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Student Spotlight: Gillian Ward

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Gillian

Gillian Ward is a third-year Bachelor of Management student, majoring in Globalization, with interests in marketing and international business. She attended the Halifax Corporate Tour in 2016, and participated in the marketing stream, visiting Cosette, Emera, Corporate Research Associates, and Affinio.

Offering Marketing, Accounting/Finance, and Career Discovery streams, the Halifax Corporate Tour provides students the opportunity to learn about different industries and companies in the city. In Gillian’s opinion, having the ability to choose the stream that best suits your interests, helps students immerse themselves in a field, or fields, they want to learn more about.

Gillian reflects on the tour as, “an incredible experience that gave me great insight into career exploration and advancement.”

“I was able to make valuable connections with business professionals from various companies during the Corporate Tour. I would recommend this great opportunity to any Commerce or Management student as it can help students network and can help solidify which discipline and career path they wish to pursue.”

When asked how the tour affected her, Gillian stated, “the tour influenced my career path because I had the chance to see positions that I was interested in pursuing.”

Interested in the Halifax Corporate Tour? Attend our information session September 25 at 1:15pm in Room 2068 to learn more about why you should participate in this year’s tour and how to register!

Student Spotlight: Ben Wronski & Magdalena Rudz

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Meet our two Management Career Services Fall students:Ben Wronski E bulliten picture

Ben Wronski is a third year Commerce student from Toronto, Ontario. His previous co-op work experience was at Richardson GMP in Toronto. Ben spent most of his summers working at North Toronto Baseball Camp as a camp counselor. One of the reasons why he wanted to get involved with Management Career Services is because he has always believed in the importance of providing students with insightful information that can help them with their decision-making. Along with joining the Management Career Services team for his fall co-op term, Ben is also taking on the role of MCS representative for the Dalhousie Commerce Society, and is looking forward to enhancing communication and collaboration between the two groups.

 

 

DSC_0107Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Magdalena is a 4th year Management student, currently completing her eight-month internship with Management Career Services! During her time with MCS, Magdalena has been working on social media, marketing, and CRMBA projects. In addition, she is also the MCS rep for the Dalhousie Management Society!

Magdalena is almost finished her management degree, and is planning to pursue the joint JD/MBA program at Dal!

With a personal collection of over 700 books, if Magdalena does not know the answer to your question, she has the means to find it!

Build Your Confidence and Practice the Art of Networking [INFOGRAPHICS]

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Networking can be scary. Approaching strangers, with the hopes they might be able to help you find a job? That can be intimidating! But there are plenty of reasons why you should network:

  • 80% of jobs are unadvertised
  • Employers prefer to hire people they know within their personal and professional networks
  • You can gain first-hand, current information about the world of work to help develop your job-search strategy
  • It’s the chance to connect to experts who have knowledge of industry trends and opportunities in your field
  • And to meet interesting, like-minded people who may end up being your future supervisors or colleagues

Thankfully we’ve developed 3 handy infographics to provide clear tips and advice to help you build your confidence and work up the courage to network like the pros.  Good luck!

The Art of Networking

Dos and Don'tsHow to Read and Work The Room

New Students: Book Your MCS Introductory Appointment Today & Receive 10 FREE Business Cards!

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Are you a new Commerce or Management student? If so, then now is the perfect time to start tapping into our valuable programs, services, and events. The sooner you do, the easier, faster, and less stressful your future job searches will be! So what’s the first step?

Start by booking a 15-minute MCS Introductory appointment. We’ll walk you through the basics: give you an overview of our major events, programs, and services we have to offer, how to access them, and how they can benefit your career and professional development.

To book your appointment, visit the Management Career Services office on the 2nd floor of the Rowe building in Suite 2100. Print off or show us this blog post including the image below to receive 10 free business cards following your appointment!

Intro Appointment Voucher

Are you ready for your winter co-op job search?

