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: 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.”

What is a Mid-Term Review?

October 20, 2015 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Taking some time to evaluate and reflect on your experiences while on your first co-op work term is very important to do. It helps you evaluate the skills you are developing, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and can better define your career interests. Understandably, some students may not take the time to properly reflect during the first portion of their first work term and are more focused on performing their best at work or making the best impression they can at their new workplace. Thankfully, your co-op work term includes a mandatory mid-term review session with your Management Career Services Career and Recruitment Specialist. This represents an opportunity to take a step back from your co-op job and really think about how your first work term is helping your career development.

The mid-term review occurs half-way through your first work term and consists of you and a Career and Recruitment Specialist from Management Career Services meeting either in person or on the phone to discuss the following areas of your work experience:

Job expectation versus reality (it terms of job descriptions and tasks/projects)
Favourite and most challenging aspects of your position
Areas of strength and improvement
Discuss new skills and knowledge you’ve obtained
Goals for the remainder of your work term

The mid-term review is an honest and confidential experience that should help you realize your strengths, discuss areas of improvement, and truly evaluate how your first work term experience will help you define your career interests.

In addition to meeting with you, your Career and Recruitment Specialist will also be conducting mid-term review with your employer whose feedback can go a very long way in helping you understand who you are as an employee and a professional in the workplace. Ultimately, the mid-term review is a critical part of any co-op and your career development.

During your mid-term review you will also have the opportunity to show how much you’re enjoying your first co-op by participating in the work term pride campaign that will showcase you as a successful and proud student!

For more information on the mid-term review process and other approaching check points in the Commerce Co-op program, visit the Commerce Orientation Workbook under the Resources section of myCareer.

Student Spotlight: Ivan Slywka

December 9, 2014 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Ivan Slywka graduated from the Bachelor of Management program in April of this year with a major in Public Sector Management. Before he graduated, Ivan completed a twelve-month internship with the Government of Saskatchewan through the Management Internship Program. Ivan explains how his experience working with payroll operations was valuable to his overall career development:

“The internship gave me great experience working in a professional environment and allowed me to explore a job much more in depth than any summer job ever did that was directly related to my major. I was able to work on much larger projects that I was able to see through to the end.”

It would have seemed as though Ivan was destined to achieve a career in the public sector, however, he instead secured a post-grad position with Cargill as an Associate Production Supervisor. Ivan claims that although his position is not within his preferred major, he is still able to apply the valuable skills he developed while on his public sector internship:

“Although my current position is not in the public sector I still draw on things every day that I learned during my internship. This includes time management skills, communicating with both co-workers and customers, and technical skills. I’m not disappointed at all that my current job is not in the public sector because the professional skills I learned while on my internship are only going to advance my career no matter what industry I choose to work in. I find the public sector interesting, but I also enjoy the position I have at Cargill. If I could go back, I do wouldn’t change a thing.

Once you start your internship make sure to take opportunities that are offered and seek out things that will challenge you. The internship is a great experience and you will learn a lot even if you don’t end up in your dream job.”

Visit the Bachelor of Management Internship program website for more information on how you can get involved with the program. The application deadline for the 2015 Internship Program is Thursday, January 29^th!

Looking for career advice? Book an appointment with your Career and Recruitment Specialist through myCareer.

Student Spotlight: Garrett Jung

October 21, 2014 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Meet Garrett Jung, a graduate of the Bachelor of Management Internship program who landed a job after graduation by using the skills and experience that he gained from his internship. Garrett completed his 8-month internship at Alliance World Transport, helping him identify his career path and gaining experience in the field. From this internship, Garrett gained insight on the sales industry helping him focus his grad job search and securing a job. Here’s what Garrett had to say about how his internship experience contributed to his success:

“If you were thinking about doing an internship I would highly recommend it. I learned a lot of professional skills and grew as a person from the experience. The extended time frame allows you to take on larger roles in the company and become more involved in daily operations. During my internship, I learned more than at my past six summer jobs combined. The internship program is a great opportunity that you don’t want to miss.”

“My ideal career is in the sales industry, for recreational products in particular. My internship allowed me to gain an insight on what a role in business-to-business sales entails. This helped me identify a career path before entering the market, and gave me the experience required to secure a position in sales with MSC Industrial Co.”

If you’re a second-year MGMT student and are interested in applying for the internship program, visit the Bachelor of Management Internship Program page of Dalhousie’s website for more information on the program including how to apply.

The Internship Program application period opens in January 2015. The application deadline is set for January 29^th^.Stay tuned for more information!

Tales from the Work Term: How I helped launch a mobile app campaign

December 3, 2013 Andrea McKay Leave a Comment

A third year Commerce student majoring in Marketing Management, Patrick Henderson has spent his 2^nd co-op work term as a Digital Marketing Intern for T4G Limited, an IT consulting firm with offices across Canada. As his work term winds down, Patrick contributed this post to update us on his experience at T4G and the new app project he’s excited to be a part of.

If you’re as indecisive as I am when considering your future career path, taking a moment to consider what you want out of your work term before embarking on your job search can make all the difference in job satisfaction. Is there a specific industry you would like to work in? What weaknesses are you looking to improve on?

Personally, I gravitate toward job descriptions that offer a wide variety of tasks and opportunities to grow in as many different areas of marketing as possible. I have used a combination of MCS workshops – the LinkedIn workshop I found especially useful – and myCareer postings to find my past work terms with great success. Choosing my applications wisely, I have found that I am able to find organizations whose values I identify with, such as my current work term as a Digital Marketing Intern with T4G Limited.

My co-worker and I creating video teasers for the app’s launch

The wide variety of projects I have been a part of on this work term have been paramount in developing a diverse career portfolio. Exposure to different projects has also allowed me to narrow down my career goals through learning which kinds of tasks I enjoy more than others. In particular, being given the opportunity to create and implement the social media strategy for our Apps 4 Halifax submission, Smilie.st, has given me invaluable insight and experience in the digital strategy field.

Developing and implementing the social media strategy for the Smilie.st app meant that I had to work closely with my team and project lead to create an Editorial Calendar. The Editorial Calendar helps to strategically plan which pieces of content will be posted on Social Media and through which channel(s). We have also developed a voice standard through which posts are written to ensure we consistently deliver our messages on-brand. I utilize Facebook Insights data to determine when Smiliest’s fans are online in order to ensure my posts are seen by fans. I make note of important dates, like #GivingTuesday, or events such as the Halifax Parade of Lights, and myself or another team member cover the event live through social media in a “mobile journalism” format that helps generate awareness of and engagement with the brand/app.

How does the app work? We want to celebrate what’s great about where people work, live and play in the Halifax Region. Users can snap a photo of what makes them smile and share it with us on Instagram using #HFXSmiles. These happy pics then land on http://www.smilies.st/ AND sometimes appear in the real world too (so keep your eyes open). You can find us on Twitter and Instagram (@thesmiliest) and Facebook. For each smile shared with us, up to a target of 10,000, T4G is going to donate $0.50 to the IWK Health Centre Foundation. There are so many reasons to smile, why not share yours?

A screen shot of the web app’s homepage

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