Company Dating gathered 28 companies and organisations

Wednesday 10 April, Career Service Centre (CSC) had arranged Company Dating at VIA Campus Horsens. 28 companies and organisations participated in the event along with 250 students. The purpose was to create an informal environment where students, companies and organisations had the chance to size each other up and assess the possibilities of work placement, student jobs or permanent positions. Every company and organisation had a small stand, and they began the event by shortly introducing themselves to the students. Afterwards, the students had the chance to visit the various stands and learn more about what the companies and organisations were looking for and at the same time build their network. The physical meeting is important Company Dating is an annually recurring event at Campus Horsens, and the chance for employers and possible employees to meet physically is one of the reasons why the event has grown into something big: ”Based on the feedback we get in relation to the event, the chance to meet face-to-face in an informal environment is an attracting element. Here, both parties have the chance to present themselves to each other and learn if there is a mutual interest”, Michelle Ros, consultant in CSC, explains and continues: ”Everyone must feel that they gain something from participating, so we have asked the students to bring their CV to present to the companies/organisations, which they are interested in. At the same time, we have also told the companies/organisations that they will benefit mostly from the ‘date’ by presenting specific postings related to work placements, student jobs or permanent positions”. 16 student jobs at LEGO LEGO was one of the companies which dated. They participated because they have positive experiences in terms of recruiting VIA’s students for student jobs and permanent positions, and they brought with them a total of 16 student job postings: “We know that VIA’s student are good at what we need them for. Therefore, it is an obvious opportunity for us to meet new potential employees. LEGO is an international company, and we therefore recruit both Danish and international students which nicely relates to the international profile of the students here at Campus Horsens”, HR consultant, Thomas Dahl Jeppesen, tells. Thomas furthermore explains that at LEGO, they believe in the talent as the students cannot know everything right from the beginning. But if they have the talent, they have a basis for learning, and we are able to ‘shape’ them. It is usually a success as more than 50% of the students, who have had a student job at LEGO, are employed once they have finished their studies. Happy to employ graduates Birgit Spek from LINAK A/S hoped that she would receive both some great work placement applications on the basis of the event and at the same time some applications for the job openings at LINAK: ”At the moment, we have four job openings, and I do hope that I will meet some great candidates for the positions as well as for the work placements. At LINAK, we happily employ graduates so years of experience are not necessary. And I would like to encourage the students to not feel limited by the content of a job posting. It is nevertheless very few people, who match all the demands, so it is all about taking chances and sell yourself with what you are good at”. Network is the way forward Many of the students, who participated in Company Dating are very aware of the fact that they need to network in order to find a job or a work placement. One of them was Chinese student, Yuanjia Chen, who studies Architectural Technology and Construction Management: ”I am only on my second semester so there is still some time before I need a work placement. But I hope to perhaps get a summer job or maybe a student job. At any rate, it is important to me that I talk with some companies and build a network which I can draw on in the future”. Rasmus Winther, Value Chain Management student on his fourth semester, was looking for a work placement for the autumn: ”There are some interesting companies here, and I have already talked with many of them. I am looking for a work placement, where I can work with purchasing and supplier management. But all in all, this event is a great occasion for getting contacts and I would like to make the most of it”.