Career Services Informer

January 21, 2010 (5:30 -7:30pm)

How to Successfully Find and Work with a Mentor                                                        

Have you ever thought about connecting with a mentor, or are you actively looking for one? Do you wonder what mentoring is all about, and want to know more?

Join us for an engaging and interactive session, led by human resources and mentoring expert Lewisa Anciano.  This workshop will introduce you to the concept of mentoring as a long-term strategy for your career development. You will learn the ‘ins’ and ‘out’ of mentoring, develop concrete skills to determine if mentoring is right for you, and obtain strategies to identify, successfully engage, and maintain a mentor.

For more information or to register, click here.

The Next Leaders Network (NLN) is a new association that offers innovative learning and networking opportunities to emerging not for profit leaders. To learn more about the NLN click here.

Applying for graduate school can be a daunting task.  Make it easier and come to Applying to Graduate School hosted by Career Service.

Hear what Professors have to say from various  Faculties and get the inside scoop.

Thursday, October 15 @ 1:30pm-3:00pm in Career Services (MBC 0300)

Share your experiences of applying to graduate school with the CSI Blog!

Whether you are graduating or just starting out it is never too early to plan your worksearch.  With graduation fever in the air many students are asking themselves how do I find jobs in the current economic market?  Regardless of what type of work you are looking for a good worksearch starts with planning and reaching out for professional assistance.

Join career services on:

Monday, Oct 19 @ 11:30am-12:30pn in Student Central

In the words of St. Augustine: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”.

Interested in turning to the next page??? Join us to learn about Travel, Work and Volunteer abroad programs.

Date: Tue, Oct 13

Time: 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Location: MBC 0300 – Group Room 1, SFU Burnaby

Yes, it’s back and better than ever! Over 80 companies and schools will come to SFU Surrey and Burnaby during Career Days 2009. If you are actively searching for a job, or just graduated, why not come to talk to the creators of some of your favourite products such as the Blackberry and Pepsi? Don’t stop there though, or you’ll miss companies like Microsoft, Natural Resources Canada, Molson and Scotiabank!
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If you are an unemployed recent graduate or in your final semester and beginning your work search, plan to attend Career Services’ FREE Job Finding Club –August 24 to September 4th.  This 2 week program teaches job seekers the most effective means of finding work in their field using group-support and strategic job-hunting techniques.  During that time we will help you to:

– Identify your skills and be able to talk about them with confidence
– Create resumes and cover letters that will get you interviews
– Discover unadvertised jobs and tap into the hidden job market
– Enhance your interview skills to get those job offers
– Develop skills and strategies to overcome obstacles
– Bring new energy to your job search and much more!

Attend the next information session (no registration required) to see if this SFU Career Services sponsored club could be your path to successful work!

Job Finding Club Info Session Dates:

Tues July 21 @ 10:00 – 11:00
Thurs July 23 @ 1:00 – 2:00
Tues Aug 4 @ 2:30 – 3:30
Thurs Aug 6 @ 12:30 – 1:30

Submit your job club application NOW to avoid disappointment as interviews start on August 11th. 

DROP BY Career Services MBC 0300; or  PHONE: 778-782-3106; or EMAIL: career_services@sfu.ca

The Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) 2009 Mega Job Fair will have about 100 exhibitors from various fields and sectors to talk to job seekers about available job opportunities in their organizations. Job seekers will have free access to hundreds of employers and career choices under one roof in one day.

We recommend that you bring along a stack of resumés and wear professional clothing. Come early, talk with confidence and share the best of yourself. Prepare a list of questions that you wish to ask the exhibitors. If you are well prepared and organized, you may get interviewed, get important information about your career prospects, make important networking contacts, get practical experience at interacting with HR personnel or you may even get hired at the job fair.

PICS job fair is free for job seekers and features mega door prizes, including a flat screen plasma TV and a thousand dollars cash!  Check out PICS website at http://www.pics.bc.ca/ for a complete list of exhibitors.

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: North Surrey Recreation Centre – 10275 135 Street, Surrey, BC

Are you a recent grad or will be soon?  If you want some assistance with transitioning into the work-world, let SFU Career Services make things a little easier.

