September 19, 2022

Career Education Day Through my Eyes

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Career Education Day Through my Eyes

Career Education Day Through my Eyes

By Student Dora Rašin

March, 28th, 2022

RIT Croatia: Different from Day 1
Whether you're navigating the RIT Croatia website, touring the Zagreb and Dubrovnik campuses, or creeping on the college's social media, it quickly becomes clear that "Different from Day 1" is one of RIT Croatia's most important slogans. But how exactly has the college maintained its uniqueness since its conception, and why is it important? Career Education Day is a great example of how RIT Croatia continuously adds value to its students, its employees, and its overall community.

What is Career Education Day?
Career Education Day, often shortened to CED, is an annual event held by RIT Croatia, where hundreds of companies and business representatives present themselves to the RIT Croatia family, while students are encouraged to develop networks, learn more about the business world, and meet and interview with company representatives.
As an International Business student, this year's CED, I attended five mandatory panels and one optional in-person panel the following day. I learned about new companies, general business guidelines, and developed networks with business representatives. Even though Career Education Day hasn't been back in its true form since 2019 due to COVID restrictions, its pillars of authenticity and student support have remained the same.

My Experience: Online Panels
From 9 AM to 2 PM, there were five online panels, each totaling around an hour, with a 10-minute break in-between. Here are the ones that stood out to me the most:
The opening Zoom panel is a discussion titled: "Animals and plants are not the only hybrid thing in the future. Should we be scared of automatization?" The main question of the panel: How/if the company representatives have been dealing with increasing automatization. One company representative mentions they've started implementing cardless hotel keys, opening the door to your hotel room with the press of a button on your smartphone. Another company representative mentions they've allowed their guests to have complete control over the technical functions of their "smart room" through an app on their smartphone, allowing them to control heating, air conditioning, automatic drapes, and much more. I wonder if the beginnings of these automatization processes will already affect tourism-dependent Croatia this summer.

Around noon, another Zoom panel takes place, titled "Ready to make a great impression at the interview," and features employees from Smart Group, an HR firm; Maistra d.d., a Croatian hotel company; and Alexander Hughes, an executive search firm. Over the course of an hour, dollops of tips and tricks are shared with the 100+ participants:
  • While professional pictures aren't mandatory on your resume, make sure they're professional. That means no pictures with bikinis and sunglasses, which surprisingly, the employers have received over the years.
  • Interview preparation is a must, including having an idea of potential questions ahead of time (and memorizing your answers to those questions as well!).
  • Remembering the employers are human just like everyone else, and don't bite during interviews, is another important reminder. I myself tend to get so nervous around interviews, doubting my skills leading up to the moment, and second-guessing everything I said once the interview is over. I make a mental note to keep this gentle reminder in the back of my head, saving it until I need it.
Through CED panels such as this one, my perspective shifts completely. For so long, I've imagined the person who looks at CVs as a faceless character, throwing a mere glance at my CV amongst a sea of others. Now, I'm able to finally able to add a friendly face to the picture, a human being, who, like so many others, is just trying to do their job.

When the day ends at 2:00 pm, I'm honestly pretty drained. Sitting at the computer for five hours, deprived of the physical presence of presenters, classmates and potential coworkers, isn't exactly how I imagined Career Education Day to go the second time around. But, it must not be an ideal situation for everyone else involved either - as long as everyone is putting in effort, that is what matters. Plus, I remind myself, this year's CED has something last year's didn't: in-person events!

My Experience: In-Person 'Employer Booths'
Thursday, the day after Career Education Day, rolls around. This day is reserved for optional, more-intimate, and in-person events on the Zagreb campus. While live events take place from morning to late afternoon, I only signed up for one hour-long event: "Employer Booths." Lidl, IBM, Ernst & Young, and Coca-Cola Croatia are just a handful of the companies that will be there. To prepare myself, I do some quick research about the companies and jot down some general questions. Walking into the classroom where the event is being held, I notice each company booth is uniquely stationed around the room, with their tables donning goodies such as pens, notebooks, sticky-note pads, brochures, and candies. As I find myself drawn to the aesthetically-arranged tables, friendly faces of company representatives await to greet me. "How are you? Have you heard of our company before? Can I help answer any questions?" Are questions I hear at every table I visit.
At the 24sata booth, company representative Ana Tomic shows me examples of content marketing interns have done, and lists fun events the company has done in the past. Her patience and eagerness to answer my questions encourages me to exchange contact information with her.
A couple of tables down at the FOREO booth, I'm impressed by the collection of company products, such as various facial-cleansing devices and luxurious face masks. Even more impressive to me is the fact that many FOREO locations are women-driven, and that the young employee demographic constantly contributes to innovation at the company.

Later on, I end up at Addiko Bank, where, upon taking a fun and short quiz about the company, I find out that sneakers and sweatshirts overtake suits and ties as proper office attire (and employees like it!), that the bank is an innovator for simpler and faster online banking in Croatia, and that the tightly-knit company culture makes employees love coming to work each day.
And with that, Career Education Day 2022 comes to a close for me. Following panels about the post-pandemic world, interview tips, and a handful of business contacts, I realize I have a lot to think about.

Final Thoughts
If you still don't believe RIT Croatia is different from day 1, just take a look at these stats…
Career Education Day 2022 featured:
  • 145 companies
  • 53 alumni
  • Companies from Croatia, USA, UK, UAE, Ireland, Greece, Germany, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Norway
  • 47 total activities over just 4 days
All of these moving parts work tirelessly to deliver the best possible experience to you: the student. In essence, Career Education Day is a day of self-reflection for students. It pushes you to think about what you would like to do after you graduate; what kind of life you would like to lead. It doesn't matter if you have a five-year plan, or no idea. CED is a pause in the frenzy of the school week to reflect and think about yourself.




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