Virtual career fairs display appeal in weak job market

The recession has been especially miserable for the job market, which means it may be time for job seekers to turn to virtual career fairs, according to Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications Inc. and InXpo Inc.

Earlier this week Oak Park-based Shaker, an advertising agency that aims to help companies with their external and internal communications, in addition to their hiring efforts, announced a partnership with Chicago-based InXpo, which specializes in setting up private virtual events.

Shaker’s relationship with InXpo began in 2008, when ChicagoJobs.com, one of Shaker’s clients, hosted two virtual career fairs on InXpo’s online platform. Each attracted about 3,000 job seekers and more than 30 employers. According to Christina Krater, director of sales at Shaker, 98 percent of job seekers who attended the virtual events approved of their experiences.

Three virtual career fairs on InXpo’s platform are already slated for ChicagoJobs.com in 2009, on March 17, June 16 and Sept. 15.

Both companies pointed to the need to keep up with technological advances in order to stay relevant to younger job seekers who have become accustomed to convenient and quick communication through Web sites like Facebook and Twitter.

"It’s a different generation that’s graduating from college and entering the workforce," Krater said.

Drew VanVooren, president of InXpo, agreed with that notion. This is the way young people "lurk on the Internet," he said.

"This is natural for them – they’ve been IMing each other since the sixth grade."

Though Shaker and InXpo acknowledge the current imbalance between the number of job seekers and the number of open positions, both companies are holding on to a sense of optimism based on the very economy that has caused the disparity.

VanVooren said the recession has led to cost containment concerns for companies looking to hire and called virtual events a "natural alternative."

InXpo, which has experienced year-over-year growth of about 100 percent since its launch in the second half of 2004, according to VanVooren, viewed 2008 as the year that "proved all of these virtual environments worked very well."

Krater said the economy’s strain on job seekers’ pockets has made virtual career fairs more appealing.

She noted that virtual career fairs helped job seekers avoid the inconveniences of traditional job fairs, including commuting long distances, waiting In long lines and dealing with exhausted recruiters.

"In this virtual world, no one has to commute anywhere," Krater said.

Survey results released last week by ON24 Inc., a Webcasting and virtual events provider, showed that 75 percent of respondents enjoyed the fact that no travel is required to attend virtual events, while 64 percent said they appreciated the ability to attend these events on their own schedule.

VanVooren discussed another benefit of virtual career fairs: avoiding the embarrassment some might feel when attending traditional job fairs.

"People can feel pretty comfortable coming to these virtual events," he said. VanVooren added that the option of using an alias meant that job seekers can feel "very secure that they won’t be caught by one of their peers going into a job fair."

Still, some see the relative anonymity of the virtual job fair experience as a potential drawback.

"Virtual career fairs offer a valuable opportunity to connect with others and get jobs. But I think job seekers still need to pursue in-person opportunities," wrote freelance writer Kristen Fischer in her book, "Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life."

"While these technological advancements are great, sometimes the real thing is even more valuable."

In ON24's survey, 61 percent of respondents said they would miss the face-to-face interactions they experienced in physical events.

The biggest challenge for InXpo is demand, according to VanVooren, who said "not enough people understand how to produce these events yet."

He said, "There needs to be more and more Shakers inside of other vertical markets. That’s how the growth will really happen."

While Shaker’s staff of 165 workers did not experience any layoffs in 2008, it did see "natural attrition," according to Kristine Penn, director of creative services.

She described the current lull in workflow as an opportunity for Shaker and its clients.

"We’re utilizing this time to really dig in on our training, improve our skills, get a good look at our processes, and to take a step back and look at how delivering our creative can be improved," Penn said.

"This is the most critical time for companies to be communicating with their workforces," she added.

"Even if you’re not hiring, look inward and look at how you’re engaging your existing workforce. How well are you communicating about the good, the bad, and the ugly?"

Penn proclaimed, "Transparency is king."