I Spent a Year Learning How to Become More Employable; Here's What I Have to Say.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I began my term as the Arts Work Experience Communications and Program Support Intern, and that this is my last issue of AWE news. Seeing as you and I have gotten to know one another over the past year, I thought it would only be appropriate to share the advice and lessons I’ve learned with you, my AWE friends.

AWE is somewhat oddly situated within the Faculty. It’s overseen by the Faculty of Arts and Undergraduate Student Services, but our office is co-located with the central Career Center. This means that over the last year, I have familiarized myself with not only the in’s and out’s of the Faculty of Arts, but also career development and experiential learning opportunities all over campus.



I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times, but employers hire experiences and skills, not GPA’s or even degrees! That’s not to say we shouldn’t aim to thrive academically, but there is so much more to being an employable graduate than your GPA. This article from Forbes, “12 Qualities Employers Look For When They're Hiring” covers so much more than degree requirements, or minimum GPA’s. It’s fair to assume we want our doctors to have a medical license, and our teachers to have a background in education, but being a good doctor or teacher is also about having the interpersonal skills we look for in every career. We don’t start our careers after we finish school; we’re in the midst of them right now, so be an active participant in your career and start today.

But what can you do to become more employable, outside the classroom?

… Utilize the resources the University offers. There are so many experiential learning opportunities in the Faculty, like AWE, but there are also some short term programs and events as well, like Job Shadow Week, and Speaker Series, which could lead to unexpected connections and experiences.

You can also join a student group, or volunteer with an organization like Jack.org, or the Ronald McDonald House.

If student groups aren’t your speed, and you’d rather enhance your education through different kinds of learning, try looking into Undergraduate Research or adding a certificate to your degree. The Roger S. Smith Undergraduate Researcher Award is available to Arts students, and is a great opportunity to get some funding while participating in research. Community Service-Learning is another great way to incorporate community based learning into your coursework.

I personally applied for funding through the Green and Gold Student Leadership and Professional Development Grant, as well as the Student Life and Learning Enrichment Fund last year and was able to attend the Peace Summit of Emerging Leaders in Bangkok, Thailand. I had the opportunity to meet 300 other young leaders from around the world and had an amazing time in Asia. You can read more about my experience here.

As students, it can be so hard to find the time or energy to invest in experiential learning or even looking into different opportunities, but there is so much value when you do! Not only does it look great on resumes, but you get to meet some incredible people develop skills you don’t necessarily gain in the classroom.

I’ve found that the best way to stay up to date on events happening on campus is to read the weekly newsletters, sent out by Arts Undergrad Student Services, or to follow the Faculty on Instagram (@ualberta_arts). I found the conference opportunity by scrolling through the email while I was bored one night.

Do your own research! There are so many great resources online, to advance your job search and career development. This time last year, I had no idea how much work went into managing a successful and fulfilling career. Have you ever read what you can do with your degree on the Career Center website? It was really eye opening to realize that the Career Center staff, who are professional career advisors, discourages the idea of planning a linear career path. They stress the difference between being undecided and indecisive, and aim to help students understand “planned happenstance.” By creating opportunities for yourself, you never know where they might lead!

I’ve been really enjoying listening to and reading National Public Radio lately, and their podcast, Jazzed About Work features, “lively, informal conversations about everything it takes to create a resilient and rewarding career.” I also thought this article about what NPR looks for in an intern’s cover letter, gave some interesting, and genuine advice for those of us who have a hard time writing cover letters.

When we talk about the actual things I have learned from my job, I think it’s important to always ask for what you need. There is a weird, somewhat murky area surrounding asking for what we need, or want from a position or situation. Nobody wants to seem too pushy or high maintenance, especially when you’re a co-op student, or a new member to a team. But something I really appreciated about this position was the ability to make it what I wanted it to be. It's interesting being the second person in this role, because I’m able to see the different ways we approached our role, and the different skills we brought to the table.

Advocate for yourself. Something else I really appreciated about this position was that I always felt like my voice was heard. Because I know what it feels like to be valued on a team, and to have your opinion and input matter, it will be a priority for myself wherever I end up in the future. Advocating for yourself when you’re still a student, or the new person can be hard, but it’s important to remember that even though there might be a lot of people giving their opinions, that doesn’t mean yours doesn’t matter.

So I guess this is it! I’m sad to leave this position, but am so grateful for the things I’ve learned and the advice I’ve gotten over the past year. I have two years left before I graduate, and this position has given me some much needed perspective going into the last half of my degree. I’m excited to be able to take advantage of everything the university has to offer and I’ve even applied to study at the University of Vienna for Winter 2020, so hopefully this time next year I’ll be in Austria. I hope this last issue of AWE News has been able to impart some of my newly acquired wisdom with you, and inspired some of you to look further when it comes to your degrees, and careers! Happy (almost) summer everyone!