Sergio , Author at Premier Virtual

In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid Career Fairs, Which is Best?

Sergio on April 1, 2021

In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid Career Fairs – Which Approach is Best?

When planning a career fair, the common goal is to connect employers with qualified job candidates. A secondary goal is for jobseekers to learn more about companies they may have not considered working for previously.

Traditionally, live or in-person career fairs were the best option, but in today’s world, other options should be considered. Let’s take a minute to review them all.

In-Person- All attendees are physically present in one location

Virtual- People attend the event entirely online

Hybrid- Some people attend in-person and others online. Using Premier Virtual’s new QR code generator, you can record the interactions and easily download all of the reports at the end of an event for efficient follow up.

How do you know which approach is right for your career fair?

There are different factors, such as event size, budget, timeline, the geography of attendees, and a common issue faced during the writing of this blog post – social distancing due to the Covid-19 virus.

Live Events – Still considered the most effective form of communication and is perceived as more credible and positive.

It was not long ago that the idea of meeting people online was denounced. Boomers and even millennials were openly against it and had the opinion that people only chose to go virtual if they lacked interpersonal skills. In a sense, they were somewhat ‘shamed’ for not wanting to connect in person.

In large part due to the Pandemic, and also as part of the natural evolution of digital apps and platforms, virtual events are quickly becoming a perfect alternative to in-person meetings. It is said the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation by as much as 3 to 5 years.

However, many people still appreciate and seek the opportunity to network in person, with factors such as effective communication, credibility, and overall positive experience as the leading factors.

It’s hard to argue that humans find face-to-face communication as most effective because of the entire experience it produces. Body language, postures, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements do not translate as well, even on a video call online.

Virtual Events – Faster turnaround time, reduced costs, and broader reach

The most common reasons clients choose virtual (pre-covid) include that time and money are at a premium. Virtual events allow the host to quickly create and launch an event, and depending on the size, on a much smaller budget.

Post-Covid, we see that social distancing and keeping everyone safe is the top reason organizations are choosing virtual. When it comes to virtual career fairs, the virtual options have resulted in higher attendance rates for jobseekers and more hiring companies are participating as well, due to the reduction in time and money required to do so.

Everyone who has hosted or attended a virtual event agrees it is a much more efficient process. No one has to wait in a long line to speak with a recruiter, and no company has to deal with the frustration of a poorly attended booth since they will typically receive reports with access to all of the resumes from registered candidates.

Reporting is another huge advantage to virtual events since each employer has their dashboard and is provided reports with all attendees, who attended their booth, and what resumes match their job openings.

While text/chat options or even a built-in one-on-one video interface do not compare with speaking in person, these tools do make it very easy for the recruiter to meet with candidates and get to see if they are a good fit, right on the spot.

Hybrid Events – Flexibility to reach the greatest number of qualified candidates.

So, while in-person hiring events remain a popular option for recruiters that enjoy face-to-face interaction, the limitation of social distancing, as well as traditional limitations of being available to travel to an in-person job fair make hybrid the best option.

Most often in-person job fairs attract the unemployed jobseeker. A hybrid event allows highly qualified candidates who are employed to also attend. These virtual attendees can quickly log on before work, or during a lunch hour, attend and apply online, whereas attending in-person might have been impossible.

Now Premier Virtual has launched a QR code generator that hosts and employers can use at live events. These QR codes enable attendees to quickly access the event and employers virtual hiring booths which means that all of the activity can be tracked. Now employers can simply download the resumes they received at the event for easy follow up, and attendees can keep notes as well. This is the best of both worlds because you gather all of the data that comes with virtual events in an in-person setting.

The Pros and Cons of Hosting Virtual Events:

Pros:

Reduced Costs – The logistics of a physical event can be daunting. Renting a venue, printing badges, selling tickets, food, clean-up, etc., all drive up costs, time, and resources. These are all eliminated with a virtual event.
Broader Reach – with zero travel time, anyone from anywhere can attend. In a state like Florida which attracts people from across the U.S., many citizens that want to move have a unique opportunity to attend a virtual job fair and land a job to facilitate the move. In industries in high demand like technology and medicine, you don’t have to limit your job pool to the local population. Also, external factors like poor weather, or emergency events do not affect virtual events, so there is very little chance for interruptions or cancellations.
Increased Productivity – hiring managers can meet with multiple job-seekers simultaneously, and do not have to make the job candidates wait in long lines. Being able to view resumes and start video chats makes it easy for recruiters to choose who they believe will be the best fit.
Reporting – platforms like Premier Virtual offer detailed reports that make virtual events much more efficient as well. Each employer will know, who visited their booths, and who submitted a resume. Each recruiter can rank the candidates and easily set up follow-up interviews.

