Bonnie Johnson
January 04, 2021
Newsletter Article
Listen up job seekers and employers…this is for both of you! Why do you need to figure out how to navigate a virtual career fair? They’re here to stay!
In-person career fairs can prove to be intimidating, even for people that are outgoing, with strong verbal communication skills. Factor in lack of experience, and the uneasiness of presenting yourself to an employer in a crowded room of chattering people dressed in uncomfortable shoes can be overwhelming.
For those people, the pandemic may have provided a beneficial networking tactic—the general acceptance of virtual, or online, career fairs. AgCareers.com started hosting Virtual Career Fairs way back in 2016, long before we ever heard of social distancing. Virtual career fairs were an emerging trend, but now seem to be a standard, commonplace activity that will surely continue post-COVID. The benefits are easily visible for both candidates and employers: drop in when you can; chat, message, audio or video; save travel time and costs.
AgCareers.com launched the Feed Your Future program to connect agri-food employers and job seekers virtually, addressing the pandemic’s constraints on traditional in-person recruitment events. We’re hosting a series of regional virtual career fairs across the United States and Canada. From those we already hosted in 2020, most job seekers said the Virtual Career Fair was just as good, or even BETTER than in-person fairs!
Check out our Virtual Career Fair Success webinar recording for job seeker tips to get ready for the online fairs. Virtual recruiting also means online interviews, so you may also want to watch our webinar recording, Standing Out in a Virtual Interview. We encourage employers to register for our free live webinar, The Evolving Workplace, on January 29 to learn about the pandemic’s impact on employment, talent management, and HR best practices.
Start making your way through the virtual career fair environment now—register for an upcoming Feed Your Future Virtual Career Fair:
USA
January 14: Great Lakes – Midwest
January 28: Plains – Midwest
February 11: South Central
February 25: Southeast
March 4: Central Atlantic/Northeast
CANADA
January 26: Alberta
February 9: Manitoba
February 23: British Columbia
March 2: Atlantic
March 11: Ontario
March 16: Quebec
For more information on connecting job seekers and employers from farm to fork, visit /feed-your-future.cfm. Join the conversation and spread the word through social with #FeedYourFuture.
