Google, Credit Suisse among new recruiters at Carnegie Mellon’s Professional Day

More than 50 companies from industries as varied as finance, high technology and film descended on Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar on Wednesday looking to hire the university’s skilled student population.

Over the last five years, Carnegie Mellon Qatar has been connecting global and local blue-chip companies with a pool of talented and driven students.

Khadra Dualeh, director of the office of professional development, said, “Through the strength of our collaboration, we have produced students and alumni of the highest caliber – young men and women who are intelligent, hard working, professional and innovative, with excellent communication skills.”

Carnegie Mellon Qatar develops both the technical and business acumen of its students. It is the development of these specific, interdisciplinary traits that attracts leading technology companies like Google to recruit from Carnegie Mellon’s student population, according to Matt Mitro, Google’s University Program Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Mitro added, “At Google we are looking for sharp, entrepreneurial and innovative people and as we localize and specialize our product offerings across the Middle East and Africa, we will look at Carnegie Mellon and other universities in the region for people who have a passion and love for technology.”

However, it is not only the high tech sector that seeks out Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s students.

Jay Maruszewski, CIO-Qatar, Technology & Operations for Standard Chartered Bank and a Pittsburgh native, said, “Carnegie Mellon is a top university. Considering Standard Chartered’s target regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, we will look to the university for the talent to meet the demands of these key markets.”

The Carnegie Mellon community participated in Professional Day on both sides of the recruiting booths, with graduates already in the job market returning to recruit fellow alums.

Zeyad Al-Mudhaf, Carnegie Mellon Qatar alumnus and an analyst in General Electric’s Financial Management Program, said: “Carnegie Mellon provides a well-rounded educational experience. During my time here, I received not only the technical and qualitative background to be successful in financial planning and analysis, but the knowledge and communication skills to prevail.”

Nada Al-Mahmeed, alumna and a corporate planning officer at Qatar Development Bank (QDB), said: “Although I did not know much about corporate planning before joining QDB, I had confidence from my undergraduate education to know that I could succeed in any field. And it was through Professional Day, that I first interviewed with QDB.”

Professional Day is a career and networking fair which provides an opportunity for students and employers to meet face-to-face. The event brings together both private and public companies from a wide array of sectors in Qatar, throughout the region and from around the world.

Four out of five Carnegie Mellon Qatar students find jobs or internships at Professional Day. More than 80 percent of students completed an internship before graduation, and some took on multiple internships.

Ninety-three percent of graduates are either in the workforce or in prestigious graduate programs in the United Kingdom or the United States. The majority work in Doha, while others take positions in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

Companies attending Carnegie Mellon’s Professional Day in 2012 for the first time included: Credit Suisse, Google, Huawei Tech Investments, Nakilat, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar Rail, Qatarlyst, Siemens and Silatech.

The Diplomatic Institute of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also was present on Professional Day for the first time following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Carnegie Mellon Qatar in March. In April, Credit Suisse senior management from Qatar and Dubai will host a networking lecture for students to learn about the bank’s business areas and presence in the Middle East.

Companies who returned to Professional Day in 2012 included: Al Fardan Group, Aspire Zone Federation, Commercial Bank, Conoco Phillips, Doha Bank, Doha Film Institute, Enterprise Qatar, Ernst & Young, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Gulf Talent, Hewlett Packard, ictQatar, iHorizons, KPMG, Maersk Oil, Malomatia, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Qatar Museum Authority), Mashreq Bank, Michael Page, Microsoft, Musheireb Properties, Occidental Petroleum, OryxGTL, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, QAPCO, Qatar Airways, Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Gas, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qtel, QU Wireless Innovation Center, Ras Gas, Shell, Sidra Medical Research Center, Standard Chartered, United Development Company, Vodafone and Williams Technology.