Business Matchmaker, a one-day speed dating event for the students of economics was held on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, online via Zoom, and was organized by the Counselling and Career Development Office of the FEB ZG and the student association eSTUDENT.The goal of this project is to connect successful companies with the students of the final year of the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb. By participating in the project, students were given a personal introduction to a group of desired companies, or their potential employers through a combination of speed dating and job interviews lasting 6 minutes, and the most successful students were selected to the second longer round of 15-minute interviews where they had the opportunity to present themselves to companies and vice versa.
At this year's Business Matchmaker, 25 companies were presented to students, divided into 6 groups, depending on which student profile they were looking for, and in accordance with the majors at the Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb. This year, students had the opportunity for a quick date with:
Group A: InterCapital, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Zagrebačka banka, Addiko
Group B: Deloitte, Auto Hrvatska, Konzum plus, PBZ, OTP
Group C: King ICT, Fina, Athos
Group D: Philip Morris Zagreb, Kaufland, FLIBA, Orbico
Group E: SofaScore, L'Oreal, Foreo, HEP
What do companies say ...
... about the motivation to applying to the Business Matchmaker?
“King ICT has participated in this event before, so we were encouraged by the good experience so far and decided to continue our cooperation. We successfully cooperate with FEB ZG as well as with the eSTUDENT Association and we are happy to get involved in such activities. Our motivation is certainly the opportunity to introduce ourselves to students, to introduce them to our work and projects intended for students such as our Academy, and of course, the opportunity to meet students who may soon become our colleagues.” - Vanja Lazić, King ICT d.o.o.
... about fulfilled expectations?
"We have expected a lot of inspiring conversations and a lot of quality young people with a desire to grow and learn. That's exactly what we found at Business Matchmaker. We are very pleased with the interviews, and in addition to potentially meeting some of our future colleagues, we perceived in which direction our marketing should develop to attract new young potentials.” - Karla Marijanović, SofaScore
... about interaction with students?
“The interviews with the students were pleasant and constructive, the students were well prepared and despite the short time we had at our disposal we managed to get to know each other and recognize the potentials among them. We hope to conclude our perfect "dates" with long-term cooperation to our mutual satisfaction." - Vera Kutleša, Auto Hrvatska
“King ICT has participated in this event before, so we were encouraged by the good experience so far and decided to continue our cooperation. We successfully cooperate with FEB ZG as well as with the eSTUDENT Association and we are happy to get involved in such activities. Our motivation is certainly the opportunity to introduce ourselves to students, to introduce them to our work and projects intended for students such as our Academy, and of course, the opportunity to meet students who may soon become our colleagues.” - Vanja Lazić, King ICT d.o.o.
... about fulfilled expectations?
"We have expected a lot of inspiring conversations and a lot of quality young people with a desire to grow and learn. That's exactly what we found at Business Matchmaker. We are very pleased with the interviews, and in addition to potentially meeting some of our future colleagues, we perceived in which direction our marketing should develop to attract new young potentials.” - Karla Marijanović, SofaScore
... about interaction with students?
“The interviews with the students were pleasant and constructive, the students were well prepared and despite the short time we had at our disposal we managed to get to know each other and recognize the potentials among them. We hope to conclude our perfect "dates" with long-term cooperation to our mutual satisfaction." - Vera Kutleša, Auto Hrvatska
... about the organization of the event itself?
"We have to admit that we are very satisfied with the organization of the event. It was a technically complex event that included a CV database, a feedback application, a zoom app with a bunch of rooms, etc. Given that complexity, everything worked almost perfectly and the team working on the project was very fast, involved, and instructive. Congratulations to the organizer. You can be proud of yourself.” - Dario Bjelkanović, InterCapital
In addition to the companies, Ms. Paulina Lučić, the head of the FEB ZG Counselling and Career Development Office, is also satisfied with the entire organization of the project: “This year’s unusual Business Matchmaker, and by unusual I mean the online edition, was great. Since last year's event was postponed due to the pandemic, I was eagerly looking forward to the organization and the new opportunity to collaborate with eSTUDENT, businesses, and students. This is the 3rd Business Matchmaker in a row and we are marking growth in the number of interested companies and students, which really makes me happy. I think that students have an excellent opportunity in this way, towards the end of their studies, to gain the experience of a job interview, to introduce themselves to companies, and maybe to meet their future employer.”
Time will tell if companies have found their perfect ‘date’ among students, and this date has set a high bar for all participants ’expectations.
“Business Matchmaker is already a well-known project, but this year we adapted to the corona situation and implemented it online, which was a novelty for both companies and students. The organization was challenging - in such uncertain times it is difficult to know anything in advance, but we were positively surprised by the great response of companies and students, which gave us the wind in our backs. Positive feedback from both sides shows us that we have done a good job in matching employers and students and we are very happy about that. Together we have shown that everything is possible despite the corona! ” - told us Melani Jurišić and Sara Milić, STARTER team leaders.