Although we’re back to normal operations, we acknowledge that an element of virtual recruiting is here to stay. Here are some tips as you determine the best hybrid strategy.
Please email Colby Lakas, BAP Faculty Advisor, with any questions about information outlined below.
Utilizing on-campus ambassadors (students who have completed an internship or have accepted an offer from you) is a great way to cultivate personal relationships in the traditional manner while allowing full-time professionals a break from travel when necessary.
“Swag” is a fun element of the recruiting process, so consider a contact-less candidate care approach. Some ideas include e-gift cards (Starbucks, Amazon, Chick-fil-A, Grubhub, etc.) or a care package from one of the vendors listed below.
Let BAP highlight your unique value proposition by participating in the Featured Professional Partner (“FPP”) program. More information about the FPP can be found here.
“The people,” is a common answer to the question of “Why do you choose to work there?” Students understand the importance of cultural fit and want to envision how they’ll factor into your environment. Although we believe that in-person office visits and socials are important, it is still possible to allow a student to picture themselves working for your organization. Facilitating multiple introductions between students and your professionals is a great start, but be creative as to how you can substitute the ancillary parts of the experience (virtual office tours, including students in office-wide virtual programming/training, etc.).
Be transparent with students about your recruiting plans and timeline for the year. Not having a constant physical presence on campus can result in less frequent communication, so setting expectations for the frequency of your touchpoints will mitigate the risk of disappointment. Personalize your touchpoints as much as possible by allowing students to get valuable, interactive “face time,” whether through email, in-person, or video conferencing.
Beta Alpha Psi will host this spring’s Meet the Firms event using the Career Fair Plus (“CF+”) virtual platform on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024, from 4 PM to 8 PM. CF+ utilizes meeting schedules; each recruiter at a virtual booth has a meeting schedule divided into 15-minute increments (option to reduce to 10 mins.) and students sign up for a time slot to discuss their resume. The number of schedules available to a professional partner is unlimited for this event.**
**All exhibitors should be conservative in the number of schedules they initially create, as it’s easier to add schedules during the appointment window than to cancel underperforming schedules.
Below is a general outline of how the event will come together. Confirmed representatives will receive detailed logistics via email to ensure they are adequately prepared.
Thursday, December 1st – Deadline to register for the virtual fair in Handshake. Exhibitor registrations will be imported to the CF+ system to create your firm/company’s virtual booth.
By Tuesday, December 5th – The “Team Lead” designated in your VMTF RSVP will receive access to your virtual booth, which gives you the ability to add team members and create schedules.
Before the spring semester begins on Wednesday, January 10th: Exhibitors should familiarize themselves with available CF+ training materials:
*A VMTF recruiter training webinar will be emailed to registrants. Click here to access last year’s recording.
Tuesday, January 16th: Meeting schedules (names and available times during the 4-8 pm CT window) must be finalized by exhibitors. We have pre-set the appointment times to be 15 minutes (you can shorten the duration to 10 if desired). Once students begin signing up, you cannot edit your schedule if a student occupies a time slot you must cancel; anticipate needed breaks in advance.
Wednesday, January 17th-Tuesday, January 23rd: Students make appointments on exhibitor schedules.
Tuesday, January 23rd (4-8 pm CT): Our sixth virtual Meet the Firms is LIVE!
All members of your VMTF “team” have access to schedule details, but avoid having each team member set up their own schedule independently. For consistency purposes, it’s best to designate a team lead who sets up and names schedules according to a common convention. Ensuring your team operates seamlessly with regard to schedules will translate to informed candidates who book appointments with the “right” representatives.
Label each schedule very clearly so students identify the schedule that matches their service and city preferences. If you have altered the timeframe to be different than the event timeframe, also indicate that in the title (e.g., “Meet an Audit Partner from 5-6 pm”).
