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Career Connections: Young Talent, DEI, Measuring Success

An industry leader in the recruiting space, Career Connections knows the insurance marketplace inside and out. They serve as an external recruitment partner for companies. Career Connections assist in everything from discovering hidden talent to helping candidates prepare with resume reviews and mock interviews and learn more about the different career paths within the insurance industry.

TalentEgg was granted a wonderful opportunity to speak with Carolyn Seward and Beverly Lewis-Hunte from Career Connections, who graciously disclosed in-depth details relating to all things Insurance, events and growth in the sector. They also touch on opportunities for young talent, DEI, work models and measuring success within an ever changing industry.

Experience with Career Connections

Carolyn Seward, Manager & Beverly Lewis-Hunte, Senior Program Officer

We asked Carolyn and Beverly to share their experience working at Career Connections with us. They mention it is an exciting and unique workplace for various reasons. “Career Connections is an interesting program because we are recruiting for the property and casualty insurance industry as a whole, not just for a single employer! This involves creating awareness of the different career pathways that can vary quite a bit,” they stated.

They both touched on how the insurance industry has a lot of variety to offer, so there is something for everyone. Carolyn and Beverly say they face a challenge to connect this sentiment with young talent. They express the limitless room to grow in the industry, “insurance isn’t as well known of a career path so we have unlimited opportunity for growth and the insurance industry is very supportive of our work.”

Initiatives for Young Talent in the Industry

We spoke about the initiatives that Career Connections is implementing for students and new grads. While they have lots on the go, Carolyn and Beverly shared that their “Industry Days” are the most popular. “These are online career fairs we host four times a year, students may submit their resumes in advance for employers to review and select for a coffee chat or mini-informational interview,” they explain. The students get the opportunity to meet with several industry professionals and learn more about their companies and the industry as a whole. Carolyn and Beverly add that many of these employers end up hiring students they meet at these fairs, which is something they both are happy to see.

These are not the only events Career Connections run; Other events include a career building series that comprises of resume workshops, interview prep, job search techniques, coffee chats with industry professionals and “ask a recruiter” sessions. Not to mention a new “job shadowing program” where “students who have no insurance experience get a chance to see what a career path could look like and bust some of the myths about working in the industry,” they add.

Beverly states, “Our ultimate goal is to showcase the variety and opportunities of working in the insurance industry to those who haven’t considered it as a career path before.”

DEI at Career Connections

Diversity, equity and inclusion have gained paramount importance in the workplace. We asked Carolyn and Beverly what role DEI holds within the company. “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are one of the strategic pillars of the Career Connections program. We look to foster an environment of inclusion and belonging across the property & casualty insurance industry and the industry strives to look like the communities it services across Canada.”

They both add how important it is to highlight diversity within the industry. Career Connections does this with its “voices of inclusion” series, connecting with equity-seeking student groups and offering coffee chats with professionals from specific equity-seeking groups. Carolyn and Beverly share their delight relating to their partners taking strides for the better, “our recent demographic research saw an increase in BIPOC professionals by 9% over the past five years putting the industry in line with the Canadian average.”

Fostering Fruitful Opportunities for New Grads with Career Connections

Since Career Connections is partnered with many companies, we were curious as to how new grads and students can find opportunities with these partnering companies. “Career Connection’s role is to keep the curiosity burning in students in order to learn more about the insurance industry. To do this we continue to innovate new events and initiatives to connect students to employers,” Carolyn and Beverly proclaim.

They add, “for our partners we continue to source interested potential student talent so we help with recruitment and retention.” Additionally, both of them note that their partners have observed a lack of essential soft skills among the young talent entering the post-pandemic workforce. But Career Connections wants to help, “We look to assist students in developing their competencies and professionalism through workshops and events so they can make a great first impression with employers.”

Lingering Impact of the Pandemic

On the topic of a post-pandemic workplace, we spoke about how the pandemic has affected the insurance industry. Firstly, they share how the industry as a whole has mainly moved into a hybrid work model in the wake of the pandemic. “This allows for the flexibility required to keep employees happy with recruitment and retention rates and still offers opportunities for in-person onboarding, training and collaboration.”

They mention how interviews have finally returned to in-person, and new trends have emerged in insurance recruitment post-pandemic. “We also saw that very competitive salaries caused many staff to shift between companies and referral bonuses for current employees who recruited another to their company became a popular tactic.”

As for the future, the Career Connections team shared with us a few hiring trends that they believe will become common. The first is an increase in quality onboarding and training due to remote work and a heavier reliance on analytics as automation becomes more common for mental tasks in the recruiting space.

