JEDDAH: Young Saudi job seekers flocked to Al-Harthi exhibition center to persuade prospective employers to hire them.

They gave their CVs to the 80 companies participating in the Saudi Labor Market Exhibition. Participants included businesses specializing in architecture, media and pharmaceuticals, among others.

There was an abundance of administration jobs on offer, particularly for English language speakers with good computer skills.

There was also a booth from the Ministry of Labor, which had two large Arabic posters offering tips to people wanting to apply for jobs, such as providing an identification card and complete copy of a CV.

Other tips included having patience when looking for jobs, being punctual when attending interviews, and considering both the private and public sectors.

Staff at one booth told Arab News that they stopped taking CVs from women because they received over 100 applications for only three positions. In fact, they had already filled the vacancies on the first day of the exhibition.

Women still face challenges in employment, said job seeker Mirvat Hassan.

“I couldn’t believe it when a woman at one of the booths told a young girl that she would recruit her because she looks good. I did not apply at that company as the first impression they gave me was that they care about appearance, not qualifications.”

Another woman said she wanted to apply at a hospital but was asked if she would take off her niqab.

“I opposed the idea and told them on the spot that they have already called for the mingling of genders at hospitals. Today they ask us to take off our niqabs and who knows, they might ask us tomorrow to take off our abayas,” said the woman, who did not want to be named.

While some booths were good at representing their companies, others were not.

Two women from a magazine did not know who their editor in chief was.

Other companies did not give a clear scale of salaries to job seekers, preferring to stick to the vague answer of “an average salary”.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated last Saturday by Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishal ibn Majid, ends on Tuesday.