Career Blog
"I chose to specialize in Management because, in the future, I want to work for myself. I want to manage my own business one day and be my own boss. I am in Management to explore the diverse options and opportunities of owning a business. Being my own boss would also be a lot simpler and easier because I would be able to plan my own schedule and do things that I like. It would allow me to work on my hobbies, such as acting and volunteering. Being my own boss means I am in charge of my life and I'm not being micromanaged."
- Jeber
BCom Student in Management
CéTsc, Director of 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.
1. Volunteer
Volunteering is an excellent way to expand your network, give back to your community and gain transferable skills that employers are looking for in a candidate. The Michaëlle Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement is a great place to start looking. There are many opportunities available — from a few hours to a semester-long commitment! You can even log your hours that you complete while in University and get an Official Co-Curricular record, which is a record of all of your volunteer experience and hours you completed throughout your degree! Another resource for finding volunteer opportunities is Volunteer Ottawa, where many organizations around the city post volunteer opportunities from a diverse range of sectors.
2. Internship/CO-OP Programs
Another way to enhance your resumé and university experience is to gain first-hand experience working in an area that is related to what you’re studying in school. The University offers CO-OP programs for every undergraduate program at Telfer, which involves completing four work terms (three for Accounting students) in order to start your career path, gain relevant work experience, and earn money while you’re completing your degree.
In addition to the CO-OP program, the Career Centre also offers several programs that can help you gain valuable experience while you’re still in University. One of these programs is the Telfer BCom Internship Program, which is generally multiple work terms of paid work experience related to your field of study. Another would be the Connexions Program, a voluntary part-time internship program that bridges the gap between academic and professional experience.
There are also many opportunities for students to find their own internships, through employer websites, networking events and company information sessions.
3. Telfer Extracurricular Involvement
Another great way to gain valuable experience and skills is extracurricular involvement. Luckily, here at Telfer there are countless ways you can get involved! For example, you could join a club, attend networking events, apply for Club Executive or a Teaching Assistant position, join a mentorship program, represent Telfer in a case competition, participate in an international exchange or attend a conference!
The experiences you gain from your involvement can set you apart from your peers, and help you to improve your teamwork, leadership and public speaking skills that you can add to your resumé — just to name a few!
If you take a minute and reflect upon your academic life - ask yourself a question. What made you apply to the Telfer School of Management? Was it your career prospects? Was it your interest in the business world? Whatever the reason, we all know that in order to get our degree, we’ve got to get through the hard stuff first. Assignments. Midterms. Lectures. And of course, the textbook readings. Now, textbooks have a wide array of information — useful information, in fact— but they definitely aren’t the only way to gain knowledge about business. Let’s not forget about the books — or the television!
Books
By reading books, we expose ourselves to thought-provoking and groundbreaking ideas. These ideas can in turn help us gain better perspectives on the world — specifically the business world. Since we are business students, as we read through chapters of books, we can essentially put our business knowledge to use by relating the concepts in the books to what we’ve learned in our classes.
One of the best business books is called How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. For over 60 years now, the advice provided through this book has helped numerous individuals (famous people amongst them) climb up the ladder of success in both their business and personal lives. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is also another national bestseller which captures readers through an intellectual journey surrounding the world of outliers, the best and brightest of business professionals — and how their success is inclined towards opportunity and circumstance. A book which relates directly to the Effective Business English and Business Communication Skills course is Writing Well for Business: A Complete Guide to Style, Grammar, and Usage at Work by Sandra E. Lamb. Topics covered in this book include everything from resumés to presentations, and everything in between! Books like these are certainly relatable to the knowledge and skills we’ve learned at the Telfer School of Management.
TV
Watching the television is a completely different way to channel your business knowledge and provoke your ideas. While it has been perceived by people that books are good and TV is bad, the truth is that books and TV affect our minds in different ways. Different positive ways, that is. But the thing about TV is that many people feel guilty while watching it, as they could be doing “other productive things” instead. However, the great thing about watching television in this day and age is that not only is it interesting, but it can also teach people a lot of about the business world.
Take the show Mad Men for example. The series is about a team of advertising executives at a fictional firm. In the show, both gender dynamics and sexism are major themes, and these themes can be directly related to the “glass-ceiling effect” that many women face in their working environment. Like Mad Men, there are several other shows that revolve around the theme of business, including Shark Tank, Undercover Boss, House of Cards, the Apprentice and, of course, Ted Talks.
On an ending note, hopefully the next time you read an enticing book or watch an entertaining TV show, you can relate it back to the world of business!
