International virtual career fair offers students unique opportunities

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, along with 14 other universities, will partake in CareerEco's International Virtual Career Fair on Jan. 25 and 26.

The event will connect students and alumni to employers through chat rooms, video chats akin to Skype and an online folder allowing employers to see the students' resumes. Participants also have the chance to win an iPod Nano.

While there is a time limit on the event, students can participate from home. Students can register at www.international.careereco.net and follow the instructions on the page.

Potential employees can drop their resumes into the appropriate file. Then they will be given the option to view employers present at the time, log into a chat room or to view company profiles.

"I would recommend looking at the company profile," said Gayle Oliver-Plath, CEO of CareerEco. "You go to a virtual career fair tab and there is a listing of all the chat time that shows links."

For UNL students and alumni, CareerEco's international fair provides a networking opportunity without borders along with streamlined communication with multiple employers at the same time, she said.

While video chatting with an employer, professional attire is still to be expected, Oliver-Plath said, but there can be many distractions taken out of the office setting. A roommate walking in, loud music from across the hall, a ridiculous or unsightly poster hanging in the background or even a messy room could lower your chance of being hired by a prospective employer, she said.

Desi Botica, a freshman marketing major, recently connected with a North Carolina-based marketing firm without leaving Nebraska. She did her interview online.

"They're quite weird," she said of video chats. "Talking about yourself for 10 to 15 minutes answering their awkward questions."

Botica now has a summer internship through their UNL campus office.

Oliver-Plath's advice for these new interviews extends beyond video interviews and into the chatroom as well. Professionalism must be maintained, she said, just the same as when one would be speaking face-to-face to an interviewer.

"As far as the chat sessions go, it's important that they are aware that other people are in the chatrooms," Oliver-Plath said. "And when you are trying to interact, if you get impatient, you could wind up missing an opportunity. And, in writing, people tend to find things easier to say than if they were spoken."

In the midst of a recession, online or virtual communication allows companies to reach out to students and graduates without spending the money necessary for travel, she said. For students, it provides wider networking and more career potential than traditional interviews, she said.

"You definitely owe a big thank you to your career center for being progressive and choosing to be a part of this career fair," Oliver-Plath said. "This trend in online recruitment is here to stay and it would benefit students to become good at it now."

ryankopelke@ dailynebraskan.com