Campus Life & Future Careers

Last summer, I worked at a retail store. From April to the start of Orientation Week, I held the position of a sales associate at the first location of a chain that had just come to the city. 🏬

My favorite aspects about working in retail were the group of people that I worked with — many of whom I eventually become friends with, the fact that I mastered — and ultimately became a pro at using the POS system, but most significantly, the fact that I learned plenty of transferable customer service skills from my daily interactions with clients — skills that, as Marie points out in her post, are not necessarily learned through prestigious internships (but are rather an asset to have when applying for them).

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Over the past 4 years, I have had the chance to be an interviewee and an interviewer. Unfortunately, neither seems to be easier. Interviewees face the stress of not knowing how to prepare for an interview or what the interviewers thought. On the other hand, interviewers need to decide on questions to understand the true nature of candidates and often face tough decisions when the selection pool has many qualified candidates. Here’s what I’ve learned about a good interview from sitting on both sides. (more…)

Going into university triggers a whole list of questions that students ask themselves – what am I going to do with my life? What are my desires, my goals, my wishes, my dislikes, my neutrals? Many of these long-term, big-picture questions suddenly become very real and tangible, so much so to the extent that the shorter-term questions get put aside. One of the experiences that I completely did not address until I really needed to was my post-first year summer. Although I ended up scoring an amazing internship at the Vancouver Pride Society, I am all too aware that I could have spent it unhappy working in a hot, Italian grocery store. To gauge how other individuals reflected on and approached their summer, I interviewed two friends to showcase their experiences. 

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https://www.udemy.com/

Interviewing can be quite daunting even if you have gone through a number of them. With every interview, you are meeting new people, selling yourself and different skillsets each time. It could all sound intimidating; however, there are ways to make this process feel much less stressful. As long as you spend some time researching the company and understanding what they are looking for in a new hire, you should be able to nail the interview and showcase the necessary skills to get the job. Here are some tips:

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It is without question very intimidating to have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life, even for those who may have just earned a degree. Last week, I had the chance to sit down with a civil engineer to discuss what this career is like in more depth. If you are still on the fence regarding what you want to study or have just begun your new journey as a university student, and especially if you are leaning towards a career in engineering, you may find his responses to be useful. This is the second part of the interview; the first part can be found here.

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Many career options are often presented broadly, but offer much more specific branches to choose from. For aspiring engineers, the options are plenty: chemical, mechanical, electrical, computer, civil, software; the list goes on. When you first decide to pursue a degree in one of these, it can be a challenge to feel confident that you’ve made the right decision until you are well into your studies. I recently had the chance to sit down with a civil engineer of over 30 years to discuss what this career is like in more depth. You may find this helpful if you are just embarking on your new journey as a university student or contemplating whether this is the right path for you.

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For me personally, the holiday season is primarily a time to be surrounded by family, to celebrate Christmas with the people you love, and take the time to recover and relax from the bustle of the past year. For this reason, I tend not to think too much about looking for career-related opportunities during late December. However, as everyone knows, New Year’s is a time to begin new goals and make new resolutions (that can be kept!). It is also perfect occasion to start fresh and get back into looking at volunteering, extra-curricular, and job-related activities that will be sure to boost your CV and enhance the skills that will make you an adept professional in the working world.

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I’ve been at McGill for just over a year now. Some might say I’ve “settled in”, but sometimes I still feel pretty new here. There are some things that, by my second year, I probably should have seen or heard of already, however, just this week was the first time that I’ve seen upper year students preparing for and celebrating convocation. As a student not even half way through my degree, seeing them enjoy this time as they start a new chapter of their lives reminded me of the rush of excitement I felt after my high school graduation, but it seemed that much more exhilarating – so many new adventures lay ahead and new memories waiting to be made.

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University teaches you an immense amount of invaluable information. Most of us go into it thinking we will learn everything there is to know about our degree, so that we can apply the new knowledge and know how to get the job done, and get it done well. But the truth is, your classes provide much more than just the information you will need, as important as that is. You also develop a wide variety of skills that, as you continue your education and enter the workforce, will serve you well, and provide you with a basis for so many of the things you will do later in life.

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From pre-recruitment events and firm tours to end-of-recruitment cocktails, the accounting recruitment season passes by fast. But through the stress, excitement, and all of the waiting, you might be lucky enough to get a call from your favourite firm. Looking back, here’s what I would have done differently.  (more…)