Student Spotlight: Clare Kilgour

June 11, 2021 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Clare Kilgour is third year Bachelor of Commerce student, majoring in accounting, and Co-President of the Dalhousie Accounting Society. She chose Dalhousie because she adored the idea of moving somewhere new. “I loved the idea of living on the east coast. The co-op program also caught my eye because it would allow me to have three real world work experiences.”

Through her conversations with upper-year Commerce students, Clare decided to take the initiative in beginning her job search early. “I learned the importance of networking and getting involved to build my resume,” says Clare. She utilized the resources available at Management Career Services, saying, “What MCS did to help me was provide small networking events where I could practice in order to be better prepared to talk to recruiters in second year. This really helped me with my confidence.”

Clare has since secured three consecutive co-op positions with Deloitte. She currently works from home, and although she has gotten used to the change, she hopes that she can go into the office when it’s safe. Her daily tasks include performing audit testing procedures on various accounts that she sees on the financial statements. “For example, this week I am testing the Property, Plant, and Equipment balance,” says Clare. “Testing means that I use various pieces of documentation from the client, like an invoice for a purchase of equipment, to recalculate and verify the PPE balance that will show up on their year-end financial statements when released to shareholders/the public.”

When asked what her proudest accomplishment has been this term, Clare reflects back on all three of her co-ops with Deloitte and says that she is proud of the independence that she’s earned. “I am able to understand procedures more, ask less questions, and have more autonomy over the work I am doing,” she says. “This is part of why I enjoy working at Deloitte in audit in addition to the team and learning environment.”

Clare’s advice for you? Keep practicing and furthering your networking and communication skills, because it does get easier, and attend the company information sessions.

If you are interested in accounting, feel free to reach out to Clare to chat, and check out the Accounting Society!

Pronouns: She/Her

Student Spotlight – Jessica Quinn

August 14, 2020 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Born and raised in Toronto, Jessica Quinn is going into her third year of the Dalhousie Commerce program. She was keen on this program because of the co-op opportunities. Jessica wanted to be able to try different areas of commerce to determine what she enjoyed and to gain real-life experience.

For the first work term, Jessica worked with Prime Quadrant, an investment boutique, as a Rotational Student role. This allowed her to work with the Investment team, Client service, Office Administration, Operations, and Compliance. She said she gained great exposure to finance by having the opportunity to work in these different areas. Jessica recently spoke to Management Career Services about how she secured her next work term.

“My next co-op work term is as an Ultra High Net Worth Associate in the Enterprise Strategic Client Group at RBC. This role was secured through my own networking. I started to network with people at large banks at the end of my time at Prime Quadrant.” Jessica said.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 prevented her from networking face-to-face but that did not stop her from speaking with people. “I was connected to someone at RBC who very kindly met with me on a video call. She introduced me to one of her team members who kindly provided me with an information interview. During these videos and calls, I asked questions about their particular industry and the roles they had held. I also took the opportunity to discuss the ideas I had for my next co-op. My third call with RBC was yet another introduction and that led to an interview for a role. I then had a video interview two days later and received a job offer later that week!” She added.

The entire experience showed Jessica the importance of networking; speaking with people, asking questions, and being introduced to their network. She mentioned the other thing she learned is the importance of following up. She said that if someone offers to speak with you, follow up with an email asking them when they are available and then follow up with a thank-you email.

As for her job search process, Jessica credits MCS coaching services “I met with both Shelley and Robert from the MCS office and they were both extremely helpful,” said Jessica. “They provided me with ideas on how to go about securing a co-op. Shelley actually pushed me to get involved in extracurricular activities which led me to join DALIS (Dalhousie Investment Society) so I could learn more about finance and network with other students. MCS has been an incredibly helpful resource for me during both of my co-op searches.”

Jessica’s short-term goals are to further develop her analytical skills, gain experience in the banking industry, and develop her leadership skills through extra-curricular activities. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be a part of RBC Wealth Management Team, I will look to strengthen my Excel and data organization skills while aiming to provide value within my role.” She added. For her current long-term goals, Jessica consists of completing her CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) upon graduating from Dalhousie University and land a position that will lead to leadership opportunities.

