The Bangkok Spring Fair: All’s Well that Ends Well

Until just days before the Annual Search Associates Bangkok Spring, March 13-16, 2014, one of the biggest, albeit peaceful, anti-government protests occurred on the main intersection of two major roads around the corner of the Westin Grande Sukhumvit hotel. Crowds peaked at 100,000. Relieved Senior Associate Harry Deelman described it:

“Most days it was more like a street party than a demonstration, and it had become a great place to buy street food, stall-holders having flocked in from all over Bangkok, but it would have made access to the hotel difficult if the protesters had not moved out, so very conveniently.”

Participants, trusting they would not be affected by rallies outside, arrived to find clear roads, ease of transportation, and peaceful sidewalks in 100 degree Fahrenheit weather! The event was intimate and friendly: 79 candidates met with recruiters from 25 international schools with 250 vacancies. Harry commented,

“Those who were at the fair reported almost unanimously that they had loved the fair and had identified many attractive job opportunities.”

Fair organizers Vice President Michael Williams and Senior Associate Harry Deelman were joined by Senior Associates, John Ritter and Ray Sparks, so there was no shortage of advice and long conversations as needed by candidates.

Another highlight of Search Associates’ Bangkok-Spring Fair was the venue, the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel. Both of the hotels used by Search for Bangkok fairs are already renowned among Search Associates, recruiters and candidates for their outstanding food and social events. This year the Recruiter/Candidate evening mixer at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit, held at the top of the skyscraper in a room appropriately named “Altitude,” boasted exquisite food and a breath-taking view.

For those doing a little local traveling daily for the fair or those staying in the hotel who wanted to explore the shopping-center neighborhood, the weather in the mornings and evenings was delightfully cool. During the heat of the day, the air-conditioning in the hotel refreshed busy participants.

Many recruiters were kept busy until late on the Sunday afternoon, finalizing job offers, and a very healthy placement percent looks likely as this article is written. The London-Spring Fair in late April and the Bethesda Fair in mid-June will round off Search Associates’ job fairs for this academic year. Nevertheless, the power of the Search database, through which jobs are firmed up every day, continues regardless of the season.