The NYLON Manila Career Fair 2025 turned career day into a career slay. Here’s what you missed during the first stop at UA&P.
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After four successful stops at some of the biggest campuses and colleges in Metro Manila, the NYLON Manila Career Fair is back in 2025 for even more career-oriented action. From interactive booths, insightful masterclasses, fun giveaways, and more, Career Fair has been the place to plan your future, the NYLON Manila way. And for this year’s edition, we kicked things off with a return to the University of Asia and the Pacific last May 5.
As the first stop of the NYLON Manila Career Fair 2025, UA&P knew the vibes and showed up for an afternoon that made heading into their young working adult era a little more exciting. Missed out on the festivities? Don’t worry, we got you. Here’s a recap of what went down at the dragon’s den.
CAREER DAY WITH UA&P
The sun may have been shining extra bright, but that didn’t stop UA&P students from taking part in the first leg of the NYLON Manila Career Fair. Together with our partner organizations, the University Student Government (USG) and UA&P Communitas, it was a career-coded day to remember. It started at the registration booth outside Li Seng Giap, where attendees got their Career Fair punch cards to check out the experiences on campus. Located over at the University Student Commons were a handful of fun booths for attendees to enjoy before the program started.
There was, of course, the MyZine Booth, where students got a first-hand look at our MyZine print packs and binder and even took home a free copy after they took the MyZine quiz. Over at the This&That booth, students put on their creative caps to create their own fun and personalized charms, key chains, and tags. The Solasta booth had registered attendees customizing their own jewelry for a little campus bling moment, and they even got to use custom charm designs Solasta made specifically for the NYLON Manila Career Fair.
For students who worry about their face card, the Cetaphil and Benzac booth gave them tips and advice on feeling and looking their best selves, with a free consultation with a dermatologist included. Outside Li Seng Giap, meanwhile, students completed their stamp cards by checking out the AGCPHC HR booth where they could send over their information for job openings across the company’s various media titles. To immortalize the moment was a photobooth courtesy of Specc Studios as attendees and barkadas snapped away while the NYLON Manila Freedom Wall let students leave messages via sticky notes.
It was the best kind of career fair scavenger hunt if you think about it.
A FIRST JOB 101
By 5 PM, over a hundred students made their way to the Li Seng Giap auditorium for the main program to start. Kapamilya actress and host Shanaia Gomez served as the event’s host as she brought the crowd’s energy to acceptable hype levels. Starting the program was a message from USG’s Eara Cayanga, who hosted last year’s UA&P stop and was one of the four cover stars of our November 20204 anniversary issue.
After that was the first masterclass by Farrah Abello, a Talent Attraction and Experience Specialist at SN Aboitiz Power Group, on how to bag the first job like a pro. From crafting the right resume to acing the job interview, there’s a lot that goes into getting a job for the first time, and Farrah came through with the tips and tricks. Her insight? Employers mainly look for potential in applicants, so don’t stress out too much if you feel that you don’t have a fool-proof resume, as long as you are prepared and do your research, that is. “Skills can always be trained, but attitude cannot,” she shared.
It’s all about your willingness to learn and grow, which is why she emphasized the need for resumes that highlight your strengths that can be digested by hiring managers easily. Also, here’s a pro tip: when you craft your resume, make sure to include action words like “managed” or “organized” that give a clearer sense to employers of what you have and can do (it also makes your resume easily searchable in the dozens of applications HR has to shift through).
The second masterclass was hosted by Isa Garcia, a Career Consultant, Harrison Assessments Certified Coach, Trained and Certified by the International Positive Education Network, Expressive Arts Facilitator in training, Author, and Teacher, who delved into what kind of career path to take when there’s a fork in the road. Right off the bat, Isa made it clear that the fork in the road is actually not real. “There is no real fork,” she stated. “There are a lot of roads leading in different directions, and you shouldn’t be afraid to go down that road.”
For her, it’s not a binary choice of A or B, but multiple branching paths to go about your life post-graduation that you can try and experiment with. And if you’re having a hard time deciding what to do, Isa advises to listen to yourself and define success on your own terms, not what other people say it should be.
Halfway through the program, Career Fair took a detour with a game of Kahoot! hosted by NYLON Manila’s Senior Brand Associate, Bianca Lao. The prizes for the winners? Oh, just Sunnies Flask and Romand gift bags among other goodies. You bet the students locked in as they answered NYLON Manila, career, and UA&P-related questions.
Afterward was the third masterclass by Kai Soriano, a Certified Life & Career Coach, Certified in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Motivational Speaker on the Growth Mindset and Resilience, in developing the right mindset for the workplace. Sharing her own career story, Kai validated the doubts and fears many Gen Z have about working, but she also highlighted the importance of reorienting your mind to having a growth mindset that sees failure not as setbacks, but as opportunities to do better. “The experience you’re having, the difficulty, is teaching you something,” she said. Having the right mindset can do wonders in a professional setting, which is why it’s important you approach new situations without already feeling defeated.
The fourth masterclass came from VP for Business Development and Operations at Buensalido PR and Communications Monique Buensalido as she delved into the long-running debate if salary or success is what should define you. While acknowledging that earning a living is important, Monique sees it more through the lens of value in building who you are as a professional and person.
Instead of trying to chase more zeros at the end of your paycheck, make it a priority that who you are and what you offer is what people look at. “Chase and create your value,” she advised. At the end of the day, your impact and what you bring to the table are what will make people remember you, including how much they’ll offer you. So move away from the superficial and chase that higher purpose in your hard work.
The fifth and final masterclass of the day courtesy of Cetaphil and Benzac was hosted by content creator Mariela Kliatchko. Sharing her skincare journey, Mariela spoke about how she gained newfound confidence when she started taking care of her skin and how forming skincare habits, whether intentional or not, leads to better self-confidence.
CAREER PLANNING, THE NYLON MANILA WAY
As the event drew to a close, all the speakers came on stage for a Q&A session before receiving a token of appreciation from NYLON Manila. Bianca Lao then came back on stage to thank UA&P, our partner orgs, the students, and our brand partners who made the event possible. Finally, as a last treat, attendees took home NYLON Manila tote bags filled with goodies from Cetaphil, Sunnies Face, and Solasta. And just like that, day one of the NYLON Manila Career Fair was officially in the books.
Mondays may not be the favorite day of most students, but we came to UA&P to give students one to remember with fun activities and tips and tricks straight from the industry experts. Thank you to everyone who came to the UA&P leg of the NYLON Manila Career Fair, and we hope to see you on our next stops at Enderun and CSB.
Thank you to our sponsors Cetaphil and Benzac, and our brand partners Solasta Jewelry, Sunnies Face, Romand, This&That, and Specc Studios.
Photos by Kieran Punay.
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