American University of Sharjah (AUS) held its annual Career Fair today, March 17. Held exclusively for AUS students and alumni, the event allows prospective employers to seek out the best young talent in the region.

As one of the most high-profile events held on campus, Career Fair provides AUS seniors and alumni the opportunity to meet representatives from the private and public sectors interested in recruiting AUS students and graduates as either full-time employees or interns. This year, almost 70 local and multinational companies participated in the fair, which also included local, regional and international private, semi-government and government agencies. The fair was inaugurated by Dr. Björn Kjerfve, AUS Chancellor.

Several AUS alumni who are now working for multinational firms could be seen back at AUS, recruiting fellow alumni. Luma Zohlof, an alumna from the AUS Class of 2002, was one such recruiter. Co-founder of Trending 5000, an online marketing platform for small businesses and startups in the Middle East, Zohlof said, "The AUS Career Fair is a great platform to recruit talented students. AUS gave me all the tools to build my career, and I feel that coming here today is like giving back to AUS by providing its students and alumni assistance in setting up their careers."

According to a junior marketing student Rihab Shakeeb, "The Career Fair is a good opportunity for AUS students to become familiar with the different companies that they may find an interest in. My goal today is to find a good opportunity as an intern and eventually find a full-time job. Career Fair will help me with that."

Princia Vas, a third-year student with a major in management and minor in management information systems, said Career Fair allowed her to gain insight about the world outside the classroom.

Derya Ersin, Head of Human Resources GCC at Henkel, found the fair to be a good opportunity to meet with AUS students and alumni and tell them about the Graduate Development Program and other job opportunities at Henkel.

Through the Career Fair, AUS students and alumni have the opportunity to interact with several companies all in one location. It provides a real-life interface between AUS as a university and the participating companies, and allows students and alumni to put their classroom acquired knowledge to good use.