The Cons

Less personal connection- for recruiters that put a high value on the physical handshake, there is nothing a virtual event can do to replicate that. The personal face-to-face experience is very immersive, so virtual events have to work harder to attract and keep the attendee’s attention.
Distractions – If the job seeker is at work, or multi-tasking it will be difficult to remain focused on the event. It is easy to get distracted when attending virtually, which can hurt retention or the job candidate not attending each booth that matched their qualifications.
Overwhelming – when an event has 300 or more booths, it can be overwhelming for the job seeker. This can create anxiety for a jobseeker that is trying to visit each booth to see what jobs are available. New options that allow job seekers to get a ‘matching job report’ and a job-seeker journey are being added to make their experience more positive
Downtime – although the Premier Virtual platform has not suffered any significant downtime, there is a chance the platform or the attendee’s internet connection is interrupted. This can cause a poor experience and be very frustrating if it occurs during a live interview. Technology doesn’t always cooperate and can be a bigger issue for areas of the country with less service or less broadband access.

Which Event is Right for your next Career Fair?

If you have not hosted a virtual event, here is a chart that helps illustrate the options:

	Face-to-Face	Virtual	Hybrid
Most Effective Communication	X
Faster Turnaround		X
Cost Savings		X	X
Increased Collaboration	X
Greater Reach			X
Flexibility & Convenience			X
Relaying Complex Info	X
Reduced Travel Cost		X	X

If you would like to get free advice on which option is best for you, please contact Premier Virtual online or at 561-717-9717 to schedule a no-obligation consultation with one of our advisors.

We have powered over 6,000 virtual hiring events, where 60,000+ employers have connected with over 650,000 registered job seekers. Our best-in-class platform and experienced success managers are here to ensure you host the most successful virtual career fair possible.

We look forward to meeting you, so you can make the most informed decision to reach your company’s staffing goals.

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Virtual Job Fair Platform

Sergio on March 31, 2021

Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Virtual Career Fair Platform

An effective virtual event platform is first and foremost, easy to use, at all levels. The participants need to have little to no learning curve, resulting in a positive user experience. It’s equally important for the host and other participating organizations or vendors to be able to quickly ramp up, which requires excellent support and a knowledgeable sales team.

With this in mind, all of your questions ultimately should address whether or not the features make the event easier to set up and use. After all, even the best technology is useless unless it makes sense to everyone.

Some platforms focus more on certain types of events than others. For example, if you have a trade show or a career fair, some platforms will offer more features and benefits because they specialize in such events. For this article, we will focus on platforms that specialize in virtual career fairs.

1) How will my recruiters or hiring companies communicate with the candidates?

The best platforms offer easy-to-access chat features that allow candidates to initiate a conversation with the recruiters. Also, there should be an integrated video chat, as well as an option to add whichever video platform your company already uses. This is important in the case of government agencies that may have firewalls or restrictions that do not allow for third-party teleconferencing access. You don’t want to be troubleshooting that the day of the event.

In addition, it’s important to understand if the chat is one-on-one or group chat. The best platforms offer one-on-one chat with the ability for the recruiter to quickly access a list of pre-programmed answers to be able to chat with as many applicants as possible. Finally, advanced chats will follow a candidate throughout the event, meaning the job candidate doesn’t have to wait in that recruiter’s booth (or in the queue) to receive an answer before moving on. At any time when the recruiter answers, the candidate will receive that answer in their chatbox.

2) What happens if the candidate or hiring company has an issue registering or during the event?

For the job candidates, registering for the event includes adding all of the contact info, uploading their resumes, and so on. This should be as easy to navigate as possible. Make sure to ask for a demo to see how this process works since many of the issues reported during the event revolve around user login, and uploading information. This holds true for the hiring companies that want to customize their booths, adding bios, links, and downloadable documents. With any issue, the best platforms offer 24/7 support and quickly respond to requests through either email, chat or even live calls.

3) How many recruiters can participate at the same time?

