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If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking to partner with a virtual career fair vendor. Maybe you’ve run in-person hiring events in the past and now you’re looking to go virtual so you can reach a larger talent pool. Or maybe you’re currently working with an online career fair vendor and you need some advice so you don’t make the same mistake twice.
Whatever the case, this is an exciting time. You’re in the process of taking your hiring to the next level. However, as you take demo meetings, it’s crucial to weed out the top vendors from those that are only second-rate.
Here’s an exhaustive list of questions to ask a virtual career fair vendor. Take it with you as you screen the virtual platforms vying for your business.
What to Ask During a Virtual Career Fair Demo
Question #1: How Does Pricing Work?
This is probably the #1 most-asked question on virtual career fair demos. However, a worthwhile platform won’t make you ask; they’ll clearly lay out the pricing on their website. And if they don’t? They’re probably super expensive and won’t give a price until you sit through an extensive demo.
At Live Recruit, we’re all about transparency. You can see a full breakdown of our pricing, including annual plans that start at just $295 per month (you won’t find a better deal — anywhere).
Question #2: How Long is the Setup Time For an Event?
Knowing how long it’ll take to get an event set up will help you:
- Create and pace your promotion strategy
- Prepare your recruitment team and hiring managers for the event
- Built your post-event follow-up strategy
With many vendors, it’ll take anywhere from six to eight weeks to get an event off the ground — way too long in our book! Look for a platform that’s easy to use and made for speed. It shouldn’t take you much longer than 5 minutes to set up a virtual hiring event.
Question #3: What Type of Data Can I Collect on Candidates?
Data is the linchpin of successful recruitment. The more information you have about candidates, the easier it’ll be to move them through the hiring process.
When you get a demo from a virtual career fair vendor, find out if the platform allows you to collect comprehensive candidate data during the event registration process, including:
- Occupation
- Current role
- Years of experience
- Contact information
Collecting the data is only half the battle. You need to be able to sort through the data, narrow down the results, and find information quickly.
Question #4: Who Owns the Candidate Data?
There are thousands of data points involved in virtual career fairs, from candidate profiles to event metrics. As a result, it’s crucial to ask your provider who owns all of this data. The contract should clarify that the vendor can store and process the data on the cloud, but you maintain full ownership over the data.
Question #5: Can the Data be Pushed Into my ATS?
With the high volume of data you’ll be collecting before, during, and after your virtual career fair, you’ll want to make sure you can export that data into your applicant tracking system (ATS). This will allow your hiring events to work seamlessly with your talent acquisition process and other recruitment strategies.
Question #6: How Long Does the Platform Take to Learn?
One of the most important questions to ask when choosing a virtual career fair vendor is about ease of use. The stats make it clear that talent acquisition professionals are busier than ever:
- 30 minutes to two hours: how long it takes to set up a single interview 1
- 78,352 minutes a year: time spent by recruiters on the phone2
- 13 hours: amount of time it takes recruiters to source a single candidate3
The last thing you want to do as a recruiter is spend hours learning a new platform. Ask the vendor how intuitive the software is and whether you’ll need extensive training to use it. If you need to spend a full day just to learn the platform, that’s something you should know up front — and avoid. With Live Recruit, you’ll have events up and running within minutes, not hours or days. The platform makes your life easier, not harder.
Question #7: What Type of Support Can I Expect?
When you’re running an event with multiple recruiters and dozens — or even hundreds — of candidates, problems can occasionally occur. The important thing? That your vendor has your back. You need an account management team that offers white-glove service.
As you meet with vendors, ask questions about their support, such as:
- How do I reach your support staff?
- How long will it take to get my request answered?
- Do you provide an FAQ for basic questions?
- Beyond technical issues, do you offer training on best practices?
Question #8: How Many Events Can I Host?
Make sure the vendor you choose offers unlimited virtual events. Many platforms will require you to wait a week or two between events, limiting your options and slowing down your recruitment efforts. Some vendors also charge per event, which can lead to very high costs, especially if you work in high-volume recruiting and need multiple events per month to meet your hiring needs.
Question #9: What Happens to the Chat History?
When recruiters chat with candidates, you’ll want to make sure the conversations are backed up and saved, and that you’ll have access to them any time. Why?
- The chat history gives hiring managers context when they’re meeting with a candidate; they’ll want some information about the candidate before interviewing them.
- You can go back anytime to see where a candidate is in the hiring process.
- There’ll be no need to take laborious notes, reducing human error and allowing you to be more present when speaking to candidates.
Question #10: Do You Help With Event Promotion?
A successful virtual career fair brings together a ton of candidates. That’s why you need a plan that reaches various target audiences and uses personalized messaging to attract top candidates. After all, creating a hiring event without planning robust marketing is like throwing a party without sending any invitations.
So how do you drive registrations? The answer: If you work with the right platform, you won’t have to. Live Recruit will handle every aspect of your event promotion, from building a strategy to driving conversions across social media, search engines, and email.
Question #11: What Features Set Your Platform Apart?
There are dozens of vendors on the market, so you want to find one with features that make it easy to attract, engage, and hire candidates. For example, does the platform allow you to build an employer-branded registration page? Can you download a detailed meeting schedule before the event? Are you able to rate candidates and take notes about them during the event?
Question #12: Can Hiring Managers Join my Events?
What good is a virtual career fair if you can’t make hires quickly? Choose a vendor that lets you move candidates through the hiring process swiftly. You should be able to refer a candidate to a hiring manager or senior recruiter within the platform. And if a hiring manager isn’t available to attend the event? Candidates should be able to schedule a post-event interview using an automated scheduling tool.
Question #13: What Type of Reporting and Analytics Do You Offer?
One of the biggest benefits of virtual career fairs? The reports and analytics. Your hiring managers and company leadership will love receiving a complete list of event attendees, including resumes, notes, and how many candidates moved through the hiring process.
A top platform will also provide real-time analytics on a single dashboard, so you can see how you did, which will help you optimize your events moving forward.
Question #14: Will I Be Able to Show my Branding on the Platform?
Over 80% of talent acquisition professionals say that employer branding has a significant impact on hiring top talent.4 In other words, you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to build your company’s brand.
Ask the vendor whether your event registration page can feature your logo and branding. Also, make sure the page is highly customizable, so you can use it to showcase your organization’s values and story.
Question #15: Is the Platform Secure?
When you ask about security, you’re looking for a glimpse into their approach and capabilities. Some questions to ask include:
- Do you have an in-house team that handles security threats?
- Do you have software that scans their infrastructure and codebase for vulnerabilities?
- Are you GDPR-compliant?
Wrapping Up: What to Ask When Choosing a Virtual Career Fair Platform
When you’re ready to launch a virtual career fair, it can feel tedious to meet with vendors. However, sitting down with multiple platforms and asking them some questions is the best way to determine if you’re really the right fit. Being methodical and thoughtful about the process will be well worth the effort.
References:
- Hangsterfer, Y. (2020, July 21). 2020 Interview Scheduling Statistics and Trends: A Nationwide Recruiter Survey. Yello. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- www.recruiter.com. (2014, November 16). 5 Compelling Statistics About Recruiting Behavior. Recruiter.Com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- de Lara, K. (2017, December 14). 10 Key Findings from the 2018 Recruiting Trends Report. Entelo. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- Kunsman, T. (2020, April 27). The 28 Employer Branding Statistics Your Company Must Know. EveryoneSocial. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
