Many candidates and recruiters come to the Dubai Job Fair, expecting clear Gulf skies and warm weather as respite from the tail end of the northern hemisphere winter. This February 23rd-26th, Dubai turned on grey skies and some heavy rain! Fortunately, at the Crown Plaza Deira a sunny Search Associates welcome and a deluge of opportunities--close to 450 advertised positions--greeted the near 250 candidates and recruiters from over 56 schools at the job fair.
This was Senior Associate Bill Turner's first job fair, in the region he knows very well, having led schools there for 11 years. Bill has taken over this long-standing fair from previous Fair Organizer David Cope, who currently also serves as Vice President and Senior Associate. David Cope, along with Executive Assistants, Alison Turner, Neil Kilah, and Rebecca Steadman, were on hand to offer plenty of support throughout the weekend to all participants. David commented,
"After 13 years (2004-2016) running our Dubai job fair, I'm really thrilled to be handing it over to Bill and Alison, because they are ideally qualified for the task. It's been a huge pleasure working with them, and I'm certain that in their capable hands the fair will continue to grow and thrive. From the sidelines now, I'm greatly looking forward to seeing that happen!"
The Dubai Fair offers relative ease and economical travel. In less than 70 minutes, recruiters from Search Associates' member schools in eight surrounding countries can attend the fair without missing any school time. The fair venue, the Crowne Plaza hotel, is ideal as well, with its supportive hotel staff, good-size rooms, and easy access to eateries. Everything participants need is conveniently there on site. Candidate Michael Thomas had this to say:
"Just wanted to thank you and your team for a fantastic experience at the Dubai Job Fair. For me the journey was well worth it; everything just fell into place; my hotel was great, the venue for the fair was magnificent, and of course the opportunity of securing employment was never ending… I have had numerous [five] job offers, which I am extremely excited about… [and] three Skype interviews from three schools … I am in the process of deciding at the moment… [and] am nearly there in terms of the school I want to commit to and join for the year 2017…Again I would like to thank you and David and the Search team for your support, [and] guidance over the two days at the Dubai Job Fair. Your professionalism is second to none…"
It wasn't just the shoulder and neck massages that put a spring in the step of many attendees. The hustle and bustle of the fair was peppered with some relaxation time.The very popular—free—shoulder/neck massages, given by an on-site masseur and masseuse all weekend, were a lovely bonus and provided a few moments of bliss for participants to contemplate their prospects. By the fair's end, 30% of the candidates had either accepted job offers or were under consideration, and Bill adds that 100 post-fair follow-ups were scheduled. Several assistants related to Bill gave personal tours to help candidates settle their nerves. First-time job fair candidate Juliet Kerins praised Search Dubai:
"Thank you all for a wonderful experience. Everything was so efficient, well-organised, and the warmth and friendliness made it all such a pleasure!"
Mara Hansen, one member of an overseas teaching couple working online, has already thanked her new Associate Bill Turner:
"John [Palmasano] and I really appreciated your encouragement throughout our application process- especially right at the beginning. I don't think we would have worked with Search Associates if it wasn't for your initial e-mail… It's good news that all of our information will be saved in the Search platform… We both reflected on the general tone of your words a few times when we felt discouraged looking for the right fit…We did wonder if Search would be "worth it" and I can definitely say it was for us. (I've been telling all my peers who insist on a cheaper option). Not only was the platform easy to use, but it was good to have someone in your camp. Thank you."
Search Associates is excited for the continued growth of the Dubai Fair in years to come. For more information about all of our 11 annual job fairs around the world, please click here.