Links to References:
https://www.amazon.ca/Writing-Well-Business-Success-Complete/dp/1250064511
https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/22-books-to-help-you-get-ahead-in-business-and-life.html
https://www.ft.com/content/e79ccb14-12d7-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76
http://www.businessinsider.com/8-books-to-read-if-you-want-to-succeed-in-business-2017-5/#1-top-of-mind-by-john-hall-1
https://www.amazon.ca/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930
https://www.amazon.ca/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034
https://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/
http://www.businessinsider.com/tv-shows-that-teach-you-about-business-2015-7/#halt-and-catch-fire-6
"I came to Telfer with an engineering background, and I enrolled in the Management Information Systems program before ending up in Accounting. So I had to make choices and I took advantage of the resources available to help me, three of which come to mind: being able to rely on the advice of qualified professors, the opportunity to be a teaching assistant — which helped me to be responsible and further my knowledge — and finally the academic specialists; it was through them that I was able to face job-related challenges and find an internship in an accounting firm with the Connexions Program. I find that Telfer helps students but also empowers them, thanks to the various opportunities offered. It is a solid feature that distinguishes it from other faculties and universities."
- Ibrahim
Accounting Graduate
Financial Analyst in the Federal Government
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.
University learning is about so much more than a series of courses and credits to complete. Social and professional learning is also important. With this in mind, the Career Centre offers you the opportunity to participate in a trip to Toronto for a great social and professional experience! Indeed, the Career Centre offers activities that go beyond Desmarais’ facilities. This term, the Marketing Trip is in Toronto, one of Canada's largest business cities. This trip will be held from October 25 to 27 during Reading Week, to make your week much more interesting.
While this trip is intended for 3rd- and 4th-year Marketing students, everyone who is passionate about marketing is welcome to join!
But what does this Marketing Trip consist of exactly? The key objective of this trip is to allow students to visit several leading companies in the marketing industry. You will have the opportunity to visit Google (the world’s largest search engine), P&G Canada (a multinational consumer goods corporation), Rogers (a diversified communications and media company), as well as 500px (an innovative photography startup) and WE Charity (a worldwide development charity). In a nutshell, participants visit a wide range of businesses, each with its vision and strategic use of marketing to position themselves in the marketplace. You will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in their world, ask questions, and learn more. And yes! This trip is also an opportunity to network and socialize with the professionals of these companies who will give you a taste of the marketing world.
If you want to participate, you must apply as soon as possible! You have until October 9, 2017, at 9 a.m. to submit your application. Simply go to the Career Centre’s website to complete the application form on the Marketing Trip’s page. The form is mostly about expressing your interest in this trip. In addition, it should be noted that the cost of this trip is approximately $350 per person, which includes meals, accommodation and transportation.
This Marketing Trip to Toronto is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. Having extracurricular experiences is also important. And who knows? This trip could jump-start your career! The entire Career Centre team invites you to join in!
Have you heard about the Connexions Internship Program? It is an unpaid internship program that allows you to gain experience. This program is an alternative for all students who want to gain experience but who are not enrolled in CO-OP or in the BCom Internship Program. Connexions internships are unpaid, and instead of compensation you will receive three credits, which is equivalent to one of your program courses.
Before discussing it further, let’s look at the Program’s eligibility criteria. As mentioned above, this program is available to any student who is not part of an internship program. Simply put, one of the prerequisites for joining Connexions is not to be enrolled in the CO-OP program or in the BCom Internship Program. Students must also have completed all their common core courses, i.e. their first and second-year courses (although in some specializations, second-year courses may be considered outside the common core). There are, of course, other eligibility criteria such as a minimum CGPA and many others.
That is why you are invited to attend an information session. The information session is mandatory if you are considering this internship program. After the session, you can proceed to the next step: the application process.
Once you are accepted, you can attend the networking activity with all employers affiliated with the program. At this stage, do not get stressed, because employers are looking for a skilled workforce (i.e. you) as much as you are looking for experience. The program includes a large number of employers who are all of interest, whether it is a non-profit enterprise, a start-up, or even a well-established company. To give you an idea, last year's employers included Welchgroup Consulting, the US Embassy, BDO Canada, the City of Ottawa and many others. Employers offer a variety of positions, for example, a finance internship or a marketing internship so there is something for everyone.
Finally, after the networking activity, you can start applying, and, of course, when you receive your internship offer, your Connexions experience begins!
In conclusion, the Connexions Program creates a link between an employer and a student. Both parties are looking for something that only the other party can offer. Beyond compensation, there is much to gain, namely experience, contacts, and above work ethics.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for the next information session and do not miss the application deadline of October 16 for winter 2018 internships!
"Being a TA for the Business Communication Skills course (ADM 2381) has allowed me to help students develop useful public speaking skills and to effectively prepare them for all types of presentations they might encounter. It has also allowed me to have a noticeable impact on other students’ skills and confidence in terms of presentations. Seeing the progress some students make and the skills they develop throughout the duration of the course is really impressive."
