At Undelucram.ro we talk a lot about starting your career and all the questions that come with it: where should I apply, what should I choose, how do I know if an internship will actually help me, and how do I figure out whether a company is the right fit for me or not.

That's exactly why, as part of Campus2Work - The Festival of Futures, we bring students closer to resources, employers, and partners who can make the start of their journey clearer. One of these partners is ISIC Romania, which comes with a platform dedicated to students and young people at the start of their careers: ISIC Jobs.

Because your first job doesn't actually start the moment you send your CV. It starts earlier, when you're trying to figure out where it's worth applying. Picture this:

You've opened 12 tabs with job listings. Three are internships, four ask for "at least one year of experience" for a junior position, and for the rest you've already reached the question: "Ok, but what's it actually like to work here?"

If you're a student or just starting your career, it's normal not to have all the reference points yet. The problem isn't just finding a job. It's figuring out whether the job and the company are actually a good fit for you.

Spoiler: the job title and the list of responsibilities don't tell the whole story.

Your first job isn't just about the job

At the start of your career, you're actually choosing several things at once: what you'll learn, who you'll work with, how much autonomy you'll have, whether the schedule works with university, and what kind of environment suits you.

A great internship for a classmate could be a total mismatch for you. And vice versa. That's why, before hitting "Apply," it's worth doing a bit of research. Not a true-crime-documentary-level investigation, just enough to know what you're getting into.

Quick test: is it worth applying?

Before sending your CV, try answering a few questions:

- What could I learn here in the first 6-12 months?

- What does the team look like, and who are the people I'd be working with?

- Is there flexibility if I'm still a student?

- Does the company offer internships, graduate programs, or a clear path for juniors?

- Am I only drawn to the job, or would I actually enjoy working at this company?

You don't need to find the perfect answer to all of them. But if after 10 minutes of digging you still don't understand what the team does, what the work environment is like, or what you could learn, that's already useful information.

Get to know the company before it gets to know your CV

This is where ISIC Jobs comes in. The platform was developed by ISIC Romania for students, graduates, and young people at the start of their careers, and it starts from a simple idea: before you apply, you should be able to find out more about the place where you might end up working.

On ISIC Jobs you can explore companies, see available opportunities, and discover more about the people, organizational culture, and work environment. In other words, you don't just see "what job they have," but also a bit of "who they are." The platform actually invites you to get to know the company before sending your CV.

What can you actually find on ISIC Jobs?

- Jobs and opportunities for young people, including internships, graduate programs, part-time jobs, and entry-level positions.

- Dedicated employer pages, where you can get to know the company better before applying.

- Career articles and resources, especially useful when you're still building your professional reference points.

- For ISIC cardholders, free access to over 50 CV templates through Kickresume.

ISIC Jobs is part of the ISIC Romania ecosystem, which has worked with young people for over 25 years and is directly connected to the university environment. This means opportunities don't stay tucked away in a corner of the internet they can reach students through universities, student organizations, social media, newsletters, apps, and campus activations.

Small reminder: the company is being interviewed too

You're not the only one being evaluated in an interview. It's also your chance to see whether what you read about the company matches reality.

Ask about what the first few months look like, how feedback works, what projects juniors get, how the team functions, or what the development opportunities actually mean in practice. A good interview should help you make a decision too, not just the recruiter.

In short

Don't apply just because the ad "sounds good." Take a look at the company behind it too. Look at the people, the culture, the opportunities, and the things you could learn.

Your first job doesn't have to be the perfect choice for the rest of your life, thank goodness. But it can be a more informed choice, if you know where to look before you apply.

That's why, within the Campus2Work ecosystem, resources like ISIC Jobs complement what we're also trying to build at Undelucram.ro: more clarity for students, more access to companies, and more contexts where the first career step doesn't feel like a lottery.

So before you hit "Apply," take a look at the company, the people there, the opportunities for juniors, and what you could learn in the first few months. And if you want a place to start, you can explore the companies and jobs available on ISIC Jobs.

For employers, the relationship with students doesn't start on the day an internship position opens. It starts earlier, through visibility, relevant content, presence in communities, and contexts where young people can understand who you are as an employer.

That's why initiatives like ISIC Jobs fit naturally into the Campus2Work and Undelucram.ro effort: they all start from the same need to bring students and companies closer together, in a clearer, more practical, and more relevant way for the start of their careers.

For companies that want to build real relationships with future candidates, not just collect CVs, being present where students already are can make the difference. More information about what ISIC Jobs can offer companies is available HERE.