Over 500 people took part in the
first virtual iWorkinSport Job Fair last Friday, allowing recruiters from
several of the world’s most prestigious sports organisations to meet and
interview new talent from Europe’s leading sports management programmes during
the COVID-19 crisis.
Representatives from the
International Olympic Committee, FIFA, FIBA, adidas and football clubs FC
Internazionale Milano and Juventus FC, among others, welcomed over 400
prospective employees to their booths during the eight-hour event on 8 May.
Initially scheduled to take place
in person at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, the job
fair was moved online at short notice due to travel and social-distancing
restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It wasn't easy, but we are proud
of the innovative solution that we managed to provide to all of our partners
and stakeholders – recruiters, academic partners, and especially the candidates
attending the first iWorkinSport Virtual Job Fair," said Joao Frigerio, Founder
of iWorkinSport. “We’re grateful and humbled by the numerous messages we
received from participants who spontaneously took the time show their
appreciation."
4ComM
Career Management called the virtual job fair “a priceless experience," while
World Football Summit claimed it was “yet another great event by iWorkinSport."
“We were pleasantly surprised by both the volume and calibre of the sports management students and graduates we interacted with," said Mitchell Stafford Management (MSM) CEO Andrew Mitchell. “It was an honour for us to take part in the event alongside such big names in the sports industry and we look forward to participating again next year."
The International Olympic Committee posted on their Linkedin page: "The #IOC was delighted to take part in the very first virtual iWorkinSport Job Fair. For a whole day, our recruitment team and a couple of our interns spoke with more than 100 prospective candidates from around the world."
EU
Business School postgraduate Mikheil Gabechava said: “Your amazing event
provided me with an incredible opportunity to be interviewed by one of the
biggest sports companies in the world."
Nico
Alomar Casá, an ESADE MBA Candidate, added: “It was a great experience to
connect with and hear from such talented individuals. I was happy to have been
a part of the day!"
In addition to having the
opportunity to pose questions to recruiters, present their CVs and participate
in video interviews, job seekers could also attend company presentations in the
virtual auditorium. Taking centre stage throughout the day were Juventus FC,
Horizm, Columbia Sportswear, Outdooria, Soccerex, Teqball, World Football
Summit, and adidas. Attendees also watched a keynote speech by Jair Bertoni,
Director Member Associations Americas at FIFA.
THE FINAL
LIST OF RECRUITERS:
4ComM, adidas, Columbia
Sportswear, Entourage Sports & Entertainment, FIBA, FIFA, Horizm, IMG, Internazionale Milano, International Olympic Committee (IOC), Juventus FC, Mitchell
Stafford Management, Outdooria.ch, Soccerex, Sportunity, SportWorks, TEAM
Marketing, TEQBALL and the World Football Summit (WFS).
GRADUATES AND ALUMNI FROM THESE
SPORTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES ATTENDED:
AISTS, Columbia
University, Coventry University, Johan Cruyff Institute, Esade, ESBS, EU
Business School, FBA The Football Business Academy, FIFA
Master, University of Liverpool and SDA Bocconi.
The iWorkinSport Virtual Job Fair was presented by Engage Sport & Entertainment with the support of ThinkSport.
The next edition of the iWorkinSport Job Fair is scheduled to return to the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne in the spring of 2021.