JEDDAH— Multinational companies such as Procter and Gamble and Unilever were just some of the star exhibitors at Dar Al-Hekma's eighth annual Career Day on Sunday and Monday in Jeddah. Bearing the tagline “Your Flight to the Future”, the program's first day was dedicated to a recruitment fair at the college that featured a number of large companies. The closing ceremony for the program featured a keynote speech by Saleh Maliykah, CEO of Al-Awwal Finances. Maliykah spoke about how his drive to achieve was instrumental to his success. He said: “Achievement is the essence of life. I often hear from the youth, ‘We want to enjoy our life; we want to live it fully.' “Who is to say that living your life fully excludes achievement? “I want to convey this important message: do not let go of your drive to achieve. “At the same time, balance your life. Be involved in social and extracurricular activities, keep fit, and complete your duties towards your family.” To further career opportunities for Dar Al-Hekma students, dean of the college Suhair Al-Qurashi signed an internship agreement with Muneer Khayat, vice president and the head of recruitment at the National Commercial Bank (NCB). As a result, students from the college can apply for internships at the bank. Inspirational speakers for the event Hashim Al-Zain and Ammar Al-Sabban expounded the role of failure, or rather multiple failures, which one has to face in order to achieve success. To explain their point they cited examples of so-called "famous losers" such as Abraham Lincoln and Michael Jordan who faced a number of failures before gaining the stature for which they are now known. Shadi Khawandah, another inspirational speaker and CEO of Special Direction, noted that he found Dar Al-Hekma graduates to be among the best employees he has recruited for his company. He congratulated Al-Qurashi for her successful leadership and role in this achievement. The event also featured a talk by Dar Al-Hekma alumnus Rewad Sheikh Al-Shabab. Al-Shabab received her graduate training at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and is the founder of ‘Touching Care,' an application that aims to help Alzheimer's patients and their loved ones. The application helps regulate patients' functions, works to stimulate their minds through games and audio-visual activities and helps them communicate with others. Touching Care has been used by International Medical Centre (IMC) in Jeddah and American University Hospital in Beirut, and has been taken on by Apple. Commenting on the Career Day's recruitment fair, Rewan Abdullah, a jobseeker, said: “The fair was a really good opportunity to find a job without having to separately deal with so many companies. I think the organization was good too.” Samar Adnan Kaifi, another job seeker, agreed that the fair was arranged well, and added: “It would have been more convenient if there was a system to upload your CV and details online through the exhibition so that the companies would have instant access to our details through a barcode or other identification system. “This would free us from having to fill numerous forms given by recruiters.
