“Luck Favours The Prepared” – Louis Pasteur

By: Shelby Weber, Peer Advisor

It’s midterm season and we all know what that means; twenty minutes to find a library cubicle, half an hour to grab your coffee from Tim’s, and a level of stress on campus that is almost palpable.

But why are we so stressed? My dad often says to me, “you’re a student, you don’t understand stress,” but from my perspective, we as students put more stress on ourselves, than anyone else I know.

I believe that most of our stress stems from our own poor time management skills. We are given assignments and informed about exam dates well in advance, but somehow, we always end up cramming the night before and we are never as fully prepared as we could, or should be. We carry the same poor time management skills all the way up until graduation, and once again, we are stressed when we can’t find jobs straight out of university.

We still have over half of the academic year ahead of us so we should use this time to learn from our mistakes and prepare ourselves for the future. Start your job search a little earlier in the same way that you would (or should) start your exam studying a little earlier. Stop piling on the stress and start taking preventative measures so that you can land your dream job in the same way that you would score that A+.

Take advantage of the four years you are given in university to actually prepare yourself for what’s to come after graduation.

You’ve Got Mail

By: Jodi Bergman, Peer Advisor

In today’s society, reaching out to strangers over the Internet has come to be seen as a normal and popular way to extend your network, both in a personal and professional setting. While most students have no problem chatting through e-mail or posting status updates, many don’t understand the importance of communicating professionally through a computer screen.

Sending out e-mails and resumės to prospective employers is a key step towards conducting a successful job search, and the inability to communicate effectively via e-mail can be detrimental. Below are a few tips on how you can improve your email etiquette:

1. Be professional, not sloppy – Short forms like “TTYL”, “U”, and “LOL” may be appropriate for Facebook or your Twitter feed, but the convenient abbreviations are not welcome in the workforce.
2. Use proper grammar and sentence case – Similar to rule 1, you’ll want to make sure your email has been looked over for grammatical or spelling mistakes. USING CAPS LOCK COMES OFF AS SHOUTING, so make sure all
e-mails are edited and tidy.
3. Keep messages brief and to the point – Think of your first e-mail to potential employers like an initial introduction. They don’t want to hear your entire life story in the first two minutes… Attach your cover letter and resumė alongside a brief and professional message to have the greatest impact.
4. Leave an e-mail address or phone number – This is important in tandem with tip 3. You don’t want to overload the reader with info, but provide them with direct contact information so they can follow up with you.
5. Use the subject field to indicate content and purpose – DO NOT forget about the subject field…an employer seeing an “FW:” or “HI!” as a subject line will leave the impression that you are sending out this email to a mass amount of people.
6. Remember tone can’t be heard in an e-mail –Tone can get misconstrued, particularly over the Internet, so remember that an intro e-mail is not the place to showcase your sarcastic wit or best puns – unless you’re applying to work at a comedy club!

Email and the Internet provide yet another tool with which students can extend their professional network and secure employment. However, understanding how to use these tools effectively is what can separate those with jobs, from those who don’t. Think about your online presence, and the power you have to control a first impression just by hitting send!

“Everybody Can Be Boring – But You’re Gooder Than That!”

By: Jess Amaro

Wise words from none other than Kid President himself:

I came across Kid President a long time ago through SoulPancake (via Rainn Wilson) and it’s a series I like to come back to now and then; I think sometimes we all need a little pep talk. Sometimes, we need a reminder that there are enough people in the world doing the same old things and it’s up to us individually to keep going after what’s fresh, different, and inspiring to us.

I’m sure you’d agree that we need more awesome in the world, and as KP points out, it’s up to each of us to bring it. Watching this video always makes me hope that I’ll end up doing something in my life that’s exciting and full of creativity and energy. It’s a reminder that the easy route isn’t always the best option, and rarely is the most rewarding. And it’s also a reminder that whatever I choose to do with my life, I need to be happy with it and it needs to line up with what I value.

I think that’s commonly a struggle when it comes to trying to figure out your life, especially career wise. Do you go for a job that brings in good money? Do you make sacrifices but pursue your passion? Can you do both? What kind of work lines up with your values? What are your values anyway?

If you’re not ready to dive into career planning right now, a great place to start is just thinking about your values. What is important to you? From working hours, to pay, to environment, to structure – assessing your values is a key step in finding a job that not only you want to work for, but one that will work for you!

It’s Never Too Late to Start – But Now Would Be Good!

By: Kristyn Mott, Peer Advisor

While Jess talked about it never being too early to start your career planning, it is also never too late! The point is that you start, and that ‘start’ is coming to the Career Centre.
There are many resources to help you discover careers that match up with your personality and interests. The Career Centre features a useful career planning workshop, a diverse lending library, and a knowledgeable team of consultants who are there to help you succeed.

As the saying goes, “better late than never.” That is especially true for career planning. Even if you are in your last year of study and have no idea what to do after life at Laurier, the reality is you have 40+ years remaining in your career and you want to make sure it begins on the right foot, and that right foot is beginning your planning and career exploration process…now.

