The ABC’s of Career Consulting

 C       Create an open and trusting environment for the client.

 A       Assist clients in developing an action plan for their work search process.

 R       Review clients documents in a non judgmental, but open-minded approach, and ensure  the documents are scannable, as it takes some employers 10 seconds to determine if a résumé is worth viewing.

 E        Encourage clients to explore and brainstorm potential occupations. Eliminate choices that are not realistic. Not everyone was born to be a rocket scientist.

 E        Extroverted or Introverted, help clients explore where they get their energy from. Extroverted- get energy from being with people. Introverted- get energy from being  alone.

 R       Résumé development with the client, so the client is represented accurately and professionally.

 C       Cover letter assistance, to ensure the client represents their skills and abilities successfully.

 O       Overcome obstacles, help them identify what stands between them and their occupational goal (License? Education? Language Barrier?)

 N       Networks; have the clients clean up their social networks (i.e. Facebook). Did you know in 2010, 55% of employers used social media as a hiring tool!

 S        Skills set; help the client identify their personal, transferable and technical skills.

 U       Understand the clients’ goals, and ensure they are achievable.

 L        Label clients strengths and abilities, and don’t dwell on the negative.

 T        Types of résumés: Chronological, Functional and Combination Style, help client identify which one best represents them.

 A       Aid in identifying the clients’ brand. Brand- is how we represent ourselves. Who are you? What makes you unique?

 N       Next meeting; set up a time, set goals to accomplish for the next meeting.

 T        “The man who has the largest capacity for work and thought, is the man who is bound  to succeed”

 

Tina Styles, pictured, middle, assisting fellow CE Students at the MCACES Job Search Expo

Tina Styles is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

 

Being Online: A First Timer’s Perspective

 

I’m so excited to start my first online course experience. I haven’t been in school for over ten years, so this is definitely going to be an interesting experience. I welcome the new challenges I face, I also look forward to actually accomplishing my goal of receiving my Teaching the Adult Learner Certificate one day. Slow but steady, one day at a time, and I will get there.

I am grateful for the encouragement of family and fellow peers. Without them, none of this would be possible. I see every day that the possibilities of “what I want to become when I grow up” are endless!

I logged in my course for the first time, changed my password. At first, I found all the reading material very overwhelming. I surfed slowly through the whole course outline, and really seemed to get a hang of how to change my profile and update my personal information quickly.  I also noticed that they have a Group Assignment, which has me a little uneasy. I’m not sure how this type of assignment will work within an online course environment. I will continue to ask for help, and follow-up on what the instructor for this course is asking.

Wish me luck!

Cristina

Cristina Lord is a Continuing Education Student taking courses within the Teaching the Adult Learner Certificate at Mohawk College. She works part-time as the MCACES Resource Centre Receptionist and is married with two young children. Would you like to speak with Cristina? Contact her through mcaces@mohawkcollege.ca.

Cristina Lord works part-time as the MCACES Resource Centre Receptionist

 

FREE Team Skills & Communication Skills Workshops!

Join us February 13th or 15th for Professional Development Opportunities!

MCACES would like to invite our Continuing Education Students to attend the following free workshops at our MCACES Resource Centre.

 Monday February 13

Effective Team Skills 6pm-8:30pm

Team skills are essential in a wide variety of work environments. Learn effective team dynamics to assist you with personal and professional success.

 Wednesday February 15

Effective Communication Skills 6pm-8:30pm

Learn how to improve your communication skills in a professional environment. This session explores communication skills from oral, written and interpersonal perspectives.

 Both sessions will be held at our MCACES Resource Centre Board Room, Room F116D.

 Light refreshments will be provided.

 To register, please contact MCACES at mcaces@mohawkcollege.ca or by calling us at 905-575-2176.

 We look forward to working with you!

 

 

Call for Donations: MCACES Online Auction

MCACES is now accepting donations for our 3rd Annual Online Auction in support of CE Student Bursaries!

