How can conferences help you find your first job in IT?
Near the end of college, most students start wondering how to get their first job. Some of them know roughly what they want, while others are not sure what they would like to do or where they could get a job.
Either way, looking for your first job can be stressful. Although student jobs are not necessarily a prelude to staying in that company after graduation, they are a very good opportunity to get an impression of the labor market and overall business experience. Besides, maybe you want to do something completely different.
Students of technical fields and the IT profession probably know that the tech scene is on the rise, so they want to get to know the most famous companies and what they do. On the other hand, there is a whole range of companies outside the tech sector, as well as within it, that also need labor in the fields of marketing, sales, finance, sustainability, and others.
Maybe you are thinking about starting your own business, but you don't know how to start. Maybe you want to do something completely opposite to what you studied, but you don't know how to break into that industry. Maybe the whole business world is an absolute stranger to you and you want to get to know it better before you go to the job market.
In any of these cases, going to such conferences is a good idea. We can take the LEAP Summit in Croatia as this year's example. This free and multidisciplinary conference, which will soon be held in Zagreb, will bring together 60 speakers and more than 2,000 visitors for a two-day gathering full of useful content intended for students and other young people who want to start their careers. We bring you several reasons why to visit conferences and what you can expect from them.
Conferences - creating opportunities for the first job?
Conferences are great opportunities for young people at the beginning of their careers to find out how they can use the knowledge from the university in the labor market. Students who already know what they want to do can get additional information about specific opportunities on the market and the work of certain companies. On the other hand, those who are not yet sure what they can do can learn more about market trends.
These are specific ways conferences can help you find your first job.
Professional lectures
Lectures by experts from different fields who have achieved significant success in their careers can help you understand how your career in a particular branch can develop.
For example, the lecturers at this year's LEAP Summit come from some of the most famous Croatian companies, such as Microblink, Lemax, and Addiko Bank, which cover a wide spectrum of the aforementioned. On the other hand, a whole series of startup initiators such as Albert Gajšak (CircuitMess), Ivan Božić (Ars Futura), and Mirela Sula (Global Woman Magazine) will share their unique stories about the very beginnings and development of their companies. Sometimes listening to someone's experience and business development can direct us or inspire us additionally in our ideas and plans.
Speakers at conferences often come from different industries and deal with different jobs within their companies, which may help you realize how many options you have with your specific knowledge and skills. Needless to say, how much you can learn at these kinds of lectures.
Networking
Conferences are a great opportunity to connect not only with experts but also with peers who are in a similar situation. Maybe some of them are already developing a business idea and need someone just like you!
In addition to socializing in person, you can often make contacts at conferences and later connect with lecturers and participants on social networks such as LinkedIn. Today, such making of acquaintances is extremely important in order to be able to follow relevant trends in the labor market and in the industries that interest you. LinkedIn is increasingly important in career development, so it is not a bad idea to build your profile in your student days or at the beginning of your career.
At conferences, companies and their representatives often share information about employment, so you can hear what the conditions are for student internships. Student internship is the key to entering the market, and through conferences, you get the opportunity to actively look for it, without going up on portals for student jobs and the like. This can additionally help you to sharpen your skills or to prove yourself and get a job after graduation!
Panel discussions and debates
In addition to lectures, you can often join panel discussions and debates at conferences.
Discussions are a great way to dive deeper into a topic that interests you and hear sometimes conflicting opinions about it. At debates, the atmosphere is usually more intimate than at lectures, which means that you have the opportunity to ask questions and get concrete answers to what interests you.
At panel discussions, you often have the opportunity to hear the speakers' personal views and advice, which can inspire you to read a new book or start researching a new area. That multidisciplinary approach can benefit you a lot later.
Thus, at the LEAP Summit, you will be able to participate in panel discussions with special guests from various industries on three stages with an emphasis on innovation, technology, and sustainability. Take it as the right time to deepen your knowledge while you're there. This will surely save you a lot of time, and the information you will hear will probably be useful for you later.
LEAP Summit: a conference aimed at young people
The LEAP Summit is a conference where you can certainly learn a lot about the Croatian business market and opportunities.
This conference, intended for young innovators, entrepreneurs, and those who want to become one, is being held this year
🕗 May 12 and 13
📍in Zagreb, in Branimir Mingle Mall, i.e. CineStar Zagreb.
As in previous years, participation in the conference is free, and tickets can be downloaded via the Entrio platform here.
The general partner of the conference is the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia, and the organizer is the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation. Both organizations invite students, innovators, and leaders to a two-day dose of education and inspiration and the creation of new opportunities.
Let’s meet!
