The workshops focus on developing the talents of our students. By providing them with skills that every successful employee should have, we are increasing their future chances of success on the job market. The event is also an opportunity for your company to get to know the next generation of economists and business specialists, to help with their development and to exchange knowledge. Examples of relevant topics include application skills or other professional skills.

The workshops of the careers week are based on the career circle. The career cycle is a framework with four stages that students progress through before entering the labour market. To help our students in their career orientation, we would like to encourage you to give a workshop that fits into one of the four career stages.

Step1. Get to know yourself

Students begin to identify their values, interests, skills and personal traits. They become more aware of which career “fits” them.

Workshop inspiration to help students find the right career path

• Self-assessment tests
• Self-awareness workshop

Step2. Get to know the labour market

Students explore and research career possibilities and learn the connections between academic learning and the practical work field.

Workshop inspiration to introduce students to different career opportunities

• Introduce a specific or professions
• Inform about career opportunities at your organisation
• How does theory meet practice at your organisation

Step3. Develop yourself and your skills

Students acquire specific employability skills and practical experience that will help them on the labour market and makes them “test the waters”.

Workshop inspiration to help students gain needed skills for the labour market

• Team work
• Time management
• Intercultural communication

Step4. Get the job

Students develop resume and cover letter writing skills, refine their job search strategy to ultimately enter the labour market.

Workshop inspiration to help students apply successfully:

• Interview skills
• CV and cover letter writing
• Preparing elevator pitches

Another opportunity for companies to recruit talented young students during the Careers Week is at the job market, which is called ‘Company Dating’. In a dynamic, informal setting, you can meet students from different backgrounds through one-on-one conversations at your own stand. This is the most effective way of recruiting competent, highly motivated students and making them aware of specific job positions, project collaborations, internships and traineeships. Company Dating also enables you to network with other companies and entrepreneurs.

Give a workshop to help students prepare for the job market and participate in the Company Dating job fair to meet students in an informal setting to introduce your company and job opportunities.

Rik Hogendoorn - Fit Professionals of Finance:

‘Running a workshop during the Careers Week means that you can teach students something about the professional field, while also drawing positive attention to your company. Company Dating is a great way of making informal contact with students. We’re keen to meet these students, because they are the future and Fit Professionals has a lot of great jobs for financial starters.’

Juliette Rossignol - Flexport:

‘We had two reasons for taking part in the Careers Week: 1) Employer branding: we are still a young company and we take on quite a lot of young graduates, but we’d never actually been to the UG. The Careers Week was a great opportunity to expand our network; and 2) Recruiting young graduates for our operations and sales departments.’

‘Giving a workshop enabled us to show students what they could expect from us. We wanted them to see what they would be doing on a daily basis if they came to work for us. The students said that they were taking part in our workshop to get some practical experience, parallel to the theoretical knowledge they were acquiring at university.’

Christel Knoop, Recruiter Human Resources – Rabobank:

‘We took part in the Careers Week to help UG students to make the right career choice. We did this by running a workshop in which we showed them how they could shape their own careers, and how to present themselves on the job market. So it wasn’ t so much about promoting the Rabobank, but more about inspiring them and lifting the lid on application processes from the point of view of the potential employers. The students were highly motivated and enthusiastic, which meant that the workshop became an inspiring, interactive session!’