Our annual Backpack to Briefcase Conference is tommorrow on Saturday, March 7, 2009.   No need to register, just DROP IN!  Let us help you find your way off the hill, from Student to Professional with a full day of workshops and seminars targeted to third and fourth year students and alumni.  Get tips on how to succeed on the first year on the job, how to market yourself online, and mastering the telephone and pre-screening interviews, just to name a few.

Registration is now being accepted by phone, 778-782-3106 or in person at the SFU Career Services office in Burnaby.  Be one of the first 50 people to register and you’ll receive your very own reusable document bag upon payment.  The all-day conference includes a keynote address, morning coffee and snacks, lunch and a Transition Tips Package, for only $20 for current students or $25 for alumni.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more details to come!  www.sfu.ca/career

BC’s Top 50 Employer’s List and Canada’s Top 100 Employer’s List (http://www.canadastop100.com/bc/)  recognizes the Employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places work.  These lists can provide job seekers information about the criteria they can use for companies in their own job search as well as a great ideas for prospective employers for themselves.  The employers are evaluated on eight criteria such as Physical  Workplace.

Career Services has invited 4 representatives from companies on the list to attend the ‘Work For The Best’ event on February 19, 2009.  The representatives will talk about their own careers and of course share the best features of their companies. 

Participants will get the opportunity to ask questions and network with these employers.  In order to take part in ‘Work For The Best’ you can register on Simplicity just log on through the Career Services site!  Hope to see you on February 19th.

Work in the nonprofit sector offers many possibilities and the opportunity to work for the greater good. The sector encompasses a wide range of career options including administration, programming, communications, and operations.

Mon, Jan 19: Working in the Non-Profit Sector 
2:30 – 4:30pm
Halpern Centre, Burnaby Campus 

Representatives from the Alliance for Arts and Culture, SUCCESS, YWCA Vancouver and the Take A Hike Foundation will discuss  topics such as the rewards and challenges of working in the nonprofit sector, misconceptions, and discuss their own career paths and motivation for working in nonprofit organizations.

Here’s who is joining us:

Peter Boychuk, Director of Communications, Alliance for Arts and Culture, an advocacy organization that champions artist, representing and serving a membership of more than 330 arts organizations and individuals drawn from all artistic disciplines.  http://www.allianceforarts.com/ 

Araz Rismani, Program Manager, SUCCESS.  SUCCESS is a multi-service agency with a mandate to promote the well being of all Canadians and immigrants with a focus in five major areas: social services, employment services, business and economic development services, training and education services, and health services.

Manjit Sangha,  Transition House Support Worker, YWCA Vancouver, one of the largest and most diversified non-profits in the Lower Mainland.  YWCA Vancouver is committed to fostering economic independence, wellness and equal opportunities. http://www.ywcavan.org/

Michelle Berry, Executive Director, Take A Hike Foundation, an alternative education program that engages at-risk youth through a unique combination of adventure-based learning, academics, counselling, and community involvement. http://www.takeahikefoundation.org/

To register: 

Go to www.sfu.ca/wil/symplicity and login with your SFU Computing ID and password.

Click on the Events tab at the top of the page and then the click on the Workshops tab.

Scroll down to “Career Services & Volunteer Services: Working in the Non-Profit Sector” on January 19.

Click RSVP.

Tourism is now British Columbia’s largest industry.  Are you interested in employment opportunities in the booming Tourism Industry?
As part of Youth Week, the One Stop Career Shop is putting on a great panel presentation with tourism professionals.

Tuesday, May 6 2008
3:30-5:30pm

 

Speak with Professionals in the Tourism Industy: Move on up!  Go 2 Hostelling International, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Boutique Hotels
Aside from professionals, there will also be pizza, beverages and door prizes too!

Call to register, 604-988-3766.  Space is limited

YWCA  One Stop Career Shop is located at:
15 Chesterfield Place, Suite A
North Vancouver, BC

I’ve always wondered what it takes to be one of Canada’s and BC’s top employers. Why is it so great to work for companies like Purdy’s Chocolates, Earls, Telus, Worksafe BC or Next Level Games? For BC Top 40 and Canada’s Top 100 employers, some criteria are: the workplace atmosphere, health and financial benefits, vacation and time off, training and skills development and community involvement.  Career Services allowed me to explore the details at Rise & Shine, join me to learn more by reading on…..

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Eager to learn the tricks of the trade, on Tuesday, March 4th students gained valuable advice from business experts during Career Services’ Start Your Own Business panel session.

