Oksana Domina, doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education was one of the two finalists of the University of Luxembourg’s job battle.
With the original TV-series having come to an end, the University of Luxembourg’s own “Game of Thrones” reached its grand finale at the University’s campus in Belval in the form of the “Game of Jobs”. The battle to conquer the “Skills Throne” was hard-fought between the students as they faced a series of different challenges to obtain the ultimate prize.
The event, co-organised by the University’s Career Centre and The Adecco Group, in partnership with POG,the Human Resources association in Luxembourg, offered the opportunity to students to showcase their learning and networking skills in preparation of entering the job market. For the second edition of Game of Jobs, participation significantly increased with over 180 competitors taking part, which showed their raised interest and the success of the first year’s edition.
ROUND 1: THE PREPARATION FOR BATTLE
The first round consisted of a series of 28 fun & motivational learning-by-doing interactive workshops. From March to May, students could learn how to empower their presentation skills, boost their networking and interaction abilities, prepare their CV, develop their e-reputation, enhance their understanding of the job market and prepare themselves for the next steps after graduation. Participants of the workshops were rewarded “skills points” based on their participation and the completion of assessments that they were handed.
ROUND 2 : THE FINAL BATTLE ROUND
30 students with the top number of “skills points” were chosen to participate in The Final Battle Round.They had to compete in a series of challenges based on knowledge they had acquired during the workshops. The 1st bout, “The Head to Head”, consisted of face-to-face interviews with the university’s HR professionals, The Adecco Group, POG and POST. The six best candidates advanced to the second challenge, “The Combat”, where they faced each other in a fun gameshow-like quiz. Finally, the top two contestants took part in “The Duel”, where they presented themselves in front of the jury and the audience. Oksana Domina, who made it to the final mentions that “the quiz was great fun and interesting. As for the duel, it was beneficial to see the other competitor’s speech and how I could improve my public speaking skills”.
All students received a certificate of completion with one student with the highest points going through to participate in The Adecco Group’s CEO for One Month Bootcamp.
The “Head to Head” Coupe de Coeur” winner was offered an internship by POG. The 6 participants of “The Combat” were rewarded with a variety of goodies and prizes including job shadowing offered by companies affiliated with the British Chamber of Commerce. For “The Duel” both participants were gifted additional items plus a private style make-over sessions with Look@work. All of which highlighted the employability value and career-focused approach of this year’s competition.
There could only be one winner of the Game of Jobs, so, after thoughtful deliberation, the jury named Joni Beu; student in Economics coming from Albania, the winner of the “Skills Throne”. Grateful and humble, he declared: “I think everyone is a winner in this competition. I gained a lot of knowledge and experience. I met a lot of people, I did a lot of networking, that’s what the key part is. I can say now that I am ready for the professional life that comes after the university.”
AT THIS GAME, THERE ARE ONLY WINNERS
Participating in the second edition of Game of Jobs had numerous benefits for the contenders indeed. As Sivakumar Bactavatchalou, Head of Career Centre & Entrepreneurship programme at the University of Luxembourg declared, “students from different backgrounds and levels of studies joined the competition because this is an incomparable opportunity. This initiative is multi-purpose: empower the younger generation, prepare them for tomorrow and equip them with the required skills, knowledge and ability for them to be successful in their chosen future career. As a matter of fact, this competition increases engagement of companies looking for recruiting the students of the University of Luxembourg while supporting the development of the Career centre initiatives.”
Game of Jobs will be back next year to challenge students, showcase their talents and abilities and empower themselves for their personal and professional future. The Adecco Group and POG will continue their partnership with the university’s Career Centre and both are already preparing new ideas and concepts to develop this exciting and fruitful project.
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