Career Advice/Networking advice ?

[Bancan]

After years of screwing around, finally got my act together and I am hopefully going to graduate in about 12 months with BA Honors Economics. Now comes the next challenges in my life.

I am looking for summer opportunities, internships, co-op and basically anything that will help me further my career. But finding a job remotely related to what I am doing, or something with a good pay is becoming increasingly frustrating. Everyone that I know who has been lucky enough to find a job has gotten it through connections. I understand networking is really important nowadays and just submitting your resume wont be enough.

So I come to BC, which has a high number of professionals in various fields and years of experience, to help me with this. I still have a year to go so I need you guys give me advice that will help me find a job. And networking. How do I do it? I am very social and talking to people is easy for me. But where do I find these potential employers. Basically, how do I get access to these people that will be beneficial for me. And I am talking about beyond whats available to me through school. I have utilized those already.

I know the post is a little vague. But thought why not, nothing to lose. I appreciate all comments.

[Zeeshan]

How about seminars in your college bancan relating to economics?

Although I read the questions more as: "Where are them hot economy majors be at? "

[zsayeed]

Do you job fairs at your university? On-campus recruiting.
Your professors ex students are great places to start. Ask your favourite prof for his/her contacts and tell him/her to recommend you. How about grad school?

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
How about seminars in your college bancan relating to economics?

Although I read the questions more as: "Where are them hot economy majors be at? "

I am extensively involved with arranging these seminars because of my involvement with the econ society at my university. So yea, I do have some connections through that. But nothing has come of it.

This thread is a result of being really frustrated by the job search. And them hot econ girls are MIA. Its full of International Asian girls that are a bit too pale and hello kitty loving for me. This is coming from the biggest admirer of asian girls.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by zsayeed
Do you job fairs at your university? On-campus recruiting.
Your professors ex students are great places to start. Ask your favourite prof for his/her contacts and tell him/her to recommend you. How about grad school?

Planning on writing my LSAT's this summer. But I dont think I will get into Law school, seeing how competitive it is. Grad school what I am leaning towards. Always been interested in public policy so thats what I will study if I do go to grad school. But it would be nice to have a couple of years of experience under the belt before spending another 20 grand for education.

[iDumb]

Eco major? I have a job for you. You can come clean my toilet for 5 dollars a day. This will teach you the real world of supply and demand - and opportunity cost.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by iDumb
Eco major? I have a job for you. You can come clean my toilet for 5 dollars a day. This will teach you the real world of supply and demand - and opportunity cost.

You want to hire me to clean your house? I promise I will do my best keep your 2 x 4 clean.

[zsayeed]

Originally Posted by Bancan
Planning on writing my LSAT's this summer. But I dont think I will get into Law school, seeing how competitive it is. Grad school what I am leaning towards. Always been interested in public policy so thats what I will study if I do go to grad school. But it would be nice to have a couple of years of experience under the belt before spending another 20 grand for education.

Go for a direct PhD. with fellowship. Seriously, that'w what I did after my Bachelors.

[tonoy]

Do you have any career fair at your university? Usually that is one of the best way one would try to get some network. I would also recommend to join your business faculty club. They usually would always try to create events for their business students to help them network with the major companies.

Off topic, but have you thought about perhaps getting a designation? I think you might particularly enjoy the CFA designation. I know many guys in Investment Banking, that would tell me that CFA is a great asset there as well as in the field of analysis.

[Kabir]

Career fairs never helped me. Internships are only useful if you're looking for that via your university's career center. If they're not offering any, then don't try to do rocket science in summer. Instead, focus on getting some valuable experience at any company that wants to give you the min wage for the whole summer.

I'm not saying this to demoralize you. I think your focus should be more on getting done in 12 months and then entering the professional world.

[Antora]

I'm only in first year Uni and I've already started to apply for Voluntary jobs and Internships ( I was suprised they offer it to first year kids :O)- since my subject is quiet vague and maybe doing these things will help me decide on what particular area I should do my masters in :S. after reading this thread I'm now scared :|I should really start developing a network from now, maybe these voluntary jobs and internships will help :| btw Thaks Bancan bhaiya for opening this thread, I will be stalking it :P and Good luck with finding a job, it seems as though finding a job these days is extremely difficult

[Rifat]

Bancan,

Perhaps the best position I can think from the top of my head right now for you is Teaching or even Teaching assistant at the high school level. I am pretty sure Many high schools teach economics and are looking to hire professors in that field.


College level I think you need a PHD.

