Career Days at AAU were hard to leave unnoticed. A huge poster at the entrance, a table full of flyers at the Student Services Center, daily e-mails and reminders – information about Career Days was everywhere. Comparing to last year, expectations were even higher.
Mariam Pirveli, like many other students, is sitting among posters and flyers and checking out her schedule to find some time for the workshops and events that attracted her attention. However, it turns out to be harder to attend all the interesting events because most of them take place during classes. Mariam, a second year student majoring in Law, is seeking a job that would help her gain experience for future career.
Workshops took place Monday, Sept. 29 to Thursday, Oct. 2 but the main event was on Wednesday. In room 002 different companies presented their stands, flyers and other attractions for students. The representatives of the companies pitched their company’s pros and couldn’t avoid con’s while answering students’ questions. “Now I have more options because few of the companies do not require Czech language, unlike last year,” said Mariam before visiting the last stand in the room.
According to Stephanie Lachman, Alumni Relations and Career Center Manager at AAU, many companies were interested in AAU students. “Part of the presented companies contacted us and expressed their interest in students and participation in the event,” said Lachman in an interview.
The representatives of the companies like ExxonMobil, Institute of International Relations (IIR) and Deloitte were satisfied with the activity, interest and enrolment of the students in the Career Days main event.
Deloitte, another one of the four companies, had a high rate of interest from students but many of them were left disappointed because of the Czech language requirement.
When it comes to this requirement, Lachman doesn’t see it as a big problem, unlike many of the students. “I wouldn’t say it is impossible to find job with no knowledge of Czech but the companies mostly require a beginner’s level so since you are living in Prague it will be better to learn,” said Lachman.
Majority of the stands offered internships and part time jobs. One of the options differed from all others. Erasmus+ offered internships for students with different majors in different countries of EU, including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey. The internships would last from 2 to 3 months.
Lachman recalled that many students have addressed her in search of a job but she was surprised when the attendance at the main event of the week was much lower than the interest toward different workshops.
She was satisfied with the marketing work that covered the popularization of the event, created high quality posters and did “a good job” in organizing every event. However, Lachman still pointed out what would have to improve next year.
For example, equal opportunities for students with different majors. It seems that students majoring in Business Administration or Law are more demanded by the employers than those majoring in Journalism and Communications. Lachman remains open to students’ offers and is willing to solve the problems for the next year.
By the end of the week, Mariam found two possible internships with Wert-Berater and Exxon Mobile where she sent her CVs. “Easy, fast and fun” said Mairam about her hunting process with AAU.
By Tamar Sikharulidze
