Career Blog
“After joining Legacy I found this passion, in really being engaged in the community full of awesome and inspiring people, understanding the behind the scenes and practical applications of my program, and the different functions of business - and that really changed me.”
- Isabel Gan
Director of the Legacy Conference
MISA 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.
I have been reflecting on my first work term as part of the CO-OP program. I have learned SO MUCH in my second year of university, it’s crazy. This summer especially has been a continuous path of learning and I am going to tell you all about it here.
The Beginning
When the process of finding my placement began in the winter, I had no idea if I wanted to work at my current place of employment full-time in the summer or go through the selection process and find a different job. It was a pretty stressful time because I literally thought, “This decision will define the next year of my life!” Which is drastic, but I think we all find ourselves in situations like this sometimes.
The staff at the CO-OP office were understanding of my situation. I still looked through the jobs on the navigator and even interviewed for some. While it was a helpful experience, in the end I decided to stay at my current place of work for the summer. If you found your own placement, that’s great, brownie points to you! This independence means you are capable of finding your own job, which will come in very handy in the future.
The Experience
I started working at seoplus+, an Ottawa-based digital marketing agency, in December and by the time summer rolled around I felt at home and welcomed. In the beginning of the work term I started in my new position - Jr. Digital Marketing Specialist. What does that mean? Well, I was in charge of social media campaigns for multiple different clients, worked on Google My Business listings, and was responsible for uploading blog posts to WordPress websites.
Throughout my placement I was able to hone not only technical skills of digital marketing, but also my ability of working with my team on a daily, full-time basis. Adjusting to a 40-hour week from a regular term of courses at university is not an easy feat, but to me it brought a welcome routine and allowed me to plan out my time better. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to fix my sleep schedule and learn how to properly meal prep.
The End
Overall, this first work term has started off on a bit of a stressful note, but once all the logistics were settled I was happy to find myself going to work every day. What made my CO-OP a memorable experience was exactly that - the fact I wanted to be there. I made an effort to befriend my coworkers, to participate in team lunches and webinars, and to take on new tasks if the opportunity presented itself. Also, in every job there will be elements that you love doing and elements that you do not, and that’s okay! Strive to find something you enjoy and work to implement it more and more into your work day.
Lessons Learned:
- It’s okay to take a non-traditional approach.
- Make sure you are making a decision that will make you happy.
- Consider all alternatives, and their pros and cons to avoid making biased decisions.
- Make an effort while at work, it could make the difference between a temp-job and a career move.
Sonya Gankina
3rd Year Marketing Student |
I needed a job. That was the one thought that kept coming back to me during my second semester. My justification was that I wanted experience as well as some side cash. However, my main reason was that I was intrigued by the field of finance. I honestly did not know where to start.
There was one day when I did not have class and I decided to just scout out all the major banks within Ottawa. I dressed in professional attire (suit, dress shoes, and dress pants) and brought a folder containing all my one-page resumés I made in high school. So, I made my way across the city travelling to each bank in my suit.
I specifically remember that I would ask the customer service representative if they had any open internships or jobs, and they would just tell me to check their website. By the third bank, this was extremely frustrating to hear. Occasionally, they would accept my resumé, but I never heard back from them. After going to 9 different banking branches, I became tired and just walked back to my residence in defeat.
The next week, I decided to tackle this annoying situation from a different angle. I went to the Career Centre and had my resumé looked over by a few of the ambassadors there. They absolutely destroyed my resumé, but it was so rewarding because they made it so much better. I then sort of pivoted my previous strategy. Instead of physically travelling to these banks in a suit, I decided to call them. Customer service representatives were not helpful, and still told me to look at the webiste. I then realized that I could expand my web search paremeters to include more than just banks, such as “investment firms” and “wealth management companies.” I became more successful when I did this. A couple of people reached out to me, asking me to email them my resumé and then 2 months later, I started working at Exponent Investment Management as an Associate Developer Intern.
There are a couple of takeaways from this experience that I hope you will take note of and possibly implement in your life. The first is that you shouldn’t just apply to major corporations/banks, because they receive a myriad of applications so statistically speaking, you have a lower chance of being selected. Instead, try applying to a couple smaller sized firms or startups. Another takeaway is that you must put in the work.
As my friend always says when trying to find the love of his life, “it’s all a numbers game.” Your chances of landing an interview if you applied to 3 jobs are slimmer than if you applied to 50. So, how do you like them apples? ;)
Justin Abraham
2nd-Year Student |
Students, welcome back! Hopefully you had a great summer. Going back to school is equally as exciting as it is nerve-wracking but don’t worry, you will find your classes and settle into a routine quickly enough! The best part is, we understand how complicated the first couple weeks may be and we are here to help. So let’s get into it.
First, you go to school to get educated and to eventually find a job, right? Well, you can start as early as you’d like! For example, each fall, organizations come to campus to hire Telfer students as part of their on-campus recruitment drives. This year, you can expect many company representatives from The Big 4, Accenture, Telus, Bank of Canada, RBC, BDO (and many more!) to host information sessions, facilitate career workshops, attend networking events, and take part in various Career Centre special activities.
To prepare for these events, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Prepare Yourself
As you will hear many times during your Telfer career, networking is major key. However, you cannot just go into events without any preparation because that will not help you in the long run. To be ready to build connections, there are a few things you should do beforehand. First, you need to have a LinkedIn profile complete with descriptions of your work/volunteer experiences, a good headshot that you can get at one of our events, and a healthy number of connections.
Secondly, while most professionals are on LinkedIn, a few still are not, so it is good to have business cards ready with your name, program of study, contact information and a club or work position. Make sure your resume is up-to-date and you have cover letters ready (the Career Centre can help with development of those).
Step 2: Educate Yourself
Alright, now that you are ready for networking, it’s not enough to pick an event and show up. Yes, the effort is there, but you need to ensure a long-term outcome is secured. To establish that, planning is a must. If you’d like, you can pick a few firms that you are interested in and want to work with in the future. If not, you can focus on experiences you’d like to have - for example, develop digital marketing skills at one agency and then work on PR and advertising somewhere else.
Once you have established your interests, you can start by looking into the opportunities. To begin, you can visit Telfer Career Centre Calendar of Events and see which events you might be interested in! It’s also a good idea to get involved with the clubs relevant to your program and organizations such as the Women in Management Network to broaden your opportunities of building a network. If you are interested in certain firms, make sure to follow them on social media since they often host recruitment events for students off-campus or offer office tours which is a great opportunity to learn about the company!
Once you’ve covered all the bases with planning and found the events you’d like to attend on campus, don’t be afraid to venture out into the community as well. One event I love attending is Creative Mornings - a monthly lecture series featuring Ottawa locals over some free breakfast and coffee (that’s right) which happens at different locations in the city. You can meet so many amazing people there, especially if you are in the creative field.
Step 3: Go Forth and Do Great Things
OK so, you’ve gotten this far! You have prepared yourself, you have educated yourself and planned out your approach. What’s left now is to actually do the thing - go to the events you have chosen. And, of course, not only to make a lasting impression but to get something long term out of it. How to do that? Once you’ve entered the room, quickly scan it to see which companies or professionals have attended, walk through the room and politely smile at people who make eye contact with you. Maybe drink some water or coffee for encouragement and approach (preferably without a plate of snacks in hand). Firmly shake their hand and introduce yourself.
After you’ve had a pleasant conversation learning more about the professional and the company (don’t ask “what do you do?”, do your research first), politely ask if it is okay to add them on LinkedIn. Gently bring the conversation to a close if you want to network with someone else (we have a blog on that!), and move on. After the event ends, wait a little bit, then send a personalized invite to your professional:
“Hi Mr. Smith, it was a pleasure to meet you today at Telfer Connects. I really enjoyed discussing innovation in the marketing industry with you. I’d love to add you as a connection to stay in touch and learn more about the work of marketing in government.”
Your invite should be personal and reference an interesting point from your conversation with the professional so they remember you. If you just write “I was the marketing student going into my third year”, they are less likely to remember you since chances are they talked to a lot of marketing students at the event!
In conclusion, this is a list of things to do to prepare for Fall Recruitment and how to plan out your networking approach in general. Good luck!
Sonya Gankina
3rd Year Marketing Student |
Hi everyone, and welcome back to school! There are SO many events, information sessions and other things happening in the month of September, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
In Telfer, you will hear very often that you need to network, which is true. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool that can help you with this, but it must be used correctly. Thanks to it I got my first “big girl” job. But how do you build a solid profile? It’s not that hard.
Work and Volunteer Experience
Before you can go and add all your friends, you have to build your profile first. Fill in all the sections that LinkedIn provides and asks for. If you do not yet have work experience, that is okay. Fill out the volunteer experience section and education section, so employers see what you have been doing for the past few years. Even if your volunteer experience is from high school, you can still add it — it does not have to be Boys or Girls club level of volunteering, but can be something like Yearbook Club.
Important: when you are describing your experiences, do not just copy paste the responsibilities from your resume. The descriptions on LinkedIn should sound like a story, e.g. “When I worked at McDonald’s, I was part of a team of over 5 people every shift.” This sounds more personal and is easier to read.
Have a Nice Photo
Alright, you filled out your profile and added all your great experiences. Look at you! Now let’s put a face to the name.
Photos Not to Use
I am glad you had a great night out with your friends exploring the nightlife scene in Ottawa, however employers are not impressed that. Do not make those photos your profile picture. Do not use selfies or unprofessional photos as a general guideline.
Photos to Use
Ideally, you want to use a professional headshot like from a Telfer Career Centre event (did you know that one of the perks of attending a Telfer networking event is that you get a free professional portrait photo to use for your LinkedIn profile!?).
But, if you haven’t had the chance to attend one of those two events yet, ask one of your friends to take it. When I just started working on my profile, I dressed in professional attire and found a wall in the Desmarais building and got my friend to take a photo. Pro tip: don’t cross your arms, it comes off looking aggressive and not welcoming. There are other ways to look assertive and set off a positive connotation.
Add Your Connections
You now have your photo! Looking good. And you have your experience, wow! Time to show off your profile. Just go to “My Network” and add all your friends, colleagues, professors and contacts. Add people you may know professionally like your managers from high school or your volunteer coordinator.
Pro tip: do not add or accept random people you do not know and have no relevance to your professional network - it carries no value and will not gain you any more engagement. If you do not have many connections, don’t panic just yet. We will work on that. That’s the point of developing your profile and your network!
What Do I Do Now?
Your profile is fresh and ready to go. Now what? We actually use it! Whenever you go to networking events, whether it be through Telfer or in the community, and meet people, remember who they are! If you met someone, and didn’t get their business card, but had a good conversation, you can connect with them on LinkedIn.
Also, I highly recommend you add a personal note for every LinkedIn invitation you send. If you’re connecting with someone you know well, it’s a great opportunity to say something nice and reinforce the relationship. If you’re connecting with someone you don’t know well, it’s a great opportunity to remind him or her how you met. If you’re connecting with someone you don’t know at all, it’s your only opportunity to convince him or her to accept.
Here’s how:
- Introduce yourself
- Say where you met
- Mention a fun fact about yourself they would have remembered
- End on a nice note
“Hi, Bob! We met at the Telfer Connects event yesterday and talked about the shift in the marketing industry. I was the Telfer student from Russia! I’d love to connect to keep in touch.”
How Will LinkedIn Help Me?
OK, great, you have nice connections and a good profile. What do you tangibly gain? Well, I built my professional network and eventually got a job. Others use to connect with industry people and build their network. Other people gain a big audience for their writing or their business.
My friend and a Telfer alumni, Tanveer Mostafa, has founded the uOttawa Sales Society last year and has been actively using LinkedIn to promote that and his new initiatives like videos and podcasts. Here’s what he has to say about that:
LinkedIn has helped me find the target audience for MY voice, whether I am expressing it through blog posts, videos, or sharing professional advice on my feed. It allowed me to connect and engage with people, with whom I wouldn’t have otherwise interacted.
All in all, LinkedIn is a cool site and you all should use it, while you’re a student and afterwards to continue to build your network.
And if you need some additional help, the Telfer Career Centre offers workshops, small group clinics and one-on-one profile critiques to help you make the most of LinkedIn. Book an appointment with a career adviser, reviser or attend one of the many events by visiting the Career Calendar of Events.
No more excuses! Happy connecting. :)
Sonya Gankina
3rd Year Marketing Student |
Meet Ashley.
She has recently joined the Telfer School of Management Career Centre’s team as a Relationship Manager. Ashley is from Timmins and graduated from Telfer with a BCom in 2016.
Her role at the School is to help connect students with employers by bringing business professionals on campus for various recruitment activities and networking events, as well as assisting students in developing their self-marketing skills.
She has a background in health care and is passionate about giving back to her community. She volunteers her time every week at the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, as well as delivering Junior Achievement entrepreneurship program.
Her main industry focuses are marketing, management, international management, human resources, and entrepreneurship. If you are looking for more information about these industries, or would like to chat about your professional development, come meet her!
Connect with Ashley Foster on LinkedIn, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 613-562-5800 ext. 4663.
“I was initially worried that as a student coming from out of town, I wouldn’t have the same advantage or connections as others when it came to finding a job in the co-op process or joining clubs on campus. Luckily, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Through the networking events hosted by Telfer, including specific events by the Telfer Accounting Club and the Career Centre, I was able to meet so many new people, make lasting friendships, and secure a great co-op position at Deloitte. I truly feel that alternating between work and school during my undergrad has been beneficial in a multitude of ways. Applying real-life concepts in classes from my job experience, as well as using theoretical knowledge taught during lectures while on the job has allowed me to develop both as a student and a professional.”
- Sarah S.
4th-year Accounting Student
Director of Engagement for CASCO
Case Competition Delegate
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.
“Find something that you’re really passionate about. Your biggest value can be maximized when you really love the job you do. Be true to yourself and be honest to yourself. Consider what you really want to do instead of listening to what others say Never be afraid of making mistakes. You are still young and can still experience different things. Yet I want you to plan your career right now because I don’t want you to have regrets in the middle of your career.”
- Sheldon Weatherstone
Assistant Professor at Telfer School of Management
Acting Director (CPA Program)
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 was the last time you purposely took ten minutes in a day to think about, not what you are currently doing, what will make you rich quicker or what clothes you are buying next, but about what you like, are passionate about, and will make you happy? (And those times when you see a successful person on Instagram and suddenly question your life don’t count).
Who are you?
Where are you from?
Why do you exist?
What can you do?
What is your destiny?
Those are five questions that changed and shaped Sephora Kodjo’s life, a young leader from Ivory Coast who is running SEPHIS, a successful foundation promoting girls’ education (Afrique Femme, 2018).
Those questions may look broad, theoretical or just difficult to answer. But they seem to have one (if not several) benefit: they are a good way to initiate and orientate a self-reflection.
Self-reflection is a thorough process, which is energy- and time-consuming, especially when you go from one stage of your life to another. I recently graduate from Telfer and am experiencing its deepest form in my life so far. I haven’t found the answers to all my questions, but having them in mind changed my perspective on the different events that happened in my life.
What’s your definition of happiness?
Where do you want to live?
What are your two main interests in life?
What are the things that you don’t like doing?
What do you want to be remembered for?
Those are some of the questions I have in my self-reflection process. It is not about having all the answers, it is about daring to ask yourself those hard questions and accept to look for the answers. It is accepting to grow and become better than the person you were yesterday.
I wish you to find your way in life and be happy :)
Hello, and welcome. I am in the midst of finals right now and I realized I am experiencing a pretty heavy case of Second Year Syndrome. It is defined as “disillusionment with university in second year”, since first year excitement has worn off, and the end is still pretty far. Well, while this may be a popular sickness amongst students, I am here to save the day. In this piece, I will be sharing my lessons from getting through half of my degree, some advice and overall tips (that will be hopefully be helpful). [Obviously, this is all from my personal experience and is highly subjective, so if you do not agree with something or it does not apply to you, that is perfectly fine.]
First of all, try to avoid 8:30 a.m. classes. Maybe you are a morning person, and hey, that’s great, but I am for sure not. When I have a class that early, I usually don’t eat breakfast because I am trying to sleep in as much as possible. Meanwhile, if I have a class at 10 a.m., I can wake up comfortably, get ready, make breakfast and coffee (10 is still early, OK?) and get to class and actually be awake and pay attention and not just think about food the entire time (having pancakes in your head for an hour and a half is super distracting).
Secondly, choose your professors wisely. Everyone has different methods of learning, so having a professor that complements your style of taking in information is crucial. Otherwise, you are not going to learn anything and will have to study everything on your own and suffer. To choose your professor, read about them on the Telfer website, ask your friends in current year if they had that prof last semester and talk to people in higher years about their experiences. It is also worth it to go to different sections at the beginning of the semester and “try out” different professors’ teaching so then you can easily switch your section on uOzone and already know what your professor will be like.
Thirdly, to get over the sadness of your Second Year Syndrome, try to get involved, but be smart with it. I go more into depth about it in my other article: Getting Involved: How and Why. In short, don’t try to fill up your entire schedule with events and activities, because it is easy to lose track of what’s important - school! Instead, focus on a couple things that are the most important to you and allocate enough time for studying, while taking your involvement into account.
OK, that is all great, but how do we get over the Syndrome mentally? Well, in my experience, the grass is actually greener - Second Year is more fun than first year since you know everyone, but keep in mind it is also the hardest year. BUT your later years will be better. We get all the technical mathematical courses like Business Analytics and Statistics over within the first two years, and then we get to specialize and actually do what we want to do. Personally, I can’t wait to take actual marketing courses that will help me narrow down my focus and allow me to learn about the industry I am passionate about. So think about these first two years as the time to develop your work ethic so you can do well in your ~fun~ latter years.
Another thing that I did to make my last years at Telfer more fun was not take any electives (number of electives differs based on specialization) in second year. Instead, I took ADM2000 course code classes that were scheduled for third year such as Human Resources Management and Management Information Systems. That way, I have a somewhat more challenging year right now, but will have the opportunity to take more electives later on and change up what I learn about.
To summarize, prioritize your physical and mental health, make wise decisions, get advice where needed and just know - it gets better and the grass is greener, you just need to cross the road to get to it. I think now is a good time to mention an initiative that has been going around recently, Project Lets (letserasethestigma.com), that says: “There is nothing cool, strong, or hero-worthy about not sleeping or eating. This is not healthy or okay.” The project encourages students to take care of themselves during the finals season and not romanticize the culture of overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion. Please try to take that in, and budget your time wisely so you have time to sleep and eat, and check up on your friends to see how they are doing.
Lastly, yes finals are not fun, but you know what is? Summer. There is just a little over a week left until the end of finals season. Good luck!