Maybe other jobs in this field are:

Financial analysts at large scale companies. Like Tonoy said, Career Fair helps!
http://www.payscale.com/best-college...ics-degree.asp

You should create a LinkedIn Account: Highlight all your achievements that demonstrate leadership and experience and even academic achievement. This is the best way perhaps to get potential employers to notice you.
www.linkedin.com

[shaad]

Bancan,

It helps if we know what sort of career/jobs you are thinking of. While zsayeed suggested going for a PhD, you have to (i) look at the career options available to you after getting one, (ii) whether you have the temperament and patience for the work and time involved, and (iii) whether you think the results (job options available) are worth the time and effort. Nowadays, I don't recommend going for PhDs (many become overqualified for good positions) unless someone is really in love with the subject matter.

You've also expressed an interest in Law School. Keep in mind that recent reports show that Law School admissions are dropping as graduates come to realize that in the current economic climate law firms aren't hiring anywhere near as many associates as they used to, resulting in many people ending up with considerable debt from law school loans.

But these are all moot points. What is it that you want to do? What sort of position do you want to be in after 5 years, 10, etc.?

[Navo]

Interesting thread BanCan and I'll be following the posts with keen interest. I've encountered similar problems but in a different field - law.

My advice would be this:-

First the hard part - identify what kind of career you want to go into. Do you want to be some sort of consultant, join a particular company's graduate scheme or become part of an international organization? Then, do you have sufficient work, life and academic experience/qualifications to get such a job? Evaluate whether you need further academic degrees (some jobs need a Masters) or more internships in a variety of positions or some, plain old 'life' experience. By this I mean, doing any sort of job that would increase your 'commercial awareness' (a popular buzzword now) in real terms. A friend of mine who was recently picked up by a prestigious law firm was not selected out of hundreds of candidates because he had exceptional grades but because he ran a small gardening business for a number of years and ran a tennis clinic. Whatever it takes to show your business acumen, ability to take initiative and basically make you stand out. Be interesting and try to get your resume/CV to reflect that! Also, tailor your resume so that it aligns with what an employer wants from a prospective employee. Does your resume cater to their interests? Maybe some teaching experience like Rifat mentioned could be useful. Whatever is good on your CV, does it really stand out or is it lost among less impressive detail?

Attend career fairs and career's talks (even if you really just go to pick up freebies) and try to make an impression on the recruiters there. Don't be needy and don't try to suck up but do seem genuinely interested. I went to a law career's fair in 2010 and spoke to a lady who had been manning a particular stall for the whole day. We talked about the firm a bit but also generally about how her day was, etc. It made a good impression and a year and a half later when I sent them my CV with a covering letter mentioning our previous meeting, I got an internship. So make a strong, confident first impression.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - make sure you have solid privacy settings or don't put stuff on your pages that you'd be embarassed about in interview. That goes without saying really.

Practise taking interviews with career's adivsers at your Uni and with friends who have secured jobs. Think about the kind of assessments that employers set - it could be reasoning tests, verbal skills, etc. See if you can get a hold of mock assessments and practice them. This may be a desi, rote type of thing to do but I know that it has been successful and will allow you to be more confident to do them in pressurized situations.

Hobbies - you won't believe how many people I know have gotten jobs or internship opportunities on the strength of their hobbies. Mutual interests/hobbies can be a great conversation starter and allow you to really leave an impression on people. I remember striking up a conversation with a senior associate of a law firm at a corporate dinner about stand up comedy and till this day we still exchange youtube videos of stand up comedians! What hobbies do you have and do you think recruiters/HR people would like to talk about it at an interview? They just might.

Visa issues - are you a Canadian citizen Bancan? If so, that's a real burden of your shoulders. I, as a Bangladeshi citizen, have huge problems getting a full time job as they've tightened post-study work visa requirements in the UK.

Those are my two cents for now.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by tonoy
Do you have any career fair at your university? Usually that is one of the best way one would try to get some network. I would also recommend to join your business faculty club. They usually would always try to create events for their business students to help them network with the major companies.

Off topic, but have you thought about perhaps getting a designation? I think you might particularly enjoy the CFA designation. I know many guys in Investment Banking, that would tell me that CFA is a great asset there as well as in the field of analysis.

Career fair's are great and all but it's fairly difficult to make a proper impression when there are 20 people around you waiting to talk to the recruiter. But yea, I have tried to attend these events and trying to meet as many people as I can. The business faculty in my school won't allow non commerce students to join the clubs for whaterver reasons. So there is that. But I am not too worried about that since I am extensively involved with the economics society and have a decent relationship with the faculty.

