The event attracted leading European hospitality firms, with a strong UK representation. Participants included hotel companies Accor, Best-Western, Hilton International, Hyatt International, Sol Mélia and the Savoy Group. Food service companies were present with Compass and Elior representing contract catering, and Groupe Le Duff for quick service restaurants. Hospitality consultants Ernst & Young, PKF Consulting, and KPMG Tourism Hospitality & Leisure made a strong appeal from a sector which particularly appreciates IMHI’s MBA graduates. Leisure companies Disneyland Paris and Marriott Vacation Club presented careers in theme park / resort management and timeshare. Naturally, Europe’s leading hospitality recruitment firms were present: Profile, Portfolio, and FM Recruitment out of the UK, and AJ Conseil  of France. Cyber-recruiters Central CHR, L’Hotellerie, and Cybersearch allowed students to discover hospitality-specialised web recruitment.

The event was entirely organized by a team of students in close cooperation with the school's Corporate Relations Office, in  response to growing demand from hospitality recruiters to reach qualified, international managers who are dedicated to the sector. Not only does a face-to-face jobfair allow students to meet the key players on the market, but it helps employers get an up-close idea of the new generation of manager’s expectations concerning their careers. 

The agenda included a panel discussion in the morning, moderated by Profile Paris’  Managing Director, Michele Alguacil, and a jobfair  in the afternoon where each company set up stands to  meet students individually.

During the panel, several hot career-related topics were discussed: 

• Expatriation is important in a young person’s career, a real plus on the CV, but recruiters insisted that students beware – and weigh the personal side of expatriation carefully. 
• Assessment centers, psychometric tests, and a barrage of other techniques are clearly the trends to watch for when applying to Europe’s leading hospitality firms – accross the board hospitality firms are using more scientific approaches to selection.
• In a tight jobmarket, what are companies doing to attract and keep the finest? Everything from incentive based pay, bonus and stock option plans, recognition programs, intranet employment marketing, partnerships with schools, facilitating mobility, integrated training programs, and most of all improved communication of internal job opportunities aimed at retaining talented staff.
• Why hire a hospitality MBA graduate? According to the panel, internationalism, the knowledge based economy, and mergers & acquisitions activity in the field of hospitality mean that the sector needs more business-people than ever before. Hospitality MBA graduates offer the advantage of combining business acumen with hospitality background and knowledge of operations.

CV on-line is a cyber CV book on the Web, which allows the recruiters to access, print out and select the CVs of year 2000 graduates according to different criteria (foreign languages, previous experience, or professional objectives). You can find CV on-line on the following site : www.essec.fr/imhi/cv.

Participating companies received CV-Online’s CV book created by the students in CD-ROM format.

IMHI is Europe’s leading MBA in International Hospitality Management jointly operated by Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Group ESSEC, making it a real business school for hotel, restaurant and tourism managers. IMHI’s 18-month study program prepares future leaders for the hospitality industry; it is truly international and keeps close ties with the sector’s leading corporations. Entry requirements include bachelor’s degree education, fluency in English language and prior professional experience in hotel, restaurant or tourism industries.

Group ESSEC is a private graduate school of management (established in 1901), accredited by the International Association for Management Education, affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Versailles, Val d’Oise, Yvelines.