Reflections on the DJCE Job Fair 2025

Our Takeaways

On 6 June 2025, in Montpellier, the day had begun even before anyone set foot inside the Law School. On the tramway and around the university, the attendees were already easy to spot. On one hand, groups of students clutching folders full of résumés, deeply focused on which stands they needed to hit first. On the other hand, exhibitors juggling their roll-up banners and dragging suitcases packed with goodies across the cobblestones of Montpellier, relying on equal parts patience and dexterity. A small crowd in suits, heading to the DJCE Job Fair despite the early summer heat already making itself known first thing in the morning.

Inside, the atmosphere felt a bit like a stadium filling up before kickoff. Bustling hallways, résumés being passed hand to hand, enthusiastic pitches on both sides of every stand, queues that never seemed to shrink… the energy of the job market playing out in real time.

We found the entire DJCE community gathered in one place: more than 300 students from the 11 DJCE centers: Bordeaux, Caen, Cergy, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Paris, Poitiers, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse, all in Montpellier to sit for their specialization certificate. Joining them were 66 exhibitors: law firms, companies, and institutions fully mobilized for the occasion. Many had made the trip from Paris specifically for the Job Fair, a clear sign of how unmissable this event has become in the legal recruitment world.

That day, Montpellier Law School brought together the very best law firms France has to offer. A quick stroll through Building No. 1 and under the arches of the cloister was all it took to engage with them, lined up just a few meters from one another.

The current tax and budget climate was never far from the conversations. Discussions often circled back to the chaotic adoption of the 2025 Finance Bill, the budgetary pressure, and legislative instability. DJCE students wanted to understand how to find their footing in such a turbulent environment. They knew they’re entering a profession where anticipation and constant reevaluation are part of daily life. You could already feel a rare level of awareness in the way they envision the job of a tax lawyer.

Syntaxe made the trip to contribute to these exchanges, giving us opportunity to present:

• our values and professional culture;
• our team of tax lawyers;
• our specialization in corporate and personal taxation;
• what goes on behind the scenes and our career opportunities.

Where interest was strongest was clearly around the everyday realities of the job, without sugarcoating. How do you find your place in a well-established team? What does a firm really expect from a strong hire? How should you behave with clients? How much autonomy do you get? How fast can you grow? And of course: how do you maximize your chances when applying?

One question in particular sparked a lively debate: Should you include “non-legal” student jobs on your résumé? Not exactly a topic with unanimous opinions.

You could feel the students’ desire to understand the unwritten rules of the profession, the ones you only pick up inside a firm: good habits learned by observation, instincts built through experience, the small wins (and the scary moments) of those first assignments. We were once exactly in their shoes (a few years back, granted), with the same questions, doubts, and curiosities. And that probably explains why the exchanges felt so genuine.

Some feedback especially made us smile, especially about brochures and goodies, ours as much as those of our neighboring stands. Apparently, those choices say a lot about a firm. Between stress balls and insulated water bottles, everyone projects their own vision of the profession. And students are free to draw their own conclusions about a firm’s mindset based on what they hand out.

The most strategic students came by in the afternoon, once the lunch cocktail in the cloister had helped everyone relax. With the crowd thinning out, the conversations felt easier and more genuine, sometimes even with a laugh about the morning’s awkward starts. Those moments will probably be the ones we remember most.

We left with the feeling we had met future colleagues already well aware of the profession they want to join and the responsibilities that come with it. Some of them will no doubt cross paths with us again sooner than they think.

This event was made possible thanks to the outstanding organization of Corinne Daigneau, whom we warmly thank for a perfectly run and truly memorable day.

Useful Resources

➡️ LinkedIn Post
➡️ DJCE Job Fair 2025 page on the DJCE website