92 organisations recruit talents in HKU Virtual Career Fair 2020

The Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) organised its first ever online job fair, “HKU Virtual Career Fair 2020”, from 30 March to 1 April, 2020 for all current students and recent graduates.

Over 1,500 graduate and internship vacancies were offered by 92 companies and organisations from a broad range of industries including Accounting and Audit, Banking and Finance, Civil Service, Consulting, Engineering and Technology, Healthcare, Information Services, Insurance, Media and Publishing, Professional and HR Services, Property, Research and Development, Retail and Fashion.

Over 2,000 HKU students and graduates visited the 3-day Virtual Career Fair, where they explored their ideal career options by virtually interacting and networking with corporate recruiters and representatives. Under the current situation with all on-campus activities being suspended, the Virtual Career Fair provided a safe and effective platform for HKU students and graduates to understand their ideal employers’ expectation and insight on talent strategy.

At the Fair, candidates could apply for jobs directly via the online platform as well as seek instant professional advice on their CVs. Thanks to the support of cpjobs, more than 100 CV consultation sessions have been provided by consultants from Don Nelson and Adecco during the Fair period, and some additional sessions have been arranged for the rest of the week.

Feedback from participating companies have been very encouraging and supportive.

Mr Rocco Li, Senior Manager of KPMG, mentioned, “We understand the situation and we are very thankful for HKU to host this. This has helped us connect with students even during such difficult times. There were a lot of interaction and the one key advantage is that we are able to have many conversations at once versus just having one on one with a group listening. This way we are able to better answer the questions of the students.”

Ms Jenifa Chan, Senior Manager, Talent Development of FleishmanHillard[RS1] said the Virtual Career Fair was a good platform for them to interact with lots of students and was impressed about their quality. Another representative from M Moser observed that students have good manners and are enthusiastic. She received lots of enquiries and job applications and was happy to see that the students showed great interest in their company.

Dr Eugenie Leung, Dean of Student Affairs of HKU CEDARS, said, “It has been our top priority to provide strong support and opportunities for our students to strengthen their portfolio, raise their profile, and to excel in their career journey. In the past few months, we have been switching recruitment talks, career preparation workshops and one-on-one career advising to online mode. We believe such moves are especially critical in the face of the challenging economic and employment situations both locally and globally, and we will do what is right to empower our students to build their solid gateway to a bright and successful future.”

Ms Jaime Fung, Director of Careers and Placement added, “Organising this Virtual Career Fair in replacement of our traditional face-to-face event in the midst of COVID-19 where many employers and students are working and learning from home respectively, was a swift move to connecting our students and graduates with potential employers. Without physical constraint, the Fair facilitated our corporate partners to identify and recruit talents from HKU to support their business and operation, and jointly contribute to and make positive impact on the community.”

Positive comments have also been collected from students and graduates joining the Fair who described this as a fresh and unique experience for them. They thanked and appreciated CEDARS for organizing this in lieu of a face-to-face career fair given the current circumstances in Hong Kong:

“It is more convenient when moved online as in a face-to-face job fair, popular booths would have people crowding in front of the booths and staying there for quite a period of time, asking questions. However, when moved online, we can leave private messages with the advisers and can be sure that they would reply. I can also spend more time browsing the booths even at times when the fair is not on. I can also spend more time at the fair as I can jump directly from a lesson on Zoom to the job fair in a second, rather than having to go to the actual hall from somewhere else on campus and have to leave early for the next class.”

“It is more effective than the off-line one. Please launch more activities like this!”

“Online interaction and consultation are more efficient and effective than expected.”

“HR from the participating companies are very friendly and supportive.”

The website of HKU Virtual Career Fair 2020 will remain open till the end of April with all exhibitors’ information and job openings available on the platform. HKU students and graduates can still grasp the opportunity to surf the platform and submit online applications any time during April.