The number of business organisations attending the Career Fair has gone from 50 in 2005 to 100 in 2007 – and the number keeps rising. The Career Centre at Blindern has also noticed the “rush”.

These are good times for students, who are so sought after that the number of business organisations participating at the Career Fair at BI Norwegian School of Management has doubled since 2005. In order to meet the influx of organisations, BI has had to add another day to the Fair.

- So many exciting business organisations have shown interest in this that instead of having to say no to people, we’ve made the arrangement into a two-day fair instead of the original Career Day, says head of the arrangement, Kristin Heien Wilberg.

Wilberg agrees that the list so far is dominated by certain lines of businesses.

- A lot of these business organisations have been with us since the time BI was situated in Sandvika and focused on business administration, but we are working on finding organisations that will be of interest to all of our students. Last year’s Career Day was elected the best Career Day in Norway, as well as being the largest of its kind in Scandinavia.

The Career Centre at Blindern has also noticed the upturn. Head of the Career Services at the University of Oslo, Gisle Hellsten, is happy to share that this year they will use half of the canteen at Fredrikke in addition to the regular venue at Blindern Athletica, in order to room the close to 70 organisations.

- We are doing tremendously well. This year we were fully booked by 5 June and that has never happened before, Hellsten exclaims.

- So the organisations are really pandering the students?

- Yes, it’s safe to say that they are. There’s been a real rush of businesses wanting to join in. The students at the University of Oslo are very popular.

Hellsten goes on to say that this year they’ve arranged for seven organisations to hold job interviews at the Fair, among them the Ministry of Finance and Accenture. The Interviews will be held as a way for students to get in touch with and talk to the various organisations. He urges everyone, including students who haven’t finished their studies, to attend the Career Fair.

- The Fair can be used as a way to separate relevant employers from the not so relevant ones, he adds.