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Hey second year Bachelor of Commerce students! Don’t miss out on winter co-op opportunities. Postings go live in early September, so make sure you have access early on. Follow these steps to gain access to myCareer job postings:

Winter Co-op Job Search

Did you answer “yes” to all these questions? Awesome, you can dive into your co-op job search! Want to make a good impression this recruitment season? Check out Get professional: How to impress employers and campus recruiters.

How to leverage your summer work and volunteer experience

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As you start looking for your first co-op, internship, or post-grad job, consider how any of your experiences can strengthen an application and give you a competitive advantage. It’s easy to overlook summer jobs or part-time jobs if they don’t seem directly related to your career goals. You may think, how can flipping a burger, working a cash register, being a nanny, or volunteering at an event help me land a job in a more professional setting? However, in almost any job you have had in the past, you have learned something new, gained experience you can draw on, or worked with people that can help you achieve your future career goals.

Identify transferable skills and accomplishments

Skills that employers are looking for can be developed in a variety of ways. For example, mentoring new servers in a restaurant shows leadership and communication skills; completing landscaping jobs on-time shows time management skills; and working as part of sales team shows collaboration and teamwork. When identifying which skills you have developed, consider which ones were required to complete the tasks and responsibilities of your role. Here’s five ways you can easily leverage it.

Update your resume and LinkedIn account

Once you have identified which transferable skills you have developed, highlight them on your resume with strong profile and action statements. If you need extra help with this, attend the “Improve your Cover Letter and Resume” workshop, watch the e-webinar on writing a winning resume, and/or book a one-on-one appointment with a Career and Recruitment Specialist.

Maintaining a LinkedIn profile is a great tool to show your skills and qualifications to employers – and have recruiters come to you.

  • Looking for help getting started on LinkedIn? Watch the “Your Career Starts Here” and “Top 5 Profile To-Do’s” videos on the LinkedIn for Students Youtube playlist.
  • Already have a profile? Attend the “Leveraging LinkedIn for Job Search Success” workshop that covers how maximize the social media platform.

Think of examples from your work experience that showcase your skills and abilities

Expand and illustrate the skills you highlighted in your resume and cover letter during upcoming interviews. Your cover letter should provide specific examples of key skills the job requires. Additional examples can be provided during the interview. Avoid repeating what is in your cover letter – they have that already; tell them something new.

Interviewers commonly use behavioural interview questions that ask you to draw on previous experiences. For more information on behavioural interviews, watch our e-webinar which covers how to formulate the perfect answer.

Request references and/or LinkedIn endorsements

Show future employers you can walk the walk by proactively putting together a list of references that reinforce your application. An additional option is to ask colleagues and supervisors to endorse your skills on LinkedIn, which can add credibility to a job application, attract recruiters looking for your particular skillset, and increase your profile’s professionalism.

Stay connected with you employer

Whether your summer job or volunteer experience was in an industry you would like to pursue as a career or it was just to help pay for tuition, your former employers can be great resources to you in the future. Building your network with a variety of contacts has the chance to offer some unique opportunities down the road. Be sure to collect business cards, connect on LinkedIn, and thank your employer for the experience during your time with the organization. Keep in touch in case new opportunities with greater career development potential or full-time roles become available. Since your former boss or company is familiar with your capabilities and experience, they may be more likely to consider you over other candidates who they don’t know.

Graduating soon? Rotational and Development Programs might be perfect for you

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If you are graduating this fall 2017 or in spring 2018 and have never heard of rotational or leadership development programs before, read on!  They may be the perfect solution for establishing yourself as a professional while enhancing your exposure to a given company and enhancing your growth potential within it. So what are they exactly?

Rotational programs provide new graduates with the opportunity to explore the various functions of an organization. By the time you have completed the program, you should have a well-rounded understanding of how the organization operates and how different departments interact.

Development programs offer a slightly different experience, but are also a powerful step to launch a career. The programs are designed to accelerate career growth, personal development, and early roles of responsibility.

Here are some examples of employers that offer programs like these:

Labatt

Anheuser-Busch InBev (Labatt Breweries of Canada) offers a variety of graduate programs: Global Management Trainee Program, Logistics Development Program, Brewery Development Program, and Sales Development Program.