Professional Partners with multiple locations may find it most useful to have a meeting schedule for each service line and major city. For example Atlanta Audit, Atlanta Tax, Birmingham Audit, Birmingham Tax, Advisory, etc. Avoid being too prescriptive, as it may deter an inexperienced recruit from booking an appointment (they may interpret too specific titles as not being a match for their level).
Professional Partners with few locations may find it advantageous to differentiate their meeting schedule by either office location or service line. For example: Birmingham and Atlanta, or Audit and Tax.
Plainsman Sponsors: If you typically collect less than 20 resumes at Meet the Firms, you may be well-served to start with two schedules. If the schedules fill up before the event, you can add more schedules to accommodate demand. This practice will ensure that your recruiting time is spent efficiently and minimize idle time between student meetings.
While CF+ does allow for flexibility in schedule-sharing, it’s discouraged. Each schedule is tied to a team member’s name and LinkedIn profile, so if multiple professionals are sharing one schedule, it could confuse students about who they’re actually meeting. However, in a pinch, the link to each video room can be shared with other professionals, even if they don’t have an active CF+ account (i.e. a last-minute team member cancellation doesn’t mean schedule cancellation). You could also bring in more junior recruiters (or campus ambassadors) into the room to supplement the interaction with the schedule owner.
Want to ONLY talk to accounting majors at Meet the Firms? You can use the “Accountancy” major field as a prereq in your schedules, but be aware that younger students may not yet be declared as accounting.
To allow for “walk-ups,” the scheduling window will remain open throughout the event. Therefore, if you desire a dinner break in between appointments, be sure to intentionally block the time slots so a walk-up is not scheduled while you’re away. If the event is concluding and you desire to end earlier than 8 pm, block any remaining appointments to avoid a candidate being “ghosted.” If you want to avoid any surprises during the event, you should block all remaining time slots as the event starts (essentially, ending your personal sign-up window).
Most professionals are accustomed to conducting video conferencing on their laptops, and we believe the CF+ format is no different. However, we recommend also using a second monitor (or logging in to the app with a smartphone/tablet) to utilize the available note-taking and rating features for your interactions. Note that these ratings will become available to any of your professionals with CF+ access, and you will need to devise your organization’s approach to the standard star-rating system to ensure consistency across schedules.
We suggest that you do not use campus ambassadors (currently enrolled students who have interned or accepted an internship offer) to as schedule owners during the event (unless a schedule is clearly labeled that the student is meeting another student). Because they are both on campus, recruits have the opportunity to meet with an ambassador in person on a different date. Thus, the Virtual Meet the Firms should be used to facilitate relationships between our students and full-time professionals. Campus ambassadors can be used in the follow-up process; hosting in-person interactions with potential candidates identified during VMTF.
Professionals assigned to a schedule should have an active LinkedIn account connected to their CF+ account. Additionally, if you wish for students to be able to contact you, you must give them your contact information during the event interaction (helpful to utilize the chat feature in the video room). CF+ does not distribute employer information to students, so students can only follow up via LinkedIn or if you proactively provide your email.
Because students are asked to limit appointments to ONE PER EMPLOYER (unless directed by the employer), follow-up after the event becomes very important. We suggest that staff, seniors, and managers conduct the recruiting during the event with their meeting schedule. Then strong candidates can be invited to meet with senior managers, partners, directors, etc. over Zoom at a subsequent date to further develop relationships.
Since a virtual Meet the Firms is not conducive to physical “swag” or informational pamphlets, consider sending a message to all students who visited your “booth” with specific next steps in your recruiting process. There is also an opportunity to send “touchless giveaways” to the students who visit your booth. Suggestions for remotely enjoyed “swag” can be found above.
On the day of the event, Colby Lakas will be available to Professional Partners in a Zoom drop-in room for any questions that may arise.
Technical support is also available prior to and during the event by clicking on the help button at the bottom of your meeting schedule screen. Although we will be able to assist with recruiting and logistical questions, reaching out to Career Fair Plus directly will get you the quickest help with technical issues.