Register button on the top right corner of the page. When you register for a virtual fair, you’ll see a list of the sessions you can sign up for with each employer.
This page also includes filters and search, so you can narrow down the sessions and find the ones you want to sign up for.
When you find a session that you want to attend, click the link and you’ll see a window pop up with available times. Select the time you want to attend, and click Confirm. You may attend as many sessions as you like, as long as their schedule times don’t overlap.
After you've filled your session schedule, check out this post for tips on how to make a great impression with employers.
Virtual career fairs on Handshake are your ticket to connecting with employers and getting recruited this year. Log into Handshake today to update your profile and get ready for upcoming virtual career fairs!