By Mary Wangui Kibe

July 5 - 15 was an exciting time for students on campus as different professionals, employers and companies visited our campus during the Annual Career Fair. Students were spoilt for choice by the carefully curated career development events, including the alumni guest speaker series, all of which culminated in a vibrant two-day company exhibition.

The theme for this year’s Career Fair was ’Re-Imagining the Future of Talent,’ inspired by the changing job market due to technological advancements and innovation requiring a change in how students position themselves for the world of work. It is critical for educational institutions and students to be aware of current market trends and understand how to position themselves successfully.

The Career Fair featured a variety of events, such as a week-long alumni guest speaker series, company exhibitions, panel discussions, and master classes. Over 30 organizations participated in the Career Fair, with 22 companies setting up booths during the exhibitions and spoke with students about their various internship and job opportunities.

Tropical Heat, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Aga Khan Hospital, Microsoft, Vivo Energy, L’Oréal East Africa, ALX, International School of Advertising, Family Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Fuzu; Study & Careers Consulting, Manuchar, Pyypl, Journalists for Justice, Light for the World, Heels & Valise Tours, Britam, Optica, and Kenpoise were among the other companies that had set up booths at the Library Parking Lot.

A series of Masterclasses were organized last week to talk about how students can start their careers in various fields. SAV Skills hosted a masterclass that included a number of speakers including Ms. Rachel Ombaka, the Vice Chairperson of the Association of Media Women in Kenya. Rachel spoke about how she managed her career as a media personality and shared advice on how young people can leverage social media and build a career out of it.

USIU-Africa alumna Catherine Maina, led the Aga Khan University team, in sharing more information about their management and graduate trainee programs. Students were also given information by MAS Holdings regarding their upcoming internship opportunities and career paths once they join the organization. Additionally, the HR team shortlisted applicants for their next intake.

In a digital marketing masterclass, Ms. Melanie Hapisu, an expert in digital advertising shared insights on how anyone can design a campaign and the strategies they should employ to carry out a successful advertising campaign online.

A masterclass hosted by the International School of Advertising (ISA) team and Ms. Maureen Were, Regional Client Director at Wowzi, shared how young people can market to Gen Z. They showed different trends in marketing and pointed out how versatile marketing to Gen Z is. Faith Mureithi and Diana Olwangu from Kenpoise also gave a very insightful talk on ‘Managing your Boss’.

The panel discussions were focused on the specific schools within the university. This was to ensure students from the different Schools engaged with professionals in their field. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences held three panel discussions. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) offered a talk to International Relations majors on how they can join the humanitarian sector and the diverse opportunities they can apply for. There was a panel discussion for Psychology majors and the panelists included Vaish Mohan, Deloitte and Michael Oyier who is a practicing psychologist.

A team comprising of developers and recruiters from Microsoft also gave a talk to students in the School of Science and Technology regarding how they can position themselves in the tech space and shared the opportunities available for fresh graduates. The talk featured Manav Patel and Hilton Felix, who are students at the School of Science and Technology.

Mr. Mwaniki Mageria and Mr. Desmond Bosire were part of a panel discussion that focused on students from the School of Communication, Cinematic and Creative Arts. They discussed how the industry had evolved and with the advent of technology and accessibility to mobile phones, students could use this as a leverage in content creation. Other key presentations were made by Ms. Grace Mumo from HRC international who discussed how Hotel and Restaurant Management students can package themselves for opportunities abroad.

The 2022 USIU-Africa Career Fair focused on highlighting the changes that have been observed in the job market and how students can navigate around such terrain and still build a successful career. Students and alumni forged great networks and made lifelong connections with key decision makers in various industries.