Our auction will take place March 19th-21st. Contributing an item will assist us in strengthening the amount of funds we can provide to students in need.

To date, our auction has raised over $11 100 in support of CE Student Bursaries. We’re hoping to build on that amount with your generous auction item donation.

Every donation counts! If you would like to contribute an item, please contact Sandi Johnston, Continuing Education Student Advisor at 905-575-2176, sandi.johnston@mohawkcollege.ca,  or drop by the MCACES Resource Centre in Room F114 at the Fennell Campus.

Please note: Donations will be accepted until Friday

Just some of the items up for bid from our 2011 Auction.

March 9.

Thanks for your support!

MCACES, the Mohawk College Association of Continuing Education Students

 

Married to your Portfolio but headed for a Divorce

No one said it was going to be easy to maintain a positive relationship with your portfolio. At the beginning you were excited to take on the challenge, you wanted to discover new things,  build a relationship, figure out how it would all come together, uncover the past and plan for the future. But what happened? After spending so much time at the beginning and once the challenge seemed to be over you forgot all about it. You don’t spend time with it anymore, you ignore the fact that it needs attention, you lost interest in it because you are content with what you have,  you keep putting it off for another day and make promises that you don’t keep. Doesn’t this sound like a marriage gone bad?!?

When you need your portfolio again it isn’t going to be there for you and to help you through your next step on your career ladder. Now doesn’t that job come up that you have always been waiting for and there is a quick deadline to fill the position and complete the process. Now you are scrambling to get your portfolio up to date and time is running out!  So much to do to prepare and where do you start.

Portfolio Tips:

Review your portfolio a minimum of three times a year. Best practice would be every three months. When you complete a project, training session, education, participate in a community event, join a new committee, volunteered, achieve an award or have made many accomplishments, this is when you need to make changes/additions to your portfolio. It will help you keep your resume up to date, revisit your goals and objectives and reflect on your career ladder of success.

Career Consultant Students Melanie Graham (left) with Renee Morley and CE Student Cathryn Smart

Review each step on your ladder and what you have accomplished to reach the top. How are you maintaining this and where are you going next? Give your portfolio the attention it needs and it will always be there when you need it. It is the perfect tool to use for performance appraisal time and now that you are keeping it up to date you will have so much to talk about and share with your employer.

Melanie Graham is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

 

Discover Your Strengths! FREE Workshop

Tuesday February 7  or Wednesday  February 8 (6:00pm-9:00pm) MCACES Resource Centre

Do you focus on your strengths or weaknesses? Strengths philosophy is rooted in positive psychology and provides a framework for us to recognize our own unique strengths as well as the unique and different strengths of our colleagues, family and friends.

Knowing and developing your top 5 strengths provides and opportunity for you to live a life that plays to your strengths.

Choose a night that works best with your schedule! This workshop will take place Tuesday February 7 and Wednesday February 8, 6:00pm-9:00pm, Room F116D at our MCACES Resource Centre. Light refreshments will be provided.

This session will be facilitated by Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist for MCACES, the Mohawk College Association of Continuing Education Students.

Please note: You will need to take the online StrengthsQuest survey before attending the workshop so that you can identify your top 5 strengths. Limited seating is available so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Upon confirmation of registration, each student will receive an access code to the online survey.

To register: Please contact The MCACES Resource Centre at 905-575-2176 or through email mcaces@mohawkcollege.ca

What do your Top 5 Strengths say about you?

 

 

Career Consultant…so what is that, anyway???

Working so hard and being focused on my new career as a Career Consultant I was surprised to realize how difficult it would be for family and friends to share my joy because they had absolutely no idea what it was. Being a sports family I decided it was best to present the explanation in a medium they were familiar with…football. 

So it went like this.

