Business speed dating at EPITA
Companies regularly come to meet EPITA students on the school’s premises. From May 14 to 16, over 40 major companies sent their hiring officers and human resource managers to meet EPITA’s fifth-year students at a speed dating event.
Highly sought-after skills
The business speed dating event organized each year by EPITA is more than just an original way to find an end-of-studies internship; it is also an extra chance for the students to fully embrace the business world. Each year, dozens of students join major companies in strategic technical and IT positions. Laurence Bouchet, recruitment officer at Thales Communication & Security, stressed how keen companies were to hire EPITA-graduate engineers: “We very much appreciate EPITA students for their excellent technical skills. They may have just graduated, but they are already ready to work in the real world. They are autonomous, versatile and operational, as well as immediately adaptable to the business world. They have the skills we are after, which makes them valuable assets.”
From internships to permanent positions
Similar to the speed dates made popular by dating sites, business speed dating consists in presenting the company to a group of interested students, then carrying out face-to-face interviews which last 5 to 10 minutes. At the end of the event, many students went home with the details of recruiters interested in their profile. The event was also an opportunity to meet former EPITA students working in the companies present, who came to explain what their jobs consisted in and to set an example. Théo Campana (2012 EPITA graduate) for instance presented the skills required for his job as an operational risk analysis assistant at BNP Paribas: “The very strong technical skills I acquired at EPITA are essential for my job. Even though my tasks no longer involve development or databases, advanced knowledge in these fields is essential to carry out my job in the best way possible. The versatile nature of my studies at EPITA is great added value here.
Java or PHP developers, IT security specialists, telecommunications engineer, software engineering experts… there are plenty of different job opportunities, which are in line with EPITA’s specializations. “Many of our staff members are former EPITA students, Laurence Bouchet added. We are used to working with the school. Very often, students who started working as interns for us on a particular topic are offered a permanent contract and a newly-created position”.