Perks and Success in the Insurance Industry

We wanted to know what new grads and students can expect from a career in the insurance industry and what it offers. “Insurance really is a hidden gem of an industry, it offers variety, flexibility and advancement. Our employers hire based on transferable skills and offer extensive training and professional development,” Carolyn shares.

They state that most people who enter the insurance industry stay there. Furthermore, they highlight that the younger generation’s attraction to the sector is strongly influenced by the growing significance of climate change issues. “The industry has an interest in climate change research and is really all about helping people get back on their feet in some of their worst times of tragedy. We can look to the past few years of natural catastrophes in Canada such as the fires this year or flooding last year in the West as examples.”

We spoke about how Career Connections measures its success within the industry. The most significant indicators they gauge are event attendance, impressions on social media/website, and how many employers hire candidates from their initiatives. They have noticed year over year growth, noting that many post-secondary institutions have been reaching out more and more to share insurance and risk programs with students, raising awareness of the industry.

“Looking forward, we hope to increase our outreach to newcomers and internationally educated professionals.”

Conclusion

Carolyn and Beverly’s insights are a great display of what Career Connections is and what the institute is doing for the future of the insurance industry. We asked if they had anything else they wished to share, to which Carolyn and Beverly stated, “Working with the next generation of talent is always so inspiring and we can’t wait to see the impact they make!” It is clear how much value they place on the next generation of insurance.

Visit talenteggtrends.ca for more up-to-date employer, school and career centre news, tips and information!

Career Coaching: Cultivating Growth and Development

August 22, 2023 / Charlie Gibbons / 0 Comments

TalentEgg was granted the opportunity to speak with Stefanie Ince, a certified and experienced career coach based in Toronto, Ontario. She is the founder of March Management, a business that offers its clients strategic career coaching services. Stefanie’s vision is to provide the finest personalized professional development services while empowering her clients to thrive at work and in their daily lives. We delved into why she chose career coaching, her most outstanding achievements, and her thoughts on imperative topics like DEI, mental health, and more.

Stefanie’s Career Inspiration

Before becoming a career coach, Stefanie had a storied 20-year career in the not-for-profit sector. What caused this drastic career pivot after such a long tenure in the not-for-profit sector? Stefanie explains, “I have always been passionate about having an impact in my professional life.” This passion and drive led her to start her own company. “I started March Management with a goal to provide coaching services to help individuals really see themselves and gain clarity about their objectives for their professional lives.”

Stefanie’s Greatest Achievements

As a career coach, Stefanie works with a lot of students. This field can be highly rewarding, helping emerging professionals find success and accomplishment in the workplace. She has had many achievements helping others in this sector, but she shared with us her greatest one. “I would say that my greatest achievement is when I can help my clients to really see themselves – through the identification of their strengths and superpowers.”

Stefanie believes instilling confidence in students and helping them align their interests with a particular professional path is the ultimate feat. Building a plan for a professional life starts with believing in who you are as a person, and she wants to help students accomplish this.

Going forward, Stefanie hopes to use her own knowledge and advice internally. “I hope to do what I encourage my clients to do – continue to learn and grow, and share what I learn with my clients!”

Successfully Transitioning Students from School-to-Work

The school-to-work transition is a massive challenge for students. Recently, the current economy has made it more difficult than previous years to break into an entry-level position. Given her role as a career coach, it’s intriguing to learn about the advice Stefanie provides students aiming to break into the industry. She told us she encourages students and young professionals to be “brutally honest” with themselves about what they want to do.

“We can all get caught up in doing what we think we are supposed to do rather than what really lights us up inside, and I try to challenge my clients to think about that.”

Students’ Biggest Pain Points

The school-to-work transition is not simple, many hurdles are in the way of these students. She emphasizes a common struggle she sees, “confidence is a real challenge for students, because in many cases, they don’t give themselves enough credit for the experiences that they already have.”

The pandemic unfortunately has amplified this problem, “I think that confidence has always been an issue, but because of the pandemic, people may have been more isolated in the last few years, which can amplify their anxiety or lack of confidence.” According to Stefanie, creating a safe space for students to come out of their comfort zones is also essential.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Among Students And New Grads

DEI has become a significantly noted topic in the modern workplace. Many workplaces and companies are adopting more diversity and more inclusive policies. This topic has also become an essential part of career coaching in the modern era.

