“Handshake Virtual Fair Launch Kit Now Live!” was an email all Hegi Family Career Development Center staff members were ready to receive in late-summer 2020. Like most universities, SMU decided to transition their in-person career fair to a virtual space in light of the COVID season. The current career-services platform, Handshake was determined to serve their client campuses with a new virtual career fair feature for the fall recruiting season. The Handshake team quickly grew their mission of democratizing opportunity to presenting the “next generation virtual career fair” to client campuses, and their goal was to deliver a personal and efficient experience for students and employers. The new virtual fair option offered intimate 30-minute group settings and 10-minute 1:1 facetime with recruiters in addition to several videos, articles, and blogs for students and employers in preparation for the event.
As the SMU Hegi All Majors Virtual Career Fair kicked off on September 15, the Hegi team was excited to host 44 employer participants featuring a total of 140 recruiters. A Handshake representative was available to assist employers with technical issues, and Hegi staff members were available to assist students with any questions or concerns via hourly group sessions during the fair. In total, there were 88 group sessions with 730 total student attendance for group sessions, and there were 409 student participants for the 1:1 sessions. The virtual fair was in session for four hours from 3-7pm, and the Hegi team was happy to see a successful student and employer turnout for their inaugural virtual career fair.
After the virtual Career Fair, students and employers were given an opportunity to provide feedback, and the voices were positive and appreciative. One student commented that “It was tough for a career fair to be online, but I feel like the career fair accommodated well and made is as easy as possible for employers and students to connect.” Another student commented, “I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and look forward to meeting more employers and SMU alumnus.” Employers offered complimentary remarks about the level of student participation, and one employer commented that they were “impressed by the professionalism and preparation from the students.”
Despite the challenges during the COVID season, the Hegi team was committed to delivering meaningful services and resources to help our students and employers navigate the virtual chapter together. The Hegi Family Career Development Center team is looking forward to hosting their next virtual fair for spring 2021 on February 9, 2021!
For more information about the Hegi Family Career Development Center, please visit www.smu.edu/career.
I will admit the beginning of my Hegi journey was not the smoothest… I had no concept of what a resume, cover letter, or even what an internship truly was. Entering into the Hegi Career Leaders Program, I was unsure of the level of commitment that was expected of me and signed up for multiple events of which I did not attend.