Category: Generation Z (page 1 of 4)

Providing Opportunities and Supporting Growth for Students and Grads at Worley

As the world continues to evolve, the demand and opportunities for new graduates and students with diverse backgrounds and skill sets in the workforce increase. Worley, a leading global provider of professional services to the energy, resources, and complex process industries, understands the importance of nurturing the next generation of leaders. We had the pleasure of speaking with Andria Matadial, the Campus Relations Lead at Worley, to learn more about the company’s initiatives and perspectives on various topics.

Career Initiatives at Worley

Andria expressed that her experience working as a Campus Relations Lead at Worley has been “delightful and rewarding.” She attributed her positive experience to the opportunity to work with a highly supportive Talent Acquisition (TA) Manager and team. Worley’s primary initiatives for students and new graduates looking to work within the industry are centred around learning, growing, and contributing to game-changing global projects. Recent graduates have the opportunity to take what they know and apply it to new initiatives, new ideas, and new teams. They also have a vast support network to help them succeed and build their careers.

When asked about international student opportunities at Worley’s Australian headquarters, Andria shared that the company had an International Transfer program until 2015. This program allowed a graduate to switch to another graduate at another location. For example, a student from Australia came to Edmonton for some time, and a graduate from Edmonton moved to Australia. Although this program is not currently offered, Worley would love to get it re-instated as it provides graduates with global experience.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial components of Worley’s culture. Andria stated that diversity of background, skills, thinking, and expertise helps the company thrive and develop, enabling it to meet future needs. When we respect, value, and support each other, everyone can participate fully and reach their full potential.

Opportunities & Growth

The company has a Global Graduate Development program to help students and new graduates get involved with opportunities at Worley. Worley supports and develops its graduates to set them up for success. Through a self-directed learning approach, Worley gives its graduates the freedom and flexibility to direct their career paths.

Worley provides various career paths that students and graduates can enjoy, including opportunities to work with a global organization and projects worldwide. The pandemic positively affected the company’s recruiting process by allowing the TA team to recruit more flexibly since the world moved to a virtual work environment. At the same time, the company has moved to a hybrid model or is still in a work-from-home state, depending on the location. The employees have adjusted well to this change, and the company mobilized its staff to work from home at a record speed in 2020.

Leading into the Future

Looking towards the future, Worley foresees continuous hiring within the new graduate area to develop future leaders. In terms of measuring success in the industry, Worley places a strong emphasis on its values:

Valuing life
Rising to the challenge
Being stronger together, and
Unlocking brilliance

The company believes that the most successful Worley employees exemplify these values.

Lastly, Andria mentioned that Worley is the “Coolest Company to work for” and is leading within the industry regarding remote work, flexibility, and engagement. Worley eliminates bias from its hiring process by ensuring bias-free postings and promoting “bias awareness” training to individuals involved in the hiring process.

To learn more about Worley and its career initiatives, check out its employer profile on TalentEgg!

Evolving, Growing & Becoming as a Career Coach

February 22, 2023 / James Highet / 0 Comments

TalentEgg was fortunate enough to interview Shaunna-Marie Kerr, Career Education & Exploration at the School of Continuing Studies at York University, with 10+ years of career coaching experience. She is the leader of the virtual career services portal for students and recent alums at the School of Continuing Studies at York University. She provides support and services to students, conducts research and analysis of the labour market and works with technology companies to leverage digital and AI tools in their programs. In addition to her work at the University, she has her coaching practice, is a board member of an anti-violence centre, and is a mother to a four-year-old.

Career Inspiration

Inspiration for Shaunna-Marie’s journey into career education and coaching started after graduation when she faced challenges finding a job that aligned with her skills and values. She began working in a non-profit pre-employment and education program for women who were homeless or precariously housed and discovered her passion for helping people find meaningful work. She saw the positive impact of employment on people’s dignity and self-worth and realized that career and workforce development solutions were where she wanted to focus her career.

Greatest Achievements

We were curious and wanted to know what Shaunna-Marie’s most significant achievements were, and she was glad to fill us in. “In a general sense, my greatest achievement working with students or clients in my coaching practice is all the moments when I have witnessed that mid-conversation shift from frustration and hopelessness to a feeling of possibility and hope.”

