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Info session feedback from a fourth-year job hunter

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Leona Leong is a fourth-year commerce and history student at Queen’s University who, since the start of the school year, has been participating in on-campus recruiting events. Luckily, she approached TalentEgg to write about them from an insider’s perspective for our student and new grad career magazine, the Career Incubator.

While, ultimately, Leona’s audience is made up of her peers, she provided some valuable feedback from employers as well. Here are a few selections which on-campus recruiters might find valuable as they plan their next round of information sessions:

Last month, I went to an info session for a beverage company. I had already made plans to apply to the company and even scheduled two hours of my Saturday to write a cover letter and tailor my resumé.But once I got there, I realized the company’s session was not what I expected. The company emphasized its long hours and other negative aspects, which I don’t find attractive in a place of work.

Needless to say, I was thrown off. The friend who went with me was confused about the approach the company took because when she went to a competitor’s info session, she came out feeling very inspired.

At the end of this information session, we felt the opposite. This was one of the few times I bolted out of the session as fast as I could, not even bothering to stop and grab some of their free food for dinner.

That experience really highlighted the value of info sessions to me. It saved two hours of my Saturday, letting me catch up on watching Glee and finish my accounting homework.

To read the entire column, please see Confessions of a job hunter: My adventures in info sessions.

Majority of recent graduates use websites to find jobs, survey finds

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Three quarters (75.8%) of 2009 graduates looking for work said in a recent survey they are using job search websites, like TalentEgg.ca, to help them find their first post-grad job.

A large majority are also using direct application through employer websites (71.3%) and networking with friends, family and alumni connections (67.5%) to aid in their job hunt.

Of those who were employed within a month or so of graduating, however, the methods least used were job advertisements in print publications (9.2%) and employment agencies (3.2%). Read More

Accountants believe not enough is being done to attract new talent

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Nearly half of the today’s accountants (44%) do not believe enough is being done to attract graduates to the profession or to study accountancy, according to latest research conducted by CareersinAudit.com – a UK-based job-board for audit professionals worldwide. Read More

Don’t turn away “artsy” students at career fairs

Monday, August 24th, 2009

In high school, I was told that going to university would open a window of opportunities for my future and ultimately help me get a good job. I applied to university in a social sciences discipline since I did not have the mathematical aptitude to handle the sciences or engineering.

During frosh week, social sciences and humanities students were taunted by the engineers, who called out, “Spatula!” Meaning: we didn’t have any career options after university and were destined to work a low-wage fast food job. Read More

Let your newest recruits do your recruiting for you

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Who do you send to career fairs and other events to be the face of your company? It’s probably not who students and new grads actually want to talk to – they want to talk to someone who looks and acts like them.

This is one of the fundamental problems of the typical event booth and the most common reason why students are so often disappointed by what they find at career fairs and information sessions. It’s the reason we ask employers to get feedback from their newest hires on their company profiles on TalentEgg. Read More

Do campus recruiting like Google, especially if you’re small

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Although most Canadians probably think of Silicon Valley, California when we think of Google, the company also employs people in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo. Meanwhile, Canadian computer science, engineering and other technologically savvy students probably know exactly where Google is located within our borders and what it does at each location.

A recent Financial Post article says Google “has become a major recruiter of engineering and computer science graduates from Canadian universities.” Read More