Career Starter Week2016 edition

Feedback on Career Starter Week 2016

For the third consecutive year, HEC Lausanne’s Career Center held a week of workshops and presentations to prepare students for the labour market. With over 15 events in four days attended by 750 students, 25 human resources professionals, and partner business representatives – Career Starter Week 2016 was a great success.

A well-tailored programme with outstanding speakers

Opening ceremony, Hélène Béguin

Monday: testimonies and advice for a successful interview experience

Former HEC Lausanne alumna, member of the Board of Directors and head of French-speaking Switzerland at KPMG SA Hélène Béguin launched the event with a speech outlining how her own career path had unfolded upon graduating from HEC Lausanne. According to Hélène Béguin, the keys to success are flexibility and outstanding human qualities.

Inspired by this speech packed with great tips, students then attended the “Three minutes to convince your interviewer” workshop given by KPMG head hunters Stéphanie Robadey and Grégoire Deltour. Wearing a smart outfit, making eye contact with the interviewer and a positive attitude are just some of the factors that are key to making a successful first impression.

“Three minutes to convince your interviewer”

Tuesday: practical activities and advice

While the “Photo CV” stand located in the hall of the Internef was a hit with almost 100 students who had professional photos of themselves taken for their CV, the “Write your CV and stand out at career fairs” workshop organised by the Careers Centre prepared participants for the 2016 Salon des Stages by offering tips on how to write a CV and on what to do at a careers fair.The hugely popular “Interviews in English” talk was given by Nancy Pavanello and Beatrice von Mach from the Career Services team at Webster University.

« Business Dress Code» « Job Interviews in English»

Wednesday: businesses reach out to students!

PwC, L’Oréal, SICPA, Nestlé and Credit Suisse each gave a presentation and took part in a CV-Check in the afternoon. Some ten recruiters were on hand to answer students’ questions.

Thursday: labour market outlook

Students were able to delve deep into the future of the private banking career sector by attending a round table discussion. Two speakers – Wealth Manager at Lombard Odier & Cie SA Gianluca Mona and Professor Giuseppe Ballocchi held a debate on the subject with the former speaking from a professional standpoint and the latter from a more academic point of view. 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève journalist Philippe Rodrick chaired the debate.

To wind up the event, L’Oréal (Suisse) SA CEO and HEC Lausanne alumnus Marc-André Heller came back to his old campus to give a talk about his own career path. He encouraged students to try to stand out from the crowd and to choose a career which offers plenty of room for development. An aperitif and buffet supper after the talk afforded students a networking opportunity as well as a chance to meet the team from L’Oréal, closing Career Starter Week 2016.

Acknowledgements

The Career Center team would like to extend their warm thanks to all of the partner organisations which took part, ensuring the success of the CSW. Their presence and contributions enabled the students to familiarise themselves with the labour market, the opportunities available upon graduation and the means to achieve their goals: L’Oréal, Nestlé, KPMG, Lombard Odier & Cie SA, SICPA, PwC and Credit Suisse.

The Careers Centre would also like to thank the following participants: Ms Hélène Béguin and Mr Marc-André Heller for sharing their experiences, Mr Gianluca Mona, Mr Philippe Rodrick and Professor Giuseppe Ballocchi for their insights during the round-table discussion, Ms Nancy Pavanello and Ms Beatrice von Mach for the “Job Interviews in English” workshop and finally the Dean Jean-Phillipe Bonardi for his support and attendance during the event’s opening and closing ceremonies.