To learn more about Jessica’s story, follow her on Instagram @jessicakquinn

Tips of the week from Jessica on effective networking:

“Follow Up. The follow up is the most important part of networking. It keeps communication/conversation going.”
“Thank You. Make sure you are appreciative of the time people offer you. Most people are incredibly busy and have taken time out of their day to speak with you.”
“Be informed and be ready. Make sure you are informed about the role/company/industry of the person you are speaking with. Have your questions ready! This is your conversation to lead. Also, it is important you are fully prepared. You want to leave a good impression!”
“Have an open mind. Having an open mind when you are networking/job searching is important. When you start networking, people will want to introduce you to someone they know who they think may be helpful. It is important that you take them up on their offer as you never know where these conversations will lead you.”

Student Spotlight: Joseph Habchi

December 3, 2019 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Joseph Habchi is a fourth-year Management student here at Dalhousie University. A Halifax local, Joseph decided Dalhousie University’s Management program was the choice for him because of the breadth of business streams he could learn rather than focus on only one subject. Currently, Joseph is in the last two weeks of his eight-month internship with Management Career Services.

Having worked in sales for a couple of years, Joseph decided to complete an internship to diversify his workplace experience and put what he learned in class into action. With the length of the internship being eight months, he went in knowing it was a perfect amount of time to make an impact in the organization as well as make meaningful connections. Having been hired as the Events & Programming Assistant with Management Career Services (MCS) Joseph has had the ability to plan the logistics and execution of various events for the Faculty of Management students. Events he has worked on include the Halifax Corporate tour, CRMBA Interview week, and Rowe Networking Night. Joseph says a highlight of his position is how no two day are the same, each day he is confronted with a new task or challenge making every day an adventure.

Over the last eight months, Joseph has leaned a variety of skills from everyday applicable ones such as advanced expertise in the Microsoft Office programs and time management to networking and how to properly conduct an informational interview. With this, he highly recommends the internship program for Management students, saying “the internship provides you with the necessary training and professional development needed to secure potential job opportunities, not just for your internship but for after you graduate”. A tip Joseph gave for students pursuing an internship was to reach out for informational interviews. He stresses how these interviews both get you better informed on the industry as well a the business and how it shows initiative to the organization. Knowing how scary this could sound to some, Joseph said this “Daunting as it may be, employers, value young professionals reaching out to learn more about their industry or role”.

After his time with Management Career Services Joseph has a final semester of classes before graduation. In the short term, Joseph plans to pursue a CPA designation and eventually become a consultant to help clients and customers. To follow Joseph’s journey follow him on Instagram @jhabchi or connect with him on LinkedIn.

To learn more about the Management Internship Program click here!

Student Spotlight: Jared Hudson

November 19, 2019 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Jared Hudson is a fourth-year accounting major who was born in Halifax. His father’s work took him and his family around the world to nations such as Switzerland and Turkey. When deciding on universities, Dalhousie’s Commerce Program stood out due to the compulsory co-op for commerce students. Not so long ago, Jared started his company myPAQ, which is a sustainable home delivery service for personal care products. Recently, Jared participated in the Halifax Corporate Tour. This involves taking students to three companies, related to their major, around Halifax to network and further learn about the industry and working in it.

At this year’s Halifax Corporate Tour Jared visited VERB Interactive, Dash Hudson, and VOLTA Labs. He reflects on this tour saying “The tour provided me with valuable connections and increased my knowledge about the type of career and office environment I want to have”. Jared found VOLTA Labs, a local innovation hub for startup businesses, as particularly interesting showing him more of the local entrepreneurial environment, and giving him the opportunity to ask fellow startups invaluable advice. On top of allowing him an opportunity to learn how to better his business ventures, Jared believes this tour gave him an edge when applying for future positions having met and networked with many employees at each organization.

Jared would recommend the Corporate Tour to any students who are job hunting, or trying to learn more about an industry. The insight into the organizations would be helpful for someone trying to determine organizations and industries they would like to explore, or work with. To make the most of this opportunity the ability to network will help you secure a vantage as Jared has. To help with this he recommends to be yourself and be interested. Asking many questions and showing genuine interest will help you build a rapport with the person, as well as build your knowledge. This allows for a natural conversation flow ranging from hobbies to career goals, and in turn promoting yourself.

Moving forward Jared hopes to capitalize and sell his sustainable and industry-disrupting service myPAQ, and continue in the start-up scene. A future in the startup scene may not be his only goal as he explores the opportunity to continue to be an entrepreneur or move into the venture capitalist space. To follow Jared and his business’s adventure follow him on Instagram @jaredhudsonn as well as @mypaqcanada. To find out more about Corporate Tours check them out on the MCS website and watch your myCareer Calendar for information sessions.