Going from there, we asked what she would like to achieve in the future as a career coach. “I have no five-year plan, that’s for sure! My approach is more about seeing a range of possibilities and working to create doors I can walk through later. I feel like we are all ever-evolving, growing, and, as Michelle Obama says, ‘becoming.’ I don’t like to limit my future to only the things I can imagine right now. “

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Shaunna-Marie believes that career development and workforce development can only be effective with inclusion, equity, and diversity. She works from an actively anti-racist framework and constantly thinks about her role in systemic and structural oppression. “I recognize the power that place, identity, and perceptions of ‘other’ have as determinants in education, employment, health… everything.”

Kerr went on to say, “Something I think a lot about, in relation to myself but also that applies to employers, is how to engage in non-performative DEI work. It often feels like DEI work is being done as a favour or as good PR when we know that inclusive and equitable hiring is imperative if employers want to have the highest quality candidates, talent, and sustainable growth. In a practical sense, this looks like recognition of foreign and international credentials, skills and competency-based assessments and hiring, and culturally competent interviewing, onboarding, and retention strategies. “

Successfully Transitioning Students from School-to-Work

The Career Services department at the School of Continuing Studies is working on developing a map of the lifecycle of students to provide better support and services at the right time.

“We want to make sure that students are receiving the right information, at the right time, in the right way – interview prep, for example, might not be the most helpful thing on day one of a full-time program, but some exercises around career pathway mapping in those early months of studies could be impactful! We are also expanding services for Alumni to ensure that we have a supportive off-ramp from career services when program alumni might be experiencing a lot of challenges and change and opportunities.” Kerr told us.

Information Overload

We asked Shaunna-Marie to share her thoughts on what she thinks are some of the most common pain points her students face; she told us, “The biggest pain point students seem to have is the amount of information, often conflicting, about career development. We are in a time where so much information is available, but it is increasingly misleading, unrealistic, or just out of date, and many students feel overwhelmed by it. The pandemic and likely recession has led to an almost global sense of general uncertainty regarding the labour market, and we’re seeing more conflicting information about hiring trends across sectors.”

How Can Employers Help A Student’s Career?

With so many conflicting routes and varying information available, we wanted to know how future employers can help their new hires and students. “I believe it’s important for employers to understand the ‘new world’ that these graduates are emerging into and have empathy for the ways in which their last few pre-workforce years have been impacted.”

Kerr went on, ” At the same time, I believe it’s important not to underestimate their abilities and the value they bring to the workplace. For example, the facility many new grads have with virtual and digital environments can go a long way towards bridging organizational gaps that may emerge in virtual/hybrid working arrangements. Many new grads have always lived some parts of their lives in virtual or digital settings, even pre-pandemic.”

She went on to say, “I can think of several ways that their ability to seamlessly integrate their virtual and digital interactions with their in-person interactions can be leveraged in support of team and culture building, inclusion, and even strategic and operational planning related to things like client relations in hybrid settings. I think other aspects of being an inclusive workspace for everyone in a virtual/hybrid environment, like ensuring meaningful check-ins and recognition, dedicated ‘quiet’ hours for deep work, recognizing things like Zoom fatigue, and open office hours for senior leaders can also be helpful.”

Advice for Fellow Career Educators

Advice for Employers Kerr believes that employers should understand the changing world of work and adapt to the new digital recruitment and hybrid work environments. They should provide clear information about the hiring process, be transparent about the skills they are looking for and be open to diverse candidates and new ways of working.

Shaunna-Marie had this final thought for her peers. “Don’t stop your own career development! Keep learning, exploring, and identifying new and promising practices, pursuing professional development, and building your own networks. I learn so much from talking to other people in the career development and workforce development spaces – including former TalentEgg Career Coach of the Year (2020) Ibiyemi Balogun, who always inspires me with her passion for career coaching, planning, and development.”

