New Format for IE Virtual Talent Forum

IE Business School students and alumni participated in the freshly revamped format of the Virtual Talent Forum, a recruiting event where companies across the world were able to connect with students and alumni with different backgrounds and levels of seniority.

Unlike previous editions-- which lasted one week-- the new structure lasted the month of October, with each Thursday dedicated to a different sector: Consumer & Pharma Industry, Financial Services, Consulting and Law. Additionally, this second virtual edition established a wider time window availability from 11 to 7PM, allowing students and companies in different time-zones to join. These changes were designed to not overwhelm students, giving them more time to prepare and digest.

International recruiters such as Amazon, Facebook, Deloitte, P&G, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, UN and many more attended this edition. Over 200 companies participated, an increase of 30% and an all time record for IE University.

“I don’t think we will ever go back to a 100% face-to-face career fair, because the digital space allows us to attract not only a lot more recruiters but also more international recruiters,” explained Erik Schlie, Vice President of Global Alumni and Talent & Careers at IE University

Live company presentations also took place. Over 130 companies including Kraft, Unilever, EY, and AB Inbev gave 30-minute presentations.

“Companies had the opportunity to transform their engagement with attendees, to enhance their employer branding and to be more efficient in their recruiting strategies having access to a wide talent pipeline segmented by their profile,” said Alessandra Aloisio, Director of Employer Relations and Strategic Partnerships at IE Talent & Careers.

Additionally, the Virtual Talent Forum had a new feature this edition, on-the-spot interviews.

“Thanks to the new video chat features, companies could do screening interviews and identify candidates suitable for the next interview stage.”
Alessandra Aloisio, Director of Employer Relations and Strategic Partnerships at IE Talent & Careers

One Master in Management alumna was offered a position at TikTok after meeting with the company’s representative during the Virtual Talent Forum.

“I actually attended TikTok’s webcast and got very excited. I decided to contact the TikTok HR representative directly to know more about the positions. This was critical to me as she indicated me with a position I didn't think was suited to my expectations and experience. What helped me for this company was to engage with them. Had I stuck to the jobs board, I would not have known there was a job waiting for me,” said the alum who asked only to be identified as Camille R.

Recruiters also responded positively to this edition of the Talent Forum.

“My experience with IE Virtual Talent Forum has been great. It was a great way to connect with the students, and was overwhelmed by the number of turnouts and interactions that I had with the students. Despite not physically being there on campus for the forum, the virtual platform provided by the school worked just as well to interact with the students,” said Hideki Takagi, from Eli Lilly and Company.

“IE Students have been very participative both in the presentation and in the chat and we value that very much,” said Sonsoles García Pérez-Roldán, from Clifford Chance SLPU.