Chapter organizers present a reimagined career information fair.

Kristen Foley, ASA North Carolina Chapter Secretary

In 2019, the North Carolina Chapter organized a local career information fair for ASA members. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 fair was initially postponed and then reimagined in an all-virtual format. What follows is information for chapters and sections interested in organizing a similar event.

Structure

NC ASA maintained the speed format from the in-person career information fair, so the event began with a large Zoom meeting in which someone from each participating organization gave a short speech about their company and the kind of work they do. This allowed all participants to hear the same information and all company representatives to introduce their companies to everyone at once.

After the introductions, attendees had up to two hours to call into separate virtual meetings hosted by each of the participating organizations. These breakout sessions were designed to allow participants to meet briefly with representatives from each organization for a question and answer session, similar to moving from table to table at a physical career fair. NC ASA board members visited the rooms to help ensure everything ran smoothly, and all participating companies had phone numbers to contact board members for assistance if necessary.  

NC ASA provided attendees with a summary document prior to the fair that included a brief write-up about each organization and links to each breakout session. An additional step NC ASA took to ensure the career information fair ran smoothly was to hold a practice session on Zoom with representatives of participating companies. This allowed everyone to become comfortable with the virtual format and discuss tips for managing the breakout sessions.

Most organizations preferred a free-flowing format, with attendees joining and leaving the breakout sessions on their own schedule. Four organizations requested scheduled meetings with 1–5 participants in 15-minute blocks. The NC ASA used SignUpGenius to set up these appointments ahead of time.  

Feedback

The career information fair was designed to be different from a traditional jobs fair. While some organizations had open positions to advertise, the primary purpose of the fair was to provide attendees an opportunity to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities available to statisticians and data scientists in government, academia, and industry in the Research Triangle area. Participant feedback, gathered through an anonymous survey sent after the event, was positive:

Recruitment

Despite the online format, NC ASA was able to expand the 14 participating companies at last year’s event to 22 organizations this year. Eight out of the original 14 organizations agreed to participate for a second year. In addition, when NC ASA members sent out email recruitment letters to new companies, they were able to highlight the success of the first event.

To recruit attendees, NC ASA sent emails to the ASA listserv and advertised on the chapter’s website and via social media. There were 253 individuals registered for the event, and more than 130 signed on during the day of the fair.

The NC ASA posted the Zoom video of the introductory session and summary document to its website for those who wished to attend but were not able to. 

Reflections and Takeaways

There are obvious advantages to having an in-person career information fair; however, the virtual format made it easier for organizations and attendees from across the state to participate. When asked about the online format, 13 out of 17 participants who filled out the post-fair survey said they would prefer an online event or hybrid format (in-person and online components) to an in-person event.   

For details about organizing a career fair, email Kristen Foley.