Online recruitment more popular than ever in Arab world

The leading recruitment portal's optimism was based on its recent competition, 'Bayt Works for Me!', which received thousands of entries from Bayt.com users who have successfully found work through the site. Entries were from a wide cultural, demographic, geographic and industry spread proving that the site is truly pan-regional and pan-industry in its reach and scope.

Bayt.com re-launched its 'Bayt Works for Me!' initiative in December 2006 to reward the most inspirational success stories of job-seekers hired using its services.

A 'Bayt Works for Me!' link appears on the Bayt.com website where the best entries received have been published allowing site visitors to vote for the most motivational piece. Three finalists will be short-listed based on the number of votes they receive, and the candidate with the highest number of votes will win the grand prize of USD1,000 and two free business class return tickets to any destination in Europe. Votes can be submitted online by any registered Bayt.com user until February 28.

"The results of the competition were not surprising," explained Rabea Ataya, CEO of Bayt.com. "The internet is overtaking traditional recruitment methods as the best tool for thousands of people who want to not only get the best jobs but to also enhance their skills."

Ataya added: "We were very pleased with the diversity of the talent pool who have found jobs through Bayt.com. Employers rely on us to access a global talent pool, and this competition with its wide array of nationalities and demographic profiles has proved that our platform can deliver at this level."

More than 26,000 employers, representing companies of all sizes, now hire through Bayt.com, making it the largest single pool of employers for job seekers anywhere in the region.

Founded in 2000, Dubai-based Bayt.com has offices in 10 regional cities - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Doha, Manama, Kuwait City, Amman and Karachi.

Bayt.com has a database of more than 1.3 million users - mostly from around the GCC but also the wider Middle East, Africa, Asia, North America and Europe.