Informational Interviews: The Gateway To a World of Opportunities

Author: Lexy Malcolm 

Recently I wrote a blog titled The Must’ of Networking.  However, at that time I had no experience in networking myself! I, like many other students, do not have the courage to approach someone in regards to the field of work they’re in. There are so many things running through your mind – what would you say to them? What if they aren’t interested in speaking to you? What if you come across too strong? There are so many ‘what ifs’. 

After researching information for my last blog I gained the courage to conduct my own informational interview with someone in a field of work that I believe I would enjoy working in. I happened to come across a position that seemed extremely fascinating yet it did not mention anything about job offerings or really much information about the work itself. It only listed contact information. It took some time to create an e-mail that I found suitable for this circumstance. Once I sent it off, I immediately received the opportunity to go into their place of work and conduct my first informational interview! 

During the meeting I learned so much about the field of work.  Any doubts I had about my future career plans were gone as I realized that this would be the perfect career path for me! Not only did I realize a lot about my potential fit with this career, but I was also informed about possible summer job opportunities that I otherwise would not have found out. I now realize that you should never doubt yourself when it comes to seeking information from employers through informational interviews. So many people really enjoy what they are doing and they are completely willing to share any information about their career path, which in turn can open up so many new insights and doors for you!

Thinking About Ethics In Your Career Planning

Author: Mehak Bhatia

Many students want a career that is about making a difference. For most of us, having a career that is line with our personal values would be ideal.  However, when it comes to researching and planning a career, we rarely think about what ethical scenarios we might face on a job and how our career satisfaction might be impacted by such issues. As a second year Health Sciences student contemplating a career in medicine, I am thinking ahead on these issues. Consider the following scenario:

It was late in the evening. After struggling to control her limbs that constantly and spontaneously moved in random directions, Steph’s mother finally stepped out of her bedroom and came downstairs in the living room. She sat across from her son and with a confused look on her face asked, “Where’s my nurse?” Uncomfortable and crunched in a corner toward the edge of the couch, she said, “Who are these two people, why won’t they sit somewhere else?” Steph’s family had not been to the hospital, nor had they had a nurse or a physician come to their place in a while. There was no one in the room except for her brother and mother.  Steph’s mother was hallucinating.

 A couple minutes after this, she had another attack of dyskinasia (highly uncoordinated movement of limbs) that continued to bother her throughout the night. Getting concerned that she might injure herself, Steph’s dad tried to hold her to control the movement. The force of the movements was such that it pushed her dad over to the wall across the room.

Although, Steph’s mother has Parkinson’s disease and experiences tremors (shaking of limbs) throughout most of the day, the forceful and random movements of her limbs and hallucinations are not among the most evident symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. 

What was going on? After speaking to her mother’s neurologist, Steph’s brother and dad realized that hallucinations and dyskinasia were the side effects of a new drug that the neurologist prescribed for her mother.  Her mother, who weighs about 90 pounds, could jerk her dad away, who weighs almost twice as much. Her brother could not sleep at nights because their mother would wake up in the middle of night saying that she “saw” things in her room that did not exist. All because of a pill.

Was the neurologist to blame for prescribing the drug to her? Parkinson’s disease is incurable. Therefore, it cannot be treated but the symptoms can be controlled. Unfortunately, as the disease progresses, it requires the patient to intake larger amounts of medications to control for symptoms. Also, with the progression of the disease, it takes longer and longer for the medicine to show its effect.  Hence, researchers have come up with other medications that can be used as an adjunct, and help to speed up the absorption of the drug. The medication that was causing hallucinations was also helping the Parksinson’s symptoms.  Therefore, to blame the neurologist for prescribing it to her would be a double edged sword.

This issue represents one of the darker sides of medicine. For incurable conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, physicians don’t have a choice other than prescribing and regulating amounts of different medications.

Would I as a physician encourage consuming a medication that, although controls negative symptoms, can cause side effects detrimental to health? Where would I draw the line when it comes to comparing the side effects with the therapeutic effects of a medication? How would I deal with the tension it creates in the patient’s family? How would I justify prescribing such a drug? If it is determined that the drug was in fact extremely harmful and should not have been prescribed to begin with, would I be courageous enough to accept my mistake? This issue gives rise to some really important questions that I must ponder upon before applying to medical school.

That’s All Folks!

By: Megan Wibberley – Peer Advisor 

As March rolled around I realized that it would not only be my final March at Laurier but also my final March volunteering at the Career Centre.  Time has literally flown by for me here at Laurier, and I started to reminisce about being a Peer Advisor.  I began to volunteer as a Peer Advisor last year in my third year and have never looked back.  Until I decided to apply for this position I had never considered myself someone who would be good at helping students with resumés, or even knowledgeable in the career industry.  When I started here I realized that I knew much more than I gave myself credit for simply through my experience of finding summer jobs and being a co-op student. 

