Hunting after jobs: The career fair story

Jumping into job sector battlefield from the safe cocoon of a student life is scary. Gone are the days of falling asleep in class back benches knowing that the class toppers would cover for you. Who thought 'what do you wish to be when you grow up' could be a real question with a real deadline? Bringing large companies at one place, with their aim only to hire the fresh graduates could possibly provide some answers. Such was the case this year at the 1st National Career Fair-2014 at BICC, 6th March –organized by Daffodil University.
With a tagline of 'Connecting TALENTS', one can feel that the fair has lived up to its claims. Students from all backgrounds either attended the 'Master classes' or enjoyedthe125 stalls and pavilions set up for them. The organizers of this daylong event wished to 'create opportunities for the Youngsters of the nation' and with that in mind, they targeted and succeeded in drawing more than10,000 participants. With nearly 100 corporate houses present and 15 leading public and private universities of the country for the fresh or to-be graduates to interact with, this career fair wasa truly rare treat for the visitors.
'We are really satisfied with the number of visitors. We feel, the fair was a grand success and it has become the biggest Career Fair of Bangladesh in terms of the number of participating organizations and the visitors.' says Syed Maruf Reza, Assistant Professor, Daffodil University, and Convener of the career fair. 'Our main theme of Connecting Talents was represented by the different facets of activities that we were hosting for them. From Master classes to publishing a 110 page journal.'

One of the attractions at the fair was definitely the Master Classes taking place at the Hall of Fame, a place for heated debates and precious advices given by corporate giants. One such Master Class was by the famous British-Bangladeshi motivational speaker and author Sabirul Islam, whose goal in life is to inspire at least 100 million people during his lifetime. His advice to the attendees was simple, 'Success is a journey that starts with inspiration. I think what teenagers lack is the belief that they can be unique and extraordinary in life.' He urged the students to use their youth efficiently and effectively.
Another event, the Career Clinic, was graced by Munir Hasan and Lorens Shamol Mollick, Coordinator of Youth Programme, and Head of Human Resources, ProthomAlo Jobs respectively. They provided insight on the hiring procedure and emphasized the importance of a good, short and highly informative cover letter as quintessential in successful CV's
'It was nice to hear so many great people talk under the same roof. Career fairs like these also make it much easier for students like me to apply for jobs.' said Rifatul Nayeem, 25, from Daffodil University. Students also had the opportunity of dropping CV's at company stalls. Their interest and response showed the success of the event.
The event was telecasted live by ATN Bangla. The Daily Star and ProthomAlo Jobs were media partners of the events.