Career Blog
“Joining the uOttawa volleyball team as a Finance student at the Telfer School of Management was made possible through the different programs and services offered by the University, such as: the Peer Mentoring Program, the Student Academic Success Service (SASS), and, obviously, my 3rd‑ and 4th‑year volleyball teammates. From my very first year, they provided me with books and advice to facilitate my integration at Telfer. By going through the Co-op process, I received useful advice. If I had one piece of advice for students who are going through this process for the first time, it would be this: fewer jobs will be available due to the COVID-19 pandemic: be proactive.
Being a Finance student, I always wanted to experience real-life financial situations and the financial market, learn how to make better pitches and, finally, being able to graduate from the Telfer School of Management with some useful knowledge and experience. After looking at what was offered by the School, my classmate and I realize that the Capital Market Program was limited in terms of investment opportunities. Therefore, I was asked to be a member of the Investment Club created by my finance classmates. Within this club, we get to meet every Tuesday, pitch companies, and decide together whether we want to invest in a company or not.
I encourage every student who wants to learn about the investment club and what it can offer to join us every Tuesday during our weekly public meeting. Check out our Facebook page: TFS Investment Group.”
– Mathew Gaerke, 4th‑year Finance
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“Telfer has given me the competitive advantage to thrive inside the classroom as well as in my daily work life. My favourite memories at Telfer so far would be Mad Marketing, hosted by the Telfer Marketing Association (TMA), and 101 Week, hosted by the Telfer Student Council. I met many amazing employers and made meaningful connections. I was able to promote myself and learn how to network effectively. 101 Week is how I met the majority of my friends. A year later, I still appreciate the fact that I still connect with all of them (virtually, of course).”
– 2nd‑year Public Policy and Economics,
VP External Affairs, TMA
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“ Hello, my name is Andrea, and I’m a 4th-year Marketing student. I am also Vice-President of the uOttawa Association des étudiants ivoiriens as well as Director, Marketing, at the Students for Wishes club of the University of Ottawa.
For me, the ideal job would be a position that would allow me to act as a leader, where I could express my creativity, help people and meet new challenges every day.
I had always hesitated between journalism and marketing, but I’ve made my career choice very quickly at a job fair during my last year of high school. I met the Director of Marketing at Orange France (a telecommunication company) with whom I’ve shared my doubts. He explained to me what marketing was and what his job was. It is after this discussion that I fell in love with marketing.
Afterwards, I chose Telfer because of its bilingualism, its fame and its affordable tuition fees for international students.
To new students, I would give the following advice:
- Don’t forget that the organization is your best friend.
- Remember to have fun and to take time to relax.
- Surround yourself with the right people.
- Remain open to others; take advantage of all the opportunities offered to you to build connections.
And don’t wait: four years, it goes by very fast!”
– Andrea Abiyou,
4th‑year Marketing
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“If I wanted people to remember me for something during my four years at the Telfer School of Management, it would be this: whether you are in first, second or third year, whenever you decide to get involved, you’ll start making an impact.
Going to school and focusing solely on your classes is GREAT, but sometimes, you need to realize that there are many other things worth doing at Telfer. Your campus offers many opportunities to meet new people and do new things. To fully benefit from those experiences, however, you need take your focus outside of the classroom. The advice that I want to give first-year students and that I definitely would have liked to receive myself is: HAVE A PLAN! You can come in and simply enjoy the experience, but make sure to figure out what you like and dislike early. If something does not work for you, you’ll be able to make a switch early on.
Most students care a lot about the professional side of Telfer. However, they also have to realize that what they will do as professionals will also impact them as human beings. The Telfer community and its staff in particular are able to show us that it’s not only about becoming the greatest professionals, but also about applying what we’ve learned in classes, at social activities or during networking events in our personal life to become better persons. Not everyone is a social butterfly, therefore a good question we should all ask ourselves is: what could be our plan to get that ONE student involved?”
– Glory Angela Monfleury, 4th-year Accounting
VP Swag, Telfer Competitions Committee
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“What I like most about Telfer is its faculty. For the last three years, I have encountered professors who I think are the most talented and extremely dedicated to helping students acquire new knowledge. I love the way they stir up their students’ curiosity on the subject matters.
