The numbers from Q3 2021 tell a clear story: virtual video chat is not a pandemic workaround. It is a permanent and growing part of how organisations connect with candidates, students, and professionals online. Here is what we saw across the SeeMeCV platform over the past quarter — and what it means for how virtual events are evolving.
Record-Breaking Video Engagement
Q3 was, above all else, the quarter of the chat. Across all virtual fairs hosted on the SeeMeCV platform, we recorded a 213% increase in chat sessions compared to Q2 2021. That growth was driven in large part by a surge in live video — culminating in a new platform record of over 32,000 minutes of live video streamed in a single day.
To put that figure in context: 32,000 minutes of live video represents thousands of real conversations happening simultaneously between candidates and employers, students and institutions, professionals and peers. This is not passive content consumption. These are the kinds of meaningful, human interactions that have historically required a physical venue to achieve at scale.
Why Video Chat Matters in Virtual Hiring
For recruitment-focused events, video chat does something text-based interaction cannot: it recreates the dynamic of a face-to-face meeting. Recruiters can read body language, assess communication style, and get a genuine sense of a candidate's personality. Candidates, in turn, can ask spontaneous follow-up questions, build rapport with the people they might be working with, and leave the conversation with a clearer sense of whether the role is right for them.
The result is a more efficient, more human hiring process. When a candidate leaves a video chat having already spoken to both a recruiter and a hiring manager in the same event, the relationship is already meaningful — and the decision-making process on both sides is substantially faster.
New Features: Smarter Tools for Hiring Teams
Q3 also saw the rollout of several platform improvements designed to help hiring teams get more from their virtual fairs. Clients had the opportunity to use our new booth designs, which received strong feedback for their cutting-edge look and ease of customisation — an important factor when brand presentation directly influences candidate first impressions.
Two new productivity features were introduced for recruiters: in-platform note-taking and live candidate scoring. Both can be downloaded after the event, giving recruitment teams a structured record of every interaction and an efficient basis for post-fair shortlisting. For high-volume hiring events where a single recruiter might speak to dozens of candidates in a day, these tools are a significant efficiency gain.
34 Job Offers in 5 Days
Perhaps the most compelling result from Q3 came from a single client who combined historical data from previous fairs with the full suite of SeeMeCV platform features. Within five days of their virtual fair closing, they had extended 34 job offers. That kind of speed — from event close to offer — would be considered exceptional even for in-person recruitment. Achieving it virtually is a testament to what is possible when a well-designed platform meets a well-prepared team.
Virtual Fairs Beyond Recruitment
One of the most encouraging broader trends from Q3 is that more clients are using the virtual fair platform for purposes beyond recruitment. Learning & Development programmes, internal networking events, and corporate communications initiatives are all finding a home in the same immersive environment originally built for career fairs. The flexibility of the platform means that the investment organisations make in their virtual event capability compounds over time — each new use case adds value to a tool they have already built expertise in running.
What Q4 Looks Like
As we head into Q4, the trajectory is clear: virtual engagement is deepening, not diminishing. Organisations that have been using virtual fairs as a complement to in-person events are increasingly treating them as a primary channel in their own right. And as platform features continue to evolve — with richer video tools, smarter data, and more customisation options — the gap between virtual and in-person engagement is narrowing further.
If you are exploring how video-first virtual events could support your recruitment or engagement strategy, the SeeMeSOL team would love to talk. Get in touch to see a platform demo or discuss how other organisations in your sector are approaching virtual engagement.
