Talking point
How are job fairs better than campus placements?

Job festivals are a meeting ground for job-seekers and companies in search of talent. Their popularity is fast increasing in City Beautiful, with three such events having been organised in the last few months. What are the advantages that job fairs offer over campus recruitments and routine job hunting? Geetanjali Gayatri finds out.

Says Navneet Trikha of Shoppers' Stop, who put up a stall at the recent ITFT job fest, "Job fairs enable us to interact with a variety of people on one platform. I strongly advocate organising more job fests since these provide a mix of raw and experienced hands.

"We have taken 21 applicants from among those who appeared for interviews. It gives us an insight into the profile of people which is of use to us since we are planning to open a store in the city," she adds.

S. Chaterjee from the ITC group of hotels adds, "Job fests are welcome in comparison to campus placements. Campus interviews offer only a restricted option in terms of candidates. At job fests, we have more candidates at our disposal and a wide variety of candidates to choose from."

Farhat Rizwi of Ananda In the Himalayas resort, Rishikesh, also supports job fests over interviews. "Job fests enable us to meet more people than we would otherwise if we held a recruitment drive on an institute campus. Also, it allows interaction with other company executives who attend these fests.

"At the same time, campus recruitments are also important when we are looking for people with specialisation in a particular field," says Rizwi.

Shubhra Misra, a 21-year-old job aspirant, feels, "Job fests are better than normal recruitments for the simple reason that they offer greater exposure to just-out-of-college students.

Appearing for an interview in a formal setting of an office is far more unnerving than simply walking up to a stall of your choice and holding an informal chat with the company executives."