Local, regional, and multinational companies set up their stands at the American University of Beirut on May 13, with the intention of recruiting this year’s wave of graduates at the 15th annual Job Fair.
Cutting the tape to commence the ceremony at 12:00 pm on the steps of West Hall was organizer Maryam Ghandour from the Career and Placement Services in Student Affairs, Maroun Kisirwani, Dean of Student Affairs, and Provost Ahmad Dallal who thanked companies for participating and motivated students to take full advantage of the fair.
He added: "The Job Fair generates not only employment opportunities, but a surprising amount of revenues….the largest portion [of which] goes to scholarships for needy students."
Dallal also thanked faculty members for preparing students for this stage in their lives. "The presence of 146 recruiters demonstrates the high level of confidence in AUB and in the quality and promise of its graduates," he said.
“Every year success is on the rise with more companies joining and more students attending,” said Kisirwani. The latest economic crisis means some companies have stayed away, but, many new ones have joined, Ghandour added. Among the 146 companies (65 multinational, 49 regional and 27 local) were household names such as Procter and Gamble, L’Oreal, Nestle, HSBC and many more.
The participating companies offer internships, graduate programs, part-time placements and full-time jobs. During the fair, 30 interviews will take place and 31 presentations by firms will be given.
“If this year will be the same as last year, more than 200 students will pass through the fair, but by the end of the year more than 500 students will have benefited [from recruitment drives on campus] ,” said Ghandour.
The fair itself also offers career development opportunities for the students involved in its organization, said Ghandour. “Soft skills, leadership, communications, team work, listening, organizational,” are the list of qualities the students must have in order to work on the event, she added.
Clearly, students have a lot to gain from the fair, but why do the companies come to AUB? Hilary Jeens from Standard Chartered Bank had a clear answer: “We know AUB graduates are high performers. We go to the top universities in the region and AUB is at the top of that list.”
A similar response from the Ernst & Young representative, Nouhad Tahan: “[AUB students] work on extra-curricular activities; presentation, communication... They are properly polished.”