A Career Consultant is in other words a “Job Coach” with the emphasis on coach.  And they do exactly that, coach.  The coach stays at the side lines, cannot enter the field of play without permission and cannot give his client advice. All decisions on how to move forward down the field of play to score the touch down is based on consensus between the quarter back and the coach. All information and strategies are confidential. The client is the quarter back, his offensive line is his skill sets, and the job is the touch down or a kick through uprights. The game can’t proceed unless you have an opposing team, the employer and his recruiters are the defensive line. Of course we can’t forget the referee who will be employment standards of proper procedures. The resume is the ball.    

Now the game proceeds. The coach and the quarter back prepare plays to execute.

After a side line conference, checking the play book the CQB (Client quarterback) takes control. The ER and his defense take position and the interview begins. Matched skill sets are tackled, only the tough questions remain. First Down yells the Referee and the first round of interviews is complete. The CQB and the JC (Job Coach) confer and have chosen a long running pass to edge by the ER and his RD (Recruiter Defence). They face each other on the field of play nose to nose.  The CQB calls the play and throws to the ball to the Receiver Skill Set (RSS) that’s out in the open near the end zone. The RSS will make the catch (the correct response) an outstanding play, which will separate this CQB from the other CQB’s in the league.  The catch complete the RSS runs for the goal the RD hot on his tail trying with disparity to stop his advance with their repeated failed blocking questions. The RSS successfully crosses the goal line. Cheers go up and can be heard by the entire team, the JC, the skill set offensive line, to the satisfaction of the CQB, parading with the Job Ball. Another successful win!

I know this is an oversimplification of the hard work that takes place by all involved, but the visual has met the elements of understanding I was striving for.  I was thrilled by my analogy, which was accompanied by high energy animation. Only to be met with a benign “That’s great, Sis”. Apparently they still lacked my enthusiasm, but it didn’t dampen mine.

 Jackie Fulton is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

Jackie Fulton (left) Career Consultant Certificate student

 

Message from the MCACES President

It can sometimes be easy to be flippant about being a Continuing Education (C.E.) student. Those who have never been one don’t really understand. C.E. can be taken as a lack of dedication to your studies, undervalued possibility for professional/personal development, and plenty of other not-so-flattering descriptions.

I don’t want what you’re about to read to seem like a written pep rally for every C.E. student at Mohawk. Still, as it will be an overarching theme in my blogs, I think it’s important to be clear about just how awesome I think being a C.E. student is and how amazing it is that you’ve chosen to be one.

Because it is awesome. It is amazing.

It’s awesome that you have chosen to take time every week out of your busy life to study, attend class, sign-on to eLearning, write assignments, do research, and anything else in the long list of things that are involved in being a C.E. student. It’s also an amazing commitment that deserves respect and celebration. (Plenty of which your MCACES Board and staff send your way every day). Whether you’re pursuing skills upgrading, job related development or personal interest, your desire to learn and to continually improve your knowledge base isn’t something to be taken lightly.

And not to be overlooked is the fact that, on top of everything else and no matter the reason that initial brought you to C.E., you have also made a commitment to yourself. You have dedicated time each week that is just for you. You could be taking a class for something job related or personal interest, but just by showing up every week you are fortifying your choice to make yourself a priority, even in a small way. I think that is especially fantastic and should be applauded along with your efforts academically.

I look forward to getting to share more thoughts on learning and Continuing Education with you. I, as MCACES President, am here as your representation on Campus, along with the rest of our wonderful Board. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at amanda.tallon@mohawkcollege.ca. Please remember though, that just like you, I have a multi-faceted life and corresponding responsibilities. I will do my best to response to any emails as quickly as possible, but it could be a day or two before you hear back from me.

Keep up the great work fellow C.E. students!

Be writing soon,

Amanda

Amanda Tallon is Student President of MCACES. An avid lifelong learner, in addition to her role as MCACES President, Amanda currently studies within the Public Relations Post-Graduate Certificate and French Certificate of Competence. With several Continuing Education credentials under her belt, Amanda provides insights for lifelong learning as a proud MCACES Board Member.

