14 November 2016. The event staged jointly by the career services of a total of 16 Swiss universities started at 6 p.m. Students were able to glean information about career opportunities in a variety of formats, have their CVs checked by experts and collect important tips for perfect short presentations and appropriate clothing. Food and drinks were also at hand at all times – participants had been invited to a supper and to the career bar.

Besides a small corporate fair with representatives of various industries, companies, experts and student associations provided an insight into their work. There were valuable suggestions, for instance as to how the "design thinking" approach could already be used in everyday student life, how small talk really works and what options there are in the start-up sector or in development cooperation.

Career information in a casual atmosphere

The focus of the Long Night of Careers was not on applying directly to companies. Rather, it was on an opportunity to have an unhurried closer look at the extensive options and to establish contact with people. It was precisely this approach which proved to have a great appeal to the participants in the last two years. "In view of the vast number of options that we students have on the labour market these days, it is great to become better acquainted with companies in personal contact and to be able to get a clearer idea of one’s own profile for the future. The fact that the University makes an effort to stage such events is very helpful," says student Stefano Saeger.

HSG wins Power Challenge against the University of Zurich

As a highlight of the evening, the HSG team was able to win a ludic energy competition, the so-called "Power Challenge", against the University of Zurich. The task was to generate power by riding bikes during the whole evening and to persuade as many people as possible to join in. The award for this victory will be burgers, chips and a vegetarian variant made available to the whole University free of charge by a mobile snack van, the Foodtruck, on 7 December 2016. Congratulations!

Ann-Sophie Kowalewski is studying Strategy and International Management (SIM-HSG) in the first semester.

<script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>