Why you should write your future reference letter now

December 18, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

Even though your work term is just getting started, imagine that the end of your term has come. This is often an opportunity to reflect on experiences, evaluate newly developed skills, new relationships, and completed projects. It’s also a time to look forward to the next step of your professional career.

What some students don’t realize, however, is that you will leave an impression on your co-workers and colleagues over the course of your residency. The legacy you leave is something that can benefit you in a number of ways, not the least of which is a positive reference for a future job.

Considering your legacy

Begin the process of building your legacy by writing your own reference letter, highlighting the traits and abilities that you will strive to achieve by the end of your term. This will give you a better understanding of the type of employee you want to become and keep you focused on actually achieving it. This exercise is most effective if you keep the physical cover letter you wrote for yourself visible (taped to your desk or notebook, for example) so that it will provide motivation to achieve your professional development objectives.

Getting down to business

Leaving a positive legacy at your workplace does not have to be dramatic or grand. It can be as simple as assuring that you’ve done your job to the best of your ability. In your letter, plan to demonstrate one or more of the following:

Improvements you made on office process/procedure
Outcomes you exceeded by adding extra value to your projects and assignments
Examples that show your initiative
Proven areas of reliability and a willingness to take on more projects
Ways in which you maintained a great attitude and integrated your personality and strengths into your projects
How you took advantage of opportunities to get involved and made a difference
Your demonstrated effective communication skills and positive relationships built with co-workers and clients

Planning ahead

While these traits will without a doubt help you leave a legacy at your workplace, they are also traits that employers value and look for when hiring. Keep in mind that if a future employer calls one of your references and hears any combination of the traits listed above, you’ve not only proven your legacy to your past employer but also showed that you’re capable of creating a new one with a future employer as well.

How to impress your boss & add value on your residency

December 18, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

Securing your corporate residency is a great achievement and an important step in your career development. It’s also an excellent opportunity to make a positive impression that can lead to success in the workplace as well as making great professional connections. To make the most out of your residency, consider these tips:

Take time to STUDY

S: Survey your surroundings
T: Take the time to analyze and learn the most important things; company’s strategic plan, goals and objectives, structure, processes, current projects
U: Understand the people: Who are the key resources? Who’s doing what?
D: Do not make hasty decisions; being new means you will not yet understand the current situation, facts, or internal politics
Y: Yes you can! No matter how overwhelmed you feel in your new position –just take a deep breath, remain calm, stay focused, and prioritize, prioritize, prioritize

Clarify ambiguity

Ask questions to understand your role and how you will be evaluated.
Learn the business, in and outside of the area/team you are working.
Be proactive – it’s great to show initiative, but show some restraint. Humility plays as important a role as ambition.

Exhibit professionalism

Consider how you answer the telephone, how you use email, and how you articulate your voice mail greeting
Perform menial tasks with enthusiasm to demonstrate your work ethic does not change depending on the task you are assigned
Show respect for the corporate culture
Become acquainted with colleagues, even those outside your peer group

Consider your first impression

First impressions matter… and they last. Always dress professionally. It is better to overdress then to underdress
Take initiative to ask for more work if you are not busy. Let people know your strengths and your willingness to assist
Be keen. Don’t be the first one to leave at the end of the day. Always remember that even if this is not the job you want for a career, it is a stepping stone for you in terms of your resume, your skills and a reference

Add value

80% of success is attributed to simply showing up and giving 100%. When you commit to a goal, deadline, or say you are going to do something, ensure you meet those expectations
Avoid excuses such as “I have no experience” or “I am a student”. For the duration of your work term, you are an employee of that company and should identify yourself as such
Demonstrate that you are approachable and coachable. Being able to receive constructive feedback and use it to improve is an important skill to have
After one month, take the initiative and request an informal review of your progress
End the day by writing down what expected and unexpected progress you made and what you can do tomorrow

8 must-dos to make the most of your residency

December 17, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Learn everything you can while you are on your residency. Ask questions of your boss and co-workers; it will show them that you are enthusiastic about learning everything you can about your new position. You are not expected to know everything when you start, and people are usually happy to help.

Be willing to come in early and stay late

Don’t just be on time, be 10 minutes early. At the end of the day, don’t watch the clock and be the first person to hit the exit. Show your boss and co-workers that you have a positive work ethic. Ensure that your work is done and if possible, offer to help a co-worker finish a project so that you can both head out the door.

Dress to impress

You will be judged by your appearance. If you show up to work in casual clothes, and the expectation is formal business attire, you will not evaluated favourably. Model your clothing choices on your boss or supervisor.

Request feedback

Ask for regular updates about your performance. Don’t wait for a scheduled performance review; ask your supervisor for a meeting to discuss how you are doing. That ensures that if you have developed some undesirable habits, you will be aware and able to work on changing them before they become too ingrained.