 

The CE Student Experience

Hi there, and welcome to the MCACES “CE student experience” blog!
 
My name is Cristina, and I currently work as Support Staff for the MCACES department at Mohawk College.  It’s been a real pleasure assisting students from various backgrounds, and also those in similar situations as my own. This blog is to enable my fellow CE students (or Adult learners) relate to my own personal experiences, and challenges we face entering the world of adult learning. I am currently enrolled in “Teaching the Adult Learner”, and this is a fascinating and fresh time for me! Many new students will find that they are taking a CE course, either because their current job requires it, or they would like to learn a new skill or trade, and let’s not forget also for some leisure and fun! I decided to take a course because I felt I needed the “knowledge” to develop my strengths in aiding adult learners.  One of those strengths being ‘empathy’, as I often thought of as a weakness, yet, I now believe that this is a powerful strength, when working with Continuing Education Students.

 Whatever reasons you have decided to take a CE course, I want to be able to share this exciting phase of blogging with the CE “world”!
 
 Having a Student Experience blog is a great way of providing my own insights based on personal experience.
 I would also love your input about my blogging, as many fellow students are parents, such as myself, or adults with no children, or might just be ready to re-join the workforce/education system after so many years of staying home. 

 If you have any personal reasons, facing certain challenges, or just want to express your excitement and are proud of your accomplishments, I would love to hear from you. For myself, I know that the simple task of just getting an assignment completed makes me feel good!
 

Henry Ford quoted, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

I believe no matter what age, learning and growing are constantly part of our lives. As an adult, I felt that there was no other option left, after I graduated and set my career in motion. I quickly became a housewife, and devoted myself to husband, kids and home. As my children grew, I realized that the thirst and hunger for working outside the home grew.  Working here at MCACES, I soon realized that there is variety of life options, career choices, and room to grow!

Working at MCACES has helped guide the way for me. It has created a virtual pathway to self discovery of “what I want to be when I grow up” wise words spoken to me, by Karen Lavell, MCACES manager.

 Please, enjoy these blogs, as I will update them often, and post various obstacles, and accomplishments of my own. This new path that I have taken has only just begun….

 “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”  ~Chinese Proverb

 Thanks!

Cristina 

 Cristina Lord is a Continuing Education Student taking courses within the Teaching the Adult Learner Certificate at Mohawk College. She works part-time as the MCACES Resource Centre Receptionist and is married with two young children. Would you like to speak with Cristina? Contact her through mcaces@mohawkcollege.ca.

 

Introducing MCACESblogs!

Happy New Year! MCACES would like to introduce MCACESblogs, a series of blogs created by Continuing Education Students for Continuing Education Students at Mohawk College. Our blogs feature the thoughts, musings and reflections outlining 3 unique perspectives from our students.

MCACES invites you to follow our bloggers as they reflect on their personal experiences in and around the classroom.

Cristina Lord is a Continuing Education Student taking courses within the Teaching the Adult Learner Certificate at Mohawk College. She works part-time as the MCACES Resource Centre Receptionist and is married with two young children.  Cristina is excited to share her experiences navigating the online jungle…and balancing everything in the process. 

Amanda Tallon is Student President of MCACES. An avid lifelong learner, in addition to her role as MCACES President, Amanda currently studies within the Public Relations Post-Graduate Certificate and French Certificate of Competence. With several Continuing Education credentials under her belt, Amanda provides insights for lifelong learning as a proud MCACES Board Member.

Students from the Career Consultant Certificate Program collaborate to create our third blog which is all about Employment Advisement. Learn tips and tricks from our guest bloggers who have an in depth knowledge of the work search process, as they are eager to share their knowledge to fellow job seeking students.

Three perspectives. One goal. Celebrating the experiences of Continuing Education at Mohawk College. As our audience, we welcome you to provide feedback to our bloggers. Join us in our celebration of the CE Student.

MCACES Students enjoying our Open House!

Happy New Year…and Happy Reading!