Menu

Management Career Services

Launching careers. Delivering top talent.

Category: Commerce coop

Student Spotlight: Carlisle Norwood

Leave a Comment

404103_199881816811069_172739717_n

Freshman Storage & Moving is a student-run, student-focused storage and moving company that provides monthly storage units, summer storage, local moving services and packing supplies. At the helm of the company is Owner and Operator Carlisle Norwood, a commerce student with a major in entrepreneurship who has completed all three of his work terms running his own business.  In the coming years, Carlisle hopes to expand into other industries such as snow removal and property maintenance. Here is Carlisle on the challenges of starting your own business:

“There are different challenges to each day. Some days you feel like you are on top of the world, other days you feel like you can’t make the right decision. The trick is to make sure you make more good decisions than bad, and that you learn from each experience. Above all else, treat your customers, and the people you work with like gold, because without them you wouldn’t have a company.

The best way to move forward with starting a business is to come up with your hypothesis (your business idea) and then go out and ask your potential customers if they would be interested in such a product or service. Don’t invest time and money with an idea you think is great, only to find out later that you were the only one who thought so.

In entrepreneurship, celebrate the commitment you make to your company, not the results you receive because for a lot of startups it takes years for the business to take flight.”

Students interested in doing an Entrepreneurial Work Term for Winter 2014 must submit an expression of interest to Mary Kilfoil at Mary.Kilfoil@dal.ca in the Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship by December 20th. Expression of interest should outline your proposed venture, monthly activities and your proposed goals for the development of entrepreneurial skills.

Dalhousie’s 2012 Co-op Student of the Year Award

2013CoopStudentoftheYear_MelissaMackie

Management Career Services is proud to announce 3rd year Commerce student, Melissa Mackie as the recipient of Dalhousie’s 2012 Co-op Student of the Year Award. Melissa was nominated by her recent supervisor, Leslie Flemming of 2nd Act Innovations in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Flemming confirms, “Melissa is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive students I have ever met. She is amazingly talented, intelligent and motivated young woman who has impressed us with the quality of her work, positive attitude and willingness to accept any challenge presented to her.”

Thus far Melissa has completed two co-op work terms as part of her Dalhousie Bachelor of Commerce degree; firstly as a Human Resources Co-ordinator at LED Roadway Lighting Limited and secondly as a Marketing and Communications Intern at 2nd Act Innovations. Melissa’s extensive volunteer experience with various not-for-profit organizations and student societies has developed her skill set, strengthen her resume and expanded her connections within the Halifax business community.

As recipient of Dalhousie’s Co-op Student of the Year Award, Melissa will move forward to compete on a national-level, in hopes to be named the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) Co-op Student of the Year.

Congratulations Melissa!

Student Spotlight: Patricia Halim

Patricia Halim is a 4th year Bachelor of Commerce student majoring in Marketing. Being a motivated student, Patricia attended several of the Career Success Workshops in order to further her knowledge of the job market and develop her skills for future career development.

 
“These workshops are a great opportunity to learn how to differentiate yourself from your peers and stand out in the eyes of the employers. Whether you are a first year student or in your final year, you are guaranteed to walk away from this workshop feeling more confident about yourself and your job search strategy. These workshops were undoubtedly beneficial and I recommend everyone to take part and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Register for Tap The Talent


On Monday, September 24, 2012, Management Career Services (MCS) welcomes Canada’s top employers to participate in our interactive recruiting event, Tap The Talent. Employers will join us on campus specifically to assess and recruit Dalhousie’s graduating marketing students. This is your opportunity to showcase your skills and experience, make industry connections and potentially land a full-time job!

Your Participation:

Participating students will be showcased as Dalhousie’s top marketing talent available for hire in May, 2013. Students will have their profiles and resumes packaged in an booklet and sent to a number of recruiters in the marketing industry. At the Tap The Talent event, participating students will have the opportunity to make a first impression by networking during a lunch reception and by delivering an ‘elevator pitch’ to employers joining us on campus. Students will be selected for interviews according to their profile, resume and/or personal impression.

Unsure who you want to work for? Employers joining us on campus will also be delivering their own ‘evelavtor pitch’ to you; describing their company and the benefits of working for them.