The CFA advice is honestly great. For whatever reason it completely slipped my mind. I should look it into the requirements and credits I need for that. So thank you. I am trying to narrow down my options after graduation so this goes on that list.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by Kabir
Career fairs never helped me. Internships are only useful if you're looking for that via your university's career center. If they're not offering any, then don't try to do rocket science in summer. Instead, focus on getting some valuable experience at any company that wants to give you the min wage for the whole summer.

I'm not saying this to demoralize you. I think your focus should be more on getting done in 12 months and then entering the professional world.

I have quite a bit of experience at the work field, but unfortunately most of it is not related at all to what I am doing. So thats why I am looking for some sort of employment over the summer that will make my resume stand out. And the problem with finding any sort of entry level min. wage job is that, most are given to people who know someone in the company. This might not be true everywhere but it has been in my experience. But I appreciate the advice.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by Antora
I'm only in first year Uni and I've already started to apply for Voluntary jobs and Internships ( I was suprised they offer it to first year kids :O)- since my subject is quiet vague and maybe doing these things will help me decide on what particular area I should do my masters in :S. after reading this thread I'm now scared :|I should really start developing a network from now, maybe these voluntary jobs and internships will help :| btw Thaks Bancan bhaiya for opening this thread, I will be stalking it :P and Good luck with finding a job, it seems as though finding a job these days is extremely difficult

No worries. I have been through a lot of struggles and frustration throughout my academic life, which I am sure a lot of members here have as well, so I am happy to happy to share and help in anyway.

Honestly, other priorities have prevented me from networking earlier in my student life which I regret. So it's good to get a head start. And I am sure you will be fine, you have plenty of time to figure it out.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by Rifat
Bancan,

Perhaps the best position I can think from the top of my head right now for you is Teaching or even Teaching assistant at the high school level. I am pretty sure Many high schools teach economics and are looking to hire professors in that field.


College level I think you need a PHD.

Maybe other jobs in this field are:

Financial analysts at large scale companies. Like Tonoy said, Career Fair helps!
http://www.payscale.com/best-college...ics-degree.asp

You should create a LinkedIn Account: Highlight all your achievements that demonstrate leadership and experience and even academic achievement. This is the best way perhaps to get potential employers to notice you.
www.linkedin.com

I am a candiate for a TA job at my university for next academic year. So fingers crossed that works out. It would be great experience and the pay is half decent as well.

I do have a linkedIn account, which I have neglected to maintain and update properly.I should really get on that. Thanks for the reminder. I appreciate your advice.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by shaad
Bancan,

It helps if we know what sort of career/jobs you are thinking of. While zsayeed suggested going for a PhD, you have to (i) look at the career options available to you after getting one, (ii) whether you have the temperament and patience for the work and time involved, and (iii) whether you think the results (job options available) are worth the time and effort. Nowadays, I don't recommend going for PhDs (many become overqualified for good positions) unless someone is really in love with the subject matter.

You've also expressed an interest in Law School. Keep in mind that recent reports show that Law School admissions are dropping as graduates come to realize that in the current economic climate law firms aren't hiring anywhere near as many associates as they used to, resulting in many people ending up with considerable debt from law school loans.

But these are all moot points. What is it that you want to do? What sort of position do you want to be in after 5 years, 10, etc.?

Thanks for your reply.

I want a job in the public policy analyst field. Most of these are in the various government levels. I would love to start off in the municipal or provincial level and move up to the federal level. The federal government stopped hiring candidates with just a Bachelors so in order for me to get to that level I would have to complete a Masters. Obviously there are not a lot of postions available in this field for any level so theres a dilemma. So at this point I am interested in any sort of data analysis or financial analyst job ( ofcourse entry level) and go from there. So hopefully that tells you a little more about what I am looking for.

Law school is something I would love to do just because I can see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I am well aware of the economic conditions and the difficulties that come with it but going to law school would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, I highly doubt I will get in a law school in Canada and going to the States in the not an option because of the high tuition fees.

I think I know what I want to do, but I am struggling to get a start. It is a reality that only a Masters in Economics is a working degree and anything less than that means a uphill battle. But I am trying to set myself apart from the rest of the group by building a resume that stands out and that is why I am looking for something now. Ideally I want to graduate with a job because I do think its possible even with a social science degree. I am trying to avoid going into a masters program straight out of undergrad and instead start a career and get the masters somewhere down the line.

[Bancan]

Originally Posted by Navo
Interesting thread BanCan and I'll be following the posts with keen interest. I've encountered similar problems but in a different field - law.

