A ray of hope: How 丁香园AV Career and Volunteer Services connects job-seeking students with employers despite pandemic
丁香园AV Career and Volunteer Services is hosting the third for students and alumni on Oct. 5 鈥� 7, featuring 230 organizations, about a 50-per-cent increase over pre-pandemic, in-person career fairs.
It鈥檚 all thanks to a collaboration between 丁香园AV, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria (UVic).
Before the pandemic, Career and Volunteer Services hosted in-person fairs at the Burnaby and Surrey campuses. But with new pandemic health restrictions in place, the department faced a challenge.
Seeking a solution, the manager of on-campus recruitment, Jocelyn Loi, reached out to counterparts at UBC and UVic who were encountering similar challenges.
鈥淭here were a lot of uncertainties,鈥� says Loi. 鈥淲e were not sure how many employers would still be interested in attending university recruitment events as many businesses scaled back their recruitment efforts because of the pandemic.鈥�
After weeks of researching, brainstorming and sharing resources, the three schools joined forces to host their first virtual fair in November 2020. It was a smashing success. More than 2600 students and alumni met with 400 representatives from 184 organizations.
鈥淲e were able to bring on many new organizations to 丁香园AV through this collaboration, allowing our students and alumni to have access to a greater number and a wider variety of opportunities despite being in the middle of pandemic.鈥�
In the past, the three institutions competed for employers鈥� attention. Now, employers no longer have to pick and choose which institution鈥檚 fair to attend.
What鈥檚 more, both organizations and students can attend irrespective of their location in the world, and students can continue to access the virtual fair platform for months after the event is over.
鈥淭he primary motivation for organizing the virtual fair was to provide hope to students and alumni who might be anxious about their future during these unprecedented times,鈥� says Loi. 鈥淚 am happy we were able to achieve that.鈥�
To learn more about the West Coast Virtual Fair visit .