The best platforms offer an unlimited number of recruiters to participate. Typically events receive a large amount of foot traffic as soon as they start, so having extra recruiters at the start of the event is a good strategy. Each recruiter must understand how to access their admin dashboard and how to chat with a candidate or invite them into a video interview.

4) Do you offer training?

This leads to the next question…how will the host, hiring companies, and candidates be trained to use the platform? Again, the most important feature is ease-of-use, but when it’s a user’s first time, there will be some getting used to it. All platforms should offer a library of detailed training videos for each type of participant. These videos should be readily accessible as soon as the participant registers. Also, the best platforms offer a dedicated account manager that will schedule an onboarding call to show you exactly how the platform works, and make sure everyone on your team is ready. Beyond that, you can ask if they offer any other live webinar or group training options for your employers or registered job candidates, that are helpful the day of the event, usually just before it goes live.

5) How quickly can I set up and launch my event?

If you have an urgent need, you’ll want to know how quickly you can start using the platform. Premium providers make it easy for you to set-up, so that you can host your first event literally within 24 hours. This flexibility can save you in a pinch, but as with any successful event, you will want sufficient time to promote and get everyone trained ahead of time.

6) Is pricing based on the number of booths or resumes?

This is a very important question since some of the best-known platforms do have charges for booths or resumes that exceed a certain threshold. Your initial price may be based on 100 booths or resumes, and if you go beyond that you are charged accordingly. This can be prohibitive and results in charges you did not budget for. The best platforms offer a flat rate price, with no upcharges. Pricing can also be discounted when you sign up for yearly, or multi-year licenses that are paid upfront. Keep in mind, the more you use the platform the more value it offers, and the less you pay per event on a flat-rate/licensing model.

7) What kind of reports will I receive?

The data collected and reports you receive, offer some of the biggest benefits of participating in a virtual career fair. Your employers or hiring managers will love it when they receive a complete list of who attended the event, who visited their booth, a copy of all the questions asked, and of course, all of the resumes submitted. The best platforms offer real-time reports that update as the event goes on, and some have integrated APIs that automatically move that data to your existing CRM tool. You can also ask if there are reporting tools such as ‘ranking a candidate’ or other ways to make notes during the event which are very helpful to improve the follow-up process.

8) How many people can be on the platform at the same time?

The reliability or stability of a platform is ultimately the most important factor. If the platform crashes or lags, it will interrupt the event, causing candidates to leave or have a poor experience. Make sure to ask if the platform you are considering has had any issues like this, or you can check their reviews on reputable sites like G2, Capterra, and Select Software to see what others have said. Premier Virtual recently powered an event for the workforce board in Virginia that saw over 15,000 job candidates and over 350 employers on the platform at the same time, with no downtime! That’s the kind of reliability you want to know your platform will provide.

9) Can I use the platform for other types of events or purposes?

It’s amazing once you have this tool, how many other purposes you can use it for. Make sure to discuss with your sales rep all of the different possibilities including things like; internal training, onboarding, webinars, trade shows, etc, and see how the platform can be adapted to handle these requests. Once you start using the platform for other purposes you add more value, reducing your cost per event and increasing the return on your investment.

10) Is there a wait time between events, or can I host unlimited events?

Finally, make sure to ask if the use of the platform is truly unlimited when you license it. Some platforms require you to wait up to 14 days between events which can limit your options. The best platforms do not require any wait time between events and believe me, you will want to use the platform as much as possible once you have it!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free demo so we can address any other needs you may have.

Powering Hiring Events for Workforce Development Boards

Sergio on March 29, 2021

In less than 1 year, Premier Virtual has compiled an impressive list of workforce development board clients.

Clearly, Premier Virtual has become the leader in virtual hiring events among workforce boards. There are many reasons for this, starting with the flat-rate pricing that Premier Virtual offers. Beyond that the technology, features and dedication to customer service make this the number one option among workforce boards across the nation.

It makes sense that the South Florida based company is the official virtual platform for CareerSource Florida on a statewide level (24 boards), but we are also the statewide board for:

Massachusetts (17 boards)
Virginia (16 boards)
Wisconsin (11 boards)
Tennessee (24 boards)

Premier Virtual is also powering virtual job fairs for workforce boards in:

Texas (17 boards)
California (18 boards)
Ohio (5 boards)
Colorado (2 boards)
Maine (1 board)
Maryland (1 board)
Minnesota (1 board)
New York (1 board)
Utah (1 board)
Washington (1 board)

In addition, there are several job training agencies that have chosen our platform including:

New Jersey – Department of Economic Development
N.Y. Schenectady Job Training Agency

If your workforce board, school board, or related government agency is looking for an economical virtual platform that is rated best-in-class, please schedule a demo to see how we can help.

