Virtual Career Fairs

College students often attend career fairs to prepare for graduation and plan their future in the workforce. Due to the pandemic, industry recruiters are participating in an increasing number of virtual job fairs to meet potential employees preparing to graduate from college. Even before 2020, virtual job and career fairs were offered as an alternative to in-person events at colleges and universities. This can be helpful for many people, including people with disabilities. But how do virtual job fairs work? Are they beneficial?

Virtual career fairs take place in many different online environments such as chat rooms, webinars, webcasts, or other teleconferencing software. There are often opportunities for job seekers to upload their resumes to recruiters.

Here are some tips on feeling successful at a virtual career fair:

• Look for a fair that has a variety of employers present.
• Have your resume ready to upload or reference when needed.
• Prepare questions to ask the recruiters.
• Test your equipment! Technical issues do come up, so try and give yourself extra time to get set up.
• Dress appropriately, especially if there is a video component of the fair.
• If you require assistive technology (e.g., a screen reader) to access the fair, contact the host in advance to ask if the program is accessible via your technology.
• Companies usually have specific windows of time that they are available to chat with participants—develop a strategy for who you want to talk to and when.

Virtual fairs work for some people but not for everyone. Try it if you’re curious. Being open to new ideas and experiences will give you the tools to succeed in getting your dream job.