Student Tips for Virtual Career Fairs in Crimson Careers

The Mignone Center for Career Success hosts some of our career fairs virtually using the Crimson Careers virtual career fair platform. With this platform, students can engage with employers via video conversations as 1-on-1 and/or group chats. Students will be able to access the fair platform through their Crimson Careers account. Crimson Careers is powered by Symplicity.

Please email mcs@fas.harvard.edu with any questions.

Preparing for Virtual Fairs:

  • RSVP in Crimson Careers  by navigating to Events > click “More Filters” > select “Virtual Career Fairs” > click Apply. Click into the specific career fair and select “Attend”.
  • Explore and research the list of participating organizations, which can be found in Crimson Careers and on our Career Fairs page.
  • Review our virtual career fair tips for general advice and best practices for navigating a virtual fair.
  • Attend our drop-in hours to chat with an advisor, prepare for a fair, and have your resume reviewed.

Career Fair Format:

  • Speak with organizations who are hosting 1-on-1 chats; join their queue to speak with a representative (you can join up to 3 queues at a time). 1-on-1 chats are not prescheduled in advance of the fair and will take place via the built-in video platform.
  • Attend group chats with organizations that are hosting these; join the group session by clicking the “Group Chat” button in the organization’s booth. Organizations will share their own meeting links (such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams) with students. Conversations will usually take place using video.
    Career fair chat options image

During the Fair:

  • Login to your Crimson Careers account, navigate to Events > click “More Filters” > select “Virtual Career Fairs” > click Apply. Click into the specific career fair and if you haven’t already done so, select “Attend”.
Finding Virutal Career Fairs in Crimson Careers Screenshot

  • You may be prompted to complete or update your Chat Profile. You can update your concentration, graduation date, and add an optional profile picture under Account/Academic.
  • Set your Status to “Online”.
  • Upload your resume, if you have not already done so. This is the only way to submit a resume to an employer during the event.
  • When the event starts, go to the “Employer” tab and search and filter to find employers of interest.
  • Click on the employer to view company profile and see the positions they are recruiting for.
  • How 1-on-1 Video Chats Work:

    • Click “Join Queue” to speak with employers in 1-on-1 video chats.
    • The employers who you are waiting for will show up under “Upcoming Chats” on the right-hand side of the page along with estimated wait times.Upcoming chats arrow
    • Estimated wait times are based on:
      • Length of chats as determined by each employer (between 5-20min; most will choose 10min)
      • Number of representatives online to chat
      • Number of students in line in front of you
    • You can join up to 3 queues at once to maximize your number of 1-on-1 chats.
    • Keep in mind there may be a wait, especially if the employer has a limited number of representatives participating.
    • When it’s your turn to video chat with an employer, you will see an alert pop up on the screen and hear a “ding” sound. (If using Safari, you will need to Allow Auto Play via Preferences/Websites/Allow Auto Play to hear the sound.) Click on the alert to see instructions on how to video chat with the employer.
      One on one chat alert image
    • Once you have started a video chat with an employer, watch the timer which will count down from the maximum time to zero.
    • If you are waiting in an employer queue, make sure to stay within that virtual career fair in Crimson Careers. If you navigate away to other pages within the site, you may miss invitations from employers to video chat.

    How Group Video Chats Work:

    • Don’t want to wait in line? Consider joining an available group video chat.
    • While you wait, you can join a group video chat with an employer by clicking on “Group Chat” in their booth.*Note that representatives do NOT need to be “online” for you to join their group chats.
      Groupchats button
    • The format of group chats will vary by employer. For example, some may host drop-by, open Q&A chats, while others will structure group chats as short presentations that begin at specific times.
    • If you are in a group video chat, other employers can still invite you for a 1-on-1 video chat.
    • If you are having trouble viewing group chats, try refreshing your browser.

    Ending a Chat and Leaving the Fair:

    • When you are done with your video chat, click “End Chat”. You can add notes, which employers are unable to see.
    • If you need to step away for a short break, set your Status to “Busy”. Employers will not be able to invite you to video chat.
    • If you want to leave the event, set your Status to “Offline”. You will then be automatically removed from any queues that you are currently in.
    • After the event, you can access your notes, view the representative’s name and email that you spoke with, and use this information for thank-you notes.

    Review and Upload Your Resume:

    • Check the Resume and Cover Letter Section of our website for templates, Resume and Cover Letter publication guides, tutorials, and information on upcoming resume webinars offered throughout the semester.
    • Upload your most up-to-date resume to the “Documents” section in Crimson Careers and mark it as your primary resume. You are not required to upload a resume, but note that by registering for the event, you are agreeing to share your resume, if it is uploaded, with attending organizations.
    • Students are also welcome to attend fairs without a resume.

    Frequently Asked Questions:

    Can I join more than one queue at a time?

    Students are welcome, and encouraged, to join up to 3 employer queues at a time for 1-on-1 chats.

    Will I lose my place in a queue if I am speaking with one organization, and then another employer is ready to chat with me?

    Students will not lose their place in line, and you will simply be called next when your other chat has ended. Organizations can see if a student’s status is “Busy” and will be able to invite you to chat once you finish your other conversation.

    What should I do if I encounter tech issues in the platform?

    • Internet Explorer will not work for the virtual fairs.
    • If possible, we recommend using Chrome.
    • Check to make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of your browser. If not, please update the browser, close out and reopen the browser.
    • If an issue is still occurring, then you may have an extension installed in your browser that is conflicting with Crimson Careers. Please uninstall browser extensions or use a different browser that does not have extensions installed.
    • You should not have two Crimson Careers tabs open within the same browser.
    • If using Safari, you will need to Allow Auto Play via Preferences/Websites/Allow Auto Play to hear a chat notification.
    • Contact MCS at mcs@fas.harvard.edu for troubleshooting support.

    Can I preschedule 1-on-1 chats with representatives?

    • This platform does not allow for prescheduling of conversations. Students will be invited to chat by representatives on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Can I choose which representative to speak with?

    • Students are unable to select a specific representative to speak with. You will simply join a queue for the organization in general. Similarly, representatives cannot choose specific students to speak with; they must choose the next student in line who is available to chat.