Job opportunities are not advertised through the Tap The Talent event, however, employers will often extend an opportunity to students they’ve identifyed and wish to hire. For a list of employers participating in Tap The Talent, contact Jonathan.Perry@dal.ca

Who Can Participate?

If you are graduating in May, 2013 from the Commerce, Management or CRMBA program and are looking for full-time career opportunities in the marketing industry, we encourage you to register.

How to Register? 

In order to participate in Tap The Talent, students must submit the following information to mcscoop1@dal.ca by Thursday, August, 23, 2012. Registration forms are also available online.

  1. Your name, program, year of study and your Banner Number.
  2. Arrange for payment of the deposit by credit card or cash (See details below).
  3. Submit your resume and profile in Word format.  Please use the subject line: ‘Tap The Talent Documents’.

Event Deposit

The Tap The Talent event is free of charge, unless you fail to show up. MCS requires all student participants to provide a $100 deposit to confirm your participation. All deposists will be returned to participating students concluding the Tap The Talent event. Because a number of employer parnters are coming on campus specifically to meet you, the deposit will ensure student indeed attend and participate. A $100  deposit is payable by credit card or cash. Please phone 902-494-1515 or visit MCS, (Rowe, 2100) to arrange your payment.

Contact 

For further information, contact Jonathan Perry at jonathan.perry@dal.ca  or call MCS at 902-494-1515.

Workshops In The Eyes Of Our Students (Part 2)

Management Career Services (MCS) conducts an interview with 3rd year Management (and international) student, Hongwei Xie who chats about her experience participating in the MCS Career Success Workshop Series.

How did you learn about the MCS workshop series?
As an international student, I was unsure how to pursue a career in Canada. The advertisements for the MCS Career Success Workshops promised information and advice on how to find a job, how to get connected with professionals, and how to prepare for an interview…. all skills I personally needed to learn and develop. 

What inspired you to attend an MCS workshop?
I admit that I was doubtful in the beginning. I thought the workshops would only be useful for local Canadian students. My doubts disappeared after I attended the first one. Not only did I gain career-related insight, but I also gained confidence and motivation.

Which workshops did you attend?

  • Informational Interviews
  • Interviewing Tips
  • Resumes
  • Cover letters
  • Networking
  • One-day Job Search

What was the most effective/ informative take-away you learned from the MCS workshop?
I found the Informational Interview workshop and the Interviewing workshop particularly helpful. The Informational Interview workshop taught me how to be proactive when connecting with professionals in Canadian organizations. The Interviewing  workshop provided a new perspective towards the interview process. I learned of interviewing that I had never thought about before.

Did you apply any of the tips/ tricks learned throughout your job search and/or on the job?
Yes, there are many things that I’ve started to do differently:

  • I dress and present myself professionally.
  • I now research and prepare good questions to ask before the interview.
  • When answering an interview question, I am sure to reference examples and positive results from previous experiences.

What would you tell your fellow students about MCS workshops?
Like me, you may think the workshops will take too much time. But once you attend one, you will discover that there is a lot of insight, advice and skills can be learned. Even if you believe you are a strong contender who can get a job easily, the MCS Career Success Workshops are still relevant and valuable.

And for international students who are looking to develop employment experience in Canada, the MCS Workshop Series will help you get started.

Good luck with your studies and your career!

Laura Roseveare – United We Stand

Why not think about applying to a not-for-profit organization for your next co-op work term. Laura Roseveare, Commerce alum, successfully completed a work term with United Way, developing many business skills while making a difference in our society.

“United Way is about people helping people and about making our community stronger. Being fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with such a philanthropic organization is a remarkably rewarding experience. Working on United Way’s 2009 campaign helped enlighten me on how social challenges such as poverty, homelessness, family violence and low graduation and literacy rates truly affect us all. Being a part of the campaign is a great way for a student to affect change in their community and to expand their social networking circle. I would highly recommend this position to any Dalhousie Commerce student.”  

If you haven’t already, donate today to help United Way reach its ambitious goal of $200,000 towards helping the people of Halifax and giving back to the community.  For more information about how to donate visit the how to donate page on the Dal website. Support the cause!

Malissa Skara – Networking Doesn’t Have to be Awkward

Leave a Comment

Malissa Skara

Management Career Services often hosts various “Corporate Tours” available to Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Management and Masters of Business Administration students. These tours give students a change to get an inside look at corporations in many industries, network with employees of various levels and get a sense of the corporate culture of the companies they desire to work for.

