→ FAQAt CareerLunch, we want to put people at the center of modern recruitment. For talents, it’s a way to meet potential employers in an informal setting and get authentic insights into company culture and career opportunities. For employers, it’s a way to make their company culture tangible and grow their talent community. You can learn more about us, our ideas and our history here.
For each CareerLunch that takes place, our startup makes a donation to the World Food Programme, equivalent to a meal for a person in a vulnerable situation.
You directly impact the number of donations by participating in CareerLunches. To acknowledge your contribution, we provide a certificate that you can download anytime in your profile.
If you would like to share your certificate on social media, we encourage you to tag @careerlunch and use the hashtags #lunchforlunch and #careerlunch. This way, our team can see your post and boost it further by engaging with it.
The more people know about CareerLunch, the more CareerLunches will take place, and the higher the overall impact we can make together through this initiative.
Most of our companies look forward to meeting students, graduates and young professionals. Some of the companies would like to meet more senior professionals as well. For more information about what kind of profile and experience the company is looking for, read the description on the company’s profile.
In the physical CareerLunch format, you visit the company representative in-person over lunch, which the company you are visiting is covering for you. The travel expenses to visit the company are covered by you.
In the virtual CareerLunch format, you will meet over a video call and typically share a cup of coffee or tea and eat your actual lunch either before or after the meeting. The costs associated with your coffee, tea, or any other beverage you wish to drink during the video meeting are organized and paid for by yourself.
No, CareerLunch is about having an informal exchange between you and a professional from the company you are meeting. It’s your chance to get to know more about the daily work life and the culture authentically. A formal job application could be a possible next step that you can initiate after the CareerLunch, but the CareerLunch itself is not a job interview.
To participate you have to create an account on CareerLunch and link it to your LinkedIn profile. Afterwards you can send lunch requests to the companies you would like to meet by visiting their profiles on CareerLunch. To increase your chances of being accepted for a CareerLunch with a particular company, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, that your profile aligns with what the company is looking for, and that you are applying for a relevant background. You can also check out our blog article on how to polish your LinkedIn profile and the quiz to verify if your profile is ready.
You will be matched up with an employee from the company with experience in the background you’ve selected. The CareerLunch can take place 1-to-1 or with a small group of other talents. You will be introduced to your lunch buddy and potential other participants 1 day ahead of the CareerLunch via email.
The company be able to screen your application by looking at your LinkedIn profile. So, make sure that your profile is informative and up-to-date with relevant information such as location, languages, work experience, and education. We recommend to follow the guideline that we describe in our blog article and the quiz that we‘ve created to help you. If your profile is relevant to the company and enough lunch places are available, you will be invited for lunch. If a lunch invitation is not possible, you will be informed as well.
An informative LinkedIn profile increases your chances of success. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, that it aligns with what the company is looking for, and that you are applying for a relevant background. You can also check out our blog article and the quiz to verify if your profile is complete and stands out. For more information about what kind of profiles the company is looking for, read the description of the company profiles.
The location is indicated in the company profile. Usually, the lunch takes place at the employee’s location. This gives you the chance to get an insight into their working environment. If the location is indicated as virtual, you will receive a link to the virtual meeting one day before the CareerLunch.
Some companies may only offer on-site, or only virtual CareerLunches. Please be sure to only select an on-site location if you can actually get there for the lunch.
You can choose a lunch day as soon as your request has been confirmed by the company. After your request is confirmed you can check the available dates either through the link in the confirmation email or in your profile if you go to “My Applications” and click on the company that confirmed your request.
The duration varies, but it is usually between 30min and 1.5h. Virtual CareerLunches tend to be shorter (more towards 30min) whereas in-person CareerLunches tend to be longer (up to 1.5h). It also varies between companies and the number of participants. When you select a date for your CareerLunch you can see the estimated duration of the CareerLunch and block the time in your calendar. In the end, it is up to the professional you are meeting and yourself how much time you can make available.
Yes, as soon as you have confirmed a time slot for a CareerLunch with a company, the appointment is binding. Respect the employee’s time and be punctual. “No-shows” are unacceptable, and we reserve the right to block a talent from CareerLunch should they repeatedly not show up to a confirmed CareerLunch.
A no-show is when someone does not show up to their scheduled CareerLunch without providing any advance warning. Please respect the lunch buddy’s time by showing up to the planned meeting.
If the chosen date doesn’t suit you anymore, you can always cancel/reschedule a lunch through your account. Should you need to make changes due to unforeseen circumstances less than 24 hours ahead of your CareerLunch, please additionally also inform your lunch buddy, cc-ing support@careerlunch.com.
“No-shows” are unacceptable, and we reserve the right to block a talent from CareerLunch should they repeatedly not show up to a confirmed CareerLunch.
Be curious. Don’t ask what a simple online search can answer. Use the opportunity to learn more about your lunch buddy, their company, and the job they are doing. Prepare a few questions that matter to you. You could ask how they got to where they are, their opinion on trends in the industry, what they enjoy about their work and also what things are not so great. This is not a job interview, but a unique opportunity for you to get to know a company and its employees authentically.
To prepare for a virtual CareerLunch, we also recommend to read our blog article about best video communications practices.
Some companies are offering CareerLunch in a virtual format. To see which companies offer this experience, check their profile. A virtual CareerLunch takes place in the same spirit as the physical CareerLunch with the main differences that you will meet in a video call instead of in-person and probably share a cup of coffee or tea instead of a proper lunch. You will receive the details to join the video call a day before the lunch.
When applying for a company you will need to specify your seniority level. The levels are based on your work experience:
Students & Graduates: Less than 2 years of relevant work experience
Young Professional: Between 2 to 5 years of relevant work experience
Experienced professional: More than 5 years of relevant work experience
Company backgrounds are matched based on the specifications you provide during the application process. If you don’t see any backgrounds listed, it means there are no matches for this company. The idea is to pair you with the most relevant companies, so try applying for another company.
Companies have different language requirements, typically the spoken language of their region, or English. When applying for a CareerLunch, you’ll be prompted to specify the languages you speak fluently. You will then be matched to a relevant background. It’s important to select languages in which you feel comfortable holding a conversation.
Share your feedback: After your CareerLunch, you receive an email and can share some optional feedback to HR of the company and also to the CareerLunch team. You could use the feedback to HR to say thanks for the time of their employee and to potentially express your interest in a position within the company. Use the feedback to the CareerLunch team to let us know about your experience and how we could improve it even further.
Expand your network: You could send your lunch buddy a request on LinkedIn to stay connected.
Apply for open positions: If you enjoyed the CareerLunch and think the company could be a good match, then you are encouraged to apply for open positions through the company career website. To add a personal touch to your application, you could mention the professional you met through a CareerLunch and thank them again for the opportunity.
Share your experience: Was your CareerLunch awesome? If you want your friends to also have a chance at a similar experience, share a story, a post or a selfie with your lunch buddy tagging @careerlunch via social media, and we will make a donation to the World Food Program on your behalf (check out the Social good: #lunchforlunch section in FAQ).
Contact us at support@careerlunch.com