Student Spotlight: Kevin Vigneau

November 5, 2019 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Kevin Vigneau is a fourth-year student from Bradford Ontario. Originally planning to go to university for kinesiology, Kevin found a passion for finance and decided to come to Dalhousie. Here he had the opportunity to explore Nova Scotia from its trails to beaches, as well as the mandatory co-op portion of the Commerce Program.

Two of Kevin’s three co-ops have been with large real estate investment and development firms. Working with the Toronto market, the growth and demand in the industry was eye opening with an added twist of being able to see what you were investing in rather than seeing it as a general financial asset. Over the past summer, Kevin secured his position with CacheFlow through Venture for Canada, a government funded program to connect students with small start-ups for mutual growth. CacheFlow is an organization focusing on creating a smart budgeting tool for organizations that helps match and predict spending patterns as well as understand spending behaviour. Watching the entrepreneurial process and being able to work directly on projects affecting the direction of the firm was a amazing learning opportunity. Kevin recommends this exposure in entrepreneurial realm to any student, especially if you are driven by the fast-paced problem solving. Venture for Canada also has workshops available during your time with them. They offer training that is applicable in the business world as well as networking with businesses across Nova Scotia.

In his final year at Dalhousie Kevin is balancing his school and graduate job hunt as well as being the Commerce Society President. This is a challenge that he recommends to any student, as it provides the ability to work on leadership skills and make a positive impact for fellow students. The balancing of commitments is difficult, but the society works as a team with delegation and team work required to succeed. Through this and an organized schedule, Kevin has been able to successfully balance his obligations while still being able to enjoy his final year.

In this spare time Kevin has been participating in case competitions and summits. In October he participated in the Rumble in the Rowe Case Competition with his team of 4th year Commerce students coming out on top against MBA students and his peers. Kevin got into case competitions as a recommendation from a friends and has continued to pursue them. Kevin says they can get stressful taking on a challenge in such a short amount of time but the skills you develop and experience is worth a little stress. He also displays these competitions prominently on his resume saying they really help show your aptitude to handle high stress situations and problem solving.

After graduation Kevin is looking to explore career options, possibly going back to his co-op roots in real estate investment and development. To follow Kevin’s success’ check out his LinkedIn page here.

To find out more about Venture for Canada click here for their website.

To find out how you can get involved in case competition watch out on the MyCareer calendar as well as the Management Career Services and Commerce Societies news feeds.

Student Spotlight: Sasha Paikin & Keshav Paliwal

August 30, 2018 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Sasha Paikin and Keshav Paliwal are two second-year Bachelor of Commerce students who made the most of their first year in anticipation for their first co-op job hunt this fall! We asked them a few questions to find out how they did it, how it helped them, and wether they have any advice for students entering their first year:

Sasha Paikin is from Burlington, Ontario and is thinking of majoring in accounting. In her first year, she attended 15 MCS events, including numerous Info Sessions, and the Toronto Corporate Tour. During her summer off, she worked for Durward Jones Barkwell as an accounting intern.
Keshav Paliwal is from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and is thinking of majoring in accounting or finance. In his first year, he attended 12 MCS events including many Power Hours Workshops and the Toronto Corporate Tour. During his summer off, he worked in commercial banking with Scotiabank.

Here are a few of the questions we asked them:

How did you find the time to attend so many events between classes and homework?
It honestly wasn’t difficult; most events were either in between my classes or afterward so I never had to miss any class to go to an event I was interested in. – Sasha

If you plan ahead and stay on top of your work it’s not a problem to find some time to attend an event. –Keshav

Which event was your favourite?
The Halifax Corporate Tour was my favourite event because of the opportunities to network in small groups with so many interesting organizations. – Sasha

I don’t have a particular favourite event, though any event in which recruiters from an organization came to the school was a really valuable experience, as you get to learn about opportunities and expand your network. – Keshav

What was your impression of the Toronto Corporate tour?
The Toronto Corporate Tour was a great experience and I would recommend it to everyone. The networking events were a great opportunity to make connections and the corporate tour visits allowed me to see the positions I would like to apply to this fall first-hand. – Keshav

How do you feel going into your first co-op job hunt this fall?
Attending these events has definitely made me feel more prepared. I now feel more comfortable making meaningful connections and selling myself in interviews. – Sasha

I feel really well prepared to go into my first job hunt thanks to the MCS events which helped me develop my interview, resume and cover letter skills. I’ve also found that it really helps to get advice from upper-year students who have a few co-ops under their belt. – Keshav

