Student Future Day ‘connected’ ZŠEM students with a record number of employers

Student Future Day at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management was held today for the 13th consecutive year, and this year’s motto was ‘Opportunity rarely knocks twice’. This is a traditional career fair initiated by students, aimed at presenting ZŠEM and its students and alumni to successful Croatian employers.

By participating in the fair, students are facilitated in their transition from studies to the labor market, while companies are presented with a vast pool of talent in one place. Furthermore, through participation in this competition, companies strengthen their image as desirable employers among the upcoming generations in the labor market.

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This year, a record number of companies presented their programs for students, as well as business plans to interested students. These included Atlantic Grupa, Bina-Istra, Electronic Invoices, Erste Bank, Foreo, HT, Lider Media, INA, Kaufland Croatia, KPMG Croatia, Lidl Croatia, ManpowerGroup, Mate, Mediacor, Tauon-line, Nestle Adriatic, Next Junior Enterprise, Pevec, Platinum Invest, PwC, Procter & Gamble, Sense Consulting, Schrack Technik, Vindija, Vipnet, and Zvijezda.

In addition to booths where interested students could find useful information about companies and internship or employment conditions, communication between students and employers was also established during a joint breakfast and ‘speed dating’.

As part of the fair, a series of interesting workshops were held where students could gain an idea of what awaits them after graduation through play and work.

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Particularly interesting was the panel discussion held where company representatives were in direct contact with students, answering questions about their companies, the profiles of employees they seek among students, and the secrets of composing a CV…

Thus, at the round table titled, participated Emilija Spajić from the human resources department of Nestle Adriatic, Smiljana Štrbac, human resources manager at the auditing company KPMG Croatia, Vjekoslav Golubović, director for projects and strategic planning at HT, and the only one in the company from the sales sector, Jasminko Pintarić from Procter & Gamble.

– In Croatia, there is as much work as you want. What is lacking is quality personnel. We are not at this fair just to present ourselves to the public and work on our image, but because we truly need quality employees – said Pintarić.

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Emilija Spajić warned students that they primarily need to develop the skill of patience, which will help them overcome difficult tasks, but is also crucial for advancement within the company itself.

Štrbac revealed that 80 to 90 percent of those currently employed at KPMG came to the company as interns. – Our goal is for our employees to grow together with the company – she added.

Golubović noted that HT is primarily looking for STEM professionals, but also warned about the often-overlooked connection between STEM fields, economics, and management.

Furthermore, Golubović stated that tests and measurements using tests can reveal only part of a candidate’s personality, but that only standardized tests are not sufficient to take the risk and hire the candidate. All discussion participants agreed that a live interview is crucial in selecting employees for their company. They also warned students never to write a CV longer than two pages, to pay attention to the profile pictures they send, and to grammar, as often small details decide.

– Be aware of the context of the employer to whom you are sending your CV, and present only one thing from your life as representative. It is often not important that you have experience in the very sector you want to pursue in the future, but it is more important to us that you have done something where you showed initiative and resourcefulness – concluded Pintarić.