Career Forward: Student Edition 
January 2012 

Welcome to the Laurier Career Centre e-newsletter, Career Forward. We hope you find our monthly updates engaging and informative!

The Career Centre exists to ensure that career development is an integral part of your Laurier experience. Let us help you plan your career and find a fulfilling job.

In this edition: 

Summer Job Search...NOW? 
Job Fair 2012: What’s In It For You? 
"Just Do What You’re Passionate About"  
Upcoming Events

Summer Job Search...NOW?

There’s snow on the ground. However, summer job search season is well under way! Did you know that over 450 on-campus and off-campus summer job postings are advertised each year through the Career Centre?

To get the job you want this summer, you need to act now!

1. Attend a Job Search & Networking Strategies workshop.

Learn how to conduct an active, effective job search. Know what you are looking for and know the skills you have to offer. Network. Ask questions. Don’t wait for the job you want to fall into your lap. Go out and get it!

2. Check out the summer jobs posted on Navigator at www.wlu.ca/career.

New jobs in diverse industries are arriving daily! Summer postings continue throughout the winter term.

3. Attend the Resumé and Cover Letter Writing workshop and have your resumé critiqued by a Career Consultant.

An employer will scan your resumé for only a few seconds. Learn the value of researching the requirements of the job and employer and tying them to your relevant skills to make your resumé an effective sales tool.

4. Attend an Interview Success workshop and meet with a Career Consultant for interview coaching and a mock interview.

You got an interview. Now what? Prepare, prepare, prepare! Let us help you tackle your interview challenges to reduce your stress and improve your performance.

For a workshop schedule, visit our event calendar. For more information on conducting an effective job search, click here. 

Job Fair 2012: What’s In It For You?

What is Job Fair? It is the largest event of its kind in Canada - an event that’s designed to help you explore career options, connect with employers and find the job you want. Here’s how:

► Hundreds of available job opportunities in one place at one time. Participating organizations are hiring for full-time, summer, part-time, co-op and contract jobs. Don’t miss this chance to connect with several organizations, no matter your academic program or career interests.

► A chance to show off your skills in person. You don’t get this opportunity when responding to online job postings.

► Get your questions answered. This is the time to ask about job openings, experience and skill requirements, workplace culture, industry trends, and more.

► A way to build your professional contacts. Networking is a crucial piece of the job search process.

► Exclusive to students and alumni of the four participating institutions. No cost to attend.

► Free transportation to and from the Fair every half hour.

What should you do to prepare?

To make it easy for you, we’ve scheduled several Make the Most of Job Fair workshops: how to dress and conduct yourself, how to research employers and prepare questions ahead of time, and how to plan your visit to maximize opportunity at this event. View the event calendar to register.

Ready? Here are the details. See you there!

Job Fair 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Bingemans Conference Centre, Kitchener
www.partners4employment.ca  

"Just Do What You’re Passionate About"

By: Heidi Dumaresq, Peer Advisor

I recently watched a documentary called ’One Week Job’, which starred a Vancouver college graduate, Sean Aiken, who worked 52 jobs in one year in a desperate effort to uncover insight into his passion after his father advised him to "just do what you’re passionate about." We’ve all heard it. The standard, age-old career advice from teachers, family and friends:

"Just do what you’re passionate about."

Passion is defined as deep, overwhelming, intense emotion. When you are asked the question, "what is your passion?" – do you know how to respond? What if I don’t have a passion? Or if I do, do I want my passion to become my job because then I possibly won’t be passionate about it anymore! ’Passion’ is a very strong word and for some of us, this word may, in fact, be alienating. If you are one of these people, do not fear. Perhaps a more relatable question is:

"What do I enjoy? What interests me? What do I like and dislike and how does this pertain to a career?"

To answer this question (which I think is much less intimidating than trying to identify your ’passion’), take some time to think about the reasons you are in your current program, and what you enjoy most and least about it. Think back to your previous job and volunteer experiences and begin noting what you have enjoyed and not enjoyed. These observations could be as vague as ’having to wear dress pants to work everyday’ to ’I could never work in a cubicle’. Identifying activities or sometimes seemingly basic things can serve as powerful indicators of which careers to avoid and which careers to consider more seriously. What is important is that through the process of reflecting, you are beginning to analyze and develop a sense of where you want to see yourself in the future.

The task of identifying your interests and what you enjoy may be easy for some, but for others, you may find yourself even struggling to formulate concrete answers. This is where the Laurier Career Development Centre can assist you. Career Consultants administer a variety of assessments that can help you begin to identify themes in your interests so you can start to articulate potential careers that may be complementary to you.

So now you’re equipped with some new insight into yourself, and possible careers…but let’s face it, you won’t discover your career interests by sitting still. In the wise words of an employer in the ’One Week Job’ movie, "if you don’t know what you like, well, get out and DO SOMETHING!" Take as many opportunities as you can, and experience a variety of possibilities. This doesn’t always have to be a huge life-altering experience like volunteering abroad. It can be as simple as getting involved with campus clubs and local charitable organizations. The best way to discover what you’re interested in is to experience things outside the classroom. How are you supposed to know what you really enjoy if you have never experienced it? The take-home point is that if you’re not sure about where your interests lie, create opportunities for self-discovery.

What’s next? Go and discover your passion. Your interests. Your likes. Your dislikes. Good career planning starts with you getting to know...you.

Upcoming Events 

Employment Preparation Workshops for FSW Students
Wednesday, Jan. 11 - Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012
noon - 1:30 p.m.
FSW Auditorium

Are You On Track? Strategies for Success Within and Beyond Graduate Studies
Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Paul Martin Centre

Psychology Career Night Speaker Panel
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012
6 - 8 p.m.
CC-101, Career Centre

Thinking about Law School Workshop
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012
3 - 4:20 p.m.
CC-101, Career Centre

Thinking about Teacher Education Workshop
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
noon - 1:20 p.m.
CC-101, Career Centre

Make the Most of Job Fair Workshops
Thursday, Jan. 26 - Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012
CC-101, Career Centre

Job Fair 2012
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Bingemans, Kitchener

History Career Night - Workshop and Speaker Panel
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012
6 - 8 p.m.
CC-101, Career Centre

Career Planning and Employment Preparation Workshops
These workshops are offered multiple times each week.

View our event calendar for more events and to register.