The Global Management Trainee Program is a rotational program where new graduates receive intensive instruction – or as they call it, a “deep dive” – into different business functions. Participants travel to different worksites across North America as they progress through the program. Check out the infographic below for an outline of their 10-month schedule:

Labatt Program Timeline

PepsiCo

PepsiCo has regional Leadership Development Programs across Canada in various career areas, such as supply chain, sales, finance, and marketing. No matter which field you pursue, the program aims to foster career growth by building a strong foundation of leadership and technical skills.

RBC

Royal Bank of Canada has seven new-graduate programs over four areas of the organization, including personal & commercial banking, capital markets, global technology and operations, and global functions. Most programs are 12 months and some include mentorship and rotational positions.

Other examples include:

The time to apply is now

Most graduate rotational and leadership development programs conduct their application and hiring process in September, some start even earlier. If you are interested in learning more or want to apply, visit the site links provided above and look for relevant job postings on myCareer under the Career Services section of the site. You may also have the opportunity to connect directly with recruiters for these companies on campus, as some will be hosting information sessions this fall. Check the myCareer event calendar to see the full event list and register to attend.

Does your organization need a solution for a strategic issue?

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Rowe School of Business

Contact: Lucy Hulford (strategy.project@dal.ca)
Professors: Dr. Lorn Sheehan (lorn@dal.ca)

Dr. Ellen T. Crumley (ecrumley@dal.ca) Dr. Bill Foster (bill.foster@dal.ca)

 

The Commerce Student Strategy Project is a capstone exercise for 4th year Bachelor of Commerce students. Teams of 5 students (two teams per organization) apply classroom learning to analyze strategic issues of importance to organizations through eight-month projects from September to April. The organization will receive an interim report in December followed by an implementation plan in April.

Student Team Requirements

  1. Select a Nova Scotia organization with a strategic issue (exceptions may be allowed)
  2. Conduct a strategic analysis of the industry, environment, organization and issue
  3. Make strategic recommendations based on the analysis
  4. Develop a detailed plan for implementing the recommendations

The Organization

  •  In Nova Scotia (exceptions may be allowed)
  • For-profit, not-for-profit, public/government agency, or a new venture
  • Must be complex enough to allow for external, internal, and strategic analysis

Issue Identification

The organizational issue must have significant performance implications that are difficult to reverse after implementation, including:

  •  Addressing a major organizational threat or opportunity
  • Analyzing the industry/environment and changing or re-designing the organization (e.g., restructuring to expand to a new market or provide new products/services)
  • Redesigning organizational rewards, organizational processes or incentive systems
  • Making changes to organizational culture or strategic leadership

Value Proposition to Participating Organizations

Organizational Benefits

  • Evidence-based recommendations via the application of strategic management tools
  • An implementation plan with detailed cost and benefit projections
  • Multi-functional and multi-person perspective
    • Creative and innovative thinking from two 5-person teams
  • Time and effort of 4th year Commerce students
    • Worth 40% of student grade in each of the two strategy courses
  • Two teams’ well-reasoned solutions to the strategic problem
  • Access to new Commerce graduates as potential employees
  • Critical feedback and guidance from strategy professors

Organizational Commitments

  • Timeframe is September – April
  • Identify a strategic problem (or opportunity) that needs to be addressed
  • Access to company information (with a confidentiality agreement) for two teams:
    • Initial meeting of company managers with student teams and TA
    • About 10 hours of time/per semester, including attendance at 2 presentations
    • Vision, mission, and strategic plans
    • Organizational structure and incentive systems
    • Relevant financial information
    • Discussions with key stakeholders (e.g., employees, senior management, )
    • Time as needed with other employees
  • Reimburse costs directly incurred by teams (if applicable)

Value Proposition to Students

Benefits

  • Learn to apply strategic concepts and analytical tools in a live setting
  • Make a difference to a real organization
  • Refine presentation skills

Commitments

  • Regularly meet with organization, its stakeholders, and teaching assistants/professors
  • Gather relevant information inside and outside of the organization
  • Invest time, creativity, and innovative thinking

Project Proposal Submission

To obtain the project proposal form and submit your organizational issue please contact:

Lucy Hulford (strategy.project@dal.ca) Teaching Assistant, Commerce Student Strategy Project

Fresh talent is ready for fall!

