The Department of Media Studies (DMS) at the Faculty of Humanities (FH), Notre Dame University- Louaize (NDU), in collaboration with the International Advertising Association (IAA) Advertising Club at NDU, organized on February 21, 2018, a seminar titled, “Beat the Pressure: Boost your Chances of Getting Hired in the Advertising Industry,” presented by Aline Hachem, regional assistant HR manager at Mindshare MENA.
Hachem's content revolved around the job hunt process, establishing your personal brand, and the interview process.
Segment one covered the right time to start looking for a job before graduation, where to look for the best jobs, and how to search for relevant opportunities in the market. She highlighted the areas that HR personnel focus on when headhunting ideal candidates.
Segment two focused on establishing a personal brand by boosting students' individual professional image on social media, starting with LinkedIn. Hachem stressed the importance of setting up a unique and clear LinkedIn account, following the right companies, reading and sharing relevant content, and following the right people.
The last segment included two role-plays, featuring the most and least impactful answers and behaviors that would impact the recruitment process. She included the actual "interview fails" and acted our real-world scenarios that students should avoid under all circumstances during interviews.
She ended the session by advising students to start their job hunt three months before graduation to anticipate international companies’ long recruitment process, starting with the initial screening, followed by the first interview, moving on to the shortlist and presentation process, and ending with the final interview and recruitment.