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Debut & Capgemini’s Careers Insight Event was a masterclass in diverse and ethical recruitment

On Nov. 1, Capgemini hosted a huge Insight Event at beautiful Debut HQ. Here's what a few of the 100 Debutants that came thought.
Alex Ekong
Alex Ekong
capgemini event

It’s Wednesday, quarter to 6 in the evening and Charlie, Debut’s founder and CEO is calling me on Whatsapp. “You’ve got to come and take a picture of this,” he pants. “They’re queuing out the door!”

By the time I rush down to the lobby, it’s too late. The waiting crowd poured into the venue, spreading out to every crack and corner. Looking at the crowd, you might think a concert’s about to start. It’s that lively.

This is Debut and Capgemini’s first ever Insight Event, and the heaving audience is comprised entirely of Debutants, specially Talent Spotted by Capgemini. They’ve come from all over the country, from a number of different cultural backgrounds, academic disciplines and a healthy mix of genders -just how Capgemini likes it.

“One of the students asked me what the filtering criteria was [for the event] and was probably quite surprised at how broad it was,” Capgemini’s recruitment manager Dan Doherty explains to me.

Capgemini’s Debut Talent Spot only asked for students with an interest in consulting and technology  , who are on course for a 2:2 or higher. Rather than focusing on the academics, Capgemini is seeking out candidates who can demonstrate their skills, interests and passions. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an Anthropology student, a History student or a Computer Science student,” Dan continues. “At university you learn how to learn and you learn how to work with people.”

What the Debutants said

One such person with the passion Dan’s looking for is 20-year-old Oliver. I felt compelled to talk to Oliver, his enthusiasm separating him from the crowd. Apparently, this is his first time at a careers event.

Oliver is a strong contender for this event’s Most Valuable Player, already asking multiple questions to the speakers and talking to as many people as he can. “Not gonna lie, I was scared,” he laughs. “The first person I saw when I walked in was wearing a suit, so I thought I was already on the wrong side of the door. Then I realised it was more about me being myself and seeing how I could fit in to Capgemini, which helped me relax.”

Oliver’s at ease. The beautiful, informal setting of our office, just a stone’s throw away from the Silicon Roundabout, allows students relax and show their best form. But he’s not the only keen bean. Speaking to more candidates, there was a general positive buzz around the event’s interactivity.

“When you go to a careers event, you usually only get five minutes [with a company],” a female Debutant commented. “But this really let me know about the company itself and the roles within it.”

Finally, an electrical engineering student told me all about how the event was extremely beneficial to her. When I asked if she could see herself at Capgemini, she replied “Absolutely yes. I really like their values.

 

The Capgemini way

The plethora of different people at the event is the manifestation of Capgemini’s diverse recruitment strategy. With offices in over 40 countries around the world, the technology and consulting firm is truly global and places paramount importance on corporate responsibility and sustainability within their business. With that comes a drive to encourage people with different experiences to bring their ideas to the table. Dan, once more:

“We’re trying to recruit a widely diverse workforce and with that comes innovation. People have different thought processes, different backgrounds, different ways of approaching and solving problems.”

It’s the power of mobile recruitment that’s making this possible. Enabling employers to expand their search to every corner of the country and bring back the best talent. Hence, how Dan and the Capgemini recruiters have stayed on the cutting edge for so long. “Mobile recruitment is enabling us to create talent pipelines based on key criteria at ease with speed, whilst enhancing candidate engagement”, he says. Judging by the engagement of tonight’s crowd, he’s absolutely right.

That’s probably why Debut and Capgemini managed to work so well together on this night. With the experience from our respective backgrounds, we managed to put together a truly special event. With their goal to save the world through consulting and ours to change the way recruitment works forever, I’d say we make a pretty good team.

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