On Wednesday, October 16th, DEKRA attended the internship fair at the HAN University of Applied Sciences
DEKRA present at busy HAN internship fair: 'Super important to be here'
Creating brand awareness
Not everyone knows what kind of company we are and the cool things we do when they hear the name DEKRA. “We engaged in discussions with students about DEKRA. Who are we? What do we do? And what opportunities do we offer for students taking their first steps toward a career in technology?” says Jaimie Houtters, Campus Recruiter at DEKRA Netherlands. She, along with three other DEKRA colleagues, attended the internship fair at Arnhem Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences (HAN) on Wednesday, October 16.
From early morning until late afternoon, Jaimie, together with Test Engineers Twan Kloosterman and Prince Kesavan, and Project Manager Abdel Allali, spoke to students from HAN in Arnhem. “It’s both fun and important to form a team with multiple DEKRA colleagues at such an internship fair. Our Test Engineers can answer many technical questions. Moreover, they can give prospective interns or employees a good insight into an average workday at DEKRA.”
'We need to create more brand awareness among students'
Around 50 companies, each with their own stand, attended the HAN internship fair. When asked if it was busy today, Jaimie enthusiastically replied, 'Yes!' “And how!” she continued. “We’re halfway through the day and have already spoken to dozens of students, from first-years to fourth-years. It’s quite busy today, which is great for us. It's very important to communicate and demonstrate what DEKRA is all about and the exciting things we do. Some students don’t know who we are when they come to our stand. After talking to the students and showing what we do, they understand much better who we are and what we do. Thanks to events like this, we can increase our brand awareness among students, which is essential.”
From graduation internship to first job at DEKRA
Besides building more brand awareness, an internship fair is, of course, the perfect opportunity to 'reel in' potential talent. “Today, we’re speaking with plenty of young men and women who are potentially interested in a graduation internship, as well as final-year students looking for their first full-time job and considering DEKRA as an employer. Together, we talk to these individuals and explain the extensive career opportunities within DEKRA.”
Engaging with students more frequently in the future
Seeing the real benefits of attending such days, Jaimie and her colleagues have more similar events planned. “We will soon be speaking to vocational students during an information day at Rijn IJssel in Arnhem. And early next year, we will travel with a DEKRA group to the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). These are also extremely important days to give a good impression of our organization and hopefully speak to a lot of potential DEKRA talent. From vocational to university students, we want to meet everyone!”