student virtual career fair guide
Virtual career fairs on Handshake give you the opportunity to meet recruiters and employers through one-on-one video chats and group sessions. We love Handshake fairs because they let you schedule chats with recruiters without waiting in line. Keep in mind that employers attending virtual career fairs often rely on viewing online student profiles as much as chatting with students to identify top candidates for their jobs and internships. If you are attending a virtual Handshake fair, follow the steps below to make the most of the experience.
Types of Virtual Sessions
Virtual Handshake fairs allow you to sign up to meet with recruiters during specific time slots. This means no waiting and securing your spot to meet with the employers you’re interested in. There are two types of virtual fair sessions.
Group Sessions
During these sessions, you’ll join other students to listen to recruiters and other employees from the organization. You’ll learn about job and internship opportunities, company culture and more. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask your own questions.
One-on-One Sessions
This is an opportunity to chat directly with a recruiter or employee ambassador about jobs and internships through video chat. Recruiters who want to meet you will be able to invite you to attend virtual sessions with them, or you can sign up for sessions that have availability. Some employers may set up criteria for their one-on-one sessions that you must meet in order to schedule a one-on-one session.
Registration Process
1. Log in: Access your Handshake account by logging in through BRUIN Connect or on the Handshake login page with your Bellevue University email address. Next, navigate to the career fair page by clicking the registration button here or clicking on “Events” from your Handshake homepage as well.
2. Find out which employers are attending: View the virtual fair details page to see the full list of employers who are attending and hosting sessions. From there, you can click through to each employer’s Handshake page to learn more about them and read reviews from other students. Follow employers to stay updated on their latest activities!
Use the resources below to help you.
Researching Employers and Developing Questions
How to Prepare Questions for Virtual Career Fairs, With Examples
3. Register: Registration for virtual Handshake fairs usually opens 10 days before the date of the fair. Click the button in the top right corner of the Fair page. If you don’t have access to the career fair you are interested in, get the details here or email us for help. A pop-up will appear on your screen with information for you to review. Click “Register” on this pop-up when you’re ready to proceed.
4. Sign up for sessions: Click the name of the session you’d like to sign up for. Read about them below to know what to expect.
Tip: For further assistance with this process, view How To: Utilize Handshake’s Virtual Career Fair Platform
Signing up for Group Sessions
- Group sessions will have a custom title and display their duration.
- Review the information, and if you’d like to proceed, click “Confirm” to sign up.
- If a Group Session is at capacity, it won’t appear in the list any longer.
- To participate in group sessions, students will need to set their profile visibility to “Community.”
Signing up for One-on-One Sessions
- One-on-one sessions are indicated by “One-on-One with EMPLOYER NAME.”
- Each session will display its duration. Be mindful of how many sessions you schedule back-to-back.
- You can choose which representative to attend a one-on-one session with if multiple are listed.
- The red dot to the right of a session start time indicates that you are currently signed up for a session during that time. In order to sign up for this session, you’d need to cancel the existing session sign-up.
- To participate in one-on-one sessions, you will need to set your profile visibility to “Employers” or “Community.”
Managing and Canceling Session RSVPs
- As you sign up for sessions, a list of sessions will populate on the right side of your screen in Handshake. Click on the name of a session to see more information about the session or cancel your reservation.
- You can also click on the tab for Your Sessions in the upper-left of the fair’s page to see a list of sessions. Click on “RSVP-ed” to see more information about the session or cancel your reservation.
- If you’re no longer able to attend the career fair and have already registered, you may unregister on the event home page in Handshake by clicking the same button you initially used to register. All of your sessions will be canceled.
Tip: Don’t forget to add the sessions you sign up for to your calendar and set a reminder.
Preparing for the Virtual Career Fair
You signed up for sessions with employers during a Virtual Handshake Fair. What comes next? There are a few extra steps you need to take to get the most out of your virtual fair experience on Handshake.
1. Update your Handshake profile: Career Services does not automatically complete your profile. Employers may set student requirements (GPA, job types, major, school year, etc.) for their one-on-one sessions. If fields are blank on your profile and required by an employer, sessions won’t appear on your scheduling options when registering. The more complete your profile is, the more likely you are to make meaningful employer connections. We strongly recommend you make sure your Handshake profile is at least 80% complete so you are able to connect with employers that are the best fit for you.
- Check that the basics are accurate: graduation date, school year, major, GPA and work authorization.
- Select the job types, locations, and roles that interest you, so recruiters know which jobs and internships are a good fit for you.
- Add your courses, skills, and any previous work experience.
- Upload your resume and make it “public” so employers can view it. This isn’t automatic when you upload your resume.
- Set your profile privacy settings to “employer” or “community” so that employers can view your resume.
- Reference our Handshake Basics for more details about Handshake and setting up your profile.
2. Upload your Resume to Handshake: How to Write Resumes and Cover Letters
3. Make sure your tech is ready: A significant component of being prepared for virtual career fairs is making sure your technology is ready to go. Plan a dry run the day before the virtual career fair to avoid last-minute surprises.
- Run a network test of your internet, visual and audio at https://network-test.daily.co/index.html.
- Use Chrome or Firefox as your browser for the fair.
- Choose your device wisely to avoid a shaky camera and use earbuds for clear audio.
- Set your preferences to give the web browser access to your mic, video and screen. If you don’t do this, certain elements of the fair
won’t work.
4. Follow employers: View the virtual fair details page in Handshake to see the full list of employers who are attending and hosting sessions and follow the ones you are interested. You will be notified if new sessions open up.
5. Check schedule frequently: Employers’ schedules will change and new employers may be added all the way up to the day of the fair. We suggest you check back frequently for cancellations, changes and additions to the schedule.
6. Review the Handshake guide for joining sessions: Familiarize yourself with the process of joining virtual fair meetings to make sure there are no surprises for you or for the interviewer at the time of the session.
7. Back-to-back scheduling: Handshake does not have a timer mechanism in meetings. If you’ve scheduled back-to-back one-on-one sessions, you must monitor the time to ensure you maintain your schedule. We suggest you begin one-on-one sessions by introducing yourself and then informing the employer that you have another session scheduled immediately following: “Good morning, I’m Vera and I’m pleased to meet you. I did want to let you know that I have another session immediately following our meeting.”
8. Dress for success and comfort: Make sure you dress professionally at least from the waist-up for a virtual fair.
How to Look Good on Video Meetings & Interviews
How to Give a Great First Impression in a Virtual Interview
Day of the Fair
You have spent time preparing yourself and now it’s time to translate all that effort into practice.
- Be mindful of how you communicate: It’s common to be nervous when meeting with employers, so be aware of what your body language says and practice your conversational skills. For example, try to maintain eye contact, smile, be enthusiastic and have a positive attitude. Practice actively listening to the recruiter and take turns during the conversation. Recruiters are taking note of your interaction and their overall impression of you as a potential candidate.
- Be mindful of your surroundings
- Read the Handshake Participating in a Virtual Fair article
- Confirm your schedule is set: Review the virtual fair details page one more time to see the full list of employers who are attending and hosting sessions and sign up for any last-minute sessions.
Follow Up After the Fair
Make it your goal to follow up with each employer you met with within 24-48 hours after the fair. Many recruiters go to multiple career fairs in a week so it’s important to follow up with them to thank them for their time and remind them who you are. Learn more about the tactics involved in communicating professionally through our professional correspondence guide. Use the Effective Sample Thank you letter for following up after a fair.