Pink Slip parties are a capital idea

Networking is often dismissed as a waste of time, but one organisation launching in Abu Dhabi last night says the secret is in bringing the right people together.

It's only been six months since Lourda Sexton founded Pink Slip Dubai to bring job seekers together with recruiters, but she says the time is now right for an Abu Dhabi launch.

Sexton says she was inspired by the American concept of Pink Slip Parties, with an aim to create better dialogue between recruiters and job seekers in a difficult job market. Events are held on a monthly basis in Dubai, with some 100 people at each.

"Pink Slip Dubai has become a springboard and forum for job seekers, some whom have been out of a job for up to five months, to meet prospective recruiters and employers face to face, allowing them to get advice, help and potential interviews. Equally, the events have offered employers access to proactive candidates from all industries that are willing and ready to work," she tells Emirates Business.

Since its launch, she says, Pink Slip Dubai has been able to rope in such leading recruitment and headhunting firms as Robert Half International, Kershaw Leonard, Manpower and Correlate Search, as well as HR consultants and career coaches who have offered advice and help to job seekers at events.

"My biggest achievement is launching the group without a background in recruitment and growing it to become the only HR and recruitment-focused networking group in the UAE," she says.

To explain how it works, she offers the example of an IT graduate who met a recruiter at an event in November and went on to interview with Microsoft from that contact. In another instance, an employer looking for sales managers interviewed four prospective candidates she met at an event.

Sexton is now ready to expand to Abu Dhabi, a market she says is ready for such focused networking events. "The employment market in the capital seems to be holding its momentum with jobs to offer. And there's been an interest in the events from people in Abu Dhabi who travel down to Dubai, so I've decided to bring the events to them. A lot of people commute between the two cities so it makes sense to offer professionals the chance of finding a job in either," she says.

"It will also provide unemployed professionals in Dubai an alternative market to look at,"?she adds. She hopes at least 40 people will come to the initial event.

And no, she says, networking isn't a waste of time. "In this part of the world, it's extremely important. We live in a time where there is much more supply than demand in the employment market and simply sending your CV to companies does not guarantee an interview anymore.

"But networking allows you access to diverse groups of people in different industries who may be able to help you or guide you in the right direction. It's definitely not a waste of time, if anything, it's the opposite. I've personally got any job I've had through networking and believe it's the most effective way."

- Tonight's event is at Sho Cho's in Abu Dhabi. The next Dubai event is on May 25. Attendance is by registration at pinkslipdubai.com. A cover charge of Dh100 applies.

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