How Schools and Employers Can Help Support Students

January 19, 2023 / James Highet / 0 Comments

McMaster University is one of the top post-secondary schools in the country. We had a chance to speak with Tanya Kett, M.Ed., CDP, CPC, a career counsellor at the university. Tanya supports undergraduate students from all Faculties and levels. Part of this support includes addressing students’ concerns, helping them explore their options, discussing their career goals and developing personalized career and further education plans. Her primary focus is equity-deserving students who experience barriers to their career development. Tanya engages students in a collaborative process to navigate their career journey and works with colleagues to develop new programs and services. The department offers individual appointments, drop-ins and group webinars/workshops, both hybrid and in-person. Here at TalentEgg, we wanted to know more about her 19 years in career development and her advice to schools and employers to help students flourish.

Why Career Education/Coaching?

My high school guidance counsellor encouraged me to work as my co-op in our school’s career centre. I learned about all the resources and assessments we had and eventually had class visits from my peers. At that time, I wanted my career to involve helping people navigate their career and education options — but I had no idea what job that was. It wasn’t one of those job titles we know about (i.e., teacher, social worker, lawyer). Years later, during university at McMaster, I discovered the career centre (where I now work!), got involved as a peer mentor and learned about the different roles, such as counsellor, advisor, coach and practitioner. There were so many options! Building connections from that experience and a few other vital contacts along the way were pivotal to my career.

Rewarding Achievements

My achievements are connected to my students and colleagues. When the students I have the privilege of supporting succeed, that is my most outstanding achievement. When they let me know they landed a job, got accepted to their program or had an “aha moment” about their career path, it lets me know I’ve made a positive impact. It reminds me how valuable our work in the career field is for students. Colleagues who support one another and share expertise and resources contribute to students’ success.

If I had to pick my most outstanding achievement, it would be that I found a career that I love and am passionate about.

Future Goals

I want to carve out more time for professional development. I always have a long list of ideas, such as courses, certificates and conferences to attend, but I tend to focus more on students during the academic year. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for PD. I feel like there is so much to learn about changes in technology and how we deliver service, theoretical approaches to consider, and so many resources to explore.

Commitment to DEI

My commitment is to support students who identify with equity-deserving and diverse groups who may experience barriers to career development. I collaborate with them to identify actionable items, strategize, gather resources and develop a plan to instill a sense of hope, confidence, optimism and self-efficacy so they can realize their career potential. My focus throughout my master’s degree was exploring diverse career development (disability, Indigenous, first-generation and international students) through the lens of student affairs.

Supportive and inclusive employers have the opportunity to create positive and meaningful experiences for students who may need someone to take a chance on them. It is a chance to diversify their team; we all know that diversity adds value.

Pain Points & the Effects of the Pandemic on Students

Students are generally overwhelmed with school and keeping up with other priorities like working, volunteering and extra-curricular opportunities. They often wonder how to be competitive for programs/jobs when they feel they are behind their peers in terms of experiences. The pandemic made it challenging to engage in networking opportunities, such as connecting with professors and employers to foster meaningful conversations. It also took time to adjust to the reliance on technology for academic and work tasks traditionally done in person. Now, everyone is adapting yet again to in-person learning and work environments. They may need to consider more travel time to various in-person appointments and engagements, which didn’t happen as much in the last couple of years.

Transitioning from School-to-Work

In the last two years, our team researched, developed and launched resources to guide students in the transition to work. We now have website content, a downloadable tip sheet, a customizable workshop, and one-on-one support to help students with this transition. During the pandemic, we offered captioned and recorded versions of our live webinars on topics such as virtual interviews, networking and career fairs to equip students with tools to navigate virtual recruitment practices.

Acknowledging, validating and normalizing student concerns is often a starting point for many conversations about transitioning to work. Several students identify with “imposter syndrome,” where they may not feel capable or confident in the role they landed, creating dissonance between their perceived potential and their actual potential. This can happen for various reasons, including diversity identification; therefore, it is valuable for employers to have inclusive training plans, mentoring (matched to employee) and opportunities to check in throughout the first few weeks to foster belonging in the workplace.

