The Smart Job Seeker’s Guide to Virtual Hiring Fairs
Hiring Our Heroes has helped connect thousands of job seekers with military-ready employers through our nationwide industry-specific virtual hiring fairs.
Are you ready to connect with your next career opportunity? Review our checklist to set yourself up for success.
5 STEPS FOR SUCCESS AT A VIRTUAL HIRING FAIR
Step 1: Complete Your Brazen Registrant Profile and Attend an Industry Panel Webinar
After registering for a Hiring Our Heroes Virtual Hiring Fair, you will be contacted by a Career Connector. Our connectors will review your registrant profile, your resume, and help you prepare for this hiring event. Most importantly, your Career Connector will provide details on how to access the hiring fair. If you haven’t received an email from a Career Connector, check your spam folder.
We recommend you attend the industry panel and employer connection webinars prior to the hiring fair. During these informational presentations, you will learn about the industry and current job opportunities, and have a chance to speak to employers participating in the hiring fair. Job seekers are encouraged to ask questions during these interview-style webinars and grow their networks.
Visit the Hiring Our Heroes events calendar to register for these webinars and browse our Digital Resources Library to watch previously recorded sessions.
Action: Watch Hiring Our Heroes’ Preparing for Virtual Employment training video and this Brazen video demo to familiarize yourself with the virtual hiring fair process.
Step 2: Revise Your Resume
After reviewing the list of participating employers, tailor your resume to match keywords, desired skill sets, and other information listed in the job descriptions. Use Google and LinkedIn to find the participating employers’ career webpages. For example, type the words “Booz Allen Hamilton + cybersecurity” to find current job openings.
Need resume help? Veterans and transitioning service members can build a resume using the Personal Branding Resume Engine powered by Toyota. Military spouses can visit Career Spark to learn how to showcase their volunteer experience and ignite their careers.
Action: Schedule a free resume review with Indeed’s military-transition experts and receive a curated 10-minute video with personalized recommendations. You can find more resume resources here.
Step 3: Designate a Distraction-Free Zone
We recommend you use your personal phone or tablet, not a government-issued device, to log into the Brazen platform. Find a quiet room in your home, preferably an area with no distracting items on the floor or on the wall behind you.
Action: Virtual Hiring Fair attendees engage with recruiters through one-on-one virtual interviews via a standard “chat box.” An effective way to make a good first impression is to have answers to questions about your elevator pitch, along with your education, skills, and career goals typed, proofread and ready to go. When it’s your turn to enter the virtual interview space and the recruiter types “tell me about yourself,” you can copy and paste your elevator pitch into the chat box.
Step 4: Be Your Best Self
Dress in business casual attire and test your audio and video 24 hours before the virtual hiring event. You don’t want to miss your opportunity because of a system update on your phone.
Be prepared to answer and ask questions during the virtual hiring fair. Write down the names of the recruiters you talked to and email each of them a thank you note after the event.
Action: Visit LinkedIn and request to connect with recruiters from the hiring fair.
Step 5: Keep Your Employment Options Open
You may find employment through your first virtual hiring fair, but most likely you will need to attend several before you find the right job for you. If you are transitioning out of the military, visit your installation’s transition office and review our resource guide to find out if you qualify for the DoD SkillBridge program.
Are you considering a career change? Learn about employment opportunities for military job seekers in specific industries or with military-ready employers at our Digital Resources Library.
Action: Visit Hiring Our Heroes events calendar and register to attend a future virtual hiring fair.
