Do You VCF?

By Courtney Bousquet
Career Services Contributor

With diminishing travel budgets and short on time, recruiters have been steadily increasing their presence in the virtual career world by attending virtual career fairs and posting jobs through social media. As the days before the virtual career fair sponsored by APUS grow fewer, it is important to start preparing yourself in advance. Steve Ressler, of fedsmith.com, shares six tips for getting your mindset focused on a virtual career fair.

1. Test your computer with the Career Fair System before the fair and most definitely before chatting with employers. With the various internet browsers that exist today, it is important to ensure your browser can support the platform in which the fair is running on. For the APUS Virtual Career Fair, it is best to use non-Chrome browsers (i.e. Internet Explorer, FireFox, or Safari).  In addition, it is in your best interest to create an account on the university’s job board, NACElink, as soon as possible in order to get acclimated with the site, upload your resume, and RSVP for the event.
2. Do you research and plan! Yes, many employers and positions are added every day, but it’s in your best interest to research positions and companies prior to chatting with the recruiter. Not only will you be well versed in the positions you’re asking about, but you can impress the recruiter with your knowledge and more in-depth questions. Come up with a plan of attack. The chat schedule for each employer is provided ahead of time, so devise a plan laying out who you want to talk to when.
3. Have your resume uploaded and prepare a profile on the employer’s career page. Uploading your resume allows you to be a part of a resume book provided to employers that attend the career fair; in addition, having it handy during the fair allows you to reference specific experiences when talking to recruiters. If time allows, have you resume reviewed by The Office of Career Services by sending it to resumehelp@apus.edu, prior to the career fair. It is also recommended that you create a profile on the employer’s career page so you can apply to postings if the recruiter recommends it to you during chat.
4. Check your social media presence. With recruiters already being on a computer during your chat, they can easily Google your name and see what comes up. Be sure to check privacy settings and remove items you would not want a potential employer to find.
5. Use professional language. In the world of abbreviations and text-speak, be sure to be professional when chatting via instant message with employers.  Reread your responses twice before hitting enter and be sure to use appropriate grammar and spelling. It may help to have a word processing document open in the background to quickly check words you are not sure how to spell.
6. Follow through. The relationship you develop with a recruiter should not end after the career fair. When possible, provide a thank you email to the recruiter with a memorable item from your chat and send it with 48 hours of the event. Not only will this reinforce your interest it will show your professionalism. Another thing to remember is that when a recruiter asks you to apply through their career site as well, that you do so. Once you apply you can wait a few days and follow up to see where they are in the process!