Back

Leveraging its expertise and strong ties with the socio-economic world, IÉSEG offers its students comprehensive support for successful professional integration through the Career Program.

This program, available to all students – whether they are in the Grande École Program, Bachelor in International Business, Post-Graduate Program, or Executive Education – is a foundational element. Although it is based on a common framework, it is tailored to the specific needs, profiles, and requirements of each student group, making it a major asset for their professional integration.

What sets it apart from other career programs? To understand the unique features of the Career Program, we interviewed Valérie MARRAGOU, Corporate Relations Deputy Director – Head of Career Development / Employability at IÉSEG.

A pioneering and mandatory Career Program

IÉSEG’s Career Program, which has been integrated into the core curriculum for many years and counts towards graduation, is a pioneer compared to other schools that have only recently adopted this approach.

To succeed in entering the job market, obtaining a quality degree is essential, but identifying career aspirations early and preparing for them is just as important. Whether in France or internationally, IÉSEG is one of the leading business schools to have implemented a mandatory Career Program that starts in the first year and continues throughout the Master’s cycle.

All the students are required to follow this program, reflecting IÉSEG’s strong commitment to providing high-quality, personalized, and structured professional support that plays a central role in their professional integration. Failing to complete the Career Program means not obtaining the degree – a non-negotiable condition for graduating from the School.

Increasingly individualized and personalized support

We have designed the Career Program to be progressive, as the expectations of 17-18-year-olds entering higher education and often discovering the business world differ significantly from those of 20-21-year-olds who have chosen their Master’s program to professionalize and prepare for their careers.

In the Bachelor’s cycle, we focus on self-awareness through group sessions and concrete experiences such as interactions with professionals, career conferences, and initial internships. Students identify their strengths, intrinsic motivations, and true passions. This approach gradually guides them in choosing internships and their Master’s specialization – the first real step in their professional orientation. Our role is to support them from the start so they make choices that match their personality.

In the Master’s cycle, we offer support to help students better understand the job market in their chosen sector. We prepare them for recruitment processes, which can vary by industry, and help them highlight their professional experiences to stand out and effectively showcase their skills. Our goal is also to guide them in choosing a gap year or first job that aligns with their aspirations, skills, and the meaning they want to give to their career.

The Career Program in numbers: 6,000 hours of courses and 85 industry experts

Our Career Program stands out for its personalized support as students progress. From the beginning, they receive help with their CVs, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles to facilitate their first internship applications. However, in the Master’s cycle, support becomes even more tailored, with guidance from industry experts dedicated to particular sectors related to the school’s specialization majors (Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, etc.).

Our 85 experts, most of whom have international experience, have multicultural backgrounds and understand the reality of the business world. They are proficient in industry practices, can discuss their daily routines, and, most importantly, can explain to students what will be expected during selection processes depending on the chosen field.

In addition to courses, students can schedule individual appointments with career advisors at any time based on their needs. This option is highly appreciated, especially by third-year students choosing their Master’s specialization after their initial internships and seeking informed guidance for their career path.

Embracing physical career centers in the digital age

In the era of digital saturation, IÉSEG has made a strong choice to leverage the expansion of our Lille and Paris-La Défense campuses by opening physical Career Centers. These spaces embody a modern and human approach to professional support, aiming to enhance student experience by creating an environment conducive to exchange and collaboration.

Our mission is to support our students in achieving successful professional integration aligned with their skills and aspirations. However, our ambition goes beyond that: our true goal is to help them find their place in society. This ambition is built on a relationship of trust, strengthened by these new spaces we provide for them.

An ecosystem of tools and strategic partnerships

Beyond offering advice, IÉSEG’s Career Program is an ecosystem of tools and strategic partnerships dedicated to our students’ success.

We provide numerous support tools on My Career Center platform, including access to Graduates First for online preparation for various tests (logical, spatial, numerical, verbal, situational, etc.), CaseCoach for preparing for interviews with top consulting firms, and Career Set, an AI tool to optimize CVs and cover letters based on job offers.

Additionally, since 2019, our partnership with AlumnEye has strengthened our support for students aiming for a career in Finance. They benefit from the expertise of professionals from prestigious institutions, who assist them in building their career projects and finding internships, gap years, or first jobs in renowned financial institutions.