Will Work for Food…I Mean Travel

By: Emma Duca, Peer Advisor

Would you like to walk down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées on your way to work? Have an African safari outside your office? Navigate the maze of the New York subway system to get to work? Then make it happen!

Whether you are looking for a part-time job, an internship, or a full-time permanent position, consider broadening your search borders. Working abroad can be an exciting and unique opportunity, allowing you to see the world and immerse yourself in a new culture while gaining valuable work experience.

The first step to finding a job abroad is to do your research (bet you’ve never heard that before…). The Career Centre’s resource library is a fantastic place to start! Flip through the books, or hop online and check out myworldabroad.com, a wonderful starting point that is full of helpful articles such as “Interviewing for an International Job”, “What is your International IQ?”, as well as an enormous database of resources to get you started on your job hunt. Best of all, your subscription is completely FREE as a Laurier student (you can thank Laurier International and the Career Centre for that)!

Consider what your goals are during your time abroad. Do you mainly want to sightsee and need part-time temporary jobs to finance your travels while abroad? Do you want to gain professional experience interning in an international company? Or perhaps you would like to make a difference in the world and volunteer abroad? No matter what your reasoning, obtaining a position abroad is an eye-opening experience that everyone should consider at some point in their lives… and honestly, what better time than right now, while you’re a student and haven’t made the (terrifying) decision to settle down yet?

Informational Interviewing is a Great Way to Network!

By: Resi Walt, Peer Advisor

Ever since I started here at the Career Centre as a Peer Advisor, I have learned numerous networking strategies, including ‘informational interviewing’. This type of networking is about setting up a meeting with a person who is in a position or organization that is of interest to you. Since I was so excited about the idea of informational interviewing, I got right to work researching organizations connected to my area of interest – agriculture. Next, I sent out about 6 or 7 emails to the general email address for the company. Within a week, I had replies from 3 of the organizations! Since then, I have been able to set up an interview with 2 organizations. The first person lives in the United States so we will be speaking over Skype. The second person has their office in Guelph so I have set up a face-to-face to interview!

Informational interviewing is beneficial in so many ways. First of all, it allows you to conduct in-depth research on possible career options. The types of questions you can ask the person include: How do I get started in this field? What are the advantages and disadvantages to this career? What type of entry-level jobs are available? What are the latest trends in this particular industry? The person you are interviewing will be able to provide you with accurate and useful information. After the interview, you will have a better sense of whether the job/company would be a good fit for you.

A key advantage of conducting informational interviews is to expand your network. The person you have interviewed may have ideas of other people they can refer you to, and will be able to assist you in making further connections.

Thirdly, I have learned first-hand that informational interviewing helps you develop yourself professionally. It gives you the perfect chance to build your confidence, demonstrate your initiative, and showcase your skills. So much can be gained from putting yourself out there and meeting new people. Since setting up my informational interviews, not only do I feel more motivated to start my career planning, I also feel excited about it!

If you want to get started with information interviewing, visit this link – you won’t regret it!

Click to access Informational%20Interview%202012.pdf

A Baker’s Guide to Student Work/Life Balance

By: Jodi Bergman, Peer Advisor

As a student, employee and avid baker, I find that maintaining a work/life balance is often like baking a very complex and intricate cake. There are many layers and components that go into the process, and if you leave something out, the end result isn’t always favorable.

Every recipe says to start with the main ingredients. Add together 3 hours of studying for each of my 5 classes and mix it all with a large amount of coffee. Combine the batter with 15 part-time hours of work per week, 7 hours spent on extra-curriculars and place it all together in the oven. As the cake and workload begins to rise, so does my anxiety as to how it will all turn out.

While the cake is baking, it’s time to prepare the frosting. My favorite flavour generally involves making fun and fancy meals, watching reality TV and motivating myself to get to the gym. The problem comes from my inability to keep my hands out of the frosting! Blowing off schoolwork seems so much easier than cracking open another textbook, but the sugar high comes to a swift end when the cake turns out all burnt because I neglected to pay attention to what matters the most.

I have found that the best way to manage my time is to slice the cake into tiers with a small amount of frosting between each layer. That way, I get through the dry stuff while still satisfying my sweet tooth. The important thing to remember, is to take everything one step at a time, work hard, and take breaks. Sticking to a defined rewards system will help motivate you without distracting from the end goal, and will result in both satisfying and delicious results!

Like baking a great cake, being a well-rounded student involves a combination of many different things. Being able to manage schoolwork, extra-curriculars and relaxation – is easier said than done. However, developing time management skills, as well as building on the competencies gained through extra-curricular involvement, will not only prepare you for a future career, but also prevent you and your cake from going up in flames! Maybe even think about rewarding yourself with a nice big slice of your delicious cake for every chapter completed 😉 I know I do!

My Networking ‘Trick’

By: Ying Ying (Cam) Luo

As students, we may all know having an effective networking strategy will boost our chances at landing a job. Personally, I have a little ‘trick’, in that I regard “networking” simply as listening to other people’s stories and learning from them.