Take the initiative

Don’t be afraid to ask for more things to do if you are light on work. If your boss is not available to give you more projects, offer to help a co-worker who is struggling to meet a deadline. If you see a more efficient way to do something, suggest it to your boss. There may be a reason it’s not already being done that way, but by making an informed suggestion, you will demonstrate that you are interested and keen to be of service.

Network/build relationships

Use every opportunity that you can to network and make connections. Networking can be done anytime, anyplace, and with anyone. You never know who will be sitting next to you in the lunch room. Make the effort; you never know when it will pay off or how the connections you make during this work term may lead to opportunities in the future.

Make a great impression

There are all kinds of things that you can do to make a great impression during your work term. Start on day one by being authentic, hard-working, interested, and enthusiastic about your new position. Make the most of it!

Leave on a high note

Make sure you’ve met all the obligations and completed all projects. Ensure that your files, contacts, and workspace are all left in an orderly manner so that someone moving into that position can easily pick up where you’ve left off. Don’t leave without making a point of thanking your colleagues for the experience, and leaving the door open for an ongoing connection with your colleagues and the organization. Keep the campsite rule in mind: try to leave the place better than you found it!

To get more ideas on how to make the most of your work term, check out these links.

UPass, Dalplex & Residence Info for Students on a Co-op Work Term for Winter 2021

December 11, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

This information specifically pertains to Bachelor of Commerce Co-op students beginning their work term this upcoming winter term.

UPass Opt-out Process:
As COVID-19 has affected study locations, for Winter 2021 term, students can request to opt-out of the UPass before their work term is approved. If your work term is likely to be outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), you can opt-out of the UPass.

The deadline to opt-out of the UPass for the Winter 2021 semester is January 15, 2021.

To opt-out, there are three steps:

Complete a waiver online, available at: https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/UPass/opting-out.html
If requested by the DalCard Office, provide documentation to show that your work term is outside of HRM. How? See bottom of this blog
Return your UPass sticker to the DalCard Office (if you already picked it up), located at 6230 Coburg Road (Howe Hall).

- UPass stickers MUST be returned for your waiver to be processed, even if you have already left the province/country
- Contact the DalCard Office for directions on how to return your sticker if not in Halifax: https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/Dalcard/contact-us-form.html

Dalplex Access:
Dalhousie students do not pay any student services fees while on co-op work terms, which means that they do not have access to the Dalplex or Sexton Memorial Gym until they return to classes on a full-time basis. Currently, Dalplex is closed until further notice, in accordance with current Public Health guidelines. For more information, visit https://athletics.dal.ca/

Residence:
If your work term is located outside of the HRM and you are living in a Dalhousie Residence, you must contact the Residence Office at residence@dal.ca and provide proof that you have an approved work term outside of HRM. How? See below

To provide your work term details:

Recommended for both offices: Print or save a PDF copy of your approved work term record to provide to either the DalCard or Residence Office as proof. To do this:

a. Login to myCareer, click on Management Career Services.
b. Scroll down to locate your co-op sequence on the right-hand side of the screen.
c. Click the link for the appropriate work term to access your work term record.
d. Click the blue Print Work Term Detail button that appears to generate a copy of your work term record and then either:

Print a copy to take with you to the DalCard Office, or save it as a PDF file, to email to dalcard@dal.ca

Save it as a PDF file, to email to the Residence Office at residence@dal.ca

For DalCard Office only: Go to the office, login to myCareer on your phone, and show your approved work term record

UPass, Dalplex & DSU Health Plan Info for Students on a Co-op/Internship Work Term in Fall 2020

August 27, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

This information specifically pertains to Bachelor of Commerce Co-op students and Bachelor of Management Internship students embarking (or remaining) on a work term this fall.

UPass:
To opt in to the UPass for the fall term, you must visit the DalCard Office (6230 Coburg Road, Howe Hall) and provide proof that you are on an approved work term in the Halifax Regional Municipality. They will provide you with a sticker and charge your student account. Stickers are available now via the DalCard Office service windows facing Coburg Road. Pick up hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

To prove your work term details, you can either:

(recommended) print a copy of your approved work term record to take with you to the DalCard Office as proof.
login to myCareer and show your approved work term on your phone at the DalCard Office.

To print your work term record:

Login to myCareer, click on Management Career Services.
Scroll down to locate your co-op sequence on the right-hand side of the screen
Click the link for the appropriate work term to access your work term record.
Click the blue Print Work Term Detail button that appears, to generate a copy of your work term record and then print it.

Please note for the DalCard Office to issue your UPass, your work term record must be approved by Management Career Services, the approved work term details completed and your work term must be in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Please contact your assigned Career and Recruitment Specialist if your submitted work term record has yet to be approved.