Students typically develop their networking skills while on the tour, however they are also given a chance to present elevator pitches and participate in mock interviews to develop these skills as well. Tour locations typically include Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Halifax, while the companies visited changes each year. Previous companies that have been visited include P&G, Google, BMO, Pepsico, Apple, RBC Financial, and AON among many more. Third year Commerce student Malissa Skara has participated in two corporate tours in Toronto and has this to say:

“I decided to attend the corporate tour because I thought it was a great opportunity for me to experience different companies’ corporate cultures and to learn more about what types of jobs exist. I also wanted to expand my network in hopes of attaining a co-op placement geared more towards my interests. A highlight of the experience was truly expanding my network. I thought a naive student like me was never going to be remembered by high powered executives, but I was! I met with several people after the tour and spoke with others over the phone. Today, I still remain in touch with some of the people I met during my first and second time participating in the corporate tour and I hope to continue to develop these relationships. I conquered my fear of approaching people, in what I thought was an awkward situation, by participating in the tour. It’s so important that you prepare your own questions. MCS provides some material, but to stand out you need to take that material and make it your own. Be unique and people will remember you.”

The Ottawa Corporate Tour is accepting applications, so if you are interested visit www.mcs.management.dal.ca/Ottawa_Tour or sign up in our office today!

Kate Parker – Far Far From Home

1 Comment

Kate Parker

Many Commerce students experience the benefits of completing a work term placement abroad, whether is it paid or volunteer, while many never get to experience those opportunities. There are many up-sides to completing a co-op placement in another province and/or country, such as experiencing different cultures and environments as well as gaining more independence. Kate Parker, along with her Career and Recruitment Specialist, dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort to make this experience a reality and she fully believes it is worth every minute of it. Read on to hear more about Kate’s experience.

Kate Parker, a 4th year Bachelor of Commerce student, was able to experience a work term as a volunteer in Tanzania. “I have always wanted to do an internship placement abroad in Tanzania.”

While there, Kate worked at the Center for Street Children where she helped to create initiatives and small businesses which brought income to the children. “As a result of this internship, I gained huge insight into what it takes to run Non-Government Organization’s in Tanzania, I exercised my business skills and last but equally as important, I developed an understanding of the environment and way of life in Tanzania. Any student hoping to gain a similar experience should remember that it takes a lot of initial work to set up the internship, but it is well worth the effort and time.”

If you have an interest in completing a co-op work term abroad, feel free to book an appointment with your Career and Recruitment Specialist via myCareer and they will help you. Don’t forget that the process can take quite a bit of time so book your appointment today to get started!

Daniel Bartek – Management Career Services Workshops: Don’t Miss Out

Leave a Comment

Management Career Services hosts various workshops focused on helping students prepare for their careers. With workshops like Networking 101 and Cover Letter Success, students should be ahead of the game when it comes to their job search strategies. Daniel Bartek, a third-year Commerce student, realizes how important and useful these workshops are.

“The workshops gave me a chance to expand my knowledge beyond what I have learned in the classroom and the Career and Recruitment Specialists answered questions I had related to my career needs. I would definitely recommend these workshops to all students and I strongly advise them to sign up and take advantage of these great opportunities.”

To find out about upcoming workshops, and RSVP, visit myCareer

John Gagnier – Information Sessions: Opportunity Meets Reward

Leave a Comment

Information Sessions are a great way to learn about various business’ and the opportunities they have available to students.  Additionally, it’s a great way to meet and network with real people who work at those various organizations.

John Gagnier, a 2nd year Commerce student, took advantage of the information sessions offered through Management Career Services and landed a co-op placement with KPMG.  John had this to say about his experience.

“Attending information sessions allowed me to speak with employees about their firm, ask questions and receive tips on what KPMG looks for in a student. Networking with KPMG employees was a key factor in securing my position. If you are able to meet employees from a company you’re interested in, I highly recommend it. It will go a long way in helping to secure a co-op or full time position. Get yourself out there, sell yourself, work hard and use MCS to your advantage. The hard work will pay off!“

To see upcoming information sessions and to RSVP, visit your myCareer events calendar today.

TOP