Nearly 500 students came to the first ever Asia and Middle East Graduate Careers Event, from TARGETjobs Events, held on 9 November. The event was launched after feedback from international students and careers advisers indicated there was a real need to provide advice for students wanting to return to their home countries of Asia and the Middle East to work and for UK/EU students wishing to pursue global careers. 2,000 students from over 50 universities applied for the 500 places.
Students invited to attend were carefully selected based on the events criteria and their suitability for the recruiters in attendance. UK/EU students also had to demonstrate a passion to work in Asia or the Middle East.
The Asia and Middle East Graduate Careers Event, sponsored by the ICAEW, took place at Senate House, University of London. There were a range of workshops and presentations to give practical advice to the students and plenty of networking opportunities, with the key international graduate recruiters such as: Abercrombie & Fitch, ICAP and Atkins attending.
Nigel Jeremy, Head of Learning, Recruitment and Organisation Development at Marks and Spencer provided an inspirational keynote speech that included a range of tips to help students understand the challenges of global careers such as cultural differences to consider when at assessment centres.
Vanessa McCormack, Graduate Advisor at Merlin Entertainment said “The number of quality students we spoke to was high and it was great that students were interested in the graduate programmes. The key note speaker/content was very good.”
The event was also very well received by students. Rebecca Yap from Loughborough University called it: “a good opportunity for me to network and find out about opportunities of studying and working in Asia.” And Jone Leung from the University of Bristol said: “It gave students interested in unique work experiences a chance to find the relevant recruiters”