What advice do you have for a first-year student coming to Dal?
I recommend learning as much as you can in your first-year about the co-op process through MCS events so that you don’t feel stressed in the fall of second-year. I would also 100% recommend going on a corporate tour, even if you aren’t interested in working in Toronto or Halifax. They are a great opportunity to make connections that could help you secure a position in the future. – Sasha

I recommend taking full advantage of all the DCS [Dalhousie Commerce Society] and MCS events, particularly, the case competitions. They offer a great opportunity to build analytical and presentation skills. Definitely apply for the Toronto and Halifax Corporate Tours, they expand your network and learn what job opportunities may interest you. – Keshav

To learn more about the events we offer and what MCS can do for you, check out our website and the Events Calendar on myCareer!

Student Spotlight: Kristin Clarke

April 10, 2018 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Kristin Clarke is a second year Bachelor of Commerce student who won a gold medal at the 2018 World Junior Curling Championships this March. Kristin chose the Dalhousie Commerce program because of the valuable experience that the co-op work terms provide. She has been incredibly successful in finding a balance between her studies and her athletics.

When asked about how she manages to balance her courses and curling Kristin said, “The main thing is to make sure I plan out when I am going to complete assignments prior to competitions and communicate any potential conflicts with my professors as soon as I’m aware of them.”

Kristin is currently undergoing the challenge of balancing her first work term at Collins Barrow with her curling. Kristin describes Collins Barrow as being. “phenomenal in accommodating my schedule. They recognized what a big opportunity it was for me to compete on the national and world stage this year, and have been extremely supportive of me, even during their busy season. I even came back home from the World Championship to an amazing homemade cake! I genuinely can’t thank the team at CB enough for their support.”

Kristin believes that curling will help her along her career path. A gold medal at the 2018 World Junior Curling Championships is an obvious resume booster however, Kristin also mentions the connections she has made through curling. “It continues to surprise me how many people I meet in the business world that have some form of connection to curling, so I am hopeful that one day these valuable connections will steer me towards a rewarding career.”

In the future Kristin will continue to balance her curling and studies mentioning that her career goals include pursuing graduate work in public administration and working with public policy and performance audits. In terms of her future in curling, Kristin has her sights set on someday representing Canada at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts where the top women’s curlers in the world represent their countries and compete annually.

Student Spotlight: Sam Dyson and Michele Megannety

April 3, 2018 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Sam Dyson is a second year CRMBA student who took the initiative to plan a networking trip for himself to Toronto. He was able to organize meetings to reconnect with colleagues from his past and discuss future career opportunities for himself.

Sam was fortunate enough to arrange a meeting with the Member of Parliament for his home riding, Julie Dabrusin. He served as a candidate’s aide for her during the 2015 Canadian Federal Election and was able to discuss with her his short-term future. As a result of their meeting, Sam and Ms. Dabrusin have planned to connect while she attends a convention in Halifax this month.

Sam also arranged a meeting and tour with Borealis Wind, a start-up company in the renewable energy sector. Sam has an interest in renewable energy sector careers and was able to make a strong connection stating, “After the tour, I spent about an hour and a half with Daniela Roeper, CEO, and Kyle Pearson, Business Strategist.”

Sam’s initiative paid off, as he described his interactions with Borealis Wind by saying, “I feel that we were able to develop a rapport and social connection based on our meeting, and it is my hope that as the company grows I may be able to support and/or join them in the long-term.”

Sam also connected with his former supervisor John Allen from Global Public Affairs who, “also holds an MBA and provided some very helpful wisdom and advice on career planning.”

After their meeting John Allen connected Sam with Michael MacTaggart, who is also Sam’s former supervisor. Michael MacTaggart mentioned to Sam that he was looking to fill a position with Global Public Affairs in Ottawa and encouraged Sam to apply.

Sam’s final meeting was with an associate from Sustainalytics. Sam was excited by this visit as he refers to this company as, “an ideal destination given its status as the top pure-play sustainability research firm worldwide.”

The initiative Sam took in organizing his own networking trip allowed him to tailor his networking experience. This meant that Sam was able to connect with colleagues and employers he was truly interested in and help to build a network that will help him along his career path.

Michele Megannety is a second year CRMBA student who used the recent Toronto Connects Tour to explore her interest in third party logistics and freight forwarding. Michele was able to connect with several companies which allowed her to grow her network within her field of interest.