Firing up students’ entrepreneurial spirits, a panel of three experts shared their personal histories and valued wisdom.  Included in this panel was Parminder Parhar, owner and operator of Renaissance Coffee, SFU alumni Aaron Cruikshank, owner of Friuch Consulting, and Cody Watson, a current 4th year business major at SFU and member of Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE).

From discussing what is key to running a successful business to how to get the finances to start up a company, these experts provided honest answers to students’ most pressing questions.  Below are some of the questions that were asked, along with paraphrased versions of what the speakers had to say.

Q. What is the key to success in running a business?

Aaron: Success is built through developing good partnerships with people.  It’s about getting to know people and maintaining relationships with them.    

Parminder: There were 5 key things that Parminder emphasized in order to be successful:
1) You need to love people.  You need to be able to get along with people and build relationships with them.

2) You need to set goals for yourself and know where you want to end up.

3) You need to be honest with yourself and others.

4) You need to provide good service.  In business, as well as in any job, you provide people with a service.  Good service leads to good results.

5) You need to value time.  Time cannot be undone; once it’s gone it’s lost, so make good use of your time.

Cody: Being passionate about your business is essential.  Also, in order to be successful you need good team member from a variety of disciplines who are able to bring multiple perspectives to the business.
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Ever dreamt of starting your own business be it selling simple items at a stand or renting a physical space to display items? Well, businesses comes in many forms but the first step is deciding if being your own business owner is right for you.  The 3 panelists at the Starting Your Own Business workshop offered at Career Services SFU included Cody Watson, SFU 4th year business student, Aaron Cruikshank, Friuch Consulting and SFU alumni, and Parminder Parhar, Renaissance Coffee Shop Owner, gave us some important hints do you have the time (owning a business requires a lot of time)? Do you have an appetite for risk? Can you handle rejection (possibly 80% of the time)?        (more…)

Perhaps it is the most important subject to any student or alumni’s life, yet personal financing is not covered anywhere in your degree, or offered for course credits.  No matter who you are or where your degree may take you, you’ll have to deal with the cost of life, including the debt that may have accumulated through your schooling.  If you’ve managed to stay mostly debt-free during your school, due to miracle assistance or hard work, it’s just as important to learn how to establish your personal wealth and learn how to make the most of what you’ve got once tuition is no longer an expense.

The first step is to have a plan.  Ensure that you have an understanding about where you’re money is coming from and where you are putting it.  Living expenses can add up quickly, as will entertainment, but you should keep an eye on more hidden cash-drainers like the interest that accumulates on loans, fees that add up at banks and on credit cards, while taxes take a chunk out of your pay check.  But making smart investments, living choices and creating a solid budget can help you stay on top of your funds (unfortunately the tax part is unavoidable).

Fortunately, you don’t have to teach the tricks of personal financing to yourself, or hire a personal accountant.  There are many print and online resources for you and financial coaches available to assist you.  Murray Baker, author of “The Debt-Free Graduate” has been hailed as the leading authority of student financial planning in North America and will be a presenter at the annual SFU Career Services’ Backpack to Briefcase conference on Saturday March 15.  Murray will be sharing his expertise from student loans, to cost cutting at the Supermarket.  It really does come down to small savings, like switching to store-brand, products instead of the more expensive name-brand items (food and clothes).  Other simple tricks are turning down the heat by a few degrees, or by driving just 10km less a week.

Murray understands the costs of living, where the money goes and where it comes from.  He has obtained a ton of knowledge and  vast experience with the student financial situation and is eager to assist students understanding the same.  The guy’s a genius, with money tips about the following:

• Finding the best summer jobs
• Strategies for making your money go further
• Information on eating and entertaining on a shoestring budget
• Tackling the realities of debt repayment, loan consolidation and interest relief
• Avoiding the big bank heist
• Traveling on the Cheap

You just can’t afford to miss this conference!  Check out some of the other valuable speakers and events taking place, along with registration info, at www.sfu.ca/career/b2b.  For more information on Murray Baker, you can check him out online: www.debtfreegrad.com, or grab his book in the Career Services’ Student Resource Library.  You can check out some of the other great financial resources like “Your Financial Future: Guide to Life After Graduation” at www.lifeaftergraduation.com.

