The Come Back of Career Circles
On October 11, 2023, the Career Center hosted its annual Career Circles event. Professionals from more than 25 career fields joined the event to share with AUC students their career experience and journey and give students insightful advices on how to pursue certain careers.
Professionals expressed their gratitude to have the opportunity to meet face to face with students in such a gathering. Business Developer Manager, Hesham El-Ghamrawy at Bechtel Energy believed that coming to the event was vital for career navigation. He emphasized that for senior students, getting a mentor for their career is critical. “It's in our DNA that we believe investing in the young generations is a must; this helps us build the new generation of career leaders,” said El-Ghamrawy. “Students need to understand what the companies and the market want," he added.
On the other hand, Jana Arafa, an AUC student majoring in marketing and minoring in psychology, shared her experience talking with career mentors. “I thought I wanted to purse a marketing career, but after I sat with an advertising professional, I came to know there is a business side to it,” said Arafa. Arafa’s curiosity was peeked which broadened her perspective to learn more about it, so she aims to do internships in that field. “It was very beneficial, and I hope more people would be here because it is eye-opening, she added.
In addition, Mayar Nabarawy, working in the risk department, PwC, representing auditing career, shared her perspective about returning as an alumna to share her experience with current students. “I want students to be ready for challenges, take everything easily, and learn. The first couple of years in work is their chance to learn and excel, make mistakes as much as they can so you can learn later on," she said.
With another major idea, Christine Safwat, executive director, Educate Me Foundation, paneled for the education development career field, said that before she worked in development, she used to teach at the German University in Cairo, so she has experience connecting with university students and mentoring them. “We have a role as professionals to come and connect with students and show them what the real life looks like, not just what they get taught inside the lecture halls,” she added.
From a multinational employee professional, Nadine Abdel Aal, product manager at L’Oreal, reflecting marketing career field. She commented that many students were confused about their career paths. “Put yourself out there; marketing is really nice, and there is a lot you need to be aware of before you enter the job. I just wanted to make this clear and share my experience,” she said.
Abdel Aal expressed her passion for her career and used a simile to describe her favorite part about her job. Mentioning that one treats their brand like it's their baby, doing things as if it's their own startup. She advised students to be open-minded in this career because it's not a linear process, explaining that the market has many changing dynamics. It's essential to be adaptable, be up with the trends on social media, and be aware of your consumers.
Students' feedback about the event was crucial, Yassin El-Badrawy is a sophomore intending to declare political science, and he attended the event because he didn’t know which career path he could pursue later on. “It helped open my mind to a different perspectives in political science,” he said. El-Badrawy sat with the human development team and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get their insights as he was interested to join the field.
Adham Ehab, growth manager, ValU business department and who is also an AUC alumui, shared his experience working in one of the Fintech giants in Egypt. “I wanted to share my experience with the students, give them more knowledge about Fintech, more knowledge about growth, especially since Fintech is one of the trending industries, it's still in its growth phase,” he said. “Working hard with good work ethics, you can venture into the industry and start impacting the industry right away. It's a young industry with a lot of potential and welcoming young professionals that are interested in data, finance, technology, and shaping the economy afterward,” he added.
Looking forward, Career Circles was full of different stories from students’ needs and professionals’ experiences. The event focused on connecting the dots between students academics and the real world of work. The Career center is grateful to all professionals who spend time and effort with AUC students to answer their career questions and concerns. Finally, Arafa added, “I wish the event could happen more often, even once per semester, as it was insightful and beneficial in guiding students towards their desired careers.”