Low Unemployment Fuels Case for More Virtual Career Fairs!

Sergio on March 17, 2021

Yes, the workforce is slowly recovering from the 10.0 magnitude earthquake that it suffered in March of 2020. To put things into perspective Florida’s unemployment rate had dropped to 2.8 percent in January and February 2020, which, together with November 2019, became the lowest recorded unemployment rate since the series began in 1976.

With the onset of the Coronavirus outbreak, the unemployment rate spiked to 13.8 percent in April 2020, handily surpassing the prior peak rate of 11.3 percent experienced in January 2010 during the Great Recession. The change was breathtaking. Over the space of two months, the unemployment rate shifted from a near 50‐year low to a near 50‐year high.

Today, the new unemployment report (March 16th, 2021) states that Florida has dropped back down to a 4.8%. The Sun-Sentinel reports that there were still 482,000 Floridians who remained jobless out of a workforce of slightly under 10.1 million, the state Department of Economic Opportunity said Monday.

Economic development promoters made a point of noting that the state rate is now below the U.S. jobless figure of 6.3% for January. While those are all great numbers to report, it might worry hiring managers and companies that have open positions and are struggling to find qualified candidates.

That’s why the companies that quickly implemented a virtual hiring event strategy were able to meet their staffing needs. Virtual events increase the job candidate pool, make your company more competitive and relevant, and allow you to build relationships that can strengthen your potential candidate ‘bench’.

The Hiring Lessons we Learned from COVID

Virtual is the ‘New-Normal’

There are a lot of lessons and some that we are still learning. A few of them stand out over the rest. First and foremost, COVID accelerated the pace at which companies turned to virtual or remote hiring by 3 to 5 years. The lesson is, we need to be as prepared as possible and have back-up or contingency plans in place because this was not the first disruption and it won’t be the last.

Let’s face it, without a Pandemic, the vast majority of us would have been complacent with the status quo, hosting and traveling to in-person job fairs. COVID disrupted that severely and new options had to be embraced because doing nothing was not an option.

Besides the threat of ‘social distancing disrupting the workforce, the truth is everything continues to migrate more and more online. Just as retail will never be the same, and foot traffic to retailers will continue to decline, hiring will never be the same. Virtual hiring events have been embraced by everyone who has participated in an event, and for those who haven’t, it’s just a matter of time.

If the U.S. business owner has proven to be anything, it’s resilient, and resilience often requires the ability to quickly pivot. The schools, companies, and organizations that pivoted quickly and adopted virtual hiring events early in the Pandemic have proven how much more efficient, effective, and ultimately successful it has proven to be.

The Only Constant is Change

The second lesson is one you’ve heard before; the only constant is change. We learned that just about everyone prefers to apply online, rather than wait in-line. Virtual hiring is the evolution of hiring, the next step, and clearly the better option. It made it much easier for organizations to hire more efficiently and effectively, and for job-seekers to attend and get hired! Although many were reluctant at first, one step into the virtual lobby, and everything changed!

These events mirror in-person events, and attendees can quickly see exactly what is being offered, and how to find what they are looking for. Being able to chat or even video-interview on the spot for a job that they are interested in is a total game-changer. Ask any job-seeker that attended a virtual job fair, and the large majority will tell you that it was highly productive.

The same holds for the hiring companies that can get a much better feel for a candidate than they can from reading a resume on Indeed. The additional real-time engagement allows candidates and recruiters to ask more questions and rate candidates based on their responses.

The post-event reporting allows recruiters to gather much more information from a virtual event than they ever could during in-person events. This allows for better follow-up and a higher likelihood to make an offer to the right candidate, rather than the only candidate.

We’ve seen the difference in our own hiring efforts. An ad on Indeed will get you resumes, but that’s just the very beginning of the process if you’re lucky enough to receive one from a qualified candidate. In our last job posting, we received zero resumes, and it was an entry-level position.

On the contrary, a recent statewide job fair that the Premier Virtual platform powered in Virginia had 350 hiring companies, and over 15,000 registered job-seekers. The event was hosted by the workforce board of Virginia, Virginia CareerWorks. It shattered every previous record for a career fair and also taught us another valuable lesson.