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Bachelor of Commerce Co-op

Our business students are eager to help you achieve results.

Visit myCareer now to post your jobs and access our talent

Bachelor of Commerce Co-op

⋅  Accounting

⋅  Finance

⋅  Supply Chain & Logistics Management

⋅  Marketing Management

⋅  Managing People & Organizations

⋅  International Business

⋅  Entrepreneurship

Contact us to access our employer services today

Employer Development Manager
Ayse.Gammon@dal.ca | 902.494.4583

Dalhousie University celebrates excellence in co-operative education

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Top Co-op Awards Legacy Employer

Ernst & Young was recognized as the Legacy Employer of the Year at the Dalhousie Top Co-op Awards

There was one thing in common among the over 140 organizations and their representatives that came together on March 22nd.  They all believed in leveraging the skills and fresh knowledge of Dalhousie co-op students to advance projects, support business growth, and identify talent for future recruitment needs.

Dalhousie University honoured its top co-op employers and students at the inaugural Dalhousie Top Co-op Awards and Appreciation Reception, held during National Co-op Week 2017. Award finalists represented diverse industry sectors and included small-to-medium size enterprises as well as large multinationals, all demonstrating the motivation, enthusiasm and passion it takes to make co-op experiences inspiring ones. The event was a collaboration between Management Career Services, Science, Information Technology and Engineering Co-op Office, and Architecture and Planning Career Services.

“Together with our committed and supportive employer partners, we are able to foster experiential learning, enhance student-employer engagement, and serve the business community on a regional, national and international level,” said Anna Cranston, Director of Dalhousie’s Management Career Services.

“In 2016, over 1960 work terms across five faculties and 26 disciplines were completed by Dalhousie co-op students in Canada and across the globe,” said Doug Gallant, Director of Dalhousie’s Science, Information Technology and Engineering Co-operative Education.

Ray Simpson, Regional Sales Director with PepsiCo Beverages Canada, was among the top three finalists for the Top Co-op Employer Award in the Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods category: “We look at co-op as looking for future leaders for our organization and we’ve been able to leverage their knowledge with the programs and projects we’ve done to help us better our business. I think employers should take hiring co-op students as an opportunity. We have benefitted greatly at PepsiCo by getting feedback from our co-op students and applying that feedback to our projects and programs, and that helps us going forward.”

Public Sector category winner Paul MacNeil, Manager of Industrial Engineering with Canada Post, shares that his organization hires co-op students with the intent to build their recruitment pipeline: “We’ve had great success hiring Dalhousie co-op students at Canada Post. Projects that students have worked on during their work term have been implemented with great results. A key piece we consider when we hire co-op students is future employment. This has worked well for us and we currently have between 10-15 permanent employees that started out with Canada Post as co-op students. They’ve all proven to be excellent additions to the team.”

Top Co-op Employer Award finalists from nine major industry categories were all nominated by Dalhousie co-op students based on the quality of their co-op experience and the supervision they received from their employers.  Nominations for the Emerging and the Legacy Employer categories were made by the staff of co-op offices based on the quality, quantity and diversity of their hiring practices and engagement with Dalhousie’s co-op offices.  The complete list of award winners is shared below.

To learn more about hiring Dalhousie co-op students, please contact our co-op offices:

ayse.gammon@dal.ca

Management Career Services

business related recent grad & co-op recruitment

kyler.crawford@dal.ca

Science, Information Technology and Engineering Co-op

 

joanne.firth@dal.ca

Architecture and Planning Co-op

 

Top Co-op Employers of the Year

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

 

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