LAHORE - The Career Fair 2011 at the Government College University Tuesday received a good response by the university graduates and final year students who turned up thousands in number to explore employment opportunities in reputed international and national organisations, besides seeking information about the available foreign scholarships. As many as 22 noted organisations including Pakistan International Airline (PIA), WFF Pakistan, Allied Bank, United Bank Limited, MacDonald, KFC, Nestle and Descon Chemicals set up their stalls at the Career Fair organised by the GCU Career Guidance and Placement Centre and provided the students with information about the available positions in their organisations. The companies executives also conducted written tests and on-campus interviews to shortlist the candidates. A couple of media organisations also set up their stalls and interviewed the students for the posts of copy editors, anchors and reporters. However, the stalls of the United States Education Foundation in Pakistan, British Council and US Consulate Lahore remained the centre of attraction at the Fair, where students were briefed about the various foreign scholarships including the Fulbright and also guided about the procedures, requirements and eligibility criteria. Above 1,200 students of GCU have reported to my stall and received relevant information from the foundation representatives, USEFP Education Adviser Ms Rukhsana Monnoo said. Talking to the media, the students said that it is the responsibility of every university to help and guide its students in starting their professional career. However, they lamented that a few colleges and universities held such career fair for their outgoing students. Mariya Qanita, a management studies student, demanded that the government should hold career fairs at the national level where foreign companies were also invited to employ the talented youth of Pakistan. Hassan Maqsood, another GCU student, termed the Career Fair highly informative. He, however, said that the companies should also offer the students part-time jobs, which they could do with their studies. Ahmed Sahi, a student of BA (Hons), showed his anger that most of the companies do not inform the applicants about the salary packages and avoid the same query by using the term negotiable. Talking about the Career Fair, GCU Placement Officer Waqar Rahanja said the fair is organised every year to build a strong foundation for professional career of students, so that they could excel in market. He hoped that more than hundred students would get job through the Career Fair this year. However, he also said that the activity stood fruitful if even only one student got a good job through the Fair. Later, Punjab Public Affairs Officer Jennifer Larson and GCU Dean of Arts and Social Sciences Prof. Dr Khalid Pervaiz gave away shields to the representatives of the companies. He also appreciated the active participation of the students and multinational companies in the Fair.