How Employers Can Help Support Students

Students with the opportunity to have a mentor at work often tell me how valuable it is to know they have a point person for questions as they transition to their roles. Transitioning from school to work is a great life experience — be kind, be patient and offer support so that students don’t feel like they always have to ask (sometimes they don’t know it’s okay to ask!). For example, ask every employee during the onboarding process if they have accommodation requests; that way, those with accommodation needs will feel included and supported in the hiring process. It will go a long way in building morale and confidence for new employees, which in turn produces a positive company culture. Leverage the digital expertise of Gen Z as our virtual/hybrid work environments evolve.

Connecting With Top Student Talent

The best way is to diversify what employers may consider a “top” student. It’s not always academic achievements or workplace achievements that make a student a great addition; life experiences also count. Consider the students’ potential — maybe they haven’t had the same opportunities as others yet.

Take a holistic approach to the application process and ensure it is inclusive and accessible. Some students may be in a program different from their career interests but engaging in self-learning opportunities because they’ve found what they are passionate about well into their undergrad. This demonstrates a commitment to finishing what they started and the initiative to find other learning or experiential opportunities, skills and qualities relevant in the workplace.

Invest time to train, mentor and foster a culture of inclusion in the workplace not only to attract but also to retain students who may end up as top employees. Some wonderful colleagues across our campus can work with employers to set up company recruitment events, information sessions, coffee chats, etc., and participate in career fairs to get to know our students beyond their application.

Advice For Peer Career Educators

One of my mentors told me many years ago that “career counsellors never stop their career development.” I’ve found that to be true, and it’s advice I pass on to others. New trends, technology and approaches continually shape how we work with our clients. Carve out time for your professional development; watch webinars, read articles, attend conferences, take a course, join professional networks, find a mentor — whatever you find helpful for your practice. Build your network to include a diverse range of contacts.

Final Thoughts

Careers are a journey; they take time to build, grow and develop. It’s essential to choose a direction, not a destination — this leaves more options open for you and optimizes your chances for success. It takes patience, persistence and perseverance. Set goals, build your network and have a parallel plan. These things are all part of building your career resilience.

You are not alone; You will get there.

Exclusive Insights Live from our 2022 #TEAwards Surveys

July 20, 2022 / Gimena Machado / 0 Comments

Over 80 recruiters and industry professionals attended our 2022 TalentEgg Awards and Conference to celebrate the best recruitment practices among students and recent grads. During the virtual event, we conducted several surveys to uncover exclusive insights into the future of recruitment and the workplace.

EMPLOYEES ARE HAPPY WITH HYBRID AND REMOTE WORKPLACES

We asked recruiters and industry professionals questions: “What kind of workplace do you have?” and “What is the best part of your new workplace model?” 5% responded “In Office”, 36% responded “Remote”, while 59% responded “Hybrid”. Regarding the best part of their new workplace model, most respondents are happy about the comfort of working from home while still being able to connect with colleagues. In the post-pandemic aftermath, hybrid workplaces are the newest trend that will become the new normal.

SOFT SKILLS ARE THE NEW CRITICAL SKILLS

In our Guide to Recruitment 2022, we empathize the importance of soft skills for the career success of students and new graduates. We asked our awards and conference attendees to tell us if they think “soft skills are critical for young talents in the workplace?” All respondents said “Yes.” When we asked them if they believe their company should invest in Soft Skills Training, all respondents said “Yes” too.

Students’ hard skills are learned in the classroom, whereas soft skills come from experiences, group projects, and daily interactions, which people must go out of their way to develop. Soft skills make for a healthy working environment, drive positive change, help solve problems more efficiently, increase sales and help improve employee retention.

Before the pandemic, students and grads expressed their need for additional training before entering the workforce and continued learning opportunities. Therefore at TalentEgg, we are egg-cited to excited to announce the launch of our E-Learning Platform. TalentEgg’s eLearning Academy offers courses that teach introductory workplace soft skills for students and grads and intermediate soft skills to advance careers. These courses support Canada’s top talent’s school-to-work transition and early career development. To learn more about our eLearning Academy and Soft Skills, download our Guide to Recruitment 2022.

