Virtual Careers Fair to attract 1,000 management and IT consultancy candidates

Having pioneered the return of the careers fair as a mainstream management consultancy recruitment tool, Top-Consultant announced today the addition of a series of virtual careers fairs to complement the physical fair staged in London each October.

The inaugural virtual event will take place on June 20th 2008, with 28 recruiting organisations having committed to exhibiting during an intensive period of marketing in March. As many as 45 organisations are expected to have become exhibitors by the time the booking deadline passes on 31st May. Further events are then planned for November 2008 and beyond, with frequency of event to be determined by feedback from exhibitors at the first event.



Commenting on the new initiative, Top-Consultant's Founding Director Tony Restell remarked:

A major factor in the decision to launch a virtual offering was the desire to make it easier for consultants to attend our fairs. Logging into a virtual fair for an hour is much less intrusive than having to take a day off to attend an event in person. Going virtual also addresses one of the biggest concerns that candidates have about attending a physical fair - that they'll be spotted at the fair by their current employer.

With Top-Consultant undertaking to ensure that only suitably-qualified candidates are granted access to this virtual event, priority will be given to candidates registered on the site's Get Headhunted CV database. Consultants interested in meeting employers at the first virtual fair are therefore being encouraged to register their CVs on the Get Headhunted system as a matter of priority. Get Headhunted members will then be invited to attend the virtual fair once the final lineup of exhibitors is known.

Restell also feels the format offers major advantages to recruiters, over and above the higher calibre of candidate that will be guaranteed by this pre-screening of candidates:

From the employer side a virtual event means that a stand can be manned by staff from across the world and that opportunities in a variety of office locations can be discussed with the appropriate member of staff. This considerably increases the likelihood of successful hires being made. An international presence on a firm's stand can be achieved without the need for any costly travel, loss of billable time or carbon offsetting expense. Setup time per exhibitor is also minimal and the cost of participating is a fraction of that needed to exhibit at a physical careers fair.

Recruiters interested in finding out more should request the virtual careers fair brochure by calling 44 (0)207 667 6880.

Earlier this month Top-Consultant revealed that job hunter activity within the management consulting industry is at a 3 year high, with this buoyancy expected to last through until the summer.

Trend data released by the careers website showed the number of job adverts being reviewed by candidates had broken through the 400,000 per month barrier for the first time since Q2 2005. This followed on from robust February figures which had also hit a two year high.