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| Himo during his time abroad in the USA |
Many graduating students worry about securing employment once they're out of university. Competition is high in today's crowded job market, and employers favor candidates with useful skills and experience. Ibrahim "Himo" Owais is a former IXO Peer Advisor and AUS civil engineering graduate who recently landed a job as a water design engineer at Jacobs in Dubai. Himo's study abroad at Virginia Tech, VA, USA in Spring 2018 and his subsequent work at IXO helped him gain job skills and international experience that helped him find work fresh out of graduation.
Himo said his semester abroad at Virginia Tech helped him develop intercultural skills: "Studying abroad made me get out of my comfort zone and helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses that I never realized I had, and this made me learn more about myself and get to work on the weaknesses I saw in myself," he said. "Moreover, Jacobs is an international company so being able to adapt to different cultures and getting to tag along with others are essential skills for them and studying abroad helped me learn these skills easily."
Beyond gaining skills, Himo also racked up work experience during his time abroad: "I worked part-time at the dining hall in Virginia Tech. This was a great experience as I got to meet different types of people from different backgrounds. It was a huge learning experience and a plus on my resume which I believe helped me a lot in getting the job."
Working at IXO after returning from his study abroad gave Himo professional skills and a second family: "More than just an experience [listed] on my resume, [working at IXO] taught me a lot. Being a Peer Advisor and an Event Coordinator taught me a lot of stuff that I know I will use in the professional world. One of those things is that my colleague Sawi and I took full responsibility for the events for incoming students, which I believed is a lot of pressure because the incoming students' experiences counted on us. And I'm proud to say that all the events went smoothly and all the students, including us, the Peer Advisors, enjoyed them. Other than that, I had the opportunity to take full responsibility for projects given by Dr. Linda, such as the orientation [for incoming students] which was a long project and was successful. This made me way more confident to explain to the interviewers that I can handle responsibility with ease and without hesitation. Another skill which is important, especially as an engineer, is being a team player, and working with a team such as the IXO team helped me and taught me a lot. I never thought I would get to call a team from my job as a family but I'm more than proud to call my IXO team my second family."
Himo has global goals for his work at Jacobs: "Working at Jacobs will help me prosper as an engineer and I know that I'll learn a lot from it as it is well-known globally in the field I'm going to be working in, which is water design," he said. "Other than that, one of my short-term goals is to go the other offices of Jacobs around the world and get to learn the applications of water design in different countries and regions, because that will make me stand out from other engineers."
Finally, Himo is very grateful for all the experiences that have gotten him to where he is today: "My experiences during my study abroad and as an IXO Peer Advisor are the reason I got this exciting job offer from Jacobs which will give me a great push in my career. I couldn't be more happy and proud of myself that I got out of my comfort zone and actually took the brave step to go abroad. Overall, this was a one-of-a-kind experience and the best experience I've had so far and I would never trade it for anything!" Thank you for all your contributions to IXO, Himo, and we hope good things always come your way!
Suzana Saoud
IXO Publicity Specialist
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