That is why Stefanie has added a twist on her DEI philosophy. “I have been using the term DEIB, with the “B”, standing for ‘belonging,’” she continues, “my coaching philosophy is grounded in encouraging people to see themselves as they are.” She stresses the importance of celebrating what makes us different. “An important part of really seeing ourselves, and understanding what value we bring to an organization or community.”

It can be seen that the new generation of workers place high importance on these issues, and for good reason. But what can employers do to make sure they are respecting DEI? “I think what employers need to understand is that being inclusive, creating and sustaining a culture that is dedicated to DEIB principles is essential for recruiting and retaining top talent.”

Stefanie is amazed to see emerging professionals and students demanding these principles in the workplace. “It makes me excited to be able to work in this area – where candidates are creating such impactful culture shifts in the industry.”

Mental Health In The Workplace

Since the pandemic, mental health has deteriorated amongst Gen Z. It has become more and more important that employees’ mental health and wellbeing is respected. “In my opinion, mental health is the most important issue we are facing right now.” She emphasizes, “that it all starts at the top” and that mental health impacts all of us, and having conversations within your organization and having a safe corporate culture is crucial.

With that in mind, there are important strides employers need to take to make sure mental health is held in high regard. Stefanie shared the findings of a study with a corporate client, “which found that when an employer is committed to mental health, their employees HAVE better mental health. What this means is that creating a corporate culture that breaks down stigma and encourages open conversations about mental health can and will have an impact.”

She continues by saying that the importance of one-to-one conversations can’t be understated. Encouraging honest and open discussions about hopes and fears can be a vulnerable subject, but those are the types of conversations she thinks we should be having in the workplace.

How Employers Can Support Young Talent

Stefanie shares how employers can better support their young talent. “Students want to work for companies that care about them and about making the world a better place. So, I think the most important thing that employers can do is just that.”

That’s not all. A manager committed to developing young talent, an inclusive company culture, and flexibility are other ways she pinpoints.

How Employers Can Attract Top Students

It is crucial for employers to stay on top of modern issues like DEI and mental health if they want to continue to attract emerging professionals. Stefanie mentioned previously “DEIB” principles are essential for recruiting talent, but what else?

Stressing the importance of employee support, “to invest in people – providing a fair salary, tools and supports required to ensure employees are doing the best job they can do, emotional support, coaching, and other ways that demonstrate that they really care is also really important.”

“To create a corporate culture that encourages growth, development, safety, DEIB Principles and a healthy workplace is the first step,” she also highlights.

Stefanie offers one last piece of advice for fellow career educators in this field. She explains,

“I think that students have a lot to teach us. We should remember that, pay attention, listen and learn.”

Stefanie Ince is a certified career coach in Toronto, providing personalized, leadership coaching for her clients for whatever part of their journey. She founded March Management with a vision to provide career and leadership coaching services that will empower her clients to live their best, most authentic lives at home and work.

A People First Approach At Evolution Mining

June 21, 2022 / James Highet / 0 Comments

Evolution Mining is leading the way with a hands-on approach to learning and success for the company’s graduate program. We at TalentEgg had the chance to hear from Bianca Baghdassar, an Advisor for Organisational Development at Evolution Mining. Bianca shared what trends the company believes are important moving into the future. She also explains how its graduate program prepares students and graduates for future success within the mining sector. Lastly, Bianca goes over how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives help create a more supportive workplace within the company and its new Inclusion Awareness Committee.

Keep reading to learn how Evolution Mining measures success in the industry and how they balance the company’s world-class graduate program in Canada and Australia!

People & Relationships at Evolution Mining

“My experience working as an Advisor at Evolution Mining has been extremely rewarding and positive. From the moment you step foot on an Evolution site, you get a sense of a people-centric and relationship-driven workplace that welcomes everybody, which (in my experience) you don’t just find at any company.” Bianca told us. The company is full of opportunities, especially for those who want to excel, push themselves out of their comfort zone and be agile, backed by Evolution Mining’s leadership team and fully supported.

Graduate Success In The Mining Industry

The company’s graduate program aims to support the growth and development of the future workforce of Evolution Mining, in addition to addressing hard-to-fill and hard-to-retain roles. Graduates have the opportunity to develop personal, technical and commercial skills throughout a two-year program. The graduate program has been in full swing since 2013, and they still have representation in their business from every cohort, which is a massive achievement for Evolution Mining. In addition to their grad program, the company offers students opportunities for summer vacation work while completing their studies. This benefit is to give students a taste of what the mining industry looks like and hopefully gives them an experience which will persuade them to apply for the graduate program when they’re ready to do so.

