Job fair a huge disappointment for many
EVENT HELD AS PART OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS FRUSTRATES MANY WITH FRUITLESS WAIT
Filipino jobseekers who flocked to the job fair at the recent Philippine Independence Day celebration in Dubai took to social media to voice their frustration over the event, with many saying they were lured to stay on for hours just to boost the crowd numbers.
Thousands of Filipinos gathered at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Friday for the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration, which started at 8am. The job fair was just a segment of the day-long cultural event. The job fair was jointly organised by the Unified Filipino HR Professionals, Filipino HR Club and FICN Inter-Church Sports Fellowship under the FilCom organisation that organised the independence day programme.
Several Facebook group discussions on the job fair were filled with comments from Filipino jobseekers who claimed that they were given false hopes of a job interview, only to be stuck at the venue for more than six hours.
“I was already there by 6:30am and there was a massive queue of people for the job fair,” Denver Love Palafox told Gulf News. He said he left the venue at 1:30pm after failing to get a promised SMS alert for a job interview.
“At first, it went on smoothly. We were able to quickly submit our CV to volunteers. Then they told us to wait for an SMS for a job interview. ■
“Since there was no place for job applicants to wait at the venue, many of us didn’t have a choice but to sit at the audience pit near the stage,” he said.
Palafox said he sat through nearly three hours of the independence day show while waiting for an SMS alert.
“During the opening programme, it was announced that there were already 3,000 people in the venue. I’m sure 60 per cent of those people came only for the job fair,” he said.
“It would have been better if they also sent an SMS to alert people that they have not been shortlisted so they don’t waste time waiting,” he added.
“I thought they used the job fair to make it look like there were a lot of participants for the show,” he said.
Resume pile-up
His comment was echoed by many on social media, including Facebook users Rosalyn Abenoja and Gra Cia who also pointed out that the submitted CVs just ended up in one giant box. “It was a waste of CVs,” Gra Cia said.
Yeoj Manalo Babaran told Gulf News she felt frustrated after spending money on an early taxi ride “only to arrive there and be told that I can just leave my CV and hopefully get a call if I am shortlisted”.
“It’s a shame for people seriously looking for work,” she said.
“The list of companies that were hiring were not there. I went there early only to come home empty-handed,” Gary Yabao posted in Filipino in one Facebook group.
Others were luckier. Genette Serrano said she did get an SMS alert and was interviewed, but questioned why she was made to submit three copies of her CV.
Several posters announcing the job fair were widely circulated on social media in the weeks prior to the event. However, jobseekers complained that these were misleading.
Zeny Requizo, job fair committee head, told Gulf News that a flow chart posted at the venue mentioned that only shortlisted applicants for companies whose employer is available on site will be interviewed.
“Otherwise, CVs will be forwarded to employers who were not able to come,” Requizo said.
“I believe about 70 per cent [of the crowd] went to the job fair. Do they expect we will be able to interview every single candidate in seven hours from 8am to 3pm?” she said.
Organisers’ claims
She also denied that applicants were told to submit up to three CVs. “Candidates insisted on giving even more than 5 CVs. I know very well because I was one of the volunteers who collected the CVs,” she said, adding that the CVs that ended in drop boxes will be sorted and delivered to various employers.
Requizo admitted, however, that space constraints made it difficult for her team to operate and accommodate more employers at the venue.
Joel Foronda, chairman of the FilCom organisation that organised the Philippine Independence Day event, told Gulf News he is investigating the issues Filipinos raised on social media.