Career Exploration Workshops |
Graduate & Professional School
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Job Search Workshops |
Online Workshops |
Getting Started on a Personal Statement |
What you will gain
- Awareness of how your strengths, skills and interests relate to the world of work
- Clear understanding of professional and graduate school options and application process
- Generate possible career options
- Build your job search skills (resume & cover letter writing, networking & interview techniques)
- Connect with working professionals
Online Workshops
Jobs for Grads Orientation
Complete this job search "crash course" to ensure you have complete access to the Off-Campus Jobs board in CLNx! Open to all students with 14+ credits.
Interview Ready
https://utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/interview-ready
Got an interview coming? You can prepare for the most commonly asked questions!
Getting Started on a Personal Statement
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnVAQudErJ12UTFDkbO3yr7-V2dK1RQmu
Not sure what to write in your professional/graduate school application? These two exercises will help you to get un-stuck.
Resume Writing
https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/resume-building-tool
Upgrade your resume from "Grade 10" to "GREAT" with our 45-minute e-learning module, or improve a solid resume with Accomplishment Statements (use the Menu to jump ahead).
Cover Letters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TystfsM2kFA
Many employers still expect a cover letter as part of your application. They will use it to assess your suitability for the role, and as a sample of your communication skill, so it matters! The Cover Letters Guide goes with the video.
Part 1: Why LinkedIn and Profile Basics
Part 2: LinkedIn Tools for Career Research
In this LinkedIn crash course, learn:
- What LinkedIn is, and what it is not
- What can LinkedIn do for you - especially career research
- How to maximize your LinkedIn profile
The LinkedIn for All Guide will provide you with some material to work with to get you started.
Branding and Social Media: Your Job Search Advantage
What do recruiters and hiring managers see when they look for you online? An estimated 90% of hiring decision-makers will Google you and search for you on social media platforms like LinkedIn. Your Facebook profile and cover photos are always public, no matter your security settings. You may have created a LinkedIn account, but you have not populated it yet. You tweet. You pin.
Being strategically visible on social media (i.e. actively managing your professional social media presence) has more pros than cons, especially if you are job searching. Hiring managers and recruiters expect to find you on LinkedIn. Providing a professional-looking social media presence is a great opportunity to reveal a little more about your skills and abilities than a resume does, and you can reinforce your sincere interest in your future field of work by maintaining a thoughtful and non-personal Twitter or Instagram feed. They’re searching for you anyway, so why not make a great impression!?
Spend one hour with a staff member and other interested students to do some hands-on work on one or two of your social media outlets to make them more interesting to potential employers.
- Branding and Social Media: Personal Branding Strategy, by UTSC’s AA&CC (video – 4 minutes)
- Branding and Social Media: LinkedIn, by UTSC’s AA&CC (video – 5 minutes)
- Branding and Social Media: Twitter, by UTSC’s AA&CC (video – 3 minutes)
- Branding and Social Media: Blog, by UTSC’s AA&CC (video – 3 minutes)
- Managing Your Online Presence, by UTSC’s AA&CC
- Branding Yourself Online, by UTSC’s AA&CC
You can read other useful guides on our tip sheets page!
Sign up for this hands-on session on CLNx, under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. An AA&CC staff member will be there to provide insight and answer questions as you create (or strengthen) your social media presence. Bring your laptop or smartphone!
Networking: Working the Room
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwwMTrRtgzA
This workshop explores networking, what it is, why you need to build a network, how to start, where to network and what to say and do when you are networking. When you are done, you will not only survive your next networking event, you will thrive, so much so that you will want to do it again! The Networking Guide will provide you with some material to work with to get you started.
Finding Jobs in Research
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uD7fvkzczw
Join us for an overview of places to look for research opportunities, as well as strategy for "landing the job"!. We created a collection of Institutional Profiles to get you started on finding undergraduate research opportunities.
The guide will provide you with some material to work with to get you started.
Managing your Career: Strategies for Students with Disabilities
https://utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/students-disabilities
Disability, accommodation and disclosure - oh my! It feels like it might be complicated. Learn about your rights and responsibilities as a person with a disability entering the workforce.
Career Exploration Workshops
Discover Your Career Options
Wondering what you can do with your degree? Interested in defining your personal brand? Discovering your career options begins with learning about yourself. Similarly, creating a personal brand involves figuring out who you really are. Generate realistic career options and identify characteristics of your personal brand by assessing your skills, interests, personality and values.
Watch the following prior to the workshop:
- How to Find & Do Work You Love (video – 18 minutes)
Read the following prior to the workshop (approximately 10 minutes):
- To Find Your Passion Give Yourself A Personal “Time Out”
- How Your Personality Could Help You Find a Job
- 10 Crucial Questions for Defining Your Personal Brand
- 10 Ways to Find Your Career Path
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
MBTI & Career Development
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on the theory of psychological type developed by Carl Jung. The MBTI can assist you in understanding your communication style, preferred work tasks and work environments. The MBTI Career Report can help you to understand how your personality type impacts career exploration. In addition, it can help you to identify occupations that are well suited for your reported type.
Currently offered individually, not in Workshop format. Please call or come to AC213 to speak with a career counsellor about this assessment.
Please note: there are two parts to this workshop and you must attend both. There is also a $25.00 fee to cover the cost of the MBTI Career Report you will receive.Bac
Strong Interest Inventory & Career Development
The Strong Interest Inventory is used to help people match their interests with the occupational, educational and leisure activities that are the most compatible for them. The Strong can help you identify career options and educational programs relevant to your interests. It also highlights information about your preferences for leadership, risk-taking and teamwork.