Dalplex Access:
Dalhousie students do not pay full-time student services fees while on co-op work terms, which means they do not have access to Dalplex or Sexton Memorial Gym until they return to classes on a full-time basis. Visit Dalplex directly to purchase a term membership or for rate information, call 902-494-3372. Dalplex re-opened on a phased approach as of August 4. Read full details here.

Health Plan:
This is a reminder that all students who are participating in Co-op for the fall term are NOT automatically billed for the DSU Health and Dental Plan or the DSU International Health Plan (International Students). You can confirm if an opt-in is required by checking your tuition statement.

Students going on a Co-op in the fall term who are not already being charged for a DSU provided Health Plan, and who wish to have coverage from September 1, 2020-August 31, 2021 must opt in by no later than September 18, 2020.

If your Fall co-op takes place outside the province of Nova Scotia: Both the DSU Health & Dental Plan and the DSU International Student Health Plan are valid across Canada. Contact the DSU Health Plan Office by email (dsuhealth@dal.ca) to confirm your travel coverage. This is particularly important for international students as travel coverage may be more limited.

If your Fall co-op takes place outside of Canada in your home country: coverage may not apply; contact the DSU Health Plan Office by email (dsuhealth@dal.ca) for more information.

You can also participate in an “opting-in/out Q&A” session on Zoom every Tuesday from 11:00AM-11:45AM AST. ZOOM ID: 986 158 9719 | ZOOM Password: 992592

Visit http://www.studentvip.ca/dsu to opt-in or for more information, including additional important COVID-19 updates.

UPass & Dalplex Info for Students on a Co-op/Internship Work Term This Summer

April 25, 2019 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

This information specifically pertains to Bachelor of Commerce Co-op students, Bachelor of Management Internship Students, and Corporate Residency MBA students embarking (or remaining) on a work term this summer.

UPass Opt-In Process:

If you are doing your work term within the Halifax area during Summer 2019, you can opt-in to the UPass program. You will be charged $78.50 and passes are now available.

To opt-in to the UPass for the summer term, you must visit the DalCard Office (6230 Coburg Road, Howe Hall) and provide proof that you are on an approved work term in Halifax. They will provide you with a sticker and charge your student account.

To prove your work term details, you can either:

login to myCareer and show your approved work term on your phone at the DalCard Office, OR
print a copy of your approved work term record to take with you to the DalCard Office as proof.

To print your work term record:

Login to myCareer, click on Management Career Services.
Scroll down to locate your co-op sequence on the right-hand side of the screen.
Click the link for the appropriate work term to access your work term record.
Click the blue Print Work Term Detail button that appears to generate a copy of your work term record and then print it.

*Please note that for the DalCard Office to issue your UPass, your work term record must have been approved by Management Career Services, the approved work term details completed and your work term must be in the Halifax area.

Learn more about the summer UPass.

Dalplex Access:
Dalhousie students do not pay any student services fees while on co-op work terms, which means they do not have access to Dalplex or Sexton Memorial Gym until they return to classes on a full-time basis. Visit Dalplex directly to purchase a term membership or for rate information, call 902-494-3372.

Bright futures: 2016 Commerce, Management and CRMBA graduate statistics

April 12, 2017 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management graduates go on to pursue work in a variety of functional areas including marketing and logistics, engineering, technology and finance. We conduct an annual survey with our graduated students; below you will find employment stats and career outcomes from our class of 2016 Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Management and Corporate Residency MBA graduates.

Bachelor of Commerce

(click to enlarge)

Bachelor of Management

(click to enlarge)

Corporate Residency MBA

(click to enlarge)

From Dragons’ Den to competition wins: student successes abound this winter

April 3, 2017 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

We’re delighted to highlight just a few of the podium-worthy results our students have earned at recent business competitions, conferences and more during this winter term:

You’re Hired! Interview Competition

For 12 years and running, the competition invites students from Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s to put their interview skills to the test, culminating in a live interview final in front of an audience. This year’s first- and second-place winners went to Dalhousie Bachelor of Commerce students Adrian Hutcheson and Briana Dologh. Read more about Adrian’s big win.

Great Canadian Sales Competition

Out of more than 2,200 submissions, three Rowe School of Business students (Tatum Freigang, Tiana Vuckovic and Josh Boothroyd) were included among the competition’s top 22 finalists from across Canada, where they received a paid trip to Toronto to compete in the final round at Google Canada.

Dragons’ Den Wins

Commerce student Terrena Huisman (Terrini’s Bikinis) and Commerce alumni Cam McDonald and Daniel Bartek (Iconic Brewing) walked away with winning deals this year.

Operations Stimulus Case Competition

Commerce students Josh Biggar, Blake Newell, Clare Murphy and Mahmoud Ahran won this year’s prestigious annual supply chain and logisitics case competition in Denver, CO. This marks the third win within four years for the Rowe School of Business, making it the only school to win more than once.