Success in the mining industry is tough to narrow down. Still, success at Evolution means a high-performing culture where people are clear about the types of behaviours that we want to see and hear, in line with the company’s values. As part of its strategy, Evolution Mining aims to be a business that prospers through the cycle by generating superior returns from the company assets. It also is building a reputation for sustainability, reliability and transparency, embedding financial discipline across the business, maintaining an active pipeline of quality exploration and development projects and being open to all quality gold, silver and copper-gold investments.

Connected Across Borders

We at TalentEgg asked if there was a difference between The Canadian and Australian Graduate programs and how they are run. “The Red Lake Alberta and Australian Graduate programs are the same. We bring our graduates in for a structured two-year development program with opportunities for regular coaching, mentoring and support from leaders at our sites. The only real difference is one time, meaning we’re dialling in pretty early in the morning from Australia to connect with our Red Lake colleagues. Still, it’s all worth interacting with such awesome grads!” Bianca told us enthusiastically!

Career Path With Evolution

Evolution Mining operates off a very successful 70:20:10 model of learning, recognizing that about 70% of a graduate’s learning is done daily by providing the graduate with meaningful and value-adding project work. 20% of learning is done through other people in a formal and informal mentoring and coaching capacity. The final 10% of learning is done through formal learning by offering opportunities for graduates performing well to complete certifications or attend external conferences, in addition to their quarterly internal workshops hosted by Evolution to develop their soft skills.

Post Pandemic Recruiiting

Evolution Mining saw the post-pandemic lifestyle as an opportunity to leverage technology in more innovative and interactive ways while recruiting new graduates. Although they had to shift to a virtual approach, the company could work with external providers to launch video interviews, psychometric assessments and host assessment centres using breakout room functions on MS Teams. Even though the process was virtual, Evolution still found ways to increase its levels of interactivity and provide candidates with an approach which was not only fun but efficient.

Future Hiring Trends & Workplace Bias

With an industry as large and expansive as mining, Bianca shared what the team at Evolution Mining believes to be at the forefront of the company’s hiring process’ moving forward.

Increased female representation within the industry
Larger graduate cohorts entering the business to further build on its approach to hiring the future leaders of Evolution
Increased use of virtual recruitment tools
Candidates looking for a workplace that will offer flexibility
Candidates who are open to international secondments and opportunities across all our operations

Evolution works diligently to ensure its hiring process is fair for all applicants by providing multiple data points to assess candidates and their suitability for the role. This process includes resumes and cover letters, video interviews, psychometric assessments, and face-to-face interviews with a diverse panel of hiring staff.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Evolution Mining

Evolution is passionate about creating a workplace that’s inclusive and supportive, a place where everyone can indeed be themselves. In 2021, the company’s Inclusion Awareness committee was formed to play an essential role in connecting, informing and educating their employees about inclusion and diversity, including the benefits, barriers, mindsets, and conscious and unconscious biases. It is vital for Evolution Mining to constantly improve Inclusion and Diversity as they’re committed to creating more accountability and ownership as a business and from their employees. This improvement is to support the company goals for greater collaboration, more innovation and ideas, greater productivity, more revenue, more profit, and greater shareholder returns. A diverse and inclusive company is a stronger, more successful company.

Check out Evolution Mining’s profile on TalentEgg! You’ll be able to watch an overview video of the Red Lake site and learn about the company culture at Evolution and the company’s graduate program here in Canada and Australia!

How Workplace Culture and Recruiting Top Talent Go Hand-in-Hand. An Interview with Gaby Patenaude from Export Development Canada

March 5, 2020 / Stephanie Davis / 0 Comments

Workplace culture is an important aspect of any happy and productive working environment. There’s something to be said, though, about organizations that go above and beyond to showcase what the culture in their workplace actually looks like. Students, new grads, and early career professionals are digitally savvy and do their research to find the best fit for them. Even if your workplace culture is out-of-this-world-amazing, are you telling your story effectively? Are young candidates seeing it, hearing about it, watching it? If they aren’t, there’s a chance that you’re losing top candidates to other employers who are taking the extra steps to highlight the quality of their teams, culture and why they are the best place to work.

Export Development Canada (EDC) is one of those employers who strongly supports employee culture while also showing it in an authentic and engaging way. We had the chance to speak with Gaby Patenaude from EDC who shares how their organization lives and breathes culture, community, personal growth, professional development and so much more to ensure that candidates know that they are working for one of the best employers in the country. Read the full interview below.

