Standing Out at a Virtual Career Fair
Attendees waiting to enter the Grace Hopper career fair October 2019
I’ve now attended two different virtual career fairs for the 2020 recruiting season and it is definitely an experience! Like everything else in life - we’re quickly learning that the virtual world is not a perfect replacement but then I think about an in-person career fair with all the hand shaking and resume exchanging and the virtual deal becomes a lot more palatable.
If you’re anxious about a virtual career fair - don’t be. It’s very similar to what you’re imagining with booths set up and company representatives waiting to talk to you. Over the course of four days at the virtual Grace Hopper Celebration I talked to over a hundred candidates. Here are my key takeaways on what you can do to stand out in a virtual career fair.
Invest some time in your virtual set up so that you are ready to go with as little noise as you can manage, a good clear microphone, and neutral background. I put together a whole article on virtual interviewing and talk about the components of a good set up that I highly recommend reading through. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that people will set up their laptop against a wall with the room behind them, but if you can I encourage you to flip it around! That way you won’t have to worry about people walking behind you or anything else that might be going on behind the scenes. If you really want to invest (which isn’t a bad idea given that we will most likely be on Zoom for a while longer yet) I highly recommend getting a ring light. I was skeptical until I got one, but it makes the biggest difference because you never have to stress about your lighting! It provides natural, even lighting no matter where you are. I recommend this one that can sit on a tabletop right behind your laptop or webcam.
Turn on your video: I can’t tell you how awkward and frankly creepy it is talking to complete strangers who can see you, but you can’t see them. Please try to turn on your video or say something along the lines of I’m sorry I can’t turn on my video right now, but my name is _____ and go into an introduction of yourself.
Start with your elevator pitch - just like at a real life career fair you should have your elevator pitch ready to launch into without being prompted. One of the things I found really time consuming was when a candidate joined the virtual room and then I introduced myself and then had to wait and ask them to tell me about themselves. I really appreciated it when a candidate started off with an introduction and some background about themselves. Key things to include: your current role/position, what position you’re applying/looking for, and why your skills and/or background make you a good fit for the company. It’s good to have a general elevator pitch format that can be adapted to each company you’re going to meet with.
Remember one of the key differences from the IRL career fair is that you can’t hand someone your resume. I highly recommend creating a custom virtual background with your resume URL. I would upload my resume in a .pdf format to Google Drive, and then use a link shortener like tinyurl or bit.ly so that it’s easy to read and type into a browser. Mention this as part of your elevator pitch! It can make a big difference having someone look at your resume so make it as easy as possible for them! P.S. if you’re going to create a virtual background (you can do this using Powerpoint or Canva!) be sure to also include your full name and maybe your email address as well. Sometimes people didn’t put their full name on Zoom and I found it difficult to remember everyone’s names especially when I was talking to several people at the same time! Check out this template I made on Canva that you can adapt for your virtual background!
Apply online before attending the career fair: I find it really helpful when a candidate has already applied online OR taken the time to look at our available positions. If you are waiting to ask a specific question before applying, tell them this upfront! Otherwise, you will probably get generic info on how to apply online so it helps to do this ahead of time.
Know your purpose and come prepared. When meeting with companies, don’t just go talk to them because it’s a big name, you’re not going to do yourself any favors. The key to standing out is to convince the employee of whichever company, to become your champion on why you should get the job. Think of this as your chance to sell yourself so come prepared! Questions that show you’ve done research are equally as important as your elevator pitch. To me, a good litmus test for a question is if you can’t google it or find the answer on the company’s website. I also always have a purpose for connecting with them - are you going to see if you can get an interview? Follow up on the status of your application? Get an answer to a specific question? Be sure to include this in your elevator pitch so it’s clear from the start what you’re hoping to get out of the interaction.
Know when to leave: A lot of times there are virtual waiting lines of candidates waiting to speak with employees/recruiters at a company. Just like in real life, know when to drop off so you can let someone else have a chance to interact with that company! You can simply say Thank you so much for your time, I’ve really enjoyed speaking with you and learning about _____ I need to drop off now.
Ask to connect with the representative on LinkedIn … and follow up! Jot down some notes about your conversation throughout so that you can personalize your LinkedIn connection request. One of the biggest mistakes I saw was that some candidates I was really excited to connect with afterwards never reached out to me on LinkedIn! You need to follow up! Personalized connection requests are super important because they are likely meeting hundreds of people at these virtual career fairs. Be sure to mention something unique about your conversation or something that they shared which really stood out to you.
Virtual career fairs can be great since they eliminate the need to take time off of work or school to be in person, but they also come with their challenges. Spend some time preparing yourself and getting ready and I have no doubt you’ll be able to stand out right away and get that job!
If you’re looking for other helpful info about preparing for a job in tech - I recommend checking out some of my other articles on prepping for a technical interview and acing the technical interview!
