ConnEXPO Autumn 2020

Posted on: 12 November 2020 in Connections in action

In autumn 2020, the Employer Connections Team replaced our traditional Autumn Careers Fairs with ConnEXPO, a 10-day interactive, digital event run over the course of 3 weeks from 26th October - 13th November 2020 to allow students to connect virtually with employers.

ConnEXPO was a combination of 1:1 and group sessions hosted by employers on the Handshake platform. Employers built their own schedules for the days they were in attendance, and  several representatives from each organisation take part.  Employers were not charged to participate.

Aims 

• To provide our employer partners with an opportunity to engage and share information about their organisations and the various roles available for 2021 whilst maintaining their brand amongst our students despite the challenges of the pandemic.
• For students to gain experience of engaging and networking via a virtual platform. 
• Offer students support for remote application and recruitment processes to ultimately help them to get hired. 

Event Programme  

The three weeks were themed to structure the programme.

Week 1 – Prepare for ConnEXPO. This week gave our students the opportunity to connect with our Career Coaches to prepare for this unique experience and to pick up top tips on how to make the most out of virtual networking opportunities. 

Week 2 - Making Connections and Building Networks.  Students were invited to pre-book onto 1:1 and group sessions with employers from across all sectors. We had over 70 employers who registered with ConnEXPO and students had the opportunity to talk directly with recruiters and recent graduates and hear first-hand what it’s like to work at these organisations, find out about the roles available and what the application processes will involve. 

Week 3 – Get Hired. The final week allowed employers to host interactive workshops with themes around the remote application and recruitment processes now being implemented due to the pandemic.

Lots of meaningful conversations were held and the feedback from employers was really positive and the creative format addressed their needs at a challenging time.   

“The engagement in ConnEXPO was very impressive”. IBM 

Over 22 employers who had never previously engaged in events on campus attended – one of the clear benefits of remote employer led activities.   We also saw a significant increase in engagement from SMEs in the region able to engage due to reduced time commitments.

We always felt that the virtual offer could never truly replicate a traditional careers fair for our students however we hoped that this virtual format would still enable them to make connections and explore their opportunities.  Student feedback confirmed that this was indeed the case.

“ConnEXPO introduced me to Think Ahead and Frontline and encouraged me to consider a career in social work. This was an area I hadn’t thought about before, but I now have a better understanding of the skills required and the steps I need to take to pursue this line of work.” 2^nd year Management School student.

We are anticipating that virtual employer led events will remain a permanent feature in the Employer Connections Team portfolio with lots to build on from our work in developing ConnEXPO.