This past summer I went to a company’s open house event. During the lunch break, I spoke with one event attendee who works at a university co-op department. At the beginning, I introduced myself to her – spoke about my academic studies and mentioned my career interest in the HR field. And guess what? She used to work as a HR Manager! All the sudden, I felt like I was having a live informational interview with someone in my field of interest. Later on, she mentioned that she made a career transition from a corporate setting to an educational institution because she always felt emotionally overwhelmed when she had to lay off people. This conversation and information made me start to critically evaluate my HR career aspiration since I’m a very sentimental person. At the end of the day, through hearing her story, I have grabbed a number of tips in HR to evaluate whether it’s the right fit for me and have earned more insights into networking.

First of all, take the initiative to attend networking events. I would never have met that HR contact if I just stayed at home. I would never have gained a new perspective of HR if I didn’t initiate the conversation. In the Career Centre, you can always sign up for networking events to connect with real world professionals. If you find one interesting – go for it! You will never know what you might encounter.

Networking is a lifelong skill and one that you should start practicing early on in your academic career!

Your Life is Hectic…I Get it…But Volunteer Anyways!

By, Amaryllis Jones, Peer Advisor

I can’t believe we are already one month into the fall semester and only seven months away from summer break! Yikes…although the sunshine is motivating the thought of full-time jobs after graduation and summer internships seems to cloud over the sunrays. Most of us do not realize that the job hunt starts now…and what better time to start building your resumė with leadership and volunteer experience.

Employers look for candidates with a diverse portfolio that goes above and beyond academics to include: part-time jobs, community involvement, intramural sports and extracurricular activities. In my first year I was surprised by the number of clubs and organizations existing on campus and found it difficult to narrow down the choices! My recommendation is look for activities where you can contribute and learn the most. Not only will you be giving back to the community but you will also be developing your personal skills. In first year I joined my faculty’s student association, the SBESS, and found that it connected me with a network of students who became study buddies, career mentors and great friends.

But this is the dilemma…how can I contribute the most? Every organization has various positions ranging from general member to vice president. Depending on your time commitment, select a position where you feel confident that you can fulfil job duties and support the team! It is important to ask questions to know what exactly the role entails and how many hours per week are required. As a general member for Laurier Believes 4 Kids, I was able to attend events and contribute to charitable activities such as volunteering to be “pied” in the face to raise money. Staying up-to-date with upcoming events allows you to access opportunities for involvement and enhance your role.

Still having doubt? I guess it is because you are too busy to volunteer right? Too much homework? A full course load? Stop making excuses and give it a try! Check out http://www.wlu.ca/volunteer, or http://www.volunteerkw.ca.

How (Not) To Lose a Job in 10 Days

By: Emma Duca, Peer Advisor

You’ve already read about how an interview can be compared to a first date, so I’m going to take it one step further and compare the job itself to a relationship. In fact, a job IS already a relationship; it is a professional relationship between you and your employers, between you and the entire company. So, let me put on my Dr. Phil hat, as I highlight a few key tips to making a (professional) relationship work:

1. Don’t get too comfortable. In any relationship, it can be easy to assume that once you’ve made the commitment, you can now relax and stop trying, after all, the title is yours. WRONG. If anything, you want to spend your time continuing to impress and amaze your partner/employer each and every day… give them a reminder of why they chose you above everyone else. Otherwise, they will forget what it is they found so great about you and they will start searching elsewhere for that special someone.

2. Don’t be under the impression that you know everything there is to know about that person, ask questions and pay attention to their interests, who knows you may find something you both love to do! In a relationship, your significant other would love to discover that you share the same passions as them, now you have something you can both do together. That being said don’t lie… “No way, you love playing Grand Theft Auto for hours and hours on end? Me too!” . . . just doesn’t roll off the tongue for most of us. Same goes for the gentlemen; if you say you just love shopping so much you could do it all day, trust me, that is EXACTLY what you will be doing this weekend. This lesson can be directly applied when you are working at a company – find out their interests. If they contribute donations to a charity, consider volunteering once a week for that charity; if they sponsor a minor league team, attend a few of the games with some co-workers. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment, but expressing that you are passionate about the company’s interests will show that you are taking that extra step, and that you are a good fit with the company.

3. Don’t forget to stay friends. Even if the relationship doesn’t work out, maintaining a positive connection is so important; you don’t want them going around bad-mouthing you to others. The same goes for an employer. If you decide the position isn’t for you, or you are getting too swamped at school to manage a part-time job as well, make your exit gracefully and professionally. Maintaining a positive relationship with your former employer is necessary, especially if you will need references from them in the future, or if you will be applying within the company again later on. You want them to remember the great relationship you had, and not a bad break-up.

If you would like more relationship advice, make sure you tune into my talk show on Wednesdays… just kidding, my Dr. Phil career ends here. However, I will recommend coming into the Career Development Centre and skimming the shelves for “Career Cupid” by Christine Fader, who has a light and whimsical take on the process of landing (and loving) your dream job.