Four former college and university recruiters launched CF+ in 2012 based on the shared certainty they could enhance employer and job seeker interactions during in-person recruiting events with proprietary technology.
More than nine years later, millions of applicants have connected with tens of thousands of employers during dozens of different types of recruiting programs.
Before the unanticipated and abrupt shift to online recruiting in 2020, in-person career fairs welcomed employers and candidates, each group ready to shake hands and share basic information. But after more than a year of virtual recruiting, attendees want hosts to carry forward tech-driven features like previewing resumes, exploring company profiles, and scheduling meetings in advance as they resume offering on-site recruiting programs.
Integrating these typically virtual opportunities into in-person events is easier than you think, especially when you partner with Career Fair+.
Let’s start by answering four questions to re-energize your return to in-person recruiting:
Sometimes referred to as a digital recruiting event or offering a companion app, a technology-enhanced program optimizes software features to improve the in-person experience. A well-designed, robust recruiting event app (spoiler alert: the CF+ app!) is user-friendly, easy to set up, and includes:
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Ideally, you should offer a companion app with your on-site career fairs and other recruiting events if you want to carry preferred features of virtual recruiting into your in-person events. A technology-enhanced program:
With a platform that includes an interactive map, job seekers know where to meet their priority employers. No more following the crowd or standing in line only to discover the candidate’s engineering degree doesn’t match the firm’s need for graphic designers.
Having experienced virtual recruiting, employers likely prefer avoiding the random meetings typical of in-person career fairs. A useful companion app should display recruiters’ schedules--and the type of meetings they’re accepting so candidates can reserve 1-on-1 time or a seat in group or informational sessions with their preferred employers.
Candidates can tailor their elevator pitch to each posted job opening, leading to more productive face-to-face conversations.
A companion app for an in-person recruiting event lets employers showcase their organization in advance. Company videos and messaging typically increases intentional booth traffic, which as a bonus, might simultaneously reduce “swag-only” visits.
Additionally, today’s job seekers evaluate positions on far more than title, salary, and benefits. They’re looking at a completely different type of benefit: how they feel about an employer’s brand and culture. An effective and attractive company profile should answer these common jobseeker questions:
Current job seekers also prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability goals over job status or the number of paid vacation days. So, encourage employers to address these potential deal breakers in their company profiles to maximize in-person recruiting opportunities.
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A companion app lets employers view candidate profiles and resumes to prepare for scheduled meetings. Smart fair organizers are also taking advantage of online recruiting software to help employers and candidates continue these conversations after the live event.
Offering a virtual resume drop feature simplifies resume collection while eliminating overstuffed manilla envelopes or lost cover sheets. Some software programs (spoiler alert again: CF+!) also centralize note-taking and ranking candidates.
Augmenting an in-person event with a feature-rich companion app gives employers and job seekers more information. A well-planned day clarifies expectations which often creates more relaxed and engaging conversations.
The key tasks are very similar, made easier with time-saving automation, customizable schedules, multiple meeting formats, and a bunch of easy-going, happy people at CF+ ready to help!
Plan ahead. Five to six months is usually enough time to accomplish the following:
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CF+ supports your in-person events. We also help you host virtual recruiting programs, and our proprietary platform elevates your hybrid recruiting.
Our software is easy to use, and we work as hard as our customers do to deliver productive, rewarding, and cost-efficient recruiting events. Bring it all together, and Career Fair+ is uniquely positioned to help you host rewarding in-person, virtual, and hybrid career fairs.
Schedule a call with one of our super-friendly problem solvers who can explain it all. (That’s a thank you rhyme for reading this whole blog!)