How to Leverage Virtual Events for Recruiting
It’s a new year and your company has a new budget that may have opened up room to hire additional staff members. For employees, the new year is a popular time to embark on new career journeys and goals.?
This year, recruiting is a bit trickier. With the Great Resignation still happening, many companies are having an unusually difficult time finding staff members to fill open positions, while simultaneously experiencing high turnover among their existing employee base.?
In addition, many companies have moved to a distributed workforce over the past two years. This is a great strategy as it creates a much larger pool of potential applicants for employers. However, reaching potential recruits across the country can be challenging if you’re still using old recruiting tactics.
So, what is the solution? Virtual events!??
Use virtual events for recruiting to reach a wider pool of applicants from all around the country, seamlessly conduct remote interviews, host virtual career panels, improve applicant diversity, and more.?
How To Use Virtual Events For Recruiting
Recruiters can use virtual events in a number of ways. Companies can plan recruiting-focused virtual events or conduct outreach at more general industry virtual events. Here are some of the top ways to use virtual events for recruiting and hiring:?
Virtual Career Fairs?
Virtual career fairs are a great way to reach a large number of candidates and share information about your organization and available job openings or career paths.?
At a virtual career fair, consider making use of virtual exhibitor booths to showcase different divisions of your organization. You can assign a booth rep to each one to answer more division or department-specific questions. The virtual booth can also be loaded with content showcasing that department such as introductory videos, downloadable resources, and links to open positions.
Not ready to host your own career fair yet? Partner with universities or trade schools across the country to exhibit at their career fairs to reach fresh talent and soon-to-be graduates.?
Leverage Virtual Event Networking for Recruitment?
Virtual event networking is a great way for recruiters and job seekers to make connections. Members of your organization should aim to network actively throughout the year while attending industry events to continuously develop your candidate pipeline and build your brand as an employer.??
If your company sponsors virtual events, even if the primary goal of that sponsorship is to generate sales leads, include a link to your company’s careers page and LinkedIn profile to generate employment leads as well. This can be a great passive recruiting push that can lead to great results.??
Virtual Hiring Event?
When hosting a virtual hiring event, the goal is to get straight to business and hire quickly. If your company has a large number of open positions to fill in the new year, invite applicants to a virtual hiring event.?
Have applicants submit their applications online prior to the event or come to the event prepared to share their resume with recruiters and interviewers.?
Depending on your organization’s hiring needs and interviewing preferences, recruiters can meet with candidates one-on-one or conduct large group interviews. Recruiters can also address the full group and then dive into breakout sessions with individuals or small groups.?
Virtual hiring events are an incredibly efficient way to meet a large number of applicants while making the best use of your recruiting team’s time. With a virtual event platform, it can also be a good idea to make content available for review before the event, such as pre-recorded videos giving an overview of the company and hiring process and allowing applicants to schedule time slots to meet with recruiters or interviewers.?
Some hiring events also incorporate tests, group challenges, and other evaluation methods.?The hiring event can be customized to fit your organization’s interview and hiring processes. Some employers even make hires on the spot at virtual hiring events resulting in a quick streamlined recruitment cycle.?
Career Panels?
Panels are a great way for prospective applicants to learn about your company. Hosting career panels made up of people in different departments or career paths within the company can be helpful in giving interested applicants a better idea of the opportunities available to them within your organization. Panels can also be centered around a singular department or function.?
Applicants typically benefit tremendously from career panels. Panels provide an opportunity for potential applicants to ask questions and receive answers from a variety of people and perspectives.?
They also benefit the company as career panel attendees will be more informed about the company and have a clearer idea of whether it will be a good fit for them before they even step into an interview. Virtual career panels are especially ideal as they require a lower time commitment and no travel, so you will likely attract a wider audience. The virtual panel may convince attendees with a casual interest in the company or who are still in the passive job search stage to take the leap and submit an application. These days, companies do have to work a bit harder to sell themselves to applicants.?
In addition to standard career panels, you can also incorporate panels centered around diversity and inclusion. Invite female employees and leaders from within your company to host panels targeted towards women in the industry (this is especially useful in STEM and other traditionally male-dominated fields). You can also have panels for people of color, those with non-traditional career paths, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The key is to allow potential applicants or hires to hear from members of their own communities or people that they feel represented by and learn first-hand how your company creates a positive and inclusive environment for them. It’s so important to build a diverse applicant pool and diverse employee population, as diversity leads to innovation and a better company culture.?
Host a Virtual Recruiting Event on Social27 Virtual Event Platform???
Ready to step up your recruiting strategy with virtual events? Social27 Virtual Event Platform has all the tools you need including virtual Roundtables, Exhibitor Booth Microsites, networking features, and more.?
Set up a demo today?to learn more about what Social27 has to offer for your next career event.?