Still thinking about working for the government?  As mentioned in a previous blog article, the Public Service of Canada has been named one of the Top 100 Employers of 2007 in Canada, and in British Columbia.  This same article also listed five of the top ten reasons to aim for a career in public service.  Read on to end the suspense of the remaining top five reasons:

5.  Advancement Opportunities – With a large number of employers expected to retire within the next decade, the prospects for talented individuals has never been better.  Various programs are offered to accelerate your career progression within PSC.

4.  Work in Your Field – There are jobs available for everyone, from test pilot, to nurse to geologists to program managers.  Modern technology is available in all fields of employment.

3.  Variety of Job Opportunities – Whether you’re just beginning, or are an experienced professional, there is a position for everyone, each offering the means to acquire a new skills and development.

2.  Attractive Salary and Benefits – Everyone always talks about the financial security of working for the government and there is a reason why!  Competitive salaries, excellent benefits, pensions, medical, dental, paid vacation and various types of leave in case something happens to come up.

1.  Job Satisfaction – It is very important that people like what they do.  Surveys are sent out to ensure the majority of employees are happy with their work.  And there is always the added benefit of personal fulfillment from making a difference.

Did these ten reasons peak your interest in working for the government, but you’re not sure how to go about getting in?  Don’t miss the  “What Can I do in Government” Panel Discussion on Wednesday. February 27 at 2:30-4:30pm.  Hear about the work, the people and the opportunities at the provincial and federal level.  Register Now.

You can always check out other great resources Career Services is offering you for tips on working in government!

Did you walk by ASB last week and saw two tables decorated with hardhats, dumptruck and construction tape?  Did you realize that it was an awesome event hosted by Career Services and Microsoft?  Ginny Cheng and Rian Sammy Sacquitne, the two Microsoft Recruiters, along with Christine Gilbert from Career Services, Avry Janes from Computing Science Co-op and Career Peer Educators were in the ASB Atrium on Wed and Thu, Feb 6-7, to talk to Tech students regarding their resumes.  27 students signed up and brought their resume to be reviewed by our resume experts.  Don’t worry if you have missed out the event, we’ll be hosting similar events throughout the year!

(L-R) Christine Gilbert, Ginny Cheng, Rian Sammy Sacquitne, Rebecca Ho 

Please note the Microsoft – How to Survive a Technical Interview information session has been cancelled.  They will reschedule the seessionto March.  If you would like to talk to representatives, they will be attending Op Fair (Feb 13) to answer questions and accept applications.

Thinking about working for the government?  Now is your chance to discover what they are looking for, learn what makes them great and how to excel within.  As you may or may not know, the Public Service of Canada has been named one of the Top 100 Employers of 2007 in Canada, and in British Columbia.  The top ten reasons to aim for a career in public service are:

10. Encouragement, recognition and pride – make a difference in the lives of Canadians, be recognized for your work and the work of the company, and share your ideas increasing the quality of service delivered to Canadians.

9.  Diversity – technological aids are supplied when required, and the PSC is committed to being representative of the population it serves.

8.  Work-Life Balance – focus on balancing the professional life with the personal life.  They offer flexible working hours, compressed work week, or telework options.

7.  Mobility – 78 government organizations in about 1000 locations allows you to move from job to job, department to department, region to region challenging yourself and further developing your skills.

6.  Continuous Learning – furthering your education is strongly encouraged, as well as many opportunities for on the job training and challenges.

As it turns out, the Public Service of Canada is looking to hire SFU Students!  On Wednesday, February 20 they will be recruiting for summer positions and/or current part-time opportunities at the SFU Summer Hiring Fair.  Be sure to bring your resume as you browse through the South AQ Concourse and for more information about other employers attending, be sure to check out the website and online exhibition for details.  Not quite sure how to make the most of the fair?  Come to the “Get Ready for the Summer Hiring Fair” workshop to learn how to make a lasting impression on Feb.13 or if you need a little extra help with your Resume and Cover Letter, let the workshop on Feb. 14 take care of that!  As an added bonus, on February 14 there will be an additional mini-event ”Learn to Love Networking” with quick tips and resources, and free coffee and cookies, from 10:00am -1:00pm!  Be sure to bring your own mug!

As for the top five reasons to aim for a career in the Public Service of Canada, check back on the CSI Blog in a couple weeks and see what other great resources Career Services is offering you for tips on working in government!