Handshake has built an innovative solution to help employers engage with students in a virtual fair environment.
Within this tool, Handshake supports 1:1 video chats and large-group video events. With campuses closed indefinitely, employers will have new ways to connect with students:
- Participate in university-sponsored virtual career fair via Handshake
- Registration options will vary per institution, just like an in-person fair.
- Conduct 1:1 interviews or small-group info sessions
To see a video demo of these sessions, check out Video: Virtual Fairs Demo for Employers!
Register for virtual fairs
You'll need an approved registration for a fair in order to engage with students.
Check our our video walkthrough for locating and registering for virtual fairs here!
Note: Only the fair registrant will be able to set the schedule for all representatives. If you realise this should be someone else after the registration has been created, you can contact the institution to request a change to the Schedule Owner (a field Career Services only will be able to edit).
- See Identifying and Registering for Virtual Fairs for details on filtering and registering.
Set your Schedule
Once the institution approves your company's registration, you’ll be able to create a schedule for representatives attending the fair. Each employer registration allows for 100 teammates maximum to be delegated to Group and/or 1:1 Sessions. Please note if you are using Handshake video: our video provider Twilio supports 50 participants maximum per Handshake group session.
Only the employer fair registrant will be able to add the appropriate team members to the virtual fair schedule!
Check out our video on how to set your schedule!
- Teammates attending will have to have Handshake accounts because we need them to login to launch a Handshake video session.
- We now support a Representative role, which will allow employer team members to participate in a virtual fair with "read only" type access.
- See Managing Teammate Roles for instructions on updating roles in Handshake!
- See Employer Roles & Admin Tools for more details on Representative access.
- We now support a Representative role, which will allow employer team members to participate in a virtual fair with "read only" type access.
- Schedules will not be active for employers until they login and claim their schedules.
If the registrant no longer has access to Handshake then the employer will need to contact Handshake support to update.
Note: Career Services users can not create schedules for employers
Add Group Sessions
Group sessions are 30 minutes long by default, and each organisation registration includes three(3) 30 minute sessions, whether Handshake Video or an external provider is used.
Note: Employers are not able to set qualifications for group sessions.
If you choose to use Handshake Video, please note that there is a limit of 50 attendees max at a time (including employer team members). Any limitations for external providers are determined by the provider you choose to use.
Note: External video providers are only supported for Group Sessions; 1:1 sessions are only able to be conducted via Handshake video!
Add 1:1 sessions and set preferences
Check out our Diversity & Inclusion guide to help walk you through each step of the hiring for diversity process!
- Employers will have the opportunity to set preferences on their 1:1 meetings to efficiently use virtual interaction time.
- Specifically, employers will be able to qualify students by Handshake course group and graduation date. Our product research has shown that 1:1 virtual meetings are far more effective when they are more focused, which is more likely when preferences are shared in advance.
- That said, we also strongly believe in the power of technology to democratise opportunity, so group options are also available for general networking and conversation. We will also be monitoring this feature for concerns regarding limitations to any student groups.
- Employers can set required preferences per team member if they are hoping to engage with two different groups of students.
- Required preferences can be changed up until the time of the 1:1 session.
Note: Career Services can’t edit required preferences for employers or remove certain preferences from schedules.
- For more information, see Creating a Schedule for Virtual Fairs.
Pay any registration fees from the institution
Make sure to pay for your registration as appropriate per institution.
- See How to Pay for a Career Fair Registration for helpful tips.
Teammates claim their schedules
Once the schedule has been created, your teammates will be able to claim their schedules. They will receive an automated email when the schedule has been confirmed by the creator (the last step of creation), and they can click the link in the email to claim the schedule. Alternatively, the teammate can login to Handshake, navigate to the fair, then click on the Schedules tab to claim their schedule.
Check out our video walkthrough of claiming a schedule here!
If a team member does not claim their schedule then it will not be available for students to sign up for sessions.
- Refer to Claiming & Participating in a Schedule for the full process.
Manage schedule changes
Any changes that need to be made to the schedule may only be made by the fair registrant (also known as Schedule Owner). This individual will be able to manage group sessions and add/remove 1:1 session preferences.
- See Schedule Management for instructions.
Everyone will be able to manage their own schedules by "marking as not attending" (group sessions) or "marking as busy" (1:1 sessions).
View empty schedules within the Schedule tab. Employers will not be able to invite students directly to their schedules, students will be responsible for signing up for all sessions.
Ensure your device and browser are set up for success
Preparing for day-of, make sure you meet the right requirements to use audio and video smoothly.
Tip: It's a good idea to log in to the session early on the day of the fair to grant permissions needed by your computer/browser and test audio, video, and screen sharing!
- This resource contains a testing link from Twilio, our video provider, as well as several tips for the best experience possible Handshake Video Requirements & Troubleshooting (Employers).
Host sessions day-of the fair
During your group sessions, keep track of participants that you want to follow up with later. While preparing for the fair, it's a good idea to get familiar with ways you can keep track of participants you want to further engage with.
- Use Handshake Labels to manage participants of interest - create your labels prior to the fair, then on the day-of, simply pull up the student's profile in Handshake and add the label. You can use these labels as filters on the Search Students page later!
- View and add notes to a student profile - to the right of Education section on the student profile
Review the link below for a full walk-through of the fair experience and check out our video walkthrough of hosting sessions here!
Follow up with students after the fair
After your sessions are over, followup with participants! You can send messages in Handshake, download CVs, and Host Virtual Interviews!
- COMING IN SEPTEMBER: RSVPs! For more information, see Following Up After a Virtual Fair.
Additional Resources
- Virtual Recruiting Features Details
- Employer Virtual Fairs Launch Kit
- Tips for Recruiting Virtually
- Hosting Virtual Events (for Core Employers)
- Handshake's Guide to Hosting Virtual Recruiting Events (for Premium Employers)
FAQs
Has Handshake thought of how this feature will accommodate needs of small local employers as well as massive employers?
- Scheduling will honour employer preferences. For smaller and local employers we will recommend group sessions to reach as many students as possible. A large employer may have the resources to send multiple representatives that can create 1:1 availability throughout the day.
How will students and employers connect?
- There are two modes of virtual fair engagement:
- 30-minute group sessions (limited to 3 per employer registration)
- Handshake video: can support up to 50 participants total
- External video platform link: if the employer prefers their own video platform for large group sessions or expects to engage with more than 50 participants in group sessions
- 10 minute 1:1 sessions
- May only be hosted via Handshake video
- 30-minute group sessions (limited to 3 per employer registration)
- The length of both of these sessions cannot be updated in the first version of virtual fairs.
Can employers ask custom questions before students sign up for 1:1 sessions?
- No, employers can’t ask custom questions as a part of student registration.
Will students be able to leave or join a session after it's started?
- Students can leave sessions up until the time that it is scheduled. We will show them a warning whenever they cancel a session, to promote professional behaviour.
- For the initial release, students will not be able to join a session after it has started.
What happens if an employer representative has to cancel their attendance?
- The employer will need to cancel any specific sessions for that rep and add a different person to the fair for 1:1s.
- For group sessions, they could just add the new representative.
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