This statewide career fair would have been impossible if not for the virtual platform. Could you imagine choosing a location in Virginia, where 350 companies would travel to set up and 15,000 job seekers would travel to attend? The logistics and expenses and time to plan would be so massive, it would most likely be impossible to pull off in a timely manner, not to mention the unmanageable lines that 15,000 job seekers would have to stand on.

So, back to our current 4.8% unemployment rate, it’s great if your company is fully staffed, but what company really is? Improving our company means having the best people possible, which requires different strategies in and of itself, like developing a bench.

But if you think you can rely simply on a job board like Recruiter or Indeed, then you’re not putting yourself in the best position to succeed. Job candidates now want to know as much about you, as you do about them, and they don’t want to schedule an interview and travel to your office to do so. They would much rather get that all done online, during your virtual career fair, from the comfort of their home (or car or coffee shop).

It saves everyone time and wasted energy if the job or job-seeker was not a good fit in the first place. It also gives your company more accessible to the working job-seeker, than a company that does not offer virtual job fairs. Now that both the job seeker and hiring manager have fully embraced these virtual events, there is no going back, and why should you. Virtual or remote hiring is simply a better way to hire.

Finally, I’d like to leave you with one thought. If you do plan on turning to in-person events, make sure to offer a ‘hybrid’ option. This allows any candidate or employer that cannot or chooses not to make it in person, an opportunity to still participate without the need for more space or travel expenses.

This is the evolution of hiring, and once you integrate it into your hiring strategy, you’ll never go back to in-person only job fairs and hiring events. If your company, school, or organization is looking for a virtual hiring event platform option, please contact us for a free demo and see how Premier Virtual is setting the standard in our industry.

Waste Management’s First Virtual Career Event

Sergio on March 15, 2021

Waste Management is getting set to host their first virtual career event and they’ve chosen the Premier Virtual platform to power it! This event is specifically intended to hire CDL Drivers and Diesel Mechanics across the nation. Waste Management (WM) locations from the east coast to as far west as Denver will be participating intending to fill 60 open positions. A second virtual hiring event is planned for later in the year with approximately 200 job-openings to fill in many different areas.

Lindsay Stanley, the Talent Acquisition Advisor for WM is spearheading the event and is extremely excited about the possibilities.
“Virtual hiring events are a new initiative for us, and we are optimistic about the possible outcomes. Here we have an event that can help us find qualified candidates that are in high demand, in a competitive marketplace. This gives us another tool to use and allows us to coordinate it in such a way that all of our locations can participate and benefit at the same time.”

“In many cases, we’ve partnered with local schools and universities to help get the word out, and we’ve seen a lot of positive responses already. Although we have participated in virtual hiring events, we’ve never hosted our own, so this is very exciting for us. We see it as a cost-efficient, and most importantly, user-friendly technology, which is why we chose Premier Virtual.”, said Lindsay.

Lindsay continued to explain that when she was doing her research, she put herself into her driver’s shoes, in the sense that the platform needs to be intuitive and efficient. Lindsay grew up on a farm and recognizes that not everyone is on the phone or super tech-savvy. Her goal was to ensure that their virtual career fair felt just like walking into a big hotel lobby and seeing all the booths, just as you would in an in-person event.

“That’s exactly what we’ve been able to accomplish with the Premier Virtual platform, and we love it! All the booths are set up, we have all the names and logos, our lobby looks just like Superdome! You can choose which location you want to apply at and there will be two staff members in every booth. We’ve directed our hiring team to schedule interviews right then and there and make full use of the integrated video feature for one-on-one conversations.”

I also have to commend our Account Manager, Jordan who has been a phenomenal help and walked us through a few challenges. She made it so easy to upload a logo to all booths, add all links so that everything is unified across the board.”

Our team at Premier Virtual is proud to power the WM virtual career fair and looks forward to another successful event. The two-day virtual career fair will be held this Wednesday, March 17th, and Thursday, March 18th.

If you would like more information on the Premier Virtual platform, please visit:
www.PremierVirtual.com or call 561-717-9717.

A Top Virtual Career Fair Platform!

Sergio on March 8, 2021

We are proud to have been selected by Select Software Reviews as on of the top Virtual Career Fair Platforms on the market!

This award comes after less than 1-year since we powered our first virtual hiring event. We have now powered over 1,200 events, making it possible to connect nearly 15,000 employers with 150,000 registered jog-seekers.

