On Feb. 25, the Career Development Centre organized the second year of the Virtual Opportunities Fair, wherein companies from all over the world came to know more about and potentially recruit students of NYU Abu Dhabi. 62 employers were a part of this fair including Brigham Healthcare Services, Danaher Corporation, Proteinea and various others. Throughout the day, around 900 one-on-one sessions between students and company representatives were held.

The Gazelle spoke to Dana Downey, Director of the CDC and Assistant Dean of Students at NYUAD, to learn more about the Virtual Opportunities Fair and its importance for both students and employers.

From the statistics on the first virtual opportunities fair held in Fall semester, the CDC considers the fairs successful. A total of 603 NYUAD students attended in Fall 2020, an increase from Fall 2019's attendance of 404 students.

Downey views the shift of the fair to an online platform as beneficial. The first-ever virtual opportunities fair held during the Fall semester had witnessed the highest number of student-employer conversations in the history of NYUAD, demonstrating how much these fairs have grown in scope and reach.

“[Earlier, the fairs] would happen in east and west forums and it would be kind of intimidating, you had to use a map, walk up to people, wait in line; but in the virtual fair, you just book your time. It allows students to navigate in a really different way,” explained Downey. “A company driving to Abu Dhabi and then coming here for 5 hours is a big ask, but then a company doing a 30 minute session and then ten 10 minute one-on-ones from their computers is a much different ask, so companies also prefer [a virtual fair.]”

As anyone can participate in the fair from anywhere in the world, Downey suggests having more virtual recruiting events in the future as it makes it far more convenient. “We have been able to include companies from all over the world, where usually if it is in-person, the companies are only from the UAE,” noted Downey.

While the virtual setting has its advantages, Downey also acknowledged its disadvantages. A major concern for Downey was that the new format limits student ability to demonstrate enthusiasm.

“So much of students’ interest is expressed nonverbally and those are harder cues to read in a virtual space,” she explained.

“As soon as Public Health says it's safe, we would resume in person events for their distinct advantages but then I think we would co-create other virtual recruiting events to accommodate these new found advantages that we don’t want to completely lose,” Downey said.

In response to the concern that some employers are more represented than others, Downey claims that this is because these fairs only attract certain types of employers, namely employers “that like to go to events, that have time to go to events and that are readily aware that they both want and need young talent.”

Downey further explains why arts and humanities employers seem to be underrepresented in the fair: “My team worked really hard to get arts organisations to come but they don’t have the same mentality about recruiting. They want students when they want them and not really before. So, if they don’t have anything ready to hire in February, then they’ll wait. But from a students’ perspective, they were absent. But absent doesn’t mean uninterested, it’s just that that format and timeline did not work for them.”

She also mentioned that the CDC tries their best to ensure that underrepresented employers are followed-up more frequently and aggressively, in order to ensure equal representation.

As a final piece of advice, Downey asks all students to take advantage of the fair to the best of their abilities. She advises students to practice professional conversations and read up about the companies beforehand if they wish to increase their chances for recruitment, as it communicates an interest to the employer. “Companies love to feel like you know something about them in advance. It really helps, it communicates interest to them in a meaningful way.”

Lastly, Downey views these fairs as a means to get to know and form a relationship with the employers, which can be a really useful asset. “[Students must recognize] that some things can convert to opportunities quickly, some things convert later, but relationships are an asset, now and later.”