We spoke with CEMS students Francesca Barberio and Margarita Ereiliadou to learn more.
1. What were the companies you visited?
We were very lucky to visit DocuSign, a leader in digital transaction management, and two CEMS corporate partners, Google and Salesforce, to provide us with insights on the career path CEMSies typically follow in the respective companies.
2. What is the interest in visiting these companies? What did you learn?
I decided to take part in the Dublin Tech Tour because I was curious to visit world famous companies and their headquarter offices. Throughout these two days, I received valuable insights on what these companies are looking for in an applicant and further explored the pros and cons of being part of these Tech companies. We engaged in a very interesting panel discussion with employees and CEMS alumni, taking a rather informal setting to truly engage with them. Tough questions were asked - honest answers were given!
What impressed me the most is how much each employee is valued by these Tech companies. Work-life balance is taken extremely seriously and considered from the top management level all the way down into every company department. All the companies visited showed that employees are highly valued and supported throughout their personal and professional growth process.
I believe that one of the most valuable pieces of advice given throughout this event was the fact that the tech industry can become very exciting, yet employees need to find a balance in themselves and in their work to not get absorbed by this excitement.
3. How will this event help you in your future studies/career?
Tech companies are a true constant when talking about future career paths throughout our academic life. Technology has emerged from a back-end support function to become the most involved and integral part of any company today. While I had a general idea of what it meant to work in the Tech industry, I didn’t know a lot about the working day of a typical employee in a Tech company.
Associating Tech with Software Engineering, it was hard to imagine myself working in this industry as a Business student. The Tour gave me the possibility to explore career opportunities, learn about the skills required for applicants, and had the possibility to connect with people from within and outside the CEMS network - something I believe has great benefits for all parties involved.
4. Would you recommend other student clubs join in this event or create a similar event? If so, why?
Definitely yes! Events like the Dublin Tech Tour have many benefits.
First of all, we had the opportunity to visit the EMEA Headquarters of some of the largest companies and best employers in the world. This opportunity doesn’t occur often and it is definitely not something that one can organize by themselves. We also had the chance to discuss our doubts during panel discussions of CEMS Alumni/ Employees at each of the companies. Which brings me to my second point: the Dublin Tech Tour allowed us to connect with other CEMSies and to thus increase our network! It was surprising to find one of my university mates from my Bachelor as a panelist during our Google tour! What are the odds of having a university mate taking part in a panel of three people in a company employing 7000 people?
Lastly, this Tech Tour gave us the possibility to spend more time together with our CEMS Club and to get to know each other under different circumstances. We also organized a night out with the CEMS Club Dublin which was an additional plus to this successful Tour.
5. Do you think that someone who is not planning on going into the tech sector could benefit from this, why?
I believe that curiosity is very important and should always be trained, as it is the key to personal growth. Even if the Tech industry might not be the most appealing career path for some people, interactions with Tech companies are inevitable. The valuable insights gained through this event were partly very focused on Technology, but can partly also be applied to every other industry.
6. On a larger scale, how do you think technology will impact our future lives, both personally and professionally?
I believe technology will be a big part of both our personal and our professional lives. During my past internships, on many occasions, I encountered situations which I believe will be strongly affected and altered by technology in the future. Increasingly, people are attracted by new or growing Tech companies and their products, such as DocuSign, which is the number one eSignature solution and has recently had its IPO.
The development and focus of the majority of consulting projects also show some kind of technology aspect in the project scope, hence, companies are greatly affected by technological developments and innovations. The Tech industry is a fast-growing and dynamic field with a challenging work environment, attracting many dynamic and hardworking employees in the near future.
7. Anything else you'd like to add?
I would like to thank all the companies that participated and opened their doors to our group of students! I would also like to thank all fellow participants for a great time in Dublin both during the company visits and during the evening social activities! We managed to make the Dublin Tech Tour a success and are looking forward to organizing it again next academic year.
Francesca Barberio - CCR Head of Communications
Margarita Ereiliadou - CCR Corporate committee member and organizer of Dublin Tech Tour