The chief of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) has warned employers that the launch of the UK’s first online recruitment fair is not the answer to all their employment prayers.
The GradU8 Jobs Fair is the first fully virtual graduate recruitment fair. It went live on 20 April and will run for six weeks.
A number of leading companies have signed up to the event, which will allow graduate jobseekers to access the latest vacancies the firms have on offer on one site, which is being hosted by MSN.co.uk and recruitment site Totaljobs.co.uk.
Companies already taking part include Zurich, American Express, CapGemini, Royal Mail, health clubs firm Holmes Place, Harrods, and independent standards group Lloyd’s Register .
Katy Adelson, digital marketing manager at MSN UK, said the fair showed how online services could adopt a traditional idea and improve it to make it more convenient, more effective and more financially viable.
“Taking the traditional fair online has obvious benefits for graduates and recruiters alike and we expect to see this adopted on a wide scale in the coming years,” she said.
However, AGR chief executive Carl Gilleard said moving graduate recruitment online was not all good news.
“We are reaching a point where a lot of professionals are wondering if graduate recruitment is becoming a little too faceless,” he said. “I would not try to put anyone off using this, but to do online recruitment rather than traditional careers fairs would be unwise.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
“Doing it face-to-face is just more personal – there are some things that are difficult to get across otherwise, such as the ethos and working practices of your business,” Gilleard added.
To visit the virtual fair go to www.msn.co.uk/jobs
