ESSEC Global Bachelor of Business Administration (GBBA) students from across the years have used the program’s internship requirements to work not just in their home countries but also in Singapore and even business hubs like London and Hong Kong.

They explore sectors like finance, luxury, healthcare, beauty, and more—with exceptional ones working with LVMH and J.P. Morgan.

One might wonder how these undergraduates, especially those fresh out of high school and without real work experience, manage to impress recruiters.

This is thanks to the suite of career services offerings that help them understand the job market, employer expectations, and how they can put their best foot forward.

Cerella Sim, ESSEC Career Services Manager for GBBA students, gives us the lowdown on the top three workshops that one should take advantage of.

1 | Curriculum Vitae (CV) Writing Workshop

This workshop is essential because GBBA students need help in two areas: How their CV should look and what information they should put into it.

To answer these questions, Cerella says: “A CV should be tailored to the industry, company, and role you are applying to.”

Noting that some students may feel pressured to compensate for a lack of experience, she cautions against adding details simply to fill the space.

Instead, she says, students should understand the reasons for including different CV components.

For example, a personal summary makes the most sense for someone with years of experience to summarize. A skills section should comprise attributes that can be measured objectively—not intangible traits that “you assess yourself.”

Importantly, any past experience must be backed up with a description of tasks—because, ultimately, “companies want to see if what you have done in a previous organization is applicable or useful to them,” she states.

These are all areas that the CV writing workshop will cover and that students can discuss with her during one-on-one consultations.

2 | Networking Workshop

You know how they say: “Your network is your net worth”? It’s true—especially in the job hunt, Cerella says.

“It is not that your academic achievements don’t count—they do, but with so many business school graduates in the market, what makes you different is your network,” she explains.

Simran Hathiramani, from the GBBA class of 2022, testifies to the truth of this statement.

“If I were interested in applying to a company, I’d look up ESSEC alumni working there on LinkedIn and chat for a coffee. It showed I was willing to go the extra mile and take the initiative,” she says, adding that her approach contributed to her securing at least nine internships throughout her GBBA journey, paving the way to her role as an investor at January Capital.

With this in mind, the GBBA networking workshop is designed to help students know what to expect.

Besides including the types of questions they should not ask when meeting someone for the first few times, it also goes a step further to help them understand how the person they are networking with may feel and why some are reluctant to make referrals.

What the workshop needs to do is give students scripted talking points. “Then we would be creating robots, ” Cerella quips, pointing out that if successful networking is genuinely about authenticity and sincerity, each student’s unique personality needs to shine.

3 | Interview Preparation Workshop

A last not-to-be-missed workshop focuses on interview preparation. Like the networking workshop, the session on interview preparation offers ample opportunity for students to role-play.

It even gives them a chance to practice their elevator pitch, a one to two-minute speech that helps someone connect with a stranger.

Also, similar to the networking session, no “right answers” are given. Instead, students are encouraged to come up with responses that reflect their unique characteristics and to use the feedback from the facilitator and their peers to improve for the future.

What makes this workshop stand out from the rest, Cerella says, is its focus on body language and etiquette.

This is because, in her years of experience, recruiters often use one’s sitting posture, facial expressions, and gestures to indicate genuine interest and suitability for the role.

Remember, Support is Always Available

Ultimately, these three workshops are just a snapshot of the programs available for GBBA students, and one can also look forward to career fairs, access to the ESSEC JobTeaser portal, and guest talks from industry professionals to support their internship or future career search.

More importantly, GBBA students can reach out to Cerella for one-on-one consultations, interview practice, and advice to make sense of their internship and career journeys.

No matter where you end up, she can guarantee that she and the ESSEC Career Services team will be ready to support you every step of the way.