FOI Career Week 2024: What lies ahead in the labour market?

Some 90 percent of students we spoke with at FOI Career Week knew what our company did; they could tell where our headquarters was and which technologies we use. Out of 120 students that took a quiz about the company, 40 percent answered all the questions correctly. 

All in all, we can say we wrapped another successful Career Week at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) in Varaždin. Our COO Marko Možina spoke on a panel; we hosted a workshop and talked with students at the booth we set up for the Career Stroll. Our employees, many of them former FOI students, shared their career journey at Emil Frey Digital.

The Ultimate Data Playground: A workshop in high demand

How to analyse and apply data in real-world scenarios? Our BI and data experts Kristina Muhek and David Koprek designed The Ultimate Data Playground workshop, which had 15 final-year students in attendance. More people applied than there were available spots; all the seats were booked as soon as the workshop was announced.

Kristina and David showcased data analysis with BI Superset and Snowflake tools, answering a bunch of questions along the way. Students could see real-world scenarios, visualize data and create interactive dashboards in the same applications that we use in our daily work. They worked in teams; the top-performing team won a day at Emil Frey Digital headquarters in Varaždin. There, they will shadow one of our developers to see what a typical workday looks like. In previous years, some of the students we met in the workshop eventually joined our team. Things could take a similar turn this year, too.

Managers in tech: Give yourself the best chance at growth

Managers in tech Saša Erak (Infobip), Jelena Jelušić (INSPO Consulting), Goran Kovačević (Infinum), Vatroslav Mileusnić (Tabu.hr ) and our Marko Možina took the floor to offer students a realistic look at the labour market. The founder of the reputable Netokracija magazine Ivan Brezak Brkan moderated the conversation.

Photo credit: Netokracija

Panelists touched on remote work, hurdles in employee engagement and things they’ve seen influencing young people’s career choices. Monthly pay is important, they said, but decisions will often be shaped by the perceived opportunities for learning and growth, as well as by the company culture.

For people in junior roles, working at the office is paramount, panelists agreed. And it is not about making your boss happy. It is about giving yourself the best shot at growth. You will likely learn faster if you surround yourself with a good team, if you do live meetings and have role models working by your side. Also, you will get a grasp of what your managers value and have a better chance of building your network. Over the years, this can boost your career growth - sometimes more than your degrees and formal certifications.

Career Week is one of the most important annual events for FOI students, connecting them with leading employers from different industries. This year, it had over 70 companies participating in the Career Stroll, workshops, panels and the Tech & Business Talks conference, all hosted under the Career Week umbrella 21-25 October.