Creating future leaders with industry experts
The Career Day aimed at increasing the employability skills of our students as well as connecting them with top employers.
A key date in the GISMA calendar year for all students was the annual Careers Day, which took place on 14 March and was organised in cooperation with Grenoble Ecole of Management. Aiming to have a meaningful impact on the industries in which our graduates progress into, our programmes and student services are relevant and business-oriented.
In Germany, there is a big skillset gap and the Careers Day seeks to raise awareness of our competent and talented students, as well as boosting their confidence in their knowledge. The aim is to prepare them for what happens after they graduate and enter the work environment. Showcasing some of the most innovative organisations, from start-ups to global businesses, students learned about company culture and met recruiters; for our international cohort coming from over 40 countries, one benefit was learning about the application process, which often is different to what our students may have previously experienced.
Maria Vaskova, Career Development Manager at GISMA Berlin said: “The Career Day aimed at increasing the employability skills of our students as well as connecting them with top employers. The event was a great success and a win-win opportunity for both our corporate partners and our students. It was divided into three main parts: company presentations and recruitment sessions, workshops and trainings, as well as networking opportunities for our students to connect with company representatives, trainers, coaches and peers across different programmes delivered at GISMA Berlin. This year, we proudly hosted Google, Texas Instruments, Wayfair, Zalando and Taledo”.
Google was represented by the HR Recruiter and the University Program Specialist from Google Ireland, as well as by the SCI Lab Facilitator from Google Germany. The company ran a workshop about creative skills for innovation, known as a CSI lab. It also delivered a company presentation, with focus on the recruitment and interviewing process at Google. During the recruitment session, pre-selected students were interviewed for open vacancies.Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) was also recruiting during the event last week. The TI representative introduced the company and talked about its excellent career opportunities. The students applied in advance for open vacancies in the areas of operations, controlling and accounting and were interviewed during the event. Zalando and Wayfair invited our students for a Q&A session. Firstly, the students gained insight into their success stories and their creative company cultures. Secondly, they received valuable tips on how to kick start their careers with Zalando and Wayfair. Another highlight was the company’s presentation of Taledo, an innovative recruiting platform, represented at the event by Akash Ravi, GISMA alumnus, currently working as Talent Manager at Taledo. Akash gave some advice to his fellow students on how to get a job in Germany.
During the GEM/GISMA Career Day, the students learned how to improve their employability skills in the training sessions. Lisa Heindl, from Yellow Couch, prepared the students for upcoming job interviews. Students also learned how to answer the most important interview question, “Tell us about yourself”, as well as how to successfully negotiate their salary. The workshop on career fair preparation gave them a valuable overview of the various opportunities a career fair can offer, how to prepare for the fair and how to leave a stellar impression with company representatives.
Given that becoming a consultant is a career goal for some of GISMA students, Dr Ulrich Schlattmann was invited to shed some light on the field of consultancy. He shared his experience as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and gave students tips on how to apply and prepare for interviews in this field. As some of the students would like to start their own business upon graduation in Germany, a workshop delivered by Dr Ingo Scheider dealt with the first legal steps of setting up a company in Germany. A session was also dedicated to GISMA female students. Dawn Hodorowski-Braun led a workshop on leadership skills for women. The aim was to empower women and help them in recognising their strengths.
A sincere thanks to our Career Development Centre and Grenoble Ecole de Management, along with all the companies and our dedicated students that made this event possible.