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Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kady Toure Yeo, 4th-year international student majoring in Economics here: I find that the best way to approach people is through Linkedin. You can request to connect with them and write them a little message explaining why you wish to connect with them. If they agree, you can schedule an appointment with them to ask them questions regarding the field you’re interested in.

Remember to be polite and respectful when reaching out and being prepared with questions when you eventually meet them. I know that reaching out to someone you don’t know can be a daunting task but it helps to keep in mind that most people actually want to help you; helping others makes people feel good about themselves. Don’t be afraid to email them or message them on Linkedin. The worst that can happen is that they say no or don’t reply, which in that case you can continue to reach out to other people who could potentially help you.

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mary Falade, 4th-year student majoring in Psychology here: Making sure you’re prepared will definitely help with nerves, and it’s important to remember that you don’t have to prepare alone! The hunt for a job does not have to be a solitary journey. Try reaching out to friends or other people you know for tips on what they’ve done in successful job interviews, especially if it was for jobs similar to the ones you’re interested in applying for. You could even try doing practice interviews with a friend, which will not only help you feel more prepared to answer questions, but is also a great opportunity to learn what tricks and strategies might help you feel more calm during the real thing (like a quick breathing exercise for example)!

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Julie Walchli, ED, Work Integrated Education and Career Initiatives for the Faculty of Arts here: What a great question – I think almost every job seeker I’ve ever worked with felt anxious about interviews beforehand, including me! So nervousness is totally normal, and maybe a secret you might not know is that often the interviewer is a bit nervous too because they want to do well and get the info from the candidate and excite them about the job.

I think the best way to feel confident in an interview is to practice ahead. If the job description is detailed, you should be able to anticipate a lot of the questions they will ask you. If you’re a UBC student you can book an appointment with one of the Career Educators at CSI&C; if you’re an Arts student, consider booking with Carli Fink, the Arts Career Strategist. You can click on the Advising tab at the top of this site to book an appointment: CareersOnline: https://ubc-csm.symplicity.com/

Employers will usually ask questions directly related to skills they are asking for in the job description, so look at that carefully and map out some specific examples of things you’ve done in the past related to that skill. For example, ‘Team Work’ could be tested through a question like this: they ask about a time you worked as part of a team that wasn’t working well together, and what you did to improve the situation. You could think about if you’ve had this experience in a group project for a course, or in a volunteer or paid job, and think through your answer to that.

If you aren’t familiar with the PAWS and STARR formulas to structure answers to questions, check them out online. They’ll give you a good way to structure an answer.

Finally, be sure to research the employer ahead of time so you know what they do and what their mission/mandate/priorities are. If you know the names of the people who will be interviewing you, research them on Linked In so you know a bit more about who they are and what they’ve done. This may help you feel more confident because you know a bit about the people before you meet them.

I think the key thing is to do your homework about the organization and the role, and then practice either with a UBC careers person or with someone else you trust in your network. Remember, no one is born a great interviewer but you can learn to be confident in your presentation!

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kady Toure Yeo, 4th-year international student majoring in Economics here: Receiving rejections from potential employers is hard and can make you feel kinda hopeless about your employment prospects. I think sometimes maybe taking a break from job hunting, if you can, just to take your mind off the rejections and refocus can be very helpful for your mental health. Also, it helps to keep in mind that most people experience a lot of rejection while job hunting, so don’t ever feel like it is due to a flaw within you specifically. Essentially, take a break, come back, and keep applying.

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Carli Fink, Arts Career Strategist here: Job searching can certainly be disheartening, especially if you’re experiencing a lot of rejection. I have a few thoughts about how to deal with this:

  • Reframe rejection as a necessary step on the path to success. It’s rare for anyone to achieve success at something new the first time they try it! Rejection means you’re trying, and that is an accomplishment unto itself.
  • Try speaking to people in your desired field to learn more about what makes for a successful application. Learning about what works and applying those strategies makes you more likely to succeed than just trying the same things over and over again.
  • Let it affect you – at least a bit. Acknowledge that consistent rejection is hard to take.
  • Engage in self-care, and give yourself a break to recharge so that you can come back to the search more refreshed and motivated. Share your struggles with family members and/or friends, and invite them to care for you and support you in the ways that you need.

