Two unmissable career events at hec paris

HEC Alumni Forum and Carrefours HEC: leading the way to top career opportunities

The HEC Alumni Forum, which takes place one week before the Carrefours HEC, allows students from all master’s programs to prepare efficiently for the upcoming recruitment event. It gives the students the chance to meet alumni and ask them any questions which they may have about their profession and their sector, as well as taking part in career workshops and conferences. The many workshops and conferences proposed to students include: CV guidance, interview practice, sessions to check Linkedin profiles, and conferences presented by recruitment experts or executive directors.

This year, HEC Paris notably welcomed Cyril Bladier, a social media expert, to give a conference on “the keys to being recruited on LinkedIn.” Daniel Porot, world renowned career management expert, also gave advice and guidelines on the best practice when job-hunting. Conferences addressing the marketing, strategy and finance sectors also allowed future applicants to learn about recent developments in common management styles, as well as about the new skills sought after in these fields.

Thanks to their experiences at the Alumni Forum, the students were able to confidently approach the Carrefours HEC. The two days of the career fair enabled them to meet over 100 international companies from all sectors offering internships and jobs. Around fifty start-ups were also present in a dedicated space named the "Start-Up Corner”, and the Carrefours HEC also welcomed, for the first time ever, a part of the fair devoted exclusively to social enterprise firms.

The recruiters present at the forum expressed that they had witnessed a high quality of talent at this year’s Carrefours HEC. Here is what they told us:

Cyril Paolantoni – Global Head of Goods, Global Investment Banking – Credit Agricole SA

“I’ve been coming to career fairs organised by HEC Paris for 18 years, and teaching in the school for 10. Having studied at the institution myself, I really know the profiles and educational backgrounds of the students well. I’ve learnt to evolve, with the students, to a curriculum that is more international as well as to expectations that are different to those of my generation. Due to the international nature of our activities, we require a diversity of profiles and nationalities among the individuals that we recruit, and we find this diversity here at HEC Paris.”

Agnes Houdaille Principal – Retail Consumer Goods and Private Equity - Bain & Company

“I feel very attached to this school in many ways. The quality of the students from HEC is always extremely high and they are a perfect fit with the profiles that we wish to attract.
In consulting, we work heavily with people, and this forum provides a chance for key face-to-face interaction with the candidates. Whether it is students in their M1 year looking for gap year work, or M2 or MSc students who are looking for jobs, HEC students are right on target with our recruitment objectives.”

Michèle Guerber - Customer Experience Manager Axa Global Direct

“The strong internationalisation and great maturity of the students has completely impressed me. The students who we have met have a very good level of understanding of the activities of the business and they already possess a clear idea of the career path which they are aiming to pursue.”

Charles Gambey – Senior Manager – Accenture, in the Management Consulting sector

“We have met some very interesting profiles, from a wide range of academic backgrounds and nationalities. We spoke to numerous students from the Grande Ecole and from the MSc Strategic Management whose skills fully match what we look for in the Consulting and Strategy sectors of our business.”

Lambert Delsol – Recruitment Manager– BETC

“HEC Paris has strong links with BETC given that our co-founder, Mercedes Erra, was a Grande Ecole student here and she is still very involved with the activities of the school. Furthermore, HEC Paris students have been seen to know how to relate to brands and work with brands.”

Raphaël Chuet – Manager Advisory – KPMG and Kevin Chhor – Supervisor Strategy & Operations – KPMG

“KPMG has always been happy with the students that we have recruited from HEC Paris and this is reflected in our continued presence at the career fairs here each year.
HEC Paris candidates are equipped with key skills that we always value within our business, for example they are assertive, analytical, professional and they have great business sense.