The recruitment process is undoubtedly complex and time-consuming. Finding the right candidate in a hot job market can be a real challenge.
Fortunately, virtual hiring events are one of the most effective job recruitment methods and an excellent way to accomplish recruitment goals in a reasonable time span. Virtual recruitment events can enrich the hiring experience and attract highly-qualified candidates. Three benefits of virtual recruiting events include:
1. Meet your Recruitment Goals
In an optimal job recruitment scenario, your company can quickly identify candidates with the job skills you need and streamline the hiring process.
A virtual event achieves these goals by actively engaging a high volume of right-fit candidates in a virtual venue, where you can then create a unique and exciting candidate experience that positions your company as an employer of choice.
In addition, like any other business operation, recruiting has many indirect objectives, all of which a virtual hiring event can satisfy. These may include:
- Increasing the sustainability of hiring events
- Expanding the candidate pool by making it simple and easy for people worldwide to participate
- Decreasing the time it takes to eliminate underqualified or overqualified job applicants
- Inspiring a large number of applicants to apply for open positions
- Boosting your employer brand
- Demonstrating to customers how you invest in high-quality employee recruiting
2. Reach the right candidates with your virtual hiring event
Virtual events give you more control over the candidates you attract and more opportunities to showcase your brand and create meaningful candidate-employer interactions.
To ensure you’re attracting the best qualified candidates for your open positions, take these vital steps.
Define your ideal candidate profiles.
An appropriate and engaging job description is extremely helpful in finding the perfect person for a particular job. Analyze the job content and duties for which you’re hiring and list the necessary skill sets a candidate(s) must have to meet these needs. Also consider personal traits that are relevant to performing such tasks and any necessary soft skills. For example, is it critical the candidate be organized? Does he/she need to be a critical thinker? A multitasker? Outlining job responsibilities, work conditions, minimum qualifications, and relevant soft skills can help you identify where and how to promote your virtual recruiting event. For example, if a college degree is necessary, you may want to promote your hiring event through local colleges and universities. Or if it’s necessary for the candidate to hold a specific certification, you may want to advertise your recruiting event on certification providers’ websites.
Generate your audience.
Promoting your virtual recruiting event early should increase attendance. Also, make sure registration is easy no matter what device your registrant is using. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Execute an integrated campaign using email, online advertising, and press releases. If you’re working with recruiting partners, collaborate with them to identify joint promotional opportunities. Depending on your promotion period, send out at least two to three invitation emails for your event.
- Create a clean, mobile-friendly registration site to capture attendee details. Allow participants to register with their social media credentials (Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+) and include calendar reminders for registrants.
- Send reminders to all registrants a minimum of one week before, one day before, and the day of the event.
- As with any marketing program, you’ll want to track the progress of different campaigns/marketing vehicles by embedding a “promo code” to the event URL link. This way, you can monitor the progress and gauge the effectiveness of each vehicle.
Spread the word about your virtual hiring event on social media.
Depending on budget, you can use paid ads on social channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn to target the right candidate profiles. You can segment your audience by age, location, education, and interests. If the budget is limited, you can also publish organic posts across your social platforms to promote your hiring event and increase your event’s online footprint. Don’t forget to identify LinkedIn groups relevant to your ideal candidates and promote your recruiting event to these groups. Also, schedule regular tweets to create a cadence of interest before the event. Don’t forget to create a #hashtag for your event so people can find and reference it as they tweet.
3. Create meaningful connections with candidates during your virtual recruiting event
To effectively recruit long-lasting employees, establish a good relationship with the right candidate from the start. Remember that as you’re evaluating candidates, they're also evaluating you. A well-managed virtual recruiting event will make a good first impression. Use high quality imagery, hold live or pre-recorded office tours, and host live Q&As with Human Resources and/or employees that highlight what makes your workplace desirable.
Also, create moments of connection for your candidates. Virtual attendees don’t have the physical advantage of observing your office first-hand. Therefore, you must put a little elbow grease into making this happen. Answer the question: how can we satisfy our candidates’ appetites for what they may be missing in a virtual hiring experience? Then, identify ways to make this happen. This may come in the form of a pre-recorded executive welcome, or by providing your candidates with a “virtual briefcase” that includes pdfs highlighting benefits or employee wellness programs. You can even feature a “live cam” for candidates to observe break rooms or highly trafficked areas of your office.
Finally, remember to train your interviewers. Conducting an interview in a virtual environment is not the same as conducting one in person. There may be technical issues or the interviewer might struggle to feel a connection without access to social cues such as facial expressions and body language. Provide your interviewers with a list of virtual interview best practices and offer opportunities to participate in mock virtual interviews to increase their comfort level before your virtual recruiting event goes live.
Harness the power of virtual recruiting events
Virtual recruitment events flip the old-school hiring event model on its head, modernizing the recruiting process while simultaneously broadening your candidate pool and increasing opportunities to identify new talent. They reinforce your employer brand, generating a strong first impression that can help you build a lasting relationship with potential employees.
It’s time to learn more about how a virtual recruiting event can help you meet your recruiting and hiring goals. Request a virtual event platform demo.