My advice would be this:-

First the hard part - identify what kind of career you want to go into. Do you want to be some sort of consultant, join a particular company's graduate scheme or become part of an international organization? Then, do you have sufficient work, life and academic experience/qualifications to get such a job? Evaluate whether you need further academic degrees (some jobs need a Masters) or more internships in a variety of positions or some, plain old 'life' experience. By this I mean, doing any sort of job that would increase your 'commercial awareness' (a popular buzzword now) in real terms. A friend of mine who was recently picked up by a prestigious law firm was not selected out of hundreds of candidates because he had exceptional grades but because he ran a small gardening business for a number of years and ran a tennis clinic. Whatever it takes to show your business acumen, ability to take initiative and basically make you stand out. Be interesting and try to get your resume/CV to reflect that! Also, tailor your resume so that it aligns with what an employer wants from a prospective employee. Does your resume cater to their interests? Maybe some teaching experience like Rifat mentioned could be useful. Whatever is good on your CV, does it really stand out or is it lost among less impressive detail?

Attend career fairs and career's talks (even if you really just go to pick up freebies) and try to make an impression on the recruiters there. Don't be needy and don't try to suck up but do seem genuinely interested. I went to a law career's fair in 2010 and spoke to a lady who had been manning a particular stall for the whole day. We talked about the firm a bit but also generally about how her day was, etc. It made a good impression and a year and a half later when I sent them my CV with a covering letter mentioning our previous meeting, I got an internship. So make a strong, confident first impression.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - make sure you have solid privacy settings or don't put stuff on your pages that you'd be embarassed about in interview. That goes without saying really.

Practise taking interviews with career's adivsers at your Uni and with friends who have secured jobs. Think about the kind of assessments that employers set - it could be reasoning tests, verbal skills, etc. See if you can get a hold of mock assessments and practice them. This may be a desi, rote type of thing to do but I know that it has been successful and will allow you to be more confident to do them in pressurized situations.

Hobbies - you won't believe how many people I know have gotten jobs or internship opportunities on the strength of their hobbies. Mutual interests/hobbies can be a great conversation starter and allow you to really leave an impression on people. I remember striking up a conversation with a senior associate of a law firm at a corporate dinner about stand up comedy and till this day we still exchange youtube videos of stand up comedians! What hobbies do you have and do you think recruiters/HR people would like to talk about it at an interview? They just might.

Visa issues - are you a Canadian citizen Bancan? If so, that's a real burden of your shoulders. I, as a Bangladeshi citizen, have huge problems getting a full time job as they've tightened post-study work visa requirements in the UK.

Those are my two cents for now.

I really do appreciate you typing this out. A lot of great information, so thank you.I am glad you included some anecdotes cause thats what helps the most. Real life experiences like this shows me what direction I need to move towards. I will try to follow some of the things you mention. So again, thank you.

Yea I am a Canadian citizen. Grew up here so I am very fortunate in that regard.

[Antora]

since a lot of you ae talking about PHDs and I know that quiet a few people here do have PHDs, so I was wondering.....I'm actually not sure If I've been misinformed or not, but I've been speaking to a lot of people here and there and they've told me it's better to complete a bachelors and( maybe) a masters then get straight into a job? This is because going further and doing a PHD limits your options as you are "over qualified" for an entry level job and you don't have the experience to apply for higher positions since you have no work experience ( assuming you went straight to a PHD without doing a job).....! I've been told its better to work a few years then do a PHD part time if it's required or you want to? Is that true? :S

[Navo]

^ Antora, I think Shaad partly answered that above. Is there a subject you really have a passion for? And do you have any intention of being an academic/researcher? If you do, maybe it would be worth it getting a PhD. Then again, there is a huge difference between a PhD in the sciences and a PhD in the Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences. I'm sure the BC Members with PhDs can elaborate on this point.

I think if you don't fall into the category above, there's little point of you going into a PhD program immediately after a Masters. As you said, then work experience will help you more in the job market. Maybe somewhere along the line, when you're deep into your career and potentially discovered a new academic interest (like my Dad), you'll think about doing another Masters degree or a PhD.

[iDumb]

network with a girl who has money and good job, marry her. then explore the possibilties as you dont have to worry about money.... like day trading

thats how kabir is doing well...thats how many ppl in this forum doing well.

dont put too much pressure on yourself, use other ppl who are better than you but try to benefit too.

[iDumb]

think like a girl but be a man. thats the secret to success.

[zinatf]

Umm Bancan....I'm an Engineering student, but I have quite a few friends studying in Economics...well...actually one of my malaysian friends did an internship with Grameen Bank from Jan'12-Feb'12...she's also studying in Economics....she said that it was good experience in working with Grameen Bank and visiting the villages all over Bangladesh....as for internships in Canada....try to talk to the recruiting agencies....see if they are interested....otherwise look for internshis in your faculty...and also speak to your lecturers...they might of some help....