Bayt.com, the region’s number one job site, will host a Virtual Job Fair (VJF) from September 23 to 27, which is specifically targeted towards the hospitality industry in the Middle East.

Since its inception in 2000, Bayt.com has maintained a prominent position as a leading recruitment platform for the hospitality sector. At present, the job site’s community of professionals working in the hospitality industry consists of more than 500,000 job seekers, whose talents and experience spans all career levels and job roles in the hospitality industry, a statement from Bayt said.  

“Bayt.com’s Virtual Job Fair concept is the natural revolution of the traditional job fair. It takes into consideration today’s fast pace of business, and the need for employers and job seekers alike to find results in the quickest, most convenient and cost-effective ways,” said Suhail Masri, the vice president of sales at Bayt.com.

“Our experience in recruitment for employers in the hospitality industry and the sheer number of relevant job seekers that are registered on Bayt.com makes this the ideal sector to select as the focus of our first industry-specific VJF.”

“We encourage hospitality- industry employers to take advantage of this opportunity to find top-quality candidates specifically targeted to their requirements, in a cost-effective and highly efficient manner that ensures they can maximise their choice and reach when it comes to candidate recruitment across career levels and job roles,” he said.

Robert Dodds, vice president of human resources, Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Middle East and Africa, said: “We at Marriott and Ritz-Carlton are delighted to be part of such a pioneering and innovative event such as Bayt.com’s hospitality industry Virtual Job Fair.”

“With the help of Bayt.com, who are committed to facilitate employment in the industry, we look forward to bringing recruitment to the next level, ensuring the most qualified talent is recruited and trained to rapidly fill open positions.”

Bayt.com’s concept is unique in that it allows employers to fully interact with job seekers through an immersive, interactive virtual environment. The VJF platform mimics a traditional job fair setting but eliminates the inconveniences and logistics required to participate.

When participating in one of Bayt.com’s Virtual Job Fairs, which take place fully online, employers and job seekers can use a range of digital tools, such as chat rooms, webcasts, and webinars to exchange vital job-related information. Jobseekers can search for available jobs and submit their CVs, while employers can interact with jobseekers through virtual ‘booths’.

Participating employers benefit from increased brand awareness, particularly amongst Bayt.com’s extensive portfolio of jobseekers – made up of over 500,000 registered users directly relevant to the hospitality industry and an additional eight million professionals with varied skills and experience across the industry spectrum, the statement said.

With Bayt.com’s Virtual Job Fair, there are minimal resource requirements in return for maximum exposure, which translate to lower costs and a higher return on investment for employers than with a traditional job fair.  

Moreover employers benefit from the excellent measurability the online job fair enables and the ease of managing the entire recruitment process particularly in terms of candidate sourcing and screening and selection, it said.

In 2011 alone, Bayt.com’s Virtual Job Fairs attracted more than 31,000 registered job seekers, with over 100,000 total visits for the duration.

Overall employer booth views averaged more than 10,000 (26,000 on average for sponsor booths and an average of 15,000 for platinum; 10,000 for gold and 4,000 for silver booths) with employers reporting a high satisfaction on their return–on-investment.

The Bayt.com Hospitality Virtual Job Fair is supported by event sponsor Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, alongside media sponsors Khaleej Times and Al Arab Al Youm. – TradeArabia News Service