Friday, November 14, 2014

Job Search: Important Preliminary Steps for a Successful Career

Looking for jobs can be extremely time-consuming and stressful. It can get even more challenging for students who are juggling intense coursework along the side. But if you take these baby steps towards developing your career, everything will work out in your favor.

Choosing a Career


A lot of students are not clear as to what career path they want to pursue during their undergraduate studies. And if you are in the same boat, don’t worry. The Academic Advising and Career Center is there to help you out. Begin by exploring your interests and understand the career options available for your discipline of study. You would be amazed at the endless opportunities out there for you. At times, choosing a career can be difficult especially if you are confused as to what is the best option for you. I would highly recommend talking to a Career Counsellor at the AA&CC. Feel free to come to our office and inquire about our Career Drop-In hours which will be extremely useful in helping you figure out what you are interested in.

Start on Campus


There are a lot of resources available on campus to help you get started with your career. Many jobs require experience and UTSC gives their students ample of opportunities to start developing the relevant experiences. I would highly recommend starting through the Work Study program at UofT. Through personal experience, I can honestly say that Work Study is not only a good work experience but is a great learning experience as well. In my first year, I applied to several jobs on and off campus but sadly all of them required solid work experience which I did not have. Following that year, I was fortunate enough to be given a Work Study position which was the start of my work experience. After that, securing jobs off campus have been a piece of cake due to the work experiences in my university degree. A good thing about the Work Study Program is that the hours are very flexible. Also, there are many departments that offer Work Study which means that you have a variety of disciplines to choose from when applying for a position. All Work Study positions are posted on the Career Learning Network website: https://cln.utoronto.ca/home.htm
For more information on the Work Study Program, check out the AA&CC website:

Explore Off-Campus


Finding a job off campus can be very strenuous and challenging, especially if you have just started exploring the real world outside university. However, the resources on campus will help make the process easier. The Career Learning Network website lists different off campus job postings to consider. It is a huge database which contains jobs from various fields and locations in and outside of Canada. It is also a very user friendly website with different filters that can help narrow your search down which will list exactly what you are looking for. Also, if you come to the AA&CC office, you will find various career related magazines on our rack. They are a great resource which will help you kick start your job search. You can also check out the Job Postings Canada website: www.jobpostings.ca to find work off campus. This website is specifically designed for students looking for jobs that require little to no experience. They also offer job postings by big names in Retail, Marketing, and Finance etc. It is an amazing off-campus resource that I highly recommend you to use.
All these resources are available to you as a UTSC student to help you build a career that interests you the most. Remember that you don’t have to do this alone. The Career Counsellors at the AA&CC are more than happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you overcome all the difficulties you may come across along the way. I wish you guys all the best in your future endeavors.
Happy Searching!

Ayesha Haq




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