Meet Gaby

Gaby is the Campus Recruitment Program Lead at EDC and has been with the company for three and a half years. Starting as a new grad, Gaby knows first hand what it’s like to make that school-to-work transition. She also understands how important it is for employers to step up and showcase what it’s like to work at a particular organization. Gaby manages the whole student-employee lifecycle – from campus events, partnerships with schools and interviewing candidates, to providing programming, onboarding and support once students are in the door and on the payroll.

‘Go, Grow and Succeed’ at EDC

EDC’s culture is unique with a variety of inclusive employee-led committees, community giving programs, professional development workshops, and a “state-of-the-art gym” to support their employees — both in work and in personal growth. “As someone who was really actively involved in my university community, I really value the giving nature of EDC,” Gaby comments.

“Community involvement is embedded in everything we do, whether…when EDC employees worldwide take a day to do volunteer work with over 40 organizations or to our stellar CSR practices embedded into the business transactions we make every day. I think that kind of purpose is really what younger generations seek in an employer. Somewhere where their values can come to life at work.”

Having initiatives like employee-led committees also allows employees to connect with so many more peers and leaders that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. “It lets employees feel like they have a wide variety of what I like to call ‘work extracurriculars’ because there are so many ways for people to get involved at work outside of what is listed on their job description.”

“Through these committees and their events, I have met so many new people and flexed new muscles as I took on side projects totally unrelated to my role. That is so rewarding and definitely lends to an inclusive workplace culture. No matter where people are in the hierarchy, they can really make a difference.”

Shouting Out Your Culture To Top Talent

All of these amazing initiatives and activities that are ingrained in the culture at EDC would be lost on new candidates if their team wasn’t active both on-campus and online to spread the word. Gaby cautions employers not to completely limit themselves to one strategy or the other, but to really look for a balance. “It’s a balancing act of that digital side to reach broad audiences, but [also] creating a space for highly specialized, in-person interactions.” EDC has found that dedicating specific and targeted strategies to both digital and in-person experiences has been enormously beneficial in their overall recruitment and employer branding strategy.

“TalentEgg has been instrumental in us reaching broad audiences with country-wide digital campaigns with hot new tools like Instagram takeovers. The nice thing about digital content is that in most cases it is there to stay and you keep referring back to it if candidates want to do any self-led research. I think it’s important to have digital brand awareness about your employer.”

Striking that balance, Gaby found that the most success they’ve had is with smaller scale, highly specialized events.

“For instance, partnering with campus clubs and associations to host case competitions in topics where we want some fresh insight, or hosting career spotlight events where students come and experience what it’s like to work in a certain role or career.”

Tell Your Story Authentically

While it’s vital to tell your employer story both in-person and online, Gaby stresses that it’s important to have authentic and transparent content.

“I think the more transparent the better! We’ve found the best success in our recruitment campaigns when we really connect with students. For example, during our Instagram takeover with TalentEgg, we let a student a day take over TalentEgg’s account and take us through a day in their life: from their walk to our downtown office, to their 1:1 with their leader, to their gym session at lunch, or lunch on our rooftop patio. This was a way better indication of their impact and life at EDC than any thoughtfully worded job poster.”

Gaby also stresses the importance of showing candidates that you truly care about them as a potential hire, that they aren’t just another number. EDC did this by hosting a TalentEgg Talks Live where students and grads asked Gaby live questions. She was able to give the audience across Canada a deep-dive 30-minute session about EDC instead of a quick 1-minute conversation at a career fair.

“Recruitment is all about allowing the candidate to really be able to picture themselves in a role and envisioning their happiness and success in that role. TalentEgg has been great in shining light on the new and upcoming strategies for things like social media recruitment marketing, mobile marketing, and others. This has also been proven in bringing students into our office and introducing them to employees. It allows them to put a face to a job and see what someone’s career path was to get to where they are.”

Advice for Fellow Employers and Final Thoughts

“It’s important as an employer to show that you are developing people and not just employees. It’s a two-way street – employees will invest more in their jobs if they know their employer is investing in them. The reality is that if you as a company aren’t staying up on trends, or putting in a caring approach to employees, those employees will go to the next employer down the street that is doing a better job. So I think employers really have an obligation to take their employees seriously and give them the best caring culture to support their best work.”

That’s one of the reasons why Gaby started her career with EDC. She emphasizes why it’s so important for young people to know that their employer will be there for them in the best of times to push them forward, but also on those not so great days.

It’s important to not only rely on being present online and on-campus, but also to tell your employer brand story, bringing it to life and helping future candidates see what their future could be like at your organization.

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