Currently offered individually, not in Workshop format. Please call or come to AC213 to speak with a career counsellor about this assessment.
Please note: you must schedule a 1-hour follow-up appointment with a Career Counsellor to discuss your results after attending the initial workshop. There is also a $15.00 fee to cover the cost of the Strong Interest Inventory report you will receive.
Professional Ethics Matter
Explore the topic of professional ethics in the workplace. Integrity practices in academic environments translate into professional and ethical behavior in the workplace. We will discuss some core values and how they influence the decisions we make in the workplace. Building awareness of ethical issues through discussion and discipline-specific case studies makes this workshop a stimulating and interactive learning experience.
Faculty may request this workshop (by contacting us or using our request form) for upper year courses and cases will be tailored to specific disciplines.
Graduate and Professional School Workshops
Applying to Graduate and Professional School
Are you thinking about applying to graduate school? Do you have questions about application procedures, awards or scholarships? If so, please attend this session.
Note: Sign-up begins 2 weeks before the event!
Getting Started on the Personal Statement (AA&CC and The Writing Centre)
The personal statement is a key element of your applications for graduate or professional school, scholarships and study abroad programs. This workshop is designed to get you off to an informed start. The online preparation will provide important background, introducing you to exactly what a personal statement is, how to think about your audience, and what your goals might be. In the hands-on workshop we will introduce some of the key writing techniques for effective statements, and look at some examples to illustrate these. We will also cover editing techniques which you will have an opportunity to practice.
Please watch the following videos and download the resources prior to attending the workshop.
Estimated preparation time: 30 minutes.
- Getting Started on the Personal Statement: Identifying Your Fit, by UTSC’s AA&CC and the Writing Centre (Video - 5 minutes)
- Reflection and Writing Exercise for the Personal Essay, by UTSC’s AA&CC and the Writing Centre (PDF - 5 to 10 minutes)
- Getting Started on the Personal Statement: Writing Goals and Content Considerations, by UTSC’s AA&CC and the Writing Centre (Video - 5 minutes)
- Personal Statement Checklist, by UTSC’s AA&CC and the Writing Centre for reviewing your draft once you have started writing (PDF - 5 minutes)
- The Assignment Calculator by UTSC's Centre for Teaching and Learning. Use this tool to break your writing into small steps and keep on track to meet your deadline for the personal essay. Helpful resources are included in each step.
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
Job Search Workshops
Work Search Strategies
Did you know that a large % of jobs never get advertised broadly, possibly 60-80% of them? Come to this workshop and learn about the hidden job market as well as not-hidden job posting websites. Discover alternative job search strategies and resources that can help you generate and follow-up on leads for jobs you really want.
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
Interview Ready
Learn and practice successful interview techniques, including effective preparation, handling difficult questions, and marketing your skills and experience.
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
We have extensive online preparation resources available here: http://utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/interview-ready
Networking: Working the Room
Connecting with people and cultivating professional relationships is one of the most important career development activities you can engage in. Your network helps you to understand the field of work you want to enter, and share the many unadvertised job opportunities ‘out there’ that get filled every day by word-of-mouth. Roughly 60% of jobs are not advertised, and get filled through networking! In just one hour, we will practice real networking, and analyze how it went to help you improve your networking skills!
Please watch/read the resources below to prepare for the workshop – and to prepare for real networking!
-
The Many Reasons to Network, by UTSC’s AA&CC (video – 10 minutes)
- Information Interviews, by UTSC’s AA&CC (PDF – 10 minutes)You can read other useful guides on this page: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/tip-sheets
- How to Hack a Networking Event, by Vanessa van Edwards (video – 2 minutes) (Note: There is a helpful weblink at the end of the video to small-talk and ice-breaking conversation.)
- How to Talk to People without Being Awkward, by PeakYourMind (video – 4 minutes)
- Body Language and Vocal Power, by Kathy McAfee (video – 8 minutes)(Note: We are sharing a watch list by Mariana Alexandrovich, with many videos that you may find helpful. Kathy’s video is the first one.)
Also see our resource on Networking for Quiet Types!
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
Resume Writing
Your resume and cover letter are often your first introduction to an employer. Learn how to present yourself as a professional, and how to market yourself effectively on your resume, via our online tool: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc/resume-building-tool - then bring a paper copy of your resume to your problem-solving and peer review session!
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
Resume Blitz!
Quick questions about your resume and/or cover letter? No need for an appointment! Attend our Resume Blitz to have your questions answered. AA&CC Staff will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to have a quick look at your resume and/or cover letter.
We offer these sessions during busy job search times of year (September, January, end of April/early May). Registration not required.
LinkedIn for Job Search
Professional relationships are the key to a successful job search. Learn simple strategies to connect with industry professionals and tap into the hidden job market in this hands-on workshop.
Complete the following prior to the workshop. You will be actively updating your profile during LinkedIn for Job Search.
Register for a LinkedIn account prior to the workshop.
Read the following prior to the workshop:
Watch the following prior to the workshop:
- LinkedIn for Students: Your Career Starts Here (video – 2 mins)
- LinkedIn for Students: Best Advice on Building a Profile (video - 4 minutes)
- Top Tips for Getting Started on LinkedIn (video - 2 minutes)
- 5 Insider Tips for Getting Noticed on LinkedIn (video - 2 minutes)
Sign up on CLNx under Workshops & Events at the Scarborough campus. Sign-up begins 2 weeks before an event!
Jobs for Grads Orientation
See our Jobs for Grads page!