Only the perpetual student doesn’t have to worry about where their steps will lead once they finally leave the campus gates for good. And judging by the attendance at this year’s Career Opportunities Fair, there are quite a lot of those more responsible ones. On Thursday, 26 February, CZU students had the chance to gain a clearer idea of their professional future at several locations across the campus.
Company presentations focused on helping students find their direction took place at the Faculty of Economics and Management, in the High-tech Pavilion of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, and at the Institute of Technology. The university-wide part of the Career Opportunities Fair then took place in the CZU assembly hall, where students could meet more than 24 exhibitors. Among them were, for example, the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, the Czech Army, Agrofert, AVE CZ Waste Management, s.r.o., the Czech Environmental Inspectorate, and three ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture. As expected, the CzechUs agency attracted strong interest, offering a combination of study and work abroad, alongside personal development. Representatives of ČEZ and Metrostav were also present.
So, what is a Career Opportunities Fair actually good for? For example, it allows companies to present job openings to current and future graduates across different types of employment, introduce traineeship programmes, and other forms of cooperation. Company representatives have the opportunity to share valuable real-world experience with students and, potentially, to select new talented colleagues on the spot.
And what’s in it for students? “The fair isn’t about visiting as many booths as possible. It’s mainly about finding out what roles and opportunities exist, understanding which skills are truly valued today, comparing companies, and forming your own picture,” explains Přemysl Gubani, Head of the CZU Career Centre and organiser of the university-wide fair. It is also a chance to meet company representatives in person, discuss opportunities, compare job offers, gain valuable advice and information, and above all, make contacts that increase students’ chances of succeeding in the job market.
What can a student do to make this event truly beneficial? Workshops and webinars run by the Career Centre can help. “Preparation isn’t mandatory, but it can give you confidence and help you take away what may be useful to you,” says Přemysl Gubani, who organised two such “prep sessions” for interested students: a webinar titled How to Look for a Job at a Career Fair, with an English version called Jobseeker in the 21st Century – Career Fair Edition. And on the eve of the fair, on Wednesday, 25 February, anyone could get mentally ready in the assembly hall through a fun warm-up training programme called TESTIVAL—an excellent opportunity to try model situations in a safe environment and receive quick feedback.
As part of the accompanying programme, short meetings with company representatives also took place in the assembly hall, bringing plenty of interesting information. The Czech Environmental Inspectorate presented the topic “From Tigers to Unmanned Systems”; EURES explained how to gain experience abroad with EU Support; the CzechUs agency offered excellent opportunities in a presentation titled “A Summer in America Like a Movie? Or Work, and Travel USA”, and representatives of Air Navigation Services outlined what a Dynamic Career That Makes Sense looks like.