Today EAE has held Job Forum 2009, which has been attended by approximately one thousand students studying at EAE, more than 57% of whom are foreigners from almost fifty different countries.
This year, the Forum has been held simultaneously in Madrid and Barcelona and has welcomed the participation of sixteen recruitment companies - some of which have been present in both cities-, which cover the wide range of professional profiles of the candidates, from University diploma holders to MBA, Masters and postgraduate degree holders. The companies are: Kelloggs, Henkel, General Electric, Dell Computer, Oracle, Grupo Alsa, Fujitsu, NH Hoteles, TNT Express, Manpower, Grupo Inditex (Oysho), Grupo Cirsa, Mail Boxes Etc., Aqua Services, Human Management System and Sodexho.
 
From ten in the morning to three in the afternoon, students have presented their candidacies. In some cases, companies have held formal interviews with some of the candidates. There have also been informal meetings with the heads of recruitment and human resources.
 
At the same time, there have been several round tables to analyse together with human resources directors what companies are looking for in the current financial situation. Chaired by Margarita Velasques,  director of Institutional Training at Planeta DeAgostini, the round tables have been attended by Mª José Martín, Head of Talent Attraction and Retention at Manpower; Scherezade Miletich, Head of Human Resources Development at Fujitsu; Ángel Secade, Europa Business Partner at Avon; Patricia Alonso, Recruitment Consultant at Dell Computer, Vanesa Rodríguez, graduate recruitment at Oracle and Marisol Jaramillo, Human Resources Development Manager at TNT Express. Patience, flexibility, international mobility, versatility and, above all, committed, proactive and humble candidates have been the main demands that companies have communicated to students.
 
Esther Gómez, director of the Professional Advice Service at EAE Barcelona has stressed some of the most common features distinguishing the business school participants: “International outlook, flexibility, and especially a willingness to occupy middle management roles in organisations are all factors that make it possible for them to develop a long-term professional career”.
 
COMPANIES
Attending institutions have also expressed their high opinion of the forum and the candidates. In the case of Henkel, Carlos Enrique Álvarez, Human Resource Manager of the multinational firm, an alumnus of EAE himself, has pointed out that “the job forum is still a useful tool for getting to know candidates and examining their profiles in detail”. “Although hiring has gone down a lot”, says Álvarez, “we are recruiting for internships and jobs especially in sales, human resources and finance”.