How would you describe the current job situation for somebody who graduates in 2020 and aspires to work in a European or international institution? What could be the “little extra” that might convince an employer to opt for her/him?
When employers pick people for jobs or internships, they don’t look only at academic qualifications and languages, but also at practical skills. It’s sad, but true, that organisations want to take on interns and staff who will be operational, almost in the first week. They look at a CV and ask how quickly this person would make the transition from the academic world to the workplace. The catch phrase is “employability”. In CIFE, our professional skills courses are like job training. We hope our graduates score high on “employability”.

What are the profiles of CIFE students, what kind of careers are they preparing for?
CIFE’s students come from all over the world, most of them having multilingual or at least bilingual profiles. Our students aim to work on European or international policy in a public institution (European or international institutions, or in a national administration dealing with international affairs) or a civil society body (often in environmental, human rights or trade issues) or a public affairs body (representing the interests of a geographical region or an economic sector) or in the specialised media. Many are interested in Brussels/Luxembourg, but also Rome, Vienna or Geneva – all of which are international policy hubs.

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