Career Bowl I

By: Emily Roome, Peer Advisor

With the biggest day in football (besides Laurier’s Homecoming) right around the corner I’d like to take a step back from the game to consider the important lessons we can take out of it to create a winning career game plan.

#1. Football is a team sport. Tom Brady couldn’t (try to) make it to the Super Bowl on his own – he has an entire team on the field with him to give support to each other, help each other and ultimately make it to the end zone. As students, we don’t have to plan our careers on our own! We have a huge support team including friends, family and the Career Centre to help you with those tough decisions, give you advice and guide you to the end zone.

#2. Coaches – the sideline motivators. Coaches motivate you, create strategic plays, and encourage you. Similarly, mentors can play a vital role in the success of career planning. Mentors can help ease the stress and anxiety of career planning and actually make it enjoyable. They share their insight and advice with us and allow us to play to our fullest potential. If you don’t have a mentor – try reaching out to some contacts in fields that interest you. By having an informational interview, or utilizing other networking opportunities, you’ll score some awesome advice and reassurance!

#3. Focus on the season, not just the Super Bowl. The most common mistake about career planning is that we focus on the end goal – the career, instead of how we’ll get there. Graduating with a degree does not lead straight into a career. Instead we must put in the time and effort. Football players train long and hard in practice and put everything they have into every game, not just the final one. So, start your career planning now, spend the time to research, talk to people and volunteer. Explore different fields and take every opportunity – you’ll learn more about yourself and your path to the finish line. Remember: if you don’t put in the effort through the entire season – you won’t make it to the big game.

Groundhog Day

By: Emma Dickson, Peer Advisor

Here we go again – gloomy winter, new semester, a syllabus that fills up the next four months of our lives with similar examination and assignment schedules. Blah. Does this feeling sound familiar? It does for me! Commencing a new semester always brings about the same old familiar feelings of “haven’t I been here and done this before?’ It reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray where he finds himself working on an assignment that he doesn’t enjoy and winds up in a time loop where he repeats the same tasks day after day. Murray’s character was left having to re-examine his life and priorities.

This semester may seem like a repeat of last semester, however, with the end of winter term, you also have more to worry about in terms of lining up a summer position. I’m here to tell you that summer student positions are ripe for the taking… if you are early enough and you stop doing the same thing over and over that landed you in the same non-rewarding summer job as last year. I’m talking about the feeble summer job search of expecting to line up a meaningful summer position by simply searching on the internet. To find a rewarding professional summer position (that is related to your career interests or discipline) takes more effort than this. You need to seek out networking opportunities by calling individuals to line up informational meetings. Attend Job Fair on February 6th to gain insight and contacts. Cold call organizations to prospect for opportunities.

So break from your usual routine of internet job searching and get proactive, involved and innovative of your approach to landing a rewarding summer job. Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day got savvy, inventive and tried something different to create a new desirable outcome in his life. Now it’s your turn to do the same. Break from the norms of job searching and find a new and original way to be noticed in the job market.

SAVE THE DATE- Job Fair Do’s and Don’ts

By: Allison Lougheed, Peer Advisor

Now I know most of you are already aware of, or have previously attended the Career Fair back in September. However, if you were not able to attend, lucky for you – Job Fair is coming up on Wednesday, February 6th at RIM Park! This is the event that I (being a fourth year student) am very excited about! The Job Fair is most definitely not limited to fourth year students, we encourage all students to attend to gain insightful information from various employers on prospective summer positions, as well as a wonderful opportunity to conduct company and career research.

Here are some of my “do’s” and “don’ts” for the Job Fair:

Don’t simply ask employers about job openings. Do use the fair as an opportunity to engage in as many informational interview style conversations as possible. Company representatives are there to provide you with information on not only specific job openings, but are willing to share details on what they are specifically looking for in candidates and educate you on the types of careers within the company (even if no specific opening currently exists). These types of conversations can open your eyes to careers you never knew existed, and help you to gauge whether or not this is a career path you want to venture down.

Don’t wander the Job Fair aimlessly asking representatives to tell you about their company. Do come prepared with a specific list of companies you want to speak to. This means you need to do your research on these companies and have specific questions planned out in advance. Visit this website https://partners4employment.ca/home.htm and register to begin accessing company profiles.

Don’t come with a stack of generic/non-customized resumés to hand out to every employer. Do bring ‘networking cards’ with your personal information so you can exchange cards with the representative following a productive conversation. This way you can follow up with a more catered resumé based on the knowledge, information and ideas the representative has shared with you.

Don’t be lazy and find excuses for being too busy to attend. Do be sure to prioritize and ‘save the date’ for Job Fair so you can leverage this excellent event for your job search and engage in insightful career networking conversations.

By registering at the Job Fair website above (and attending the Job Fair), you will be entered into a draw to win an iPad Mini… see you there!

The Best Career Planning Things in Life – Are Free!

By: Shanelle Weber, Peer Advisor

There are a variety of resources out there to help you with your career planning that will cost you money. For example, you could pay a professional resumé writer, or pay to join associations or expensive networking events. However, I’m here to tell you that the best and most effective career planning assistance comes in the best kind of package – FREE!

Many people underestimate the opportunities that could arise by something everyone has – I’m talking about family and friends. After speaking to my own father regarding my career thoughts and ideas, he helped me get in touch with a person who ultimately helped to land a summer job in communications and public relations. It helped me gain incredibly valuable experience and really gave me a taste of what the job entails. Talking with your friends and family can often lead you to interesting connections that you never knew you had. Try using what’s called ‘your six foot rule of thumb’, meaning anyone within a six foot radius; you want to ask whether they have a contact in a certain field or company. Even though these connections may not give you a job right away, they can serve as excellent sources of insight on a career or industry.

One of the best free resources literally at your fingertips is Linkedin. Often considered a professional version of Facebook, it allows you to create a professional profile, connect with others, find and search for jobs and join career-related discussion groups. It is a networking resource that serves as a platform to begin presenting yourself professionally to the job market.

Another free resource is Laurier’s Navigator system which is accessible to all students and alumni. This resource will enable you to access appointments, workshops, special events and a wealth of job postings including both summer and full-time graduating positions. I highly suggest checking out this resource early in your education.

Finally, the last resource available is myself and my fellow team of Peer Advisors! Visit us as Career Centre booths for a second set of eyes on your resumé. As well, we can direct you to the best upcoming career events for your situation. You can find us mostly in the Concourse on Wednesday mornings. If you aren’t sure what time, check out our Event Calendar and look for “On Campus Drop-In Resumé Critiques”

So get active and take advantage of these highly useful, FREE career planning resources!