JA Inspire takes place virtually on the vFairs platform, with students and educators able to explore careers and content together as a class and/or individually by logging in at the top of the page. Logins will be provided by JA New York.

The virtual Career Expo will be opened for on-demand, self-guided exploration on March 1st, 2024, and remain accessible through the end of June. There is a live date on Wednesday, March 20th (9am-3pm) featuring online Q&A with volunteers. Students can log on any time during that day to participate in the online Q&A.

Contact Diana at DLee@jany.org

JA Inspire is a comprehensive career exploration resource that gives students a preview of the world of work “at their fingertips”. Since it is a self-guided platform, students at any stage of their career journey can benefit – students can gain exposure to new career clusters, choose to focus on pathways that already interest them, challenge themselves to identify and discover new possibilities, or look into “next steps” like finding leads on scholarships, internships, and other opportunities. The Q&A on the live date is also an excellent opportunity for students to find volunteers from different fields and backgrounds in one “space”, practice informational interviews in a low-pressure setting, and ask the questions that are nuanced enough to need individual answers, or that would benefit from hearing multiple perspectives.
JA Inspire comes with online career exploration exercises that can be completed independently by students outside of school, or in-class. The content aligns with Common Core and NY State Standards and can support your existing career learning framework. JA Inspire can be a fun way to extend the learning from other work readiness experiences your students are completing (like Job Shadows, Career Days, etc.).

All recorded content on the platform (including Q&A transcripts) will remain open through June 2024 for students to explore and save. If students can’t join the live date but still want to ask questions, they can submit them in advance at https://form.jotform.com/Diana_Lee/ja-inspire-questions and check the Q&A transcripts later for the answers. (Note: if your class meets earlier than 9am on March 20th, students can logon to Vfairs and submit questions directly in the Q&A boxes – they will go into the queue and be answered when volunteers log on later in the day.)

JA Inspire welcomes all students in grades 6 through 12. We welcome you to provide access to all your middle & high school students as a resource with benefits to students at any stage of the career exploration process. (Note: If you are interested in enrolling older students, please contact Diana at DLee@jany.org to discuss.)

JA New York will provide resources upon registration for JA Inspire. There are a few short preparatory career exploration sessions which help prepare students for the virtual career expo (for example, a personal career inventory so students can link their skills, interests, and values to future career options) followed by a post-event reflection session so students can process the experience and plan their next steps.
The content is fully online and can be self-guided by students outside of class time (many educators will assign as homework or extra credit!) or completed as a group in-class.

When students enter, they will first see a video welcoming them to the event. Then they can start exploring! They’ll find that exhibitor booths are roughly organized into “halls” by career cluster, so they can prioritize visiting the ones that match your interests. They might also challenge yourself to look at a business or a career cluster they haven’t heard of or considered before.
If visiting on the live date (Wednesday, March 20th, from 9am-3pm), students should take advantage of the Q&A section in each booth! This is a great chance to ask any and all questions about specific careers or the world of work in general, especially questions that are nuanced, complex, or would benefit from hearing multiple perspectives. Educators are more than welcome to join the Q&A as well.
Visit the Student Information page for a more guided walkthrough of the platform.

Students are responsible for demonstrating appropriate, considerate, and respectful behavior during the event. All Q&A engagements will be monitored closely. Students demonstrating the following behaviors will be removed from the event with NO WARNING:

• Sending discriminatory, harassing, or threatening messages or images;
• Using obscene, profane, threatening, or disrespectful language in the Q&A;
• Sending messages that defame or slander other individuals;
• Intentionally disrespecting a presenter, volunteer, event staff, or another student;
• Participating in cyber bullying or harassment;
• Engaging in any other illegal activities.

Students can access the expo through Clever Single-Sign-On, without sending any personal information to JA New York. If your school does not use Clever, we can randomly generate anonymous logins without using any student data. Upon request, we can also create user names based on students’ names or email addresses, to make the login process easier. Student information will not be used for any other purpose and is never shared by JA or VFairs.

Contact Diana at DLee@jany.org

JA Inspire helps you learn about careers—ones that you may already be interested in and new ones that you may not even know existed! Explore and learn what careers fit best with your skills and abilities. You may find a whole new career cluster to consider, or a lead on an interesting scholarship, internship, or other resource that might help you on your career journey. You may gain a deeper understanding of a career path by hearing from volunteers.

