On 15-16 January, Search Associates (SEARCH) hosted the London EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Virtual Job Fair for the first time. The Fair welcomed 47 school recruiters and 317 candidates, offering a ratio of 1:6, respectively. With exactly 300 vacancies in discussion, schools offered interviews from January 7th—Day 1 of the Fair Portal opening—through the weekend of January 15-16. Some interviews were scheduled for the following week, and placements resulting from the Fair are still happening! Fair organiser Senior Associate Gez Hayden found the regional event “very enjoyable,” despite missing the excitement of bringing people together at SEARCH’s annual London Global Fair.
The London EMEA Virtual Fair Portal proved central to making the event a success, and new features, such as the Chat function allowing schools to converse with candidates of interest while considering them for interview, marked a clear improvement in functionality as compared to Search Associates’ 2020/21 virtual fairs.
Schools commented positively on the introduction this year of the one-minute, self-introductory videos prepared by most candidates, which replicated the “pitch” a candidate would give during an interview sign-up session at an in-person job fair.
Another particular success of London EMEA 2022 was the availability of very informative Q&A sessions led by most participating schools, offering the opportunity for candidates to ask questions directly to recruiters. Along with Gez, members of the Fair Team—Senior Associates Peter Smyth, Dominic Currer, Ray Sparks, Harry Deelman, and his SEARCH partner Margaret Deelman—enjoyed attending the Q&As.
London EMEA 2022 Virtual Job Fair was a gratifying experience: to help safely meet the needs of schools and candidates in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Nonetheless, Gez says,
We intend to safely reopen our major global, in-person London January 2023 Job Fair for International Baccalaureate (IB) and British international curriculum schools. As previously, all candidates will have international school experience as well as having delivered at least one of the IB and/or British international curricula. See you in London next January!