Michele first met with Panalpina World Transport. From this meeting she gained contacts with Damco and Kuehne + Nagel that are willing to connect with her in the future. This meeting also provided Michele with a better understanding of how the supply chain industry operates in Canada.

During her meeting with Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, Michele met with Dalhousie CRMBA alumni Sean Butler who encouraged Michele to apply for an Approvals Manager position which allowed her to interview with their VP and Director of Sustainable Development.

Michele completed her Corporate Residency with Aon and viewed her meeting with them during the tour as a chance to reconnect noting, “I met with one of the Marine Brokers in the Toronto office and was able to learn more about the companies they are doing business with and the operations of that office.”

After the Toronto Connects Tour, Michele was considering taking a position with Aon in Halifax and described her tour experience as helpful. “If I take a position in Halifax, I will be working with this group from time to time and therefore this was a great opportunity to put faces to names and build my internal network.”

In the end Michele accepted her job offer and starts working with Aon in June.

Sam and Michele both used their networking experiences in Toronto to learn more about potential careers, gather industry and company intelligence, and make connections while doing so. To learn more about the Toronto Connects Tour visit our website.

Student Spotlight: Brooks Capewell

March 27, 2018 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Brooks came to Dalhousie as a transfer student in his second year and is now a 4th-year Finance major in the Bachelor of Commerce program. Brooks has shown initiative in his networking and this has led to numerous career opportunities for him.

Active networking has helped Brooks with more than just creating job opportunities. It has helped him form relationships with individuals who act as mentors and motivate him to succeed. With the motivation from his mentors, Brooks has founded his own start-up company, FunKey Token Inc., while continuing to study as a full-time student.

When asked about the advantages of actively networking, Brooks talked about the endless benefits that come with a strong network. He mentioned that a strong network can have a variety of benefits but said, “For me, the most substantial benefit is finding connections who push me forward and always challenge me to think bigger.”

Brooks feels that his network will be useful in the future and that he has already been offered endless opportunities from it. Brooks says, “I have been obtaining endless help from my network as far as knowledge, information, motivation, job offers, and resources for my company are concerned. In the long term, it is vital to stay in contact; networking is not a once and done effort. Looking into the future, I will continue to leverage my network for many of the same reasons, although the scope will change slightly.”

“Networking opens endless doors and it is surprising what people are willing to helping you with”, Brooks added.

For more information on networking, book an appointment with your Career Recruitment Specialist at Management Career Services or check out our networking online infographics.

Student Spotlight: Christian Thomas

March 20, 2018 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Christian Thomas has spent his last two co-op work terms at TD Securities on Bay Street, in Toronto. He is a third-year Finance major originally from Ottawa and has been selected as this year’s Top Co-op Student of the Year based on his strong work ethic, impressive quality of work, and his passion for his co-op job and industry.

Christian’s interest in capital markets developed during his first year at Dalhousie when he joined the Dalhousie Investment Society, however it began when his grandfather gave him money for his 16^th birthday and told him to invest it. Christian’s passion for capital markets grew from there and he now has secured his third consecutive work term at the money market desk on the trading floor at TD Securities.

Working in this environment takes a high level of focus and commitment to perform as well as Christian has over the past two work terms. Christian describes himself as a “naturally ambitious person who is always looking for opportunities to push my personal and professional boundaries. This ambition fuels my desire to not only achieve specified goals, but to exceed them.”

It is this ambition that allowed Christian to achieve such a high level of success at TD Securities. His supervisor describes Christian as, “not just a co-op student but someone who I would consider an integral member of the team and if given the chance I would 100% hire him full-time.”

Christian’s hard work led to him quickly earning the trust of his colleagues and a unique goal helped Christian make many additional connections at TD Securities. After his first work term, Christian realized he would have to reach out to colleagues to make his second work term even more successful. “Right out of the gate, I established a goal to meet at least one person a week, with the goal of learning about their group, their career path and sources of success.”

By connecting with colleagues, Christian grew his personal brand within TD Securities which helped him thrive in the culture of TD Securities, which Christian describes as, “very collaborative and focused on developing the next generation”.

Through his hard work and by connecting with his colleagues Christian has been able to complete each of his work terms with TD Securities and prepare himself for a bright future in capital markets. Christian’s supervisor describes Christian as having “a very genuine quality where he makes everyone around him better, which in turn naturally makes his colleagues support and root for him. I have no doubt Christian will be an outstanding future leader in this industry.”

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