Career department adopts a new name

Change is afoot in the Tatham Centre, as the Career Services office is changing its name to the Centre for Career Action. 

Kerry Mahoney, director of the centre, says the new name is in keeping with the expectations of the modern labour market: “Long gone are the days when students could simply hand out resumés and expect to find a great job.  Today’s students need to research potential employers, proactively build their network, and use strategies for the hidden job market.”

Mahoney says the Centre for Career Action is trying to reflect the range of options that Waterloo students typically explore. “Our September poster campaign, called ‘Take Your Next Step,’ highlights the fact that Waterloo students take all kinds of paths to success. Any given student might explore career options, search for a job, or pursue graduate school or professional school. We work with students to develop tactics for all of those.”

Beyond new marketing campaigns, Mahoney (right) notes that the centre is adding services and initiatives. “Look for us around campus! Elisabeth Adrian, one of our career advisors, will be our expert on the road. She already visits students in class. Now, she’ll be outside of those classes afterwards to give on-the-spot advice.”

Students need not wait to receive a visit from Adrian, however.  As she herself notes, “students can register for a one-on-one appointment or a group workshop at any time by visiting our website. We work with students on a much wider range of issues than they typically think, and we work with all students — graduate and undergraduate, regular stream and co-op.”  Students can also drop into the Tatham Centre to visit the centre’s resource area and sign out resources on everything from preparing for professional school testing to finding summer jobs.

Finally, the Centre for Career Action is inviting students to join them in cyberspace, and not only for the award-winning Career Development Manual. In addition to a presence on Facebook and on Twitter (as uWaterlooCareer), Mahoney is excited about the new “True Career Crimes” YouTube competition, launching this September. “We’ve been working with uWaterloo celebrities who share, on video, an early career mistake they made, and invite students to submit video responses.” The centre will award gift certificates to recognize the best student video responses, based on the number of “likes” they receive on YouTube, as well as by criteria selected by Career Action staff.

With so many changes afoot, Mahoney is quick to reassure students that all previous services continue to be available. “We still offer a whole range of one-on-one appointments, such as career decision-making, reviews of professional and graduate school applications, and job search strategy sessions.  And we still deliver workshops on everything from business etiquette to interview skills.”

Annie Noori, one of the welcoming faces at the front desk in Tatham, adds that “We’re also always happy to have students drop by to learn more about our services.  Sometimes I can offer immediate assistance. But when they have questions that require a full appointment or workshop, I direct them to whatever best meets their needs.  Either way, we help students get where they need to go.”

As director, Mahoney reports to Peggy Jarvie, executive director of co-operative education and career services. The "next step" poster (above), first in a series, is the work of Dianne Keller of the creative services unit in communications and public affairs.

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Staff policy, road work, other notes

“Policy 18 has undergone some major changes and is in the final approval stages,” says Doug Dye, president of the staff association, in a newsletter distributed to his members this week. “We hope to have it in place very shortly.” Policy 18, “Staff Employment”, deals with such matters as recruitment, probation, discipline and layoffs. Says Dye: “The Staff Relations Committee received many comments and thoughts when Policy 18 was put out for open feedback.  It was encouraging to see so many step up and submit their thoughts and comments.  Thank you. This tells me that people care about Waterloo as a workplace and really want to be involved in making it the best place to work. Policy 18 is a very important document to us as staff. It sets out the relationship and the rules by which Waterloo and its employees conduct themselves. The updated policy has been rewritten in a much clearer language than its predecessor. Some of the improvements to the policy include expanded opportunities for staff training; performance appraisals are included in the policy; clarification of the protocols and processes for organizational change.”

Paving and road repair equipment will be in action at several spots on the Waterloo campus during the next couple of days. Gary Kosar of the plant operations department says traffic will be able to get through, sometimes in a one-lane squeeze or with short detours, in these locations: • Ring road near Doug Wright Engineering. • Roadway off Columbia Street between the Optometry building and parking lot X. • UW Place complex entrance off University Avenue. • Residence roadway in front of Mackenzie King Village. • Columbia Lake Village entrance off Columbia Street.

A note from the school of architecture: "Dr. Jeff Lederer has recently been named winner of a CMHC Excellence in Education Award for 2010 in recognition of his work in graduate education related to urban design and innovative service learning. Jeff has been leading graduate classes in a variety of experimental courses that have produced installations, events, urban design guidelines, and street furniture in Cambridge and elsewhere. He provides guidance and support to a large number of graduate students. He is driven by a commitment to make universities and communities come together in mutual support. The recognition of the quality, energy and commitment of his teaching is well deserved."

The Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation gave a handful of awards at its annual meeting earlier this summer, including an "award of excellence" to volunteer Brian Dietrich, of the university's plant operations department, and a "heritage education" award to Sam Steiner of the Conrad Grebel University College library and archives.

A memo went out to departments the other day, as it does this time every term, explaining the opportunity that's presented by the International Undergraduate Work-Study Program for the fall term. "You could employ an international student on a part-time basis for one-quarter the normal cost," writes Linda Jajko of the student awards and financial aid office. "International students are not eligible for provincial government financial aid (OSAP)," she explains, and "obtaining other financing or part-time employment that fits the student's schedule is very difficult." Hence the program, financed 75 per cent from "a central university fund", to subsidize up to 25 part-time jobs (up to 10 hours a week) in UW departments. "Jobs that tend to receive the most interest are those that create meaningful work experience for the students," Jajko notes, inviting faculty or staff members to submit job proposals by September 17 for the coming term. More information: ext. 35726.

"The Great Hall has reopened and all of the seating has returned," writes Scott Pearson, assistant manager of the Student Life Centre — who also announces that the CIBC bank branch on the lower level of the SLC is introducing Saturday hours, starting this week. • In last week's Ontario cabinet shuffle, John Wilkinson, MPP for Perth-Wellington (the riding that includes Stratford), moved to be minister of the environment; he had most recently been revenue minister, and is a former minister of research and innovation. • The Brubakers and Subway food outlets in the Student Life Centre are closed this week, reopening on Monday the 30th; on the other hand, Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre is open this week but closed next week.

And . . . if you do some of your computing through the Nexus system, as thousands of people on campus do, this announcement affects you: “As of Monday, August 30, Nexus passwords will be required to be a minimum of 8 characters in length (up from 6). Otherwise the rules remain the same: at least one number, at least one upper case letter, at least one non-alpha-numeric character. People who do not change their passwords before Tuesday will not be able to log in without doing that first. While 8 characters is the minimum length, longer is also better. Passwords are changed via the 'Change Password' link on the log-in browser on Nexus workstations, or via the Desktop icon on Nexus workstations, or online.”

CAR

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