Career Development

Our counselors and advisors are equipped to help you navigate your career: the in-betweenness and uncertainty you may face in your career decisions, self-discovery of your skills and interests, development of your professional skills, preparation for graduate school, exploration of scholarships and prestigious awards, and acclimation to the world of work.

Some of the topics we can cover include:

• assessment of skills, interests, values
• exploration of career options and paths
• career planning and goal setting
• providing career and graduate school research and exploration resources
• developing professional materials (CVs, cover letters, applications, personal statements, etc)
• building stronger professional networks
• creating a job search strategy
• mock interviews and preparation
• negotiating offer

Our events, big and small, are a great way to actively explore career topics, meet professionals in your area of interest, and develop skills. Our events and workshops include:

• Opportunities Fair (fall and spring): Explore jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities with organizations from across the UAE seeking applicants.
• Graduate School Weekend: Learn about graduate education options from programs around the world.
• Networking Night: Engage in conversations with professionals from all different fields in the UAE.
• Employer Sessions: Get a more in-depth look at an organization as they share industry knowledge and company insights.
• Workshops and meetups: Group discussions about the skills and strategies you need to build in order to achieve your goals.
• Mock Interview Marathons: Practice your interview skills with employers and get feedback on how to improve.
• MEAL (Meet Experts and Learn): Meet industry representatives over a meal with a few other students for an informal networking opportunity.

We provide a wide array of programs and services that empower students to take ownership of their ongoing career development process, such as:

• CV books: Join the collection of student CVs which are  distributed to hundreds of employers each year, so you can be actively recruited.
• On-campus recruitment: Interview on-campus for opportunities with local organizations.
• Campus work experience: Develop employability skills through on-campus jobs and internships.
• Grant programs: Apply for a limited number of competitive grants which can support your summer internship, graduate school admissions test preparation, or final-round interview costs.

Leverage your time as a student to try out or experiment with new industries, skills, and possible work contexts. Experiments can be brief, like a lecture series or workshop hosted by a professional about a topic of interest, or more in-depth, like a 12-week internship. Our career advisors can help you decide where to start. 

Do research to get a bird’s eye view of an industry, which companies operate in that space, as well as what graduate programs, conferences, and trainings are relevant.

Check out the eclectic paths of NYU Abu Dhabi alumni in the Life Beyond Saadiyat reports or on LinkedIn. Explore what internships students have pursued by industry. 

Review the work status requirements for different countries for internships as well as full-time work through Going Global or individual country immigration departments. Navigating your global mobility is a lifelong skill you can begin to develop in university. 

Develop your sense of what it will take to be competitive in your field of interest by reviewing job descriptions for jobs you’d like to have in the future. Meet with a career advisor to evaluate your current skills as they relate to your goals and discuss a plan of action. 

Look into possible job titles and expected growth for occupations in the United States or the UAE. If you’re considering a PhD, think ahead with Versatile PhD, a resource of STEM, humanities, and social science PhDs sharing non-academic career choices.

Watch videos clips of real people talking honestly about their jobs with Candid Career. Reach out to professionals for information interviews to help build your industry knowledge. As an NYUAD student, you can attend our employer information sessions, which bring various employers to campus throughout the academic year.

If you sense that traditional employment or graduate school isn’t for you, talk to an advisor about the paths less traveled. Explore books like How to Work Your Way Around the World, Teaching English Overseas, Volunteer Vacations, You Majored in WHAT? or What Color is Your Parachute? These are all available in the Career Development Center (CDC) for current students to read.