UGA Virtual Career Fairs
UGA Virtual Career Fairs: Everything You Need to Know
What is a "Virtual Career Fair?"
Virtual career fairs on Handshake give you the opportunity to meet recruiters and other employers through video sessions. You’ll learn more about employers hiring at your school, and connect with companies that will want to hire you.
Attending video sessions, instead of an in-person fair, means there is no waiting in line to talk to recruiters. When you register for a virtual career fair on Handshake, you sign up for specific session times—securing your spot to meet with the employers you’re interested in.
It is important to understand that there are two types of virtual fair sessions:
- Group sessions: During these sessions you’ll join other students to meet recruiters and other employees at 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: These are opportunities to chat directly with a recruiter or employee ambassador about jobs and internships. Recruiters that want to meet you will be able to invite you to attend virtual sessions with them.
Recruiters will likely review your profile before a session, so be sure to update your Handshake profile with your role and location preferences, as well as skills, organizations, and work experience!
Get Registered
- To register for a UGA Virtual Career Fair: Log in to your Handshake account, click on Events, and select the “virtual” and “career fairs” filters.
- Your registration is required to sign up for group sessions (30 minutes) and 1:1 sessions (10 minutes) with employers.
- Set your Handshake account privacy settings to “COMMUNITY” to sign up for group and 1:1 sessions with employers. You can do this by clicking on your photo or initials in the top right corner of Handshake and selecting “Settings & Privacy”.
Create Your Schedule to connect with Employers
- Once registered, check out “Available sessions” for employers attending the fair.
- To narrow your search, click on “All filters”.
- Strategy: Consider finding those employers of most interest to you first to schedule 1:1 sessions (1:1 sessions last 10 minutes).
- Follow any employers of interest to check back for open slots should more become available.
- FYI: You may sign up for group sessions or 1:1 sessions with employers on the day of the fair, but we encourage you to plan ahead to ensure that there are open slots!
- Watch this 4-minute video on how to register and sign up for sessions
How to Prepare for a Virtual Fair
- Update Your Handshake Profile
- The first step in preparing for virtual fairs is to make sure your Handshake profile is complete and up-to-date. Your Handshake profile helps you get personalized recommendations for upcoming virtual events. Plus, recruiters use profile fields to find students to invite to their sessions. Do not let an incomplete or out-of-date profile keep you from getting discovered by recruiters.
- You can do this by clicking on your photo or initials in the top right corner of Handshake and selecting “My Profile”
- Be sure to update your GPA, major, school year, preferred name, work experience, work authorization, projects, and more!
- Select the job types, locations and roles that interest you, so recruiters know which jobs and internships are a good fit for you.
- Prepare Your Resume
- Make plans to get your resume critiqued in 10-minutes or less during one of our Virtual Resume Critique Days
- In addition to Virtual Resume Critique Days, we offer virtual, 15-minute career drop-in appointments Monday – Friday, 11 pm – 2 pm. To participate in Virtual Drop-in appointments, please sign into Handshake and view the instructions here.
- Not sure what to include in your resume or how it should be formatted? Check out our Resume Guidelines.
- Getting started on your resume can be a daunting task. In order to simplify the process, we've created downloadable Word or pdf resume samples that you can use to help with formatting.
- Upload Your Preferred Resume to Handshake
- In your Documents section, click on your preferred resume, select “Edit Document” and set it to “Public” for employers to review during the Career Fair
- Check out this YouTube video with step-by-step instructions on how to upload a document to Handshake.
- Check Your Technical Requirements
- The required web browsers for Handshake’s Virtual Career Fair platform is Google Chrome or Firefox
- Text-based chat will be an option if you do not have access to a webcam. Please note that students can access sessions 5 minutes early to test audio and video.
- Check out this helpful article for additional information: Handshake Video Requirements & Troubleshooting for Students
- Plan Your Outfit and Workspace
- OUTFIT
- Recommended dress for this event is Business Professional. For outfit inspiration, check out our Pinterest Board: Business Professional Pinterest Board
- Although you will not be traveling to meet with employers in person, it is still important to dress professionally and look well-groomed during a Virtual Career Fair.
- Employers recognize when you have taken the time to present yourself in a professional manner. Whether we are meeting via phone or virtually, we tend to be more professional when we dress the part.
- When planning your Virtual Career Fair #OOTD (outfit of the day), here are some things to consider:
- Use simple accessories
- Dress professionally from head to toe as if you were going for an in-person interview
- Wear neat, simple makeup if you feel inclined to wear any
- WORKSPACE
- Ensure you have a solid internet connection.
- Check your surroundings. You want the interviewer to concentrate on you and not be distracted by a TV playing in the background, posters hanging on the wall, or the fact that they cannot see your face very well.
- Lighting is a huge factor to consider—like all interviews, you want to put your best presentation forward so make sure your face is visible. Try sitting next to a window or close to a bright lamp so your face is illuminated. It is important that the light is coming from an angle that illuminates your face, so do not sit with a window or light behind you.
- Do not let your surroundings detract from the great things you are saying… you want to come across as you are—smart, capable and ready to take on the work at their company or organization!
- View the list of employer attendees and use the search filters to find organizations that interest you. Click on the organization name to view the employer information page. Be sure to view their desired roles and opportunities, too!
- Make a list of your top employers. Which organizations are you most excited to connect with during the virtual fair? Refer to this list as you’re signing up for both group and 1:1 sessions.
- Not sure how to research potential employers? Check out our helpful YouTube video on the topic.
- Now it is time to practice your pitch! This YouTube video outlines 5 helpful steps to a powerful pitch.
What to Expect During a Virtual Career Fair
- What will participating in a virtual fair look like on fair day? Check out this helpful article complete with screenshots!
- Maintain eye contact (look at the camera, not the screen) and practice active listening
- Ask thoughtful questions based on your company research
- On the day of each virtual career fair, we will provide support to students via an external Zoom link. The Zoom link can be accessed at the top of the event description on Handshake. Follow the link to meet face-to-face with a Career Center staff member for career fair prep and event questions.
After the Fair
- What to Do After a Virtual Fair
- Congratulations! You updated your resume, dressed up, prepared your pitch and met with recruiters. It took hard work and now the Virtual Career Fair has come and gone.
- Now that you have attended a virtual career fair, you may be scratching your head asking, “What’s next?” Here are a few tips we would like to recommend ensuring you stay active after the fair.
- View and apply to open jobs or internships on Handshake
- Follow-up with employers via Handshake message or email (see example below)
- Prepare for Virtual Interviews using UGA Big Interview
- Check out our blog post on preparing for virtual interviews.
Example of a follow up email
Subject Line: UGA Spring Career Fair Follow-Up
Dear Mr. Swan:
We met at the UGA Spring Career & Internship Fair on Wednesday, January 29 where I expressed my interest in the Risk Consulting position with Federated Insurance. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about this exceptional opportunity. I enjoyed hearing more about the preventative side of insurance. I also appreciated learning about the collaborative office culture that Federated Insurance provides as well as the skills that you look for in a candidate.
Based on our conversation, I believe I would be a great addition to your company due to my _______ skills and my expertise in _________ and _________. I am looking to relocate and Federated Insurance seems like a great fit for my personality and career goals. A copy of my resume is attached for your reference. Please feel free to contact me by phone at (706) 542-1234 or email at jillian@email.com if you have any questions, or would like to discuss my qualifications further.
Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jillian R. Gates