Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Olajumoke (Christiana) Odofin is in her second year of the Bachelor of Commerce program, majoring in Marketing. Olajumoke decided to pursue a Commerce degree because of the co-op opportunities associated with the program. “I believed co-op would help me ease into the Canadian work culture and would also help me network with my future employers.” She was interested in delving into the diverse world of business from a young age.

“The idea of working with qualified business professionals has just always been a dream of mine ever since I could talk. I also come from a family with a lot of business professionals with my mum being a Chartered Accountant and my aunty being a Brand Manager.”

Olajumoke is completing her first work term in person with the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure as a Junior SAP Analyst, which she applied to through Management Career Services. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is responsible for government buildings, highways, roadways, and transit in the province. “I help our clients (Public Servants) easily navigate through the SAP system and I also answer any support questions they might have.”

SAP software is a diverse resource planning software used by a variety of industries, allowing them to integrate specifically what their business does to plan for the future. Olajumoke knew that she would have an upper hand when applying to jobs in the future if she attained employment early on learning about these systems. “I was most excited to learn about the SAP software. Because it is used by 80% of the top organizations in the world, having the knowledge of SAP would boost my qualifications for a job by a significant amount.”

Co-op students often face a number of challenges as completing your first work term can be intimidating. According to Olajumoke, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic didn’t present as much of a barrier for her as she expressed that she had other doubts on her mind. “My biggest challenge during this job search was self-doubt. I doubted myself a lot and believed certain companies would not want to hire me because of my name, where I came from or my lack of Canadian experience. Talking to my Career Recruitment Specialist helped overcome that fear and self-doubt as she reassured me that my experiences were good enough for the jobs I really wanted.”

Making good use of the resources available to her, Olajumoke made it a priority to frequently meet with her Career Recruitment Specialist to discover more ways she could strengthen her applications, making them unique amongst other applicants. “MCS posted jobs on their website daily, and that helped me tremendously because it saved me time and it also protected me from online job scams. Being able to speak with a Career Recruitment Specialist also boosted my confidence because they were always ready to help and understood the job search struggles.”

Olajumoke’s advice for you:

• Do not to give up! Finding a co-op during this pandemic is very draining and can be frustrating at times, but you only lose if you give up. So don’t stop writing those applications.
• Connect with alumni and upper year students. They have tons of knowledge about the job search and most of them are open to help!
• Use the resources provided by the MCS. They want the best for all of us.

Pronouns: She/Her

More from Olajumoke:

• Instagram: Its_Christy__
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiana-odofin-2675a11aa/