Carnegie Mellon Qatar holds third annual Professional Day

Held every spring, Professional Day gives students a chance to meet and network with industry representatives, and it gives organizations an opportunity to meet a large pool of young talent.

Companies set up booths and provide information to students about the type of opportunities they have available: both as internships and careers. Students provided their CVs and talk about their skills and desired career paths. Several 2008 Carnegie Mellon Qatar graduates came to Professional Day as representatives of their company or organization.

"I wanted to be the one to come and talk with students," says Noura El-Moughny, a document and records management coordinator at ConocoPhilips and 2008 Carnegie Mellon Qatar graduate. "Being a Carnegie Mellon graduate, I know how well the university prepares its students for the workplace. I know the quality of students who are here and I know what these students can add to ConocoPhilips."

El-Moughny was one of nine Carnegie Mellon Qatar graduates who attended Professional Day to recruit new talent and share a bit about their experiences in the work force with current students. Having company representatives recruit from their alma mater is common practice for many organizations.

Participating companies in Professional Day 2009 included: Al Fardan Group, Barwa, Commercial Bank, ConocoPhillips, Deloitte, Dolphin Energy, Ernst & Young, Exxon Mobil, Fitch, Fuego, GE, Gulf Talent, Hill & Knowlton, HSBC, ictQatar, iHorizons, KPMG, Maersk Oil Qatar, Microsoft, Qatar Airways, Qatar National Bank, Qatari Diar, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Building Co., Qatar Gas, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Central Bank, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Science & Technology Park, Qapco, Q-Tel, Q-Cert, RasGas, Reed, Shell, Sidra Medical & Research Center, Standard Chartered Bank, Total, the Pearl, Oxy and Oryx GTL.