We've identified helpful information for institutions planning in-person and virtual fairs, outlined below.
When determining which fairs should be in-person or virtual, consider the following:
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- Do you have the space to accommodate in-person activity for the number of employers and students you’re inviting?
- Are the employers you’re inviting local, or are you inviting employers that are recruiting nationally?
- Are the students you’re inviting attending classes in-person or online?
- Do you have the space to accommodate in-person activity for the number of employers and students you’re inviting?
Host in-person and virtual fairs separately, on separate days, to avoid burnout and scheduling confusion or conflict.
- Rationale for this recommendation: having two fairs at the same time or same day would affect the student and employer experience.
- If students and employers have to go from a virtual fair to an in-person fair at the same time, it would be very difficult to plan out a successful and efficient schedule, i.e. attending/hosting virtual fair sessions while walking to booths/managing a booth, handling connectivity/wifi issues, accounting for background noise (if they are trying to attend a 1:1 session from where the in-person fair is being hosted)
- If students and employers have to go from a virtual fair to an in-person fair at the same time, it would be very difficult to plan out a successful and efficient schedule, i.e. attending/hosting virtual fair sessions while walking to booths/managing a booth, handling connectivity/wifi issues, accounting for background noise (if they are trying to attend a 1:1 session from where the in-person fair is being hosted)
Clearly indicate in the fair title and description the format of the fair (Virtual versus In-Person).
Create a clear marketing plan for each fair, amping up promotion to students to let them know there are two options. Example comms for employers addressed below.
Hybrid setup recommendation and example scenarios
- For an in-person fair: create an in-person fair that is more comprehensive, such as including all courses or students.
- Review the steps in Career Fairs: Creation.
- For a virtual fair: create targeted virtual fairs for specific courses/colleges/etc., and keep employers more curated or industry-specific.
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- Pre-fair, students can easily review registered employers availability and sign up for sessions.
- During the fair, this is a great opportunity for more intentional and intimate conversations.
- Post-fair, Handshake enables easy follow-up for more formal interviews or continued conversation via the messaging feature.
- Review the steps in Virtual Fairs: Creation.
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With this approach, there are a variety of ways you can structure fair management, including which days are set up for each. In any of the below examples, you can set up the virtual fair(s) on "Day 1" and an in-person fair on "Day 2", or vice versa.
Scenario 1 - fairs handled as separate instances
Create two separate, full fairs for both types - this means each fair operates independent of the other, and there are no packages/discounts offered to employers. Registrations, payments, and marketing for each fair are all managed separately.
- Ensure descriptions for each fair are independent of the other, and registration instructions are clear for employers and students.
- Include language in the student and employer welcome messages that emphasises the fair location (in-person or virtual) so there's no confusion about which fair they registered for.
Scenario 2 - offer discount or bulk pricing to employers attending both fairs
Regardless of which approach (discount, bulk pricing, etc.) you offer, the steps below are helpful!
- Send out a survey to understand employers’ preference on which fairs they’d like to attend (virtual, in-person, or both).
- If you'd like to promote attendance at both, highlight the discount(s) and other benefits you'll offer. Learn How to Send a Survey to Employers.
- Based on what they choose, send the employer the preview link to that fair.
- If they choose the option to attend both fairs, send them the preview links to both fairs and communicate to them the registration types they should choose for each.
- From there, have them register, approve the registrations, and for the virtual fair, have employers set up their schedules.
Tip: if you'd like to ensure employers do not discover the fairs, make them hidden. Before publishing the fairs, make sure "Hide this career fair from employers" is checked. This setting ensures employers won't be able to view or register for the fair until you share the fair's preview link with them.
Example 1: offering a discount to employers attending both fairs
To offer a discounted price, you can either:
- Add a discount to the fairs - this allows you to reduce the registration by a specific amount. Learn how to Discount a Registration.
- Create dedicated registration types with pre-set discounts reflected - this approach has fewer steps involved, since you don't have to apply a discount, and the price is clearly denoted when the employer selects that registration type. Learn how to Create Registration Types.
- For example, registration types offered could be:
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- On the virtual fair: "Standard: 1 day virtual only" - £200
- On the in-person fair: "Standard: 1 day in-person only" - £200
- On both fairs: "Fair Package: 2 day" - £150 (Employers would select this type on *both* fairs.)
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- For example, registration types offered could be:
Example 2: offering bulk pricing to employers attending both fairs
First, decide which fair will be the "primary" fair, if employers choose to attend both. In this example, the in-person fair is our "primary" fair.
Create your regular registration types as well as the ones listed below:
- For the in-person fair, create a registration type for "In-Person and Virtual Fair Bundle".
- Set the price to the total amount due for both fairs, and collect payment through this registration. Make sure to note that in order to completely register for the virtual component, employers need to submit a separate registration for the virtual fair.
- For the virtual fair, create a registration type for "In-Person and Virtual Fair Bundle".
- Set the price to £0 and write a description that says something like "Please note, to select this registration type, you must first register and pay for your registration through the in-person registration."
- Share the fair preview links with employers interested in attending both fairs, and them know to register for the in-person fair first, then register for the virtual fair after (selecting the registration types on each that reflects they are attending both).
- If you discover any employers that register for the virtual fair before registering for the in-person, do not approve their virtual fair registration until they have selected the correct registration bundle for the in-person registration.
- Depending on your institution's policy, you may want to collect payment prior to approving the virtual fair registration. Once the virtual fair registration is approved, employers may begin creating their schedules.