Fair long on how to write resumes but short on actual jobs
The American-led coalition recently held something that hasn’t been seen in Iraq for some time now: a job fair.
On Tuesday, Dec. 9, hundreds of Iraqis showed up for a job fair at the Baghdad Convention Centre, according to the Associated Press. The fair was long on tips on how to write resumes and what to do in interviews, but was a little short on what most of the citizens came out for: jobs.
The job fair featured about two hours of speeches by companies and agencies, including Procter & Gamble, Bechtel Corp. and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Once the presentations were over, the employers’ tables on stage were opened up for applications. Hundreds of Iraqis desperate for work crowded around the four tables, trying to get their hands on an application or to get the attention of a company representative. But their weren’t many jobs to be had.
Steve Eachus, human resources manager for Procter & Gamble, said the company is just starting up in Iraq and it was too soon to talk about hiring. He said it might have 40 or 50 jobs, all in engineering. The U.S. Agency for International Development said it would have 70 openings, but not for a few months.
The one table that had plenty of work was the one with a relatively dangerous job. Titan Corp., a military contractor that hires interpreters for the U.S. Army, was looking desperately for about 250 people.
Some Iraqis labeled the conference as a failure.
“The conference is a failure. They’re only showing their products and marketing their products,” Ahmed Jassim al-Robaie told the Associated Press. “Iraq has good trade and we’re capable of trading. We should be giving courses to them.”
