Alumni Employment Forum Supports Jobseekers

03/07/2022

Career Services coordinator Patrice Burns organized the Alumni Employment Forum, which was held on March 2. During the discussion, three recent graduates provided insight for current SLU-Madrid students who will be seeking jobs upon graduation.

The presenters included Maitane Aramburu (Class of '16), Elene Gasviani (Class of '17) and Katelin Huber (Class of '20). All three alumni graduated from SLU-Madrid with degrees in international business. When speaking to students, all reiterated the importance of their globally-minded classes, which helped their résumés stand out to employers during interviews.

Huber, who currently works as a business development representative at Pagero, said that when students are in their last semester they should "never reject an interview" since "employers don't expect you to know everything, because they will teach you what is necessary to do the job." She later emphasized going into interviews with an eagerness to learn to raise the chances of landing an entry-level position.

Gasviani, senior financial analyst at JSC m² Real Estate, joined the discussion via Zoom and advised students to continually "go to interviews every three to six months," even when they have a job, so they can review and value their current value as an employee in the job market. Additionally, she said that going back to one's home country for work is an option that students should view as an advantage after gaining intercultural skills at SLU-Madrid.

At the end of the presentations a Q&A took place. One student asked Arambu how sustainability and environment concerns were affecting the banking industry in her opinion as an ESG analyst. She said that Banco Santander and other companies in the field are "willing to lose customers if they do not comply with the UN's 2030 sustainability initiative."

To learn more about internships in Spain with SLU-Madrid, please visit our Career Services page.