career – Page 4 – Life @ U of T

What do I do with my life?

The closer I've gotten to graduation, the less certain I've been of what I wanted to do with my life. However, I've also begun to make peace with that uncertainty. On January 1 this year, I decided to no longer apply…

The Time I Almost Participated in the Extern Program

When I heard about the Extern Job Shadowing Program, I was interesting in learning more about it, and hopefully participating in it. The Extern Program allows U of T students and recent graduates to match with an organisation and attend…

Time for the Summer Job Hunt?

That title above was literally what I said, when in my first year of university, I found out that summer job postings go up early...in January. I had no prior job experience, except for a handful of unpaid volunteer positions,…

In Which I Attend a Leadership Conference

ALT="a photo of a dark path" — Learning how to lead can be as forboding and intimidating as a dark path

For students new to it, learning how to lead can be hard, not to mention intimidating. Even for students with some experience, leading is a concept that isn’t the most intuitive. Are you supposed to just take charge in every group assignment? Make sure your voice is the loudest? Delegate responsibility until all that’s left is you as supreme overlord of the Sith and—ok, maybe not that last point. The truth is, leadership is something so dynamic and diverse that there isn’t a single way to learn it. That was one of the main guiding principles behind this conference I attended last Saturday called UConnect, a leadership conference based in University College.

My Resume Wasn’t As Good As I Thought It Was

A crude illustration of a resume — Resume writing is more difficult than this illustration makes it out to be. Image courtesy of Pixabay.

I stepped into the halls of Sid Smith, resume in hand, feeling confident. I had a few questions in mind that I wanted to ask the career educator I was placed with at the Resume Blitz, but I wasn’t feeling completely hopeless or lost. (For now, at least.)

Career Exploration: My First Conference Experience

Growing up I was so painfully shy. If I went through a day saying 10 words to someone that would be me having a "talkative" day. While I still consider myself to be a pretty shy person and am someone…

Career Exploration and Campus Events

Picture of an intimate room with booths with editors from student publications — My most recent U of T event adventure: The Literary Fair

Before I was even accepted to U of T, I heard rumors about how supposedly difficult and heartless it was. It was a place where 4.0s were unachievable, peers were competitive, and social lives were obsolete. However, once I actually arrived at U of T, I found out that wasn’t true. There are all sorts of opportunities for career-related and academic success, as well as networking and friendships. One way I like to network, seek out opportunities, and explore my career options is through U of T events and workshops.

“So, How’s School Going?”

Two Christmas cards lying on a bed — Reflecting on another stressful holiday season

“So, how’s school going?” “What are you studying?” “And what do you plan to do with that degree?” The only thing scarier than homemade fruitcake and the song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause” during the holidays is the bombardment of questions from relatives and family friends pertaining to my career during holiday get-togethers. However, I could easily be persuaded that their responses to my answers are even scarier.

Overcoming my Fear of Networking

Several stick figures branching off from one central stick figure so that they look like a web — This could be me one day. Photo by Peggy Margo via Pixabay

Networking makes me uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that I try to do it as infrequently as possible. That’s why I decided to attend the Career Centre’s Talking to Professionals workshop to learn more about how to network, and how to become more comfortable doing so. Since networking can sometimes be just as important in finding a job as your actual resume, I decided that it was time to overcome my fear.

Entrepreneurship 101: All About Ideas

A picture of a screen asking for audience participation — The audience could interact directly with the panelists through text

For a perfectionist who’s extremely insecure about my ideas, it’s a wonder I’ve been able to publish weekly blogs without collapsing under my own pressure. In order to gain some insight into how to come up with good ideas—and how to make sure they’re actually good—I attended Entrepreneurship 100: Conversations, a live, interactive panel hosted by the Impact Centre in collaboration with the Career Centre. The panel featured three University of Toronto-affiliated entrepreneurs and centred on discussing where ideas come from, and how to tell if they’re any good. The audience could participate in the discussion through text, take part in polls, and ask the panelists questions. The entrepreneurs answered the audience’s questions and spoke about their experiences throughout their careers.

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