Faced with a disrupted employment and internship market, Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) has deployed an array of services and initiatives for its students to support them in their job and internship searches. These include continuous surveys to monitor student employment, online recruitment events to meet companies, student and graduate testimonial sharing…and more. 500 internship agreements have already been signed for the summer 2020 period and 200 work-study contracts signed since May 1, 2020.
GEM students share their experiences on searching for internships during lockdown:
Some were smoother with a happy ending and others endured a greater challenge to find a happier ending. Bhanushree Tryambak second year student of the 'Grande Ecole Program', shares her impressions on searching for an internship in this very particular period. She will be starting her internship soon with a company called Big Bang Factory in the USA, while working from home in France.
500 participants in the online themed recruitment forums with EFMD
Lockdown has considerably changed the recruitment scene. As face-to-face interviews have not been an option, recruiters have turned massively to online video interviews and virtual assessment centers. In partnership with the EFMD, Grenoble Ecole de Management has set up a program of virtual forums for its French and international, students and graduates, from end April to beginning June 2020. These forums were for the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and covered a variety of sectors ranging from consultancy to luxury, through to biotech and e-commerce. GEM has supported its students through these new recruitment approaches with webinars, online interview, personality, motivation and IG tests to help them prepare and be ready on the day of their interview.
Enhanced support for our students internship or first job search
In times of economic crisis, young graduates are always strongly impacted by a challenging job market. This was the case in the 2008, 2000, and 1992 crises. The Covid-19 pandemic is a new kind of crisis. While lockdown led many companies to cancel or postpone the end of internships and to freeze employment, some sectors continued their recruitment campaigns and to look for young talent.
The GEM's "student experience and employability" service, not only continued their usual activity, (communication of internship and job offers, recruitment events, resources to support professional integration, etc.) they also:
- Set up a 24/7 helpline set up to support students in managing the trauma and anxiety associated with the pandemic.
- Made individual counselling available (with online appointments and meetings).
- Encouraged graduates to share career opportunities and / or mentor students more than ever.
- Organized virtual employment fairs, targeted sourcing and meetings with companies to help students connect with corporate recruiters.
- Put in place online resources to help students meet recruiters through chat applications, to schedule and prepare for interviews with these new techniques and approaches.
- Frequently monitored our student's internship and employment searches to continuously assess the difficulties being encountered, to identify job opportunities and to continuously adapt our services to their needs.
Student Services at Grenoble Ecole de Management during the pandemic
- The 'GEM Care Line For Me', a free psychological support unit available 24/7, in 14 languages and with online services available in 5 languages.
- The Personal Development Center and the Careers Service to assist and guide student in choosing the skills they develop, their professional projects, their internships, their first job, creating a good CV, motivation letter and a an efficient job search strategy.
- The Online Library including online training sessions, an online documentation search support service (also available on instant messaging) and content dedicated to the geopolitical issues of Covid-19. Access to additional online content and databases.
