Strathmore University students and alumni were treated to a practical career seminar led by three renowned Human Resource speakers; Nestlé Sales and Regional Recruitment Manager- Mr. Stephen Mokaya, Human Resource Consultant- Mr. Erick Kariuki and, L’Oreal Human Resource Director – Mr. Peter Ndirangu.

The seminar themed Career Jet Set-Go, covered a wide variety of topics such as professional grooming, job search, effective work skills, legal issues, work ethics and branding.

Seasoned recruiter Mr. Mokaya called on students to identify new ways on how they can effectively brand themselves, in their attempts to penetrate into the job market. Mr. Mokaya, urged the students to be consistent when branding themselves, “consistency is key for successive brands,” he said.

On his part, the conversationalist, well versed, Mr. Kariuki, appealed to the students to position themselves as global workers in a bid to widen their scope in their job hunting mission. Mr. Kariuki underscored the importance of building networks and urged the students to make known their intentions, each time they interact with potential employers.

“Always take advantage of the networks you build, it is through your network that you will be able to fulfil half of your dreams and ambitions,” Mr. Kariuki advised.

Professional grooming is another topic which was stressed on by Mr. Ndirangu, who challenged the students to up their grooming game in an effort to have an edge particularly in interviews.

To put the issues addressed into perspective, a mock interview was conducted to enable students to get a better understanding of what happens during a real life interview. An able panel of interviewers that included Ms. Cecilia Maina, Strathmore University Human Resource administrator was in play. Fourth year Faculty of Information Technology student Emily Bosibori, volunteered to be the interviewee of the day following her application for the marketing intern position.

For the better part of her interview session, the panel pressed Emily to explain why she thought she was a suitable candidate for the job. Emily successfully managed to answer the panel’s questions, allowing her to secure a job; her confidence and her ability to answer the questions fittingly enabled her to carry the day.

Students present were given grooming give-a-ways from L’Oreal and also got to enjoy free Nestlé coffee and chocolates.