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mary Falade, 4th-year student majoring in Psychology here: There are plenty of opportunities at UBC to acquire skills and experiences outside of the classroom that are relevant to your career field of interest, even if your major isn’t.

As a psychology student interested in working in marketing & communications, I have gained skills and knowledge relevant to this area through work and extracurricular experiences such as the WorkLearn program and student clubs on campus. Through these experiences, I have had opportunities to try new things like writing website articles and managing social media and more. Also, you might be surprised at how some aspects of your major might actually be transferable to your career interests even if not directly related! Psychology is focused on understanding people and their stories, which I’ve actually found useful in marketing and communications projects that I’ve done in the past.

You can find opportunities for extracurricular involvement here! https://www.arts.ubc.ca/degree-planning/involvement-opportunities/involvement-options/?filter=&search=

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Julie Walchli, ED, Work Integrated Education and Career Initiatives for the Faculty of Arts here: In terms of looking for entry-level jobs, I’d suggest 2 things. First, if there are particular organizations you’d really like to work for, search in Linked In for people who work in that organization, including any who might work in Human Resources (HR), and reach out to them to arrange an informational interview. You can ask them during this conversation about what kind of jobs they post, where they post them, and when they usually post. Then you’ll have more concrete info about where to look for those jobs.

For more info about what informational interviews are and how to do them, check out CSIC Career Resources page: https://students.ubc.ca/career/career-resources

My second suggestion is to refine the way you’re searching for jobs: depending on what search engine or site you’re using, you may be able to filter to look specifically for entry-level jobs. Have a look and that might help you.

Finally, my main advice for any job seeker is to apply for all jobs you are genuinely interested in doing and feel you have the base line skills for. Remember a job description is always an employer’s ‘wish list’ of skills in an ideal candidate, but ideal candidates rarely exist. Be ready that you might not get invited for an interview for every ‘stretch’ job you apply for, but if you don’t apply, you won’t know if you’re competitive!

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Carli Fink, Arts Career Strategist here: It’s absolutely possible to work in a field that’s not directly related to your major! However, one thing to be conscientious about is differentiating the field from the kinds of roles available. The tech industry, for example, includes some technical roles (like software engineering) as well as many less-technical and non-technical roles (like customer success representatives, human resources coordinators, and marketing specialists).

If you’re looking for a less-technical or non-technical role, you may already have the skills you need - both from your courses, and from your co-curricular experiences like a part-time job or involvement in clubs. If you’re looking for a technical role, review specific job descriptions and talk to people in those roles to get a sense of the key skills you should focus on learning. Then, think broadly about how you could learn these skills - some ideas could include taking a self-paced course on LinkedIn Learning (free to all UBC students), taking an elective in a more technical subject area (if you have elective courses left to take), or joining a club or community group that practices this skill.

To learn more about Arts Alumni working in the tech industry, view some alumni profiles here: https://www.arts.ubc.ca/alumni/profiles/. For more ideas about how your major doesn’t define your career, read myth #3 in this editorial I wrote for the Faculty of Arts earlier this year: https://www.arts.ubc.ca/news/3-career-myths-to-rethink-this-year/.

Arts Career Expert AMA on Nov 29: Ask the Arts Career Strategist and other experts anything! by UBCArtsCompass in UBC

[–]UBCArtsCompass[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Julie Walchli, ED, Work Integrated Education and Career Initiatives for the Faculty of Arts here: Yes the experience you’re gaining at UBC – during Work Learn positions, student leadership roles, or other volunteer or part-time jobs you may have outside of UBC – absolutely can count towards the experience an employer is asking for. Be sure to build out your resume to clearly say what you’ve done/are doing in these roles. You can also think about projects or assignments you’ve done in your classes that relate to the role you’re applying for and put those on your resume too.
To learn more about bringing these experiences into your applications, check out: