Academic Advising & Career Centre

‘I love my work’: International �山ǿ�� grad on how she landed a job during COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 21:36:03 +0000

‘I love my work’: International �山ǿ�� grad on how she landed a job during COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 02/04/2021 - 16:36

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Melody Bagaa, who graduated from �山ǿ�� Scarborough in November, signed up for a job-seekers club and leveraged the university's vast alumni network before eventually securing a job as an investment analyst (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Yanan Wang

Topic

Global Lens

Coronavirus

UTogether

Academic Advising & Career Centre

Graduate Stories

Melody Bagaa is one of many recent university graduates — in Canada and around the world —who faced the unenviable task of hunting for a job in a world rattled by COVID-19.

A native of Mongolia, Bagaa came to Canada in 2016 in hopes of breaking into the finance industry through the University of Toronto Scarborough’s co-op program.

Through the program, she worked stints at BMO Financial Group and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada – experiences that had made her confident in her ability to land a job after graduation last November.

“When I started my degree, the job market was okay,” says Bagaa, who earned a bachelor of business administration degree.

“Then COVID-19 happened, and the job market was practically frozen. I didn’t know how long it would take to find a job. Everything was uncertain.”

Bagaa tried not to panic. Instead, she harnessed �山ǿ��’s resources and alumni – even building a personal alumni network on LinkedIn – and ultimately landed a job at a Toronto investment advisory and consulting firm amid the upheaval.

One of the first things Bagaa did was sign up for �山ǿ�� Scarborough’s Job Seekers Club, a four-week program operated by the campus’s Academic Advising & Career Centre. Through the program, Bagaa picked up job search strategies as well as resume and cover letter-writing skills.

The members of the club, which included other students in addition to career specialists, met via Zoom and rehearsed for interviews together. They critiqued each other’s performances and gave suggestions on how to improve.

The club is one of many services across the three campuses supporting students and recent grads in their job search.

Others include the I Need to Get a Job Club, which targets recent graduates, and Flexible Futures, which offers a range of career-related workshops for graduate students. There’s also a career guide for trans and non-binary students.

At �山ǿ�� Mississauga, the Career Centre Networking Series brings students, recent graduates, alumni and industry professionals together for career exploration and networking opportunities. The campus also has programs that offer access to placements with employers interested in hiring new graduates and resources for job searching in a virtual world.

“Across all three campuses, our emphasis has been on connecting students and graduates with alumni and industry professionals to provide insight into how the pandemic is changing industries, organizations and roles,” says Heather Kelly, executive director, Student Life programs and services.

“We want to do whatever we can to help current students and recent alumni with their job search during COVID-19.”

Using LinkedIn, Bagaa created her own personal alumni network. Through the employment site search function, she found �山ǿ�� alumni already working in her field. Bagaa sent out emails asking alumni for advice or to connect her to finance jobs. Many of them responded immediately. Some tipped her off to job openings or referred her to their companies.

“These alumni on LinkedIn and friends who graduated before me were all very supportive,” Bagaa said. “They would send me job listings all the time.”

She also received a referral through �山ǿ�� Scarborough’s The Bridge, which supports experiential learning for business, finance and entrepreneurship.

Bagaa’s rising optimism about her job search was in stark contrast to her outlook during the early days of the pandemic.

She recalls feeling jealous when she thought of her friends and family back in Mongolia, where the number of COVID-19 cases was relatively low last spring. Bagaa says she even contemplated flying home since Mongolia’s economy had not been impacted to the same extent as Canada’s – possibly improving her chances of finding work.

She ultimately found her current job as an investment analyst at BULLWEALTH on �山ǿ��’s CLNx (Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network) job portal. Her application was bolstered by her various co-op experiences and the interview coaching she received as part of the job-seekers club – and �山ǿ��’s reputation for producing some of the world’s most employable graduates probably didn’t hurt either.

Bagaa began her new role the weekend of her virtual convocation.

“I want to continue to develop my career and pursue more responsibilities,” Bagaa says.

“Maybe I’ll get an MBA. I’m still trying to figure it out, but I definitely like where I am right now. I love my team, I love my work. I want to learn and grow within the company and try to bring some great projects forward.”

Student mentor shares four tips for studying, managing stress

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 14:21:54 +0000

Student mentor shares four tips for studying, managing stress

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/10/2020 - 09:21

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(photo by Recep Buyukguzel via Getty Images)

Emily Allison

Topic

Our Community

Robert Gillespie Academic Learning Centre

Academic Advising & Career Centre

Undergraduate Students

With classes gone virtual and social activities shuttered or scaled back, many students may feel as though school has become an all-encompassing endeavor.

But Fawn Rasquinha, a senior peer mentor with Student Life’s Academic Success peer-mentorship program, says it’s still possible to find a happy – and healthy – balance between work and play by studying smarter, not harder.

“We were afforded time to be productive and focus on lectures and studying when we were going to school in person, and now we’re having to create that environment for ourselves, which can be difficult – especially with lectures,” Rasquinha says.

Rasquinha, who is pursuing a master’s degree in the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, says peer mentors like herself are great resources because they are students, too.

“Peers offer that informality where they have been through whatever you're experiencing, and they offer you the same strategies and resources that they are familiar with.”

Here are four areas where Rasquinha says she sees often sees students struggle – and her tips to help them succeed.

Putting yourself first

Many students who are doing their studies online find it difficult to stay motivated and focused on work, according to Rasquinha.

“It's a good idea to carve out space in your home, get rid of distractions, and make it an environment that's conducive to your ability to focus on lectures and tasks,” she says.

Establishing a routine that really works for you is key, she adds.

“Everything is so merged now between your work, home and school life. Structure your studying time around your own energy levels and ability to concentrate and, in essence, create a routine and structure so your day is planned.”

Bite-size pieces

Procrastination is a common experience for anyone facing a big task or assignment, which can initially seem overwhelming and insurmountable.

So, Rasquinha recommends students start small.

“First, I identify what is preventing me from getting started on my work and then develop strategies to tackle that mentality,” she says. “What works for me is to conceptualize my work in the sense that I'm not approaching this task with the mentality of completing a ten-page essay in one day. I initially try to create an outline, and then I do research and fill out the introduction section.

“I really find utility in breaking down tasks into bite-sized and manageable pieces, setting incremental and manageable goals for myself until I eventually get that ten-page paper down.”

Managing your time – and stress

Struggling with time-management and feeling anxious during exam season reflects the shared reality that many students are still “learning how to learn and discovering what works and what doesn't work as a learning strategy,” Rasquinha says.

She adds this can be especially common for first-year and second-year students, where the process of studying for university exams is still about trial and error. Upper-year students who are experiencing excessive levels of stress may want to think about re-tooling their approach, she suggests.

“School-related anxiety is an aspect of the leaning process, but I don't think you should experience it consistently throughout your four years,” she says. “I think when you are experiencing it, it's a signal to try new strategies, develop new skills, and access different resources.”

Know when – and where – to seek help

�山ǿ�� students seeking additional support have many options.

On the St. George campus, Student Life’s Academic Success programming ranges from online courses and workshops to virtual study hubs and one-to-one supports.

That includes the option of booking an appointment – now on Zoom – with an academic peer mentor such as Rasquinha.

“The good thing about this platform is that we're more flexibly able to meet student's needs in that students may not want to have their camera or microphone on,” says Rasquinha. “We are able to be more flexible with students in terms how they want to engage during their session and participate. In Zoom, you don’t have to commute to us and it's scheduled.”

Student Life has also compiled a list of academic resources on campus, from writing centres to tutoring services.

For students at �山ǿ�� Mississauga, the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre offers a full range of individual consultations, workshops and programs that are designed to help students identify and develop the skills they need to be successful in their studies.

Similarly, �山ǿ�� Scarborough students have access to the Academic Advising & Career Centre, which offers workshops and peer coaching, as well as connections to other resources on campus.

“As a graduate student, I know that school-related stress is a very common experience,” Rasquinha says.

“You're not alone in feeling anxious about studying for exams or managing your time.”

Three tips for �山ǿ�� students seeking summer jobs amid COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 05 May 2020 16:53:31 +0000

Three tips for �山ǿ�� students seeking summer jobs amid COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 05/05/2020 - 12:53

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Jen Davies, manager, career development services at �山ǿ�� Scarborough’s Academic Advising & Career Centre, says students need to do more than send out resumés and cross their fingers during COVID-19 (photo by Jirapong Manustrong via Getty Images)

Don Campbell

Topic

Our Community

Coronavirus

Academic Advising & Career Centre

�山ǿ�� Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

With physical distancing rules in a place and an economy essentially in lockdown, University of Toronto students looking for jobs summer have their work cut out for them.

“The traditional ways of looking for summer work may not work this year,” says Jen Davies, manager, career development services at �山ǿ�� Scarborough’s Academic Advising & Career Centre.

“We're looking at an extended period of economic disruption, so that means fewer job ads being posted and even greater demand for each individual posting.”

Until the pandemic hit, Davies says it had been a job seeker’s market, but within a four-month period everything has been flipped.

As economists consider the possibility of an extended recession, Davies says the strategy of simply sending out a bunch of resumés and crossing your fingers in the hope of getting a few responses isn’t likely to cut it.

Here is Davies’ three pieces advice for students attempting to land a summer position in 2020.

Networking, networking, networking

“Networking is going to be crucial for job seekers,” Davies says.

She recommends doing what’s called a “people search” – that is, finding an industry that you’re interested in, or an organization that is currently hiring, and finding people you can connect with.

The trick will be finding those few opportunities and then getting noticed because there will be increased competition. Davies says using Google to look beyond the big companies to find smaller firms and start-ups will also be important.

As a way in, she recommends doing as much homework on an organization as possible: Go on its social media channels, find out what the organization is doing and what it values, and then try to engage in a conversation that will help make your application stand out.

“Ask thoughtful questions about their plans or priorities, or even comment on the job posting you saw for that assistant position,” she says, adding that a quick,15-minute phone or video call may be the best alternative to a face-to-face meeting over coffee.

Be strategic

As for which industries are most likely to be hiring, Davies says those in the business of delivering goods are a solid bet. When physical distancing measures were put into place, Amazon and Walmart immediately went on a hiring spree just as other organizations were laying off staff.

“Businesses that deliver goods and materials are probably still going to be hiring people, but that does mean going out in public and continuing to interact with people,” she says.

She adds that organizations that rely on call centres – including financial institutions, tech companies and telecommunications – are likely still looking to hire.

“Money management is becoming a very urgent issue, and people won’t be able to do a lot of banking in person,” Davies says.

“The technology sector will be busy. We're spending a lot more time on our cell phones and computers, so businesses that make apps, telecoms and Internet companies – anyone with interest in working in technology can probably expect to find jobs.”

Manage your expectations

Finally, Davies says it will be important to manage expectations. There will be a lot of rejection and none of it may be your fault.

“Don’t take the lack of interest personally, it’s just the economic situation we’re in at the moment,” she says.

“You’re going to feel responsible and want to second guess everything – was my cover letter good enough, is it my resume, do I have enough experience – but it’s very likely got nothing to do with you, so don’t lose hope.”