DECA U Award Wins

Dalhousie’s DECA U (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter was founded in the fall of 2016 and is the first DECA chapter in Atlantic Canada.

At this year’s annual DECA U Provincial Conference in Toronto, the group brought home two awards for New Chapter Award and the Largest Chapter Provincial Participation, along with a host of individual and group awards.

University of Vermont Family Case Competition

Congratulations to Dalhousie’s Rowe School of Business team – Josh Biggar (BComm), Hailey Coleman (BMgmt) and Gardiner Goodman (BMgmt) – who finished third overall at the University of Vermont Family Enterprise Case Competition!

MBA Games Silver-Place Win

28 Dalhousie CRMBA students participated in the 2017 MBA Games, hosted by Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, returning with a second-place win! Read more about their experience.

Celebrating the winners of the inaugural Dalhousie Top Co-op Awards

March 27, 2017 Allison Auld 2 Comments

Wednesday, March 22^nd marked the inaugural Dalhousie Top Co-op Awards, a joint collaboration between Dalhousie’s Management Career Services, Science, Information Technology, Engineering Co-operative Education and the Faculty of Architecture and Planning. Though this year’s event is new, co-op award history at Dalhousie extends back to 2004.

Congratulations to this year’s award winners!

TOP CO-OP STUDENTS OF THE YEAR
As nominated by their employer.

Faculty of Science | Kaitlin Burek, Marine Biology Student
Nominated by Dalhousie University, Department of Biology
Faculty of Engineering | Catherine MacDougall, Chemical Engineering
Nominated by ExxonMobil
Faculty of Computer Science | Niclas Skaalum, Computer Science
Nominated by Dell Canada/Quest Software Canada
Faculty of Management | Matthew Cohen, Commerce
Nominated by Robotnik
Architecture | Claire Fontaine, Architecture
Nominated by de Hoog Kierulf Architects
Planning | Andrew Scanlan Dickie, Planning Student
Nominated by Village on Main

TOP CO-OP EMPLOYERS OF THE YEAR
Presented to nine industry categories based on student nominations.

Consulting & Design Services:
EcoVue Consulting Services Inc.
Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods:
Bergstrom Automotive
Health:
Health QR
Financial Services:
Royal Bank Canada
Information & Technology:
Dell Canada Inc.
Public Sector:
Canada Post Corporation
Manufacturing:
Metamaterial Technologies Inc.
Resources:
Emera
R&D and Education:
Dalhousie University, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

EMERGING EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Recognizing employers new to Dalhousie’s Co-op programs within the past three years.

Winner: Affinio
First runner-up: Dash Hudson
Second runner-up: RGH Chartered Accountants

LEGACY EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Recognizing employers who have been active and supportive in Dalhousie’s Co-op programs for a minimum of five years.

Winner: Ernst & Young LLP
First runner-up: PepsiCo
Second runner-up: Pratt & Whitney

Student Spotlight: Chris Hogarth

March 14, 2017 Allison Auld Leave a Comment

Third-year Bachelor of Commerce student Chris Hogarth knew what he wanted to do for his second work term this past fall. The only problem? The opportunity didn’t exist.

With an interest in working for Altus Group, Chris leveraged myCareer as a first step in his job search. Though there were several posted positions available, none of them truly caught his eye.

Knowing that myCareer is just one tool in his supply job search resources, Chris used his personal connections, which led him directly to the top: “Altus’ CEO was a connection that I made over the summer, a parent of a friend I had gone to high school with. I had spoken to him about some of the areas I was interested in and listened to him speak about what it was he has done for the company. Down the line when I was applying for jobs, I felt I could reach out to him personally.”

Securing a self-found work term job can often lead to positions that are suited to your interests, and that offer personal growth opportunities. Chris shares: “I had an absolutely amazing co-op experience in a position that was tailored specifically to my wants and needs. I served as a Marketing Coordinator at Altus Group Limited in Toronto, Ontario for my second work term. I worked around some amazing people and made a number of contacts and connections from this term. From this experience I have learned many new skills with regards to web marketing, as well as interpersonal communication skills.”

As for his final, upcoming work term? Chris is considering returning to Altus Group again, but hasn’t ruled out another self-found opportunity: “I would recommend that other students use any personal connections that they have to secure a co-op term, it is a good feeling working near someone you know especially if they are a role model.”

Though there are many options out there for co-op students, finding a job that both interests you and offers growth opportunities can be the first step for your career! With the summer co-op and internship work terms fast approaching, consider all of your options, including leveraging personal connections for the job search, meeting with your Career and Recruitment Specialist, and, of course, applying early and often to myCareer job postings.

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