One of the most important components of business growth is virtual recruitment. In real estate, for example, hiring new real estate agents can accelerate lead generation, increase your territory coverage, and boost both revenue and profits.

This simply means that you need to invest in your recruitment efforts to achieve holistic business growth (check this out if you need ideas). Do note that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the recruitment industry’s playing field, essentially turning virtual recruitment and networking into norms.

Obviously, there are still nuances that can only be achieved through in-person events. What virtual recruitment and networking offer, however, is a bigger room to experiment. This can then help you create more unique opportunities for engagement.

Here Are Some Ideas for Virtual Recruitment

Give Free Advice to Job Seekers

A recruiter’s goal isn’t only to find and place the best person for a job. It’s also to help candidates find the best jobs that match their qualifications. For example, an applicant might have all the right skills but aren’t good at creating their resume.

There may also be people who are in the process of transitioning careers and don’t know the best approach. These individuals can benefit from career advice that recruiters can provide.

Thus, it’s a good idea to hold an online event where you dispense free tips to job seekers. Participants can ask questions through a live comment feed; you can also ask them to send questions beforehand, via email or social media DMs, so you can prepare more in-depth answers.

If you want (and if you have the time), you can even offer to review resumes and provide tips for improvement. The great thing about this is that the person you help might just be the next person to your virtual recruitment!

Arrange a Meet-and-Greet With Key People

Networking doesn’t come easily to everyone—even to real estate agents, event planners, and various other professionals who are expected to be outgoing. The good thing is that, as a recruiter, you have the capability to help establish connections.

This creates more opportunities for both businesses and job seekers. What’s even better is that with digital tools, even those who aren’t “naturals” at networking can start building their professional ties.

One way to do this is to host a meet-and-greet with key people. You can invite company CEOs, thought leaders, and other well-known, influential personalities across industries. Include a Q&A session or a roundtable discussion (but be prepared to moderate) so the attendees can pick up tips and insider knowledge.

As a bonus, doing such an event in the virtual space is also easier on the logistics side. There’s no need to have everyone in a single location, making it more accessible and less cost-prohibitive. It’s a win-win-win for the organizers, guests, and attendees.

Conduct Ask-Me-Anythings

An Ask Me Anything or AMA is like a reverse interview. It’s become a popular marketing tactic over the years and is often hosted on platforms like Reddit. Similar to a meet-and-greet, you can invite a high-profile individual such as an executive or an industry expert for an AMA.

However, instead of networking, the purpose of an AMA is much more straightforward: the guest will answer any and all questions from the audience.

This is a great opportunity to build a company’s credibility and transparency, which are just two of the many qualities that job seekers want from their potential employers. An AMA can also feel a lot less restrictive since there is literally no script; anything goes, as long as it’s respectful, and can provide virtual recruitment and candidates a sense of clarity.

Talk About Diversity and Inclusion

One of the biggest and most important topics surrounding recruitment nowadays is diversity, inclusion, and representation. It’s not just top-tier candidates who want proof of a company’s commitment to equitable, dynamic, and inclusive working environments; it’s also the general public—the customers—who want to know that an organization is treating their people right.

Through a virtual recruitment panel discussion, company executives can showcase their diversity and inclusion programs.

Even better: invite employees so they can talk about their experiences and contribute to the conversation. This can be seen as more genuine since the employees are the ones who are more greatly affected by these matters.

Gamify Your Event

Gamification is a popular method for engagement, which brings the excitement of game mechanics to non-game activities. This can transform your virtual event from a “we talk, you listen” format to a truly engaging affair.

Some simple ways to gamify a virtual recruitment event include quizzes, scavenger hunts, and hackathons. Virtual escape rooms have also become more popular over the past few months.

At the end of the session, you can give away prizes such as passes to an exclusive industry event or even a scholarship to an online learning course.

To attract top talent, companies and recruiters need to be a little more creative and flexible in order to stand out.

Thankfully, the digital space offers plenty of opportunities to exercise these qualities. Think outside the box and explore the potential of online events. You’ll be amazed at how much you can do!