THE DEMAND FOR TAKING ACTION ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE

It is now a habit for students, recent graduates, and working professionals to research each company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies before applying. We asked attendees, “What is the most important DEI initiative in your workplace?” Among the answers were “having appropriate hiring practices in place,” “accessible website,” “ERG,” and “inclusive recruitment strategies,” to name a few. If you are a recruiter or HR professional, sit down with your company leaders and discuss practical ways to integrate diversity and inclusion into the workplace.

Social media, blogs, and websites are great for promoting your DEI initiatives, but it can sometimes be hard to target those initiatives to the audience you intend to promote. That’s why coming soon to TalentEgg; we will be offering DEI eblasts. These eblasts will be targeted and sent to DEI clubs in over 30+ universities and colleges across Canada.

If you’re unsure of what implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives or training in the workplace may look like, we at TalentEgg are here to help you take that first step. We have a whole chapter on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace, in our Guide to Recruitment 2022.

NEW TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE OF CAMPUS RECRUITMENT

Due to the many options for recruiters, it can be challenging to choose where to put your campus recruitment efforts. When we asked attendees: “Do you think your campus recruitment strategies were up to date and effective in attracting young talent?” 57% of respondents answered with a “Yes” while 43% answered with a “No.” When we asked them, “Do you think your company should invest in new strategies to attract young talent?” all respondents agreed that their organizations should implement new strategies.

For many employers, a meaningful way to showcase their employer brand and capture students and recent grad’s attention is through events. Workplaces increasingly shifted to digital events during the pandemic, and this is a trend we believe is here to stay. Having your employer brand online is also critical to capture the attention of students and new grads.

Students and new grads overwhelmingly look for jobs on job board websites. Centralizing your organization’s recruitment efforts on job boards like TalentEgg is essential to developing and growing your employer brand beyond your career website to meet job seekers where they are. TalentEgg is not just a job board; we are also an employer branding platform to help you build and amplify your brand with hundreds of thousands of new grads and students.

But besides job boards, social media is by far the best way to engage students and new grads. Due to the rise of TikTok as the new preeminent platform, the digital landscape has dramatically changed. Successfully reaching students and recent grads on social media platforms requires a lot of work and time. Therefore, TalentEgg has invested heavily in the past year on Instagram and TikTok to enable our clients to use our TalentEgg platforms to access a broad audience of students and recent grads.

We are happy to announce that TalentEgg now offers TikTok Takeovers. During these TikToks, your organization can access TalentEgg’s TikTok account for one week, helping showcase your employer brand.

In addition, we are also launching TalentEgg Shorts, a video series showcasing your employer brand to help you grab students’ and new grads’ attention. With the fast pace and engaging graphics and music of our TalentEgg Shorts, the videos will be jam-packed with information while keeping them tight, concise and compelling. To learn more about our TikTok Takeovers and TalentEgg Shorts, download our Guide to Recruitment 2022.

THE CONTINUING IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE

Finally, mental health initiatives and awareness have gone a long way in the past few years, but much work still needs to be done. We asked our awards and conference attendees to tell us, “Do you think your employer provides sufficient mental health and wellness support?” The most common answer was “Yes.” We asked them, “Do you think your leadership would benefit from more training in supporting mental health and wellness of their employees?” 100% of respondents said “Yes.”

Workplaces can play a crucial part in mandating positive mental health for their workers. Furthermore, students and graduates report that mental health support at work is an essential factor in deciding where they want to work.

Here at TalentEgg, we realize that mental health training is in high demand amongst students, new grads and working professionals. We also know that as employers, schools and career centers, you want to continue to grow your mental health initiatives and create a safe and welcoming environment for all students, new grads and working professionals.

That’s why we created our new Mental Health & Psychological Safety In The Workplace Master Certificate Program on our TalentEgg eLearning Academy site. With these courses designed for managers and team leaders, you can build a psychologically safe workplace where employee mental health is a high priority.

For more trends on recruitment, the new digital recruitment word, and a glimpse of the future of the post-pandemic workplace, check out our Guide to Recruitment 2022 package, brought to you by our team at TalentEgg.

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Category: Generation Z (page 1 of 4)

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