- Conor
Teaching Assistant, Presentations - ADM 2381
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 Connects was a huge success this year. More than 270 students and over 95 employers from 32 companies attended the event. As a third-year Telfer student, this year was my first time coming to the event as a student attendee and at the same time as an ambassador for the Career Centre. I got a chance to see the event from two different perspectives and would love to share my experience with you.
Last Year’s and This Year’s Format
Compared to last year, Telfer Connects has maintained its core structure and interesting additional elements. Students could meet several employers from different industries as well as have their LinkedIn photos taken and get feedback on how to improve their resumés on site by the Career Centre reviser. Even though Telfer Connects has been successfully run as one of the biggest networking events in the faculty, there were some changes implemented to improve the event. This year Telfer Connects’ format was organized in a new way with some additional features. In the room, all the employers had cocktail tables with their company’s names instead of big booths. There was a map at the front of the entrance that showed where each of the employers were standing. This change helped with the flow of students and created a more relaxed atmosphere in the room. Students were less stressed about networking with the employers and could take breaks outside on the couches whenever they wanted.
An Ambassador's Perspective
I came to Telfer Connects an hour after the event started to help out with the event as an ambassador. By the time I arrived, DMS 4101 was full of students and employers. The Career Centre staff and the ambassadors were helping everyone to get their name tags and direct them to the room to start networking. I was welcoming students and assisting them with questions regarding where certain employers were in the room. Every student that approached me seemed to have previous experience in networking. I asked a few of them if they networked prior to that day. Most of them told me that they had attended Telfer Networks during their 1st and 2nd years, which helped them to become more familiar with how to approach the employers at this type of event. Overall, students were well dressed and looked confident. Some of them brought their resumés and were ready to get employer contacts. One of the employers shared with me how he was impressed by how Telfer students present themselves professionally and are able to have interesting conversations.
A Student's Perspective
After my shift, I had some time to network with the employers myself. Even though the room seemed to be crowded, I did not have to stand in a long line to talk to company representatives. I think the fact that every company had at least two representatives helped a lot to meet student demand. It was easy to talk to the employers from the companies I was interested in. I talked with CLV Group, EY, RCGT, BMO and TD Bank, and I asked them all my questions regarding their experiences in their companies and touched on some topics non-related to the companies or jobs. They all were more than willing to share their insights with me and exchange contact information. Of course, at the end of the event I went to get my free LinkedIn photo, which took me 5 minutes.
Overall, Telfer Connects has been improving according to previous year attendees and my personal experience. I like how the Telfer Career Centre is always looking for new ways to innovate the event and offer students and employers an amazing platform to connect. I am excited to see what Telfer Connects will have to offer next year to students and employers.
Are you applying for jobs and having a hard time writing your cover letter? You are not alone. Many students, myself included, find that cover letters can be very tricky to write.
While resumés help present your skills and qualifications, cover letters let you introduce yourself and your intentions when you apply to the company. Even though many students think that their resumés are more important and do not pay enough attention to their cover letters, only a good cover letter can let you stand out from the crowd. Therefore, it is important to start paying more attention to your cover letter now. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Personalize
Your cover letter should be tailored to the position you’re applying for. Most employers want to see why you want to work for their companies and why you are a good fit. They can easily recognize when you use the same template for all of your cover letters.
It is also important that you find out the actual name of the hiring manager to address properly in the cover letter. (Hint: usually listed within the job posting, on the company’s website or LinkedIn) In the case where you could not find a specific person to address to, use a generic salutation.
Do not repeat your resumé
Your cover letter should not repeat your resumé word for word. Since you can write in full sentences, expand on the points that you’ve mentioned briefly in your resumé. Show employers what you have done in the past, and what you can bring to the position. (Show, don’t tell)
Make it ‘short and sweet’
Anything that you’ve mentioned in your cover letter should be relevant to the job posting. Keep your writing concise and interesting. A good length would be three quarters to a page long. Remember: less is more.
Proofraed
Are you thinking that the word ‘proofread’ is misspelled? Yes, yes it is. So make sure you proofread your cover letter for any spelling or grammar mistakes. A simple misspelling, formatting issue or typo can make a bad impression on the person reading your letter.
Are you still unsure about your cover letter before submitting? Book an appointment for a cover letter critique with an advisor at the Career Centre (DMS 1100).
"101 week was really fun as a guide this year. Experiencing it from a different perspective made me see just how much Telfer does to make sure the new students have fun. We worked hard to make it a great week. This year we introduced more mixed faculty activities which really helps people connect with others so now it is a week of opportunities to meet even more new people!"
- Paula
BCom / JD, Director of Academics, CéTSC