Job search and fun in one: we visited this year's first big job fair

Soon after the gates opened at ten o'clock, people from all directions were rushing towards the BOK hall, and as they got closer, it became clear why: large banners around the entrance announced that a job fair was waiting for them. Mostly twenty-somethings and thirtysomethings were hurrying in when we arrived, and then the momentum broke at the appropriate registration desks behind the entrance. It was only until they had picked up their wristbands and different coloured "career passes" for each specialism that visitors continued their way towards the exhibition area.

Engineers, IT specialists, finance, marketing, customer service, and many more were given different coloured necklaces. "It's not a coincidence, as it allows exhibitors to see who is looking for what type of job," the Jobverse job fair's chief organiser told HR Portal. On the other hand, the exhibitors also indicate on their stands, with pictograms on their boards, for example, what language skills are required, what fields they have open positions in, whether there are home office jobs available, where in Hungary they offer jobs and, for example, whether the exhibitor will be interviewing on site, so that the selection process can start on the spot.

Final interview on site

One of the new features at the fair this year is to facilitate just that: "We have set up interview booths in case exhibitors meet a candidate on the stands who immediately catches their interest. They can sit down in these booths and talk in a relaxed atmosphere, even for a professional interview, and our aim is to ensure a quick selection process, as our experience shows that job seekers and candidates alike have an absolute need for this", added Csongor Hajdú. The chief organiser, who has more than two decades of experience in organising job fairs, believes that the days are gone when the selection process took one and a half to two months with 5-6 rounds of interviews before the candidate was hired by the company. In addition to a quick selection, there is also a strong demand for face-to-face meetings. Csongor Hajdú cites a recent study in which "we asked the last members of Generation Y and Generation Z, 18-30 year olds, and the result was that 98% of them would like to meet the employer and have a conversation because they don't like online selection. There is an opportunity to do this here, as we encouraged our exhibitors not only to come with recruiters and HR professionals, but for example an engineer looking for a job can talk to an engineer at the company, what his job is, how his day is, what his challenges are, what he likes about his job, why he thinks his company is good", the organiser added.

Here they are giving a presentation on effective interviewing techniques

Try the job

Related to this, another new feature of this year's event is PositionPark, the idea of which is to give exhibitors an insight into their own work, activities and developments. Here, for example, visitors could take a look at the operation of oil rig components, but anyone could also get behind the wheel of a BKV bus, although the transport company did not bring a complete bus. There was also a complete fire engine, a military vehicle and a blood plasma donation station - not only private companies, but also many public sector employers from the health sector, transport companies and the police were represented at the job fair.

They've also brought a complete fire truck

From two-man to 30-40 square meter booths, numerous exhibition areas with colorful signs, slogans or even banners with specific positions to be filled, were waiting for the visitors with the unmissable merchandise products and refreshments, decorated with company logos. And in the hustle and bustle of the fair, many people collected leaflets and gifts on their own, others in groups of two or three, and went from stand to stand to see if they had found the right offer. And there was plenty to be found: more than 1,000 job offers from almost 100 exhibitors awaited jobseekers, career starters, professionals planning a change of career and mothers returning to work. Mostly multinationals and large companies came, with a large number of industrial, transport and logistics companies, but also IT and financial companies, large retail chains and companies from many other sectors.

The auditorium was packed

Dozens of MOL recruits

Mol, one of the largest Hungarian companies, came to the exhibition with 40 employees and around 1,000 open positions, Tamás Bárány, Mol's group recruitment manager, told HR Portal. From Poland to Hungary and Pakistan, jobs are on offer for young people and experienced professionals alike. "Our aim is not just to get people to see us or to take a few souvenirs from us, but to reach as many potential employees as possible," he added. To this end, they aim to contact 1,000 interested people during the two-day exchange, so that they can recruit 10-20 new employees from this dip, the recruitment manager said. "We will be conducting meaningful interviews, career guidance, real job interviews at our stand, and we will invite suitable candidates for a second round of interviews as early as next week, so that we can hire the right professionals for us," says Tamás Bárány. In addition to many people from back-office backgrounds, they also attract a good number of engineers, IT specialists and HR people. Flexibility and the possibility to work flexibly are often among the questions from job seekers, but also the desire for stability, which the company itself offers to candidates, is also a frequent topic.

Home office benefits among the most common jobseeker questions

The BKV bus in detail

"Is it possible to work from home, how important is language skills, can the employee get support to get to work, what fringe benefits are available. These are the first things people ask about,' says a representative of another engineering company. The stand is a hive of interest, with visitors asking for details in Hungarian and English, many of whom are apparently from South-East Asia. "Besides professional experience, we also ask about language skills first, because in our company communication is in English. Hungarians and foreigners alike want to work in Budapest or the surrounding area, we don't typically recruit abroad, that's done by our parent company," she adds. However, in their experience, such exhibitions are more about employer branding, to introduce the company and company culture, yet they come with concrete job offers. "We are mostly looking for senior professionals, as the juniors are selected from the trainees who come to us," outlines the process, says the HR representative of the engineering company. This is the complaint of one of the visitors who left, who has a degree in operations and, although he would have liked to join companies as a junior, he was only promised a call back. He told HR Portal that he would have liked to have seen more smaller companies because he thought they might be easier to get into as a beginner. Another member of the group of friends was also disappointed. "I have a degree in humanities, I didn't get much work, I found that they only offered jobs to engineers and technicians. Office jobs are also more for finance and HR people," she adds. But others leave satisfied, having collected several offers. "What's on offer? - asked a young man on his way out. "I found some good opportunities, several places promised to call me back," he replied as he headed for the exit.

Looking for accommodation and entertainment

VR experience at work

The organizers' goal was to do just that, to get as many job seekers and employers to meet each other at the fair as possible, which has happened on several occasions over the years. What we are most proud of," says Csongor Hajdú, "is when jobseekers and employers who would have "passed each other by" in an online job application because they would not have been invited on the basis of their CVs, but "found each other" through personal contact. To this end, visitors were offered career advice, free CV photos, presentations with practical information on job hunting, health screenings and entertainment. Visitors could also meet ZORA, the humanoid robot, try out VR glasses, control LEGO robots playing football and take pictures with the interactive selfie mirror. "Jobverse represents the next generation of job fairs, combining the benefits of recruitment and entertainment events, the inspiration of conferences and the efficiency of face-to-face consultations," added Csongor Hajdú Hajdú, CEO of Frissdiplomás Ltd.

The Sziget Festival has also recruited promoters

Picture of MOL's stand at the Jobverse job fair in Budapest's BOK Hall on 28 February 2024