By Justice Masime and Caleb Wafula

Last week, the Placement and Careers Services (PACS) department had an open day in conjunction with L’Oréal, a unique beauty leader providing over 30 brands of cosmetics and beauty expertise worldwide. The goal of the event was to create awareness about the services provided by PACS and also to invite students to participate in L’Oréal’s annual Brandstorm challenge, which entails students forming teams geared towards creating beauty-based innovations that embody inclusion, technology, and sustainability.

During the event, Career Peer Advisors (CPAs) led by Prisca Akinyi alongside L’Oréal representatives set out to different classes in the various schools to pitch the agenda for the day. The two crews had an interactive engagement with the students and faculty in classes; L’Oréal invited students to participate in the innovation competition. Among their representatives were USIU-Africa students who participated in last year’s Brandstorm challenge, accompanied by other student brand ambassadors from neighboring universities.

Led by Career Advisors Dr. Edgar Githua and Patricia Gichuki, the CPAs were able to reach out to scores of students and enlighten them about PACS services. The students were excited to access on-site career advising, CV and cover letter critique, mentorship, mock interviews, volunteering as well as major/minor selection. Furthermore, they got to learn about career counseling available through one-on-one appointments to assist them with all aspects of their career development. They were also advised to submit their CVs and cover letters for review to get suggestions for improvement. The PACS Team encouraged students to review their personal brands and to keep track of their experiences as it formed a basis for their forthcoming professional lives.

In addition to the Brandstorm challenge activation, the event was graced by the Talent Acquisition team from L’Oréal East Africa led by Mr. Oliver Tambo. The students got a one-on-one mentorship and exposure to job market trends and how they should prepare their university exit strategy.