Host a Recruitment Event
Virtual recruitment events are a great way for employers to engage students while also promoting their organization. iSchool Career Services is here and ready to support your recruiting efforts.
Below, you will find information on the different types of events employers usually host, along with logistical information on planning your event and collaborating with our office.
Types of events
There are multiple types of virtual events that companies can host in order to engage with students.
- Information Session: An event featuring a presentation given by one or more company representatives. These usually cover general information about the organization, specific details about the representative's team and/or job type, and hiring needs. The end of the event includes a few minutes of student Q&A. Information Sessions are typically more structured than the two event types listed below.
- Virtual Hangout: An event similar to virtual tabling or a fireside chat. Hangouts are ideal for connecting informally with students. These events emphasize the employer-student dialogue and focus on students' questions and concerns. Hangouts may be posed as small group coffee chats or Q&As.
- Other Employer-Partnered Workshop: An event to support student development of soft or technical skills. These fall on a broad spectrum, offering a richness of possibility to collaborate with our office. Examples include a lecture on exciting developments in your industry, a panel of employees from underrepresented communities offering job search advice, a co-led workshop in which you and a Career Services team member present best practices for technical interviews, etc.
Planning your event
Initial contact
To provide time for finalizing details and marketing, we ask that employers reach out with their event requests at least 7 days in advance. You can make your initial inquiry to the Career Services team by filling out the event request form.
Scheduling a time
Timing is more flexible for virtual events than in-person gatherings. However, we recommend that you keep online events shorter than you would in person, and to be considerate of students’ varying time zones.
Information Sessions are generally an hour long. Due to their informal atmosphere, Hangouts and other workshops vary, but generally span no more than 90 minutes depending on event format, content, and number of employer representatives.
While these are suggestions, they are not strict timeframes. We are also happy to recommend best event times and duration based upon your availability and our constantly evolving information about fall 2020 class schedules.
Logistics
After receiving your initial request, a member of the Career Services team will be in contact within 3 business days, to work out the details of your event. This will include finalizing a date, coordinating any technological needs, and other details if necessary.
Choosing your virtual event platform
iSchool Career Services is happy to provide a Zoom room for your event, as UW Zoom Pro is free to all current students. However, you may choose to utilize another platform or require registration through an external form. Common platforms include GoToWebinar, WebEx and Microsoft Teams.
Promotion
We promote recruitment events on the main iSchool website, our student jobs board (Handshake), on student group Facebook pages, in our weekly Career newsletter, and via listserv email reminder on the day or morning prior to the event.
To help us advertise, we ask employers submit a 3-5 sentence description of their events. While we have generic event descriptions we can use, providing one of your own will give students a better idea of the nature and scope of your event. Submitting a flier or infographic can also be useful.
Additionally, we recommend that all employers incorporate information regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion at your organization into your event. While not mandatory, directly discussing DEI has shown to be of interest to students, particularly values-oriented millennial and Gen Z job seekers. This may mean sharing your workplace’s demographics, talking about resources you provide for diverse applicants and professionals such as mentorship programs and employee resource groups, or coming prepared to discuss your company’s response to COVID-19 and other current events.
Day of event
The day of your event, a member of the Career Services team will help with technical setup, such as opening the Zoom room and checking audio, video, and screen sharing. For Information Sessions, the team member will stay for the length of the event, though this is usually not necessary for Hangouts.
We are more than happy to provide whatever assistance you might need. If you have any particular support requests, please let us know in advance.