My ideal job would be to work in an HR department that strives to create a healthy work environment with a good work-life balance where everyone enjoys working WITH EACH OTHER and to eliminate the stigma related to help-seeking from a mental health professional. I seek a great interest in this career because I have seen my friends at Telfer struggle to balance their schoolwork (or work) and social life and to cope with mental illnesses. Coming from an Asian country where people do not talk or even avoid talking about mental health, my goal is to help everyone realize that it is fine to seek help from others whenever possible, especially if your problems are taking a toll on your mental health. This also inspires me to go back to school and pursue another degree majoring in Psychology.
Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, I am unable to go back to Canada, and I miss Telfer and its lecture halls more than ever. I hope to come back once all of this blows over!”
– Audrey Dam, 4th-year International Management
Student Mentor, Telfer International Club
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“What I like the most about Telfer is that there are always people there to support you. Whether it be your professors, your classmates, or Telfer alumni, everyone is happy to help answer your questions. Telfer is really one big family and it offers so many different opportunities to help students achieve their goals and become business leaders.
I’d have to say that my happiest and most memorable moments at Telfer come mainly from my involvement in the clubs. Receiving feedback from students after they have attended the events that I helped organize and seeing the impact that it made on their university journey always leaves a smile on my face!
Remembering my goals and looking at the bigger picture are my source of motivation. On days when I feel less motivated, I remind myself with the reasons for why I’m doing what I’m doing. Thinking of the bigger picture has motivated me to work harder to achieve the goals that I have set for myself!”
– Christine Tsay, 3rd‑year Accounting
VP Skill, WMN
VP Finance, HRA
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“Being a third-year student at the Telfer School of Management, I’ve grown both personally and professionally. From the Ambassador Program to the International Student Coaches Program, from the Telfer Career Centre workshops to the Co-op Program, I was able to acquire solid skills as well as experience that apply as much to daily life as to work.
On top of offering a quality academic formation, Telfer also gives us a wide range of opportunities that we must seize un order to make the most of our student experience.”
– Idriss Diamouténé
Third-year student (Management and Entrepreneurship)
and International Student Coach
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“Through my two years at Telfer, I have been able to meet so many amazing people, grown personally and professionally and got involved within the Telfer community!
Telfer has given me countless opportunities, one of the most impactful being working with AIESEC in Ottawa. Through being a part of this organization, I have been able to apply myself and learned so much more than I would have learned solely from class. I have been able to discover my potential and met some of my best friends. My current position as VP of Business to Customer has been the most rewarding learning opportunity of my university career.
If I could give any piece of advice to future Telfer students, it would be to seize every opportunity that comes your way! If you spend your 4 years at university only going to class, you'll never grow. Go to those networking events, join clubs, and meet new people; it'll be incredibly valuable in the long run”
– Ihsan Yousif, 2nd‑year International Management and
VP, Business to Customer, AIESEC, Ottawa
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“I have been an ambassador for two consecutive years, and this can be attributed to the 3Ps that make up the Ambassadors Team: 1) the People; 2) the Passion; 3) the Purpose. The Ambassador Program has definitely opened up numerous opportunities for me and helped me grow. Most importantly, I found a family!”
– Melanie Lock Son, Senior Ambassador, Telfer Career Centre, and 3rd‑year Finance student
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“As a 2nd-year student who has recently switched from Management to Finance, I am grateful for all of the opportunities Telfer has offered me. From participating in the Co-op program to joining many different clubs like the University of Ottawa Muslim Students Association, UNICEF, and uOsmile; my university experience has been both busy and enriching.
During high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future. I decided to take my father’s advice on giving the Telfer School of Management a try. Telfer was no doubt the best choice for me. It created many opportunities for me that helped develop my career path. There are countless other reasons why the Telfer School of Management is a great school but the most important reason, in my opinion, is the wealth of resources offered by the Telfer Career Centre. It has helped me edit my resumes and rehearse for interviews numerous times. The Career Centre is an extremely important resource, and I encourage all Telfer students to use it. From its various workshops to the wise advice of its counsellors, the Career Centre has so much to offer. I still have a long way to go until my graduation, and I can’t wait to see where Telfer will take me in the years to come.”
– Nora Al-Akwaa, 2nd‑year Finance student
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.