On Thursday 27 April the Jobs Happy Hour event took place on campus with over 700 students registering to attend and 40 industry partners represented.

Jobs Happy Hour, sponsored by the City of Ryde and Connect MPID, was a two-hour window where key industry partners currently recruiting for casual and/or graduate roles, came on campus specifically to recruit our students – or as Mark Ames, General Manager of Connect Macquarie Park Innovation District (Connect MPID) refers to them, “the talent pipeline of the future”. To further capitalise on this student employability-focused event, attending industry partners were also invited to attend a post-Jobs Happy Hour networking event with Macquarie staff.

For students, Jobs Happy Hour was their chance to meet potential employers face to face, to build their career network and receive advice and direction from our industry partners. As part of the event, students were also able to get tips and tricks on professional business attire and styling from Zara, receive a free professional photo for Linkedin, hear expert advice from SEEK, GradConnection and Study NSW and chat to our expert career coaches.

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Representatives from Arnott’s Group were just one of the employers there on the day to speak to students.

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To help our students make the best impression at Jobs Happy Hour, our Employability and Graduate Success Team delivered a comprehensive pre, during and post-event program of communication and support. Prior to the event students were able to research the jobs and graduate programs on offer from attending industry partners and were provided with tools to help them develop their cover letter, resume and elevator pitch. Students then had access to a range of video resources containing advice from Macquarie’s own career experts, key industry partners and previous students about how to make the most of Jobs Happy Hour and present their best selves to potential employers.

Post-event communication to students includes information about how to follow up with potential employers and how to build on, and make the most of, the connections they made.

An event such as Jobs Happy Hour, which promotes and supports student employability, increases our engagement with industry and further cements our reputation as a quality teaching and research institution, is one of significance for our entire institution.

You can see the videos produced to support our students Jobs Happy Hour success here.