COVID-19 / Career and Professional Development Activities at Natolin

April and May 2020

The second semester is a time when students focus on writing their Master's thesis (submitted mid-May) and on the upcoming exam session (May-June), while at the same time they start to actively look towards the future in terms of their career plans. During this time, we offer various forms of support to help them prepare themselves and strengthen their confidence to effectively apply for jobs and internships of their choice.

 

"I am very impressed with how proactively and open-mindedly students at Natolin approach their professional development, from their engagement in student societies, online debates and conferences, to professionally prepared job applications. It is a real pleasure to work with them and be able to support them in the current situation at this important stage of their lives."

Łukasz DOBROMIRSKI, Head of Careers and Professional Development Office


One-on-one career consultations

One-to-one career tutorials or small group meet-ups have long been part of the offer of the Natolin Careers and Professional Development Office. This year we have quickly switched to the new situation, and all consultations were conducted via digital means with at least 10-15 Zoom consultations offered every week. During the one-on-one online consultations, Natolin students reviewed their CVs, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, and practised for interviews through role-play exercises, where we prepared them for answering questions about their skills, experience and motivation.
 

Career opportunities

On the Natolin Careers Service LinkedIn profile we regularly share relevant and interesting job and internship opportunities, and at the same time we highlight selected vacancies with our students via an online register.
 

Consultations for students pre-selected for the BlueBook traineeships in the EU Institutions

For students who were pre-selected for the Blue Book traineeships, we organized a group videoconference session with Dr Lieven TACK, where he shared his experience and advice on applying to specific European institutions, submitting documents and preparing for interviews. This group session was followed by a number of individual online consultations where students could discuss and plan in detail their approach to the next stages of the application process.
 

"Meet the Professionals"

As every year, we help students to learn from the experience of others, about how it is to work in specific sectors and institutions. In April and May there were the following sessions organized via videoconference:


Sector-specific career advice

In cooperation with an executive coaching and training consultancy, which provides professional career support to top higher education institutions across Europe, the Natolin Careers and Professional Development Office has also organised three specialized career advice sessions for our students:

          

  • 24/04/2020 – Communications jobs in the "Brussels Bubble" and beyond

This workshop provided students with a comprehensive overview of opportunities related to a career in political communications.

  • 02/05/2020 – Careers in Migration: with a focus on NGOs & Think Tanks

The workshop focused on how to address human rights and related policy in a variety of possible professions with a particular focus on NGOs and think tanks. It offered insights into the EU capital’s working realities but also looked into the situation of different Member States.

  • 08/05/2020 – How to get an internship at the European Parliament?

The European Parliament offers several options for traineeships. During this workshop, the focus was on obtaining internships in the offices of Members of the European Parliament through spontaneous applications and networking.
 

Other development workshops

  • 12/05/2020 – The Vision Workshop

This session allowed Natolin students to get a clarified sense of direction for their careers and practical steps for achieving that vision. They were guided through this introspective process with theories, models, a workbook, team-work and individual consideration.