We take great pride in what we do, and it’s always nice to be recognized by the industry when the work is paying off. Here is a link to the full review: https://www.selectsoftwarereviews.com/reviews/virtual-career-fairs-premier-virtual

Premier Virtual Hiring Event Platform, We Give You More!

Sergio on March 8, 2021

Unlike our competition, the Premier Virtual hiring event platform was created by recruiters. For nearly 9 years, Founder and CEO, Steve Edwards hosted in-person job fairs throughout the state of Florida. In 2018, he saw the writing on the wall and knew that a shift in the market was coming. Instead of waiting, Steve set out to create his own virtual event platform and poured everything he knew from in-person events into developing Premier Virtual.

The results are undeniable, with over 1,200 events, 15,000 hiring companies, and 150,000 job-seekers and counting, using the platform to connect. As we start to look at what will happen post-covid, it’s clear that a company that offers virtual hiring events as part of their recruitment strategy will have a much better chance to succeed than those who don’t. That’s why our platform is essential, and that’s why we give you more!

We give you more than Brazen, XOR, vFairs, or any other virtual platform, and more is coming soon, as we get set to publish our 2.0 update. You’ll have more flexibility, more quality time with job-seekers, more reliability than any other platform on the market, more efficiency, and more live, local support so that you can have the best possible hiring event.

Schedule a demo to see for yourself why we give you more, and why Premier Virtual is the best option for your virtual hiring events.

In-Person or Virtual Hiring Events? Get Both with Hybrid!

Sergio on February 24, 2021

Here we are, basically a year into the Covid-19 pandemic and we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Several vaccines have been rolled out, and the monumental effort of getting America vaccinated is underway.

As I write this in Spring of 2021, we have begun to see slight declines in the infection rate, and hospitalizations are coming down. Best of all the death rate is also coming down, although we recently surpassed the morbid milestone of 500,000 deaths in America. However, there are reports of 20 states experiencing increases and the talks of a possible fourth spike in cases.

One thing is certain, Covid-19 was a virtual technology accelerant. From one day to the next the American workforce was forced to work from home, and turning to virtual is what made it possible. Without a pandemic like COVID-19, corporate America would likely have continued to do business the same old way, and just inch along the technology curve.

Now, we have giant corporations such as Google and Twitter telling their workforce, they never have to return to the office. I’ve seen many of my colleagues do the same, and now the ‘new normal is that when it comes to office work, most of us are just as capable to be as productive or even more so, working from home or remotely.

The same has happened in the career fair space. What was once an in-person-only event, has migrated to virtual events and the results have been more than impressive.

A recent statewide virtual job fair in Virginia had 350 employers who were able to fill critical open positions from over 15,000 registered job-seekers! Not only is this an amazing accomplishment, but it’s something that could have never happened in person. Think about it, in a state like Virginia would it be possible to choose one central location, and have 350 companies set up booths to meet and greet over 15,000 job seekers. Not to mention the weather was cold with terrible travel conditions!

So now what? If we return to a new-normal post-COVID-19, are we going back to an in-person career fair and abandoning the virtual career fair model?
The answer is yes and no! We believe a hybrid model that offers both is the best strategy moving forward. Just ask anyone that has hosted or participated in a virtual career fair, as an employer or a candidate. They will tell you that the virtual event was amazing, easy to navigate, and most of all, extremely efficient and effective. Here is some of the feedback we are hearing from job-seekers:

• “This was a great experience! I was able to search for openings, have my resume viewed, and communicate just with the employers I was interested in, all without leaving my desk. The idea of a virtual career fair takes the pressure off of the job seeker and employer.”

• “The career fair was super easy to navigate. I quickly saw a few employers and job opportunities that I liked and was able to apply for. The recruiter was right in the room with me and after chatting a bit, we did a quick video interview, before I knew it, I had an offer to intern.”

• “Our generation has been chatting, texting, anything of that nature for our entire lives. Being part of a virtual job fair is a natural extension of the way we are used to communicating and doing things. I liked it, and I had a few recruiters contact me right away, and one made me a job offer!”

We know that hiring managers, workforce development boards, chambers of commerce, the military, tech organizations, and large corporations all over America have also had success well beyond their expectations, and they all agree that remote hiring will remain a vital part of their recruitment strategy going forward.
So, the numbers prove remote allows for unlimited participants on both the company side and job-seeker side, resulting in more quality hires. We also know that many people still want to offer the physical ‘meet-and-greet’ if and when it becomes viable.

