This Career Fair Hired Fake Job Seekers to Boost Attendance

A career fair that took place in Hong Kong on 7 May 2019 is entangled in controversy after it was reported that many of the job seekers that attended the fair were paid to pretend as applicants. The fake applicants were apparently hired through WeChat.

The action was taken to artificially increase the number of attendees and make it appear popular. The scandal was first brought to light by an SCMP investigation.

The fair took place in the grand ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, with hundreds of young job seekers crowded the recruiter booths. Salaries on offer were apparently as high as three million yuan (RM1,817,940) for some professional openings across the border in Mainland China.

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The career fair was supposedly organised by the government of Ningbo, (a major port and industrial hub south of Shanghai) and drew more than 50 recruiters, including universities, state-owned enterprises, private companies and NGOs.

Based on a statement by the Ningbo Human Resources Service Centre, there were 820 available positions, offering an average annual salary of 300,000 (RM 181,794) to 500,000  (RM302,990) yuan.

A week before the job fair, there was an advertisement that made the rounds in the messaging service WeChat to hire part-time actors to boost the number of attendees at the job fair.

Photo: Winson Wong / SCMP

The ad said: “You need to provide a résumé and wait for a job interview, which will be conducted for appearance sake. A salary of HK$200 (RM106.65) will be paid at the scene. Only nine spots are left now. Add me as a friend if you are interested. I will put you into a chat group.”

When questioned about the arrangement, Luo Jiamin, an official involved in the job fair at the Ningbo Human Resources Service Centre, said it had hired three recruitment agencies to provide suitable job seekers for the job fair and gave “transport allowances” for attendees.

“We understand that it’s now the final exam season in Hong Kong and many graduates may be tied up. Hence we hired these agencies to look for some eligible job seekers, and bring them to the fair at the time of the event,” Luo said.

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Source: SCMP

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