You will be pre-registered and will login either through Clever or by using a unique username provided by JA New York (check with your teacher). You will not need a password. Click on the building to enter the virtual expo.

When you enter, you will watch a video welcoming you to the event. Then you can start exploring! You can start at the Information Booth for a list of career clusters, exhibitors, and webinars. You’ll find that exhibitor booths are roughly organized into “halls” by career cluster, so you can prioritize visiting the ones that match your interests. You might also challenge yourself to look at a business or a career cluster you haven’t heard of or considered before. You never know what’s out there!
If you’re visiting on the live date (Wednesday, March 20th, from 9am-3pm), take advantage of the Q&A section in each booth! This is your chance to ask your questions about careers and the world of work, especially questions that are nuanced or complex enough that you need a live person to answer, or want to hear multiple perspectives.
Visit the Student Information page for a more guided walkthrough.

You can earn points in the virtual fair with the chance to win prizes! Earn points by exploring career clusters, engaging meaningfully in Q&A, watching videos, completing pre- and post-surveys and more. User IDs will be visible on the Leaderboard during the Career Fair. No personal student data is shared.

You’ll find volunteers at the different booths who will answer your questions in the Q&A box. You can leave a question and then check back later (even after the live date) to see if your question has been answered. All Q&A will be monitored and there will be no student-to-student chat.

Yes, each student has a virtual backpack they can save items to. Later, you can enter an email address to forward your saved comments, flyers, and videos.

All recorded content (including Q&A transcripts) will be accessible on-demand 24/7 through June 2024. You can spend as much time as you would like on the platform, and return as often as you want. If you have questions for exhibitors, you can submit them here in advance and check back later for the answers: https://form.jotform.com/Diana_Lee/ja-inspire-questions Exception: If your class meets prior to 9am on Wednesday, March 20th, you can submit your questions directly at the booths. They will go into the queue and volunteers will answer them after the live date officially begins.

Students are responsible for demonstrating appropriate, considerate, and respectful behavior during the event. All Q&A engagements will be monitored closely. Students demonstrating the following behaviors will be removed from the event with NO WARNING:

• Sending discriminatory, harassing, or threatening messages or images;
• Using obscene, profane, threatening, or disrespectful language in the Q&A;
• Sending messages that defame or slander other individuals;
• Intentionally disrespecting a presenter, volunteer, event staff, or another student;
• Participating in cyber bullying or harassment;
• Engaging in any other illegal activities.

Contact Diana at DLee@jany.org

Imagine what you would haul to a real-life job fair – what visual aids or information would you bring? You can show students similar things at JA Inspire.
Your booth is an opportunity to showcase your organization, highlight the different career pathways available, share information and resources that students can access and download, and engage students with the possibilities of working at your company. This is a great opportunity to introduce students to your company in an inclusive and inspiring way - by sharing engaging information and resources and connecting them with caring volunteers who will welcome and answer their questions thoughtfully!

• You can include links to your company webpage as well as the career section of your company.
• You can include documents and videos that will engage students within your booth and that might be helpful for them to save for future reference. Examples include: short “Career Speaker” or “Day in the Life” documents or videos focusing on specific roles in your company.
• You can include resources especially relevant to high school students, including information on internships, apprenticeships, scholarships, contests, and any in-person or virtual events open to students. More examples and ideas can be found in the JA New York Virtual Exhibitor Guide.

Students will be logging on throughout the day to ask questions about the careers represented on your booth, the industry, and the world of work in general. Volunteers will be needed to be online from 9am-3pm. If you have multiple volunteers, you are welcome to divide the time into shorter shifts!
Volunteers can be from any department or business unit. It can be helpful to have someone from human resources or recruiting online for at least a portion of the day, as many questions will center on hiring, training, and the workplace. Aiming for a diverse pool of volunteers from different backgrounds, experience levels, and career pathways is very helpful and allows students to hear different perspectives.

Please refer to your JA Inspire Virtual Exhibitor guide for a detailed walkthrough, instructions, and screenshots for how to manage your booth.

Contact Diana at DLee@jany.org