With a virtual hiring platform like Premier Virtual, you don’t have to choose between the two. We make it easy to add a virtual option to your in-person event so that you can offer both options, and your organization can benefit from offering a hybrid event.

We are certain that the organizations that do, will have a competitive advantage over those who don’t. These organizations will be the beneficiaries of attracting top talent, by offering a hybrid option that will not limit their events to the local population, or to those who can physically attend the day of the in-person event.
To learn how you can create hybrid events, please visit www.PremierVirtual.com

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Premier Virtual CEO is FAU Veterans Florida Alumni Success!

Sergio on February 2, 2021

Despite the severe economic disruptions caused by Covid-19, the latest ‘State-Of-Startups’ in the Southeast report published by BIP Capital is encouraging.

The report sites that the ‘maturation of the southeastern startup ecosystem has allowed for a steadfast response to adversity. While we saw a rapid downtown in investing in March due to the pandemic, it appears a steep year-over-year decline has begun to recover, with momentum returning in the second half of 2021.’

One institution that is deeply rooted in the startup community here in the Southeast is the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University, otherwise, known as FAU. In particular, FAU has a dedicated program based at the Adams Center College of Business which runs a Veterans focused entrepreneurship education and training program with the support of Veterans Florida who subsidizes the costs for Veterans. Dr. Kevin Cox is the lead instructor for the program which is in its sixth year.

This entrepreneurship course is an immersive and comprehensive educational program designed for current or future business owners. The 8-week program provides Veterans with the knowledge and skills they need for starting and/or growing their businesses. In addition to the in-depth educational program, all participants are paired with a successful entrepreneur who provides direct guidance and mentorship throughout the program and beyond. Each year the program invites local CEOs and business professionals to present their startup ideas as part of their ‘pitch competition. Last year, one of the program’s winners was Steve Edwards, Founder, and CEO of Premier Virtual.

The success of Premier Virtual has been a true testament to the support a program like this offers, and what it can do for a startup. Not only did Steve’s company win the pitch contest at the local level, but he also went on to win at the national level, which earned him additional funding and resources.
“The experience of the course was incredible, recalls Steve. We were introduced to Dr. Cox through a business incubator in West Palm Beach called 1909. Because of my veteran status, I was able to qualify and take the course. Their mentorship was a big part of why we won the local and state pitch contest, and the support from Veterans Florida gave us a great deal of exposure, that led directly to new business for us.”

In just over a year, Premier Virtual’s event platform has powered over 1,000 virtual hiring events, where more than 10,000 employers were able to fill critical job openings from over 100,000 registered candidates! In the previous 8 years of experience that Steve had hosting in-person hiring events, he did not reach half of the numbers that his Premier Virtual platform produced in just one year!

‘We are very proud of Steve and how he was able to grab the momentum that was generated by Covid-19 and run with it. Steve has continued to invest in the software and is truly emerging as the premier platform in the virtual hiring event space. We like to take credit for being there in the beginning, but the truth is we knew that a great idea like that just needs a little support, and with Steve’s passion and dedication, it would be a huge success!’ said Dr. Cox.
‘We are now accepting entries for the 2021 pitch contest and are looking forward to finding the next Premier Virtual. Any veteran who has the entrepreneur spirit can apply at https://business.fau.edu/centers/adams-center/veterans/index.php The contest starts on February 25th, so the deadlines for entries are coming up quick.”

Successfully Host & Market a Virtual Career Fair

Sergio on January 26, 2021

Premier Virtual has powered more than 1,000 virtual hiring events in less than 1 year! Let us show you how you can host your own event.

About this webinar:

Regardless of the challenges Covid-19 poses, virtual hiring events have proven much more effective and efficient than their in-person counterparts.

In this webinar Premier Virtual CEO, Steve Edwards and a round-table panel of current clients will discuss the best practices for hosting and marketing your event.

These clients all have multiple successful events under their belt and their experience is invaluable. The panel will also be answering any questions from attendees. As we confirm our panelists, we will update the list here.

Premier Virtual has powered more than 1,000 virtual hiring events in less than 1 year. These events have helped more than 10,000 employers fill critical positions from over 100,000 registered job-candidates that attended.

We look forward to your participation, click here to register for free.

561-717-9717

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Successfully Host & Market a Virtual Career Fair

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