In my forth year of university, school has certainly been busy and required more time than I have ever experienced before; but coming into the Career Centre once a week always helped to take my mind off the million and one things that I needed to finish before Friday.  It made me focus on the resumés I was looking at for students and the projects that I was working on as a Peer Advisor.  The people in the Career Centre are also wonderful and welcoming.  I never walk in without getting a “Hello!” from everyone I walk by.  Having social contact with people who aren’t in school but understand the stress and frustrations of school also helps me to relax. 

Apart from the wonderful people and the wonderful building that you get to work in as a Peer Advisor there are so many personal gains involved.  I learned a lot about myself and career opportunities not only in my field but in the career advising field, which I didn’t consider until I began to volunteer here.  Since this is my last blog for the year, I thought it was appropriate to talk about how much I have learned from the position itself and also from the people that work here. Even if you do not consider yourself in an obvious major for being a volunteer here, for example Marketing or English, still apply if you are interested.  As a geography major, I had no idea if I was a good fit for this, but let me tell you, it was an amazing experience for me. 

My favourite part of the position is the one on one interaction with students when they come in for resumé critiques.  It is so rewarding to be trained by the Career Centre staff for this job and then actually use the skills and see them helping your peers.  Many students will email me their resumés after the appointment once they have made changes to have me have a final look over it.  It has been so rewarding to see the improvements that were made from the appointment.  

Overall, this has been one of the best experiences for me during my time at Laurier.  It will be knowledge that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and lessons that I will never forget.  For that I have to say thank you to Stacey and the other Career Centre staff for giving me this opportunity and helping me out when I needed it. 

If this sounds like something you may be interested in, don’t think twice, apply.  Volunteer experience is always a great addition to your resumé, and this kind of volunteer experience is hard to find!  If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Peer Advisor, please check out this link for more information: http://www.lauriercc.ca/career/students/news.htm

Strengthen Your Resumé with a Professional Designation

Author: Trevor Belkwell, Peer Advisor 

After all the years of hard work, you have finally completed university and now what?  You find yourself lost in a crowd of other recent graduates trying to get their ‘foot in the door’ of their dream career.  With increased competition and an uncertain employment market, this can be a real challenge.  Why not distinguish yourself by working towards a professional designation? 

Professional credentials can usually be achieved through a combination of education attainment, work experience and certification.  In most cases, a comprehensive test and/or practicum is required to achieve and maintain certification.  The purpose of a professional association is to ensure that all members maintain a particular level of knowledge and adhere to industry standards.  Some of the benefits of belonging to a professional association include frequent upgrading of skills, networking and increased income.  A professional designation may also be a requirement for entry into a particular field of work.  

So why not increase your chances of finding a job and boosting your earning potential by working towards a professional designation. Some examples of professional designations might be Certified Human Resources Professional, Supply Chain Management Professional, Canadian Registered Safety Professional, GIS Certification, and the list goes on! 

A big part of your career planning is knowing what certifications, associations and regulatory bodies are out there – so get researching for professional designations today.

What to be When You ‘Grow Up’

Author: Liz Evans, Peer Advisor 

We were supposed to decide back in high school what we ‘wanted to be when we grew up’. They gave us a whole class on it, where we had to research career paths and take personality tests and such. Yet I know a lot of people, and I am also one of them, who accepted a university offer without a solid career destination in mind. There are also many who had a career choice picked out, but throughout university have changed their minds (I am also one of these people). My own career aspirations have switched from interior designer, to architect, to financial analyst, to my current goal of being an insurance underwriter, with a lot of ‘I’m not sure’ time in between. 

There is a lot of pressure to pick something so that you take all the right classes and make all the right connections. I think many of us hear about a job we like the sound of, and then when we decide it is what we want to do, we just jump into those classes, or that program, and hold on for dear life, just so that it ‘seems’ like we have it all figured out. 

If you are in university right now, you have most likely been alive for 18 years or more. That means that you are technically an adult already (even though you might not feel like one). So it is a little late to be saying, “when I grow up” when talking about your career choices. It only makes you feel like you have a lot of time to decide and think about it. University is only 4 or 5 years, and trust me it goes by really fast. The time to put some real thought and research into your future profession is now. Don’t wait until fourth year to find out you hate taking sociology and you really only liked that one science class you took in first year. By fourth year, it’s awfully late to change your major. 

You do not want to end up making a rushed decision 2 months before graduation, and ending up in a job you hate. It is important to take some time and do your research, even if it means doing an extra year, or taking a year off altogether. Taking 1 year to figure your career out is a lot better than ending up in a job you don’t like for the next 40 years. 

When you are deciding on a career, don’t just pick the one that seems ‘easy’, or is ‘just what people with business or psychology degrees do’. Find something you truly will like doing. Talking to professionals in that role, or spending a day in a job shadow with them are excellent ways to find out for sure if you will be happy in that position. 

Stop thinking, “when I grow up” as you are a grown up now (whether you like it or not), and it is time to take control of your life because your parents can’t tell you what to do forever.