Candidate search engine Workistry.com will host a month-long online job fair beginning July 17 and is expecting to attract approximately 30,000 employers from 98 countries looking to recruit in Africa.

Workistry.com has its head office in New York, with offices in Johannesburg, Lagos and London. The online database company facilitates interaction between employers and jobseekers, providing a platform to advertise positions and link up with suitably qualified individuals.

"We are poised to revolutionise the job market across the world, especially Africa," the company claims.

Workistry.com's value proposition is that they present an alternative to traditional methods of finding jobs, including press, word-of-mouth, advertising and, more recently, online job sites.

"We give employers an opportunity to connect with qualified candidates directly. You upload a CV. Employers search the CV database and connect with you right away. They (multinationals) can be in New York and connect with a candidate in Nigeria just because they like his or her CV. This is recruiting without boundaries. You don't need to post a job anymore. Just connect," reads a statement from the online company.

Benjamin Onuoha, the director of Business Development (Africa) at Workistry.com, says, "We want to create an equal and seamless employment platform for everyone. We are hoping that candidates will use this opportunity to find a fresh start, a better job or a new career direction."

Some recruitment professionals have advised that technology, whilst a valuable tool in the recruitment process, should not be seen as a replacement to building relationships.

Karen Ekron, Head of Recruitment Consulting at Sage VIP, says recruiters should not treat applicants like online commodities or imagine they can automate their jobs end-to-end.

"Today's recruiter has a range of powerful tools at his or her disposal to help make the recruitment process more efficient and cost-effective. From online jobs portals to social media, these tools make it easier to reach high-quality applicants, manage the flow of applications, and eventually complete the hiring process.

However, recruiters should not treat applicants like online commodities or imagine they can automate their jobs end-to-end. Though it can help recruiters to gather CVs more efficiently and identify suitable candidates faster, technology is no replacement for the art of building relationships," says Ekron.