Georgetown SFS-Q Hosts Annual Career Fair

Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) held its fifth annual career fair on Tuesday, March 19th.

Known as a dynamic forum that annually attracts employers ranging from large and small companies to not-for-profit and government agencies, this year’s 22 participating organizationsfrom Qatar and the region represented a wide variety of industries including media, public relations, finance, government, NGOs and more. Held at the Georgetown Building Atrium in Education City, the venue afforded a natural space for employers and candidates to network and talk about career opportunities.

“At Vodafone, we don’t focus on the major of new graduates. We are interested in the values, talents, and attention to detail that our competitive market requires,” said Eisa Ahmed Abdulla, HR Manager for Qatarisation at Vodafone. “We see that liberal arts majors from Georgetown bring with them these important skillsets.”

Tara Makarem, Class of 2011, is an Advisory Consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She emphasized that “right now the world is changing. The professional world has become multidisciplinary, so you need a multidisciplinary background. That’s the best thing SFS-Q gave me.”

Career fair student panelist Will Cha, Class of 2013, emphasized the importance of external relationships with Georgetown students before graduation. He said, “internships are the best way to capture students graduating into the workforce. Learning about local industries through these opportunities was the most valuable thing I gained in internships.”

“The success of this year’s Career Fair is a testimony to the strong and rapidly expanding partnerships that SFS-Qatar has with external partners,” said Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar Dean Gerd Nonneman. He added, “We are also exceedingly proud of our alumni who have gone on to distinguish themselves as young professionals in a variety of industries. We are grateful for the role they play as ambassadors for Georgetown in Qatar and beyond.”

“We are pleased to see such a high-level of participation by returning companies and those who are with us for the first time. We thank all those who joined us in making today such a resounding success,” said Renée Gallant, SFS-Q Outreach and Corporate Engagement Manager. She added, “I especially want to thank our alumni who have encouraged their employers to attend today’s career fair. Every year companies continue to be impressed with the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm of SFS-Q students.”

The annual career fair is one way for SFS-Q to explore new and innovative means to strengthen corporate partnership and engagement with the external community. BLJ Worldwide, Brookings Doha Center, ExxonMobil, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Qanect Communications, Qatar Airways, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Museums Authority, QNB, PwC, Standard Chartered, Qatar Shell, and Vodafone Qatar, are just some of the robust employers SFS-Q is working with to explore how best to develop synergies that will benefit the Qatar community as a whole.