Specialized Career Advisors

As my last post I would like to create a discussion board below about specialized career advisors. I personally found it very helpful when I found a resource that was relevant to my field of study. The link below will actually help you find careers in the financial sector of the market based on your: interests, education (optional), designations (optional), and skills (optional). This was eye-opening for me because it showed me how many different types of jobs I can pursue in just one sector of the market.

I am very satisfied with this website and hopefully below we will be able to find the marketing, human resources and accounting variations to help people who are studying in those fields. From this you will see that just because you may not like one job in the sector that you have to leave it as a whole. No, you can just pursue other jobs in the same sector that may pique your interests more. If you could also give your own personal rating of the website as well it would be greatly appreciated. For simplicity we will make the rating a max of 10. An example of the type of posting I am looking for is placed below.


 Example:

Field: Finance 
Link: http://www.explorefinancialservices.com/

• This is an excellent resource for students in the field of finance
• The results after filling out the information is well displayed and incredibly relevant
• Over all I would rank it at a 9.6/10

Workopolis

Now a few blog posts ago I was talking about TalentEgg which can be used by current students and recent grads to find jobs strictly available to them. Today I am proud to announce that we have another source open to us and its interface is very user-friendly. The site is called Workopolis.

Workopolis has a section devoted (much like TalentEgg) to students. What's really nice about the Workopolis version is that you can screen for: summer jobs, internships, full-time or part-time work. So you can find jobs according to your availability and requirement. The link to the student section of the website is placed below. I would highly recommend making an account on the website and frequenting it to check for jobs that maybe of interest to you and to also familiarize your self with their interface.

http://www.workopolis.com/EN/students/student-jobs

In the comment section below I would like to have links posted of your own favorite or preferred job websites. also in a quick 1 or 2 sentences explain why you like it. Also feel free to comment about your own personal experience with Workopolis.

Post-Graduate Certificates

In my earlier posts I remind people that they should not be afraid of changing careers or seeking knowledge in fields other than the ones they majoured in. The idea behind this is that you may have your opinion about a career change in the future or you have another interest worth noting outside of the field you studied. Studying something alongside your majour is okay and --in my opinion-- should be encouraged since it will allow you to round out your skills more.

So how does one pursue another field of interest after graduating and receiving their degree/diploma? The answer is through post-graduate certificates. Post-graduate certificates come with a wide array of subjects and in some cases, designations. And fortunately like some undergrad programs, they also come with internship and co-op opportunities. This will allow you to sample what is out there for you in the field of your post-grad study. I would highly recommend finding post-grad programs with co-op placement as it will give you a chance to use your under-grad background with your post-grad certificate in the workplace.

In order to achieve apply for a post-graduate certificate, you must have a degree or diploma from a recognized institution. Sheridan itself offers opportunities for individuals to obtain these post-graduate certificates at all campuses. for more information about what kind of certificates are available you can visit the link below.

http://www.sheridancollege.ca/Programs%20and%20Courses/Full-Time%20Programs/Area%20of%20Interest/Graduate%20Certificates.aspx?utm_nooverride=1&gclid=CIW299vS1K4CFe4DQAodEUpscA

Talentegg

In my previous blog post I was talking about getting a summer job or a co-op placement to help you determine more specifically what you would like to do in your field of study. I brought this suggestion up to a friend of mine as well but he mentioned that it isn't easy to get a job as a recent graduate. His rationale was that companies would hire people with a lot of work experience over a new graduate. Sadly he did have some truth behind his words. So the question then becomes how can I get people to give me a shot at getting more experience before they turn me down for not having enough experience?

The answer to this is actually at sites like the one I have the logo of at the top of the page; Talentegg. Talentegg is a job hunting site that is ONLY available to recent graduates and students who are currently attending a post-secondary education. The companies that post their jobs on the website are strictly looking for students or recent graduates not people who have been in the job market for a while. This gives us a shot at gaining experience so we can compete against individuals who have been in between jobs.

This site can also be used by students who wish to pursue a more professional job over the summer break. And again going back to the previous blog post, this can be incredibly useful for the student themselves.

So a couple of questions for the readers now:
 Do you have any personal experience with using Talentegg?
Do you know other sites like Talentegg?
Do you believe that sites like Talentegg are effective?

Optomizing on summer and co-op work terms

Regardless of the program you are currently studying at Sheridan College, I would highly recommend that you try to secure an entry level position while in the co-op program or during the summer. This will be beneficial for you in two ways. One, this will get some experience under your belt so you look like a more appealing candidate to hire upon graduation. Two, you can try different jobs while studying to figure out where you want to be upon graduation and start planning out your career path more accurately.

This is something I plan to do personally. Right now I am currently split between going into personal finance field or looking into working as a broker. By working during the summer or during the co-op term I will be able to see where my interests lie and alter my career path accordingly. If i feel the path of a broker is for me, than i will alter my education patch so i can write the CSC and go to university and get the CFA designation. If I feel personal finance is for me than I will again alter my courses so that upon graduation I can get my designation as a CFP.

Are you in a predicament between 2 focuses of your majour as well? How do you plan to overcome them? Leave your answers in the comment section