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Navigating the New Age of Career Education and Employment

TalentEgg’s exclusive interview with Gabriela Casineanu, MBTI® Certified Career & Systems Coach, Founder/Principal of Introverts Academy

In today’s fast-paced world marked by rapidly evolving workplace dynamics, technological advancements, and the aftermath of a global pandemic, career coaching has become crucial in guiding students and new graduates toward success. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Gabriela Casineanu, the founder of Introverts Academy and an experienced career coach with 17 years of practice. In this enlightening interview, Gabriela discusses her insights on career education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), mental health, and strategies for transitioning from school to the workforce in the digital age.

Gabriela’s Career Coaching Journey

Gabriela began her journey into the world of career coaching in 2006. “Three years after immigrating to Canada, I changed my career [from engineering to professional coaching]. Although I had 18 years in the technical field, I always felt something was missing,” she said. Her passion for coaching, her personality, and the rewarding career aspects motivated her to pursue career coaching. Gabriela recognized a gap in employment and career services and sought to introduce a coaching approach that considers everyone’s individual personality types and strengths.

Gabriela’s most outstanding achievement is the development and successful testing of strategies tailored to introverted students, which culminated in her award-winning book, “Introverts: Leverage Your Strengths for an Effective Job Search.” This work led her to teach at the university level and speak at national career development conferences, emphasizing the importance of personality types and traits in career counselling. 

Gabriela’s inspiring vision for the future of career coaching aims to encourage over a million individuals to prioritize self-discovery, align their professional paths with their true selves, and embrace flexibility and adaptability in their careers.

Seamless Integration of DEI in the Workplace

Gabriela is a strong advocate for a transformative approach in the DEI space. She believes organizations should go beyond viewing DEI as a mere compliance requirement and instead integrate it into their culture and work environment at all levels. With her interactive and experiential job-related workshops, along with individual and group coaching sessions, Gabriela has helped students and teams learn new concepts and strategies, empowering them to improve interpersonal communication and foster an inclusive atmosphere.

A Holistic Approach to Well-being in the Workplace

Gabriela believes in a holistic approach to well-being that goes beyond mental health. “In my work with students, I help them understand that they have a two-fold responsibility: to themselves and the organization they’re part of (equally important for mental health). And I encourage them to speak up when they notice something about the work environment, how it affects them, or when they don’t feel well,” Gabriela tells us. Gabriela recognizes the profound connection between the mind, body, and spirit, and she emphasizes the importance of a healthy work environment that considers employees’ needs, strengths, and ideas. A healthy work environment promotes mental well-being and increases productivity and team performance.

Supporting and Attracting Students and New Grads

Employers can proactively support students and recent graduates in the digital age. Gabriela suggests that companies should communicate their willingness to hire candidates with less experience, emphasize the importance of soft and transferable skills, and consider personality and potential during the hiring process. Building connections with educational institutions and fostering alumni relationships can attract top talent. 

According to Gabriela’s experience, employers can attract top students by aligning their organizational culture with the values of the current generation. Highlighting successful hires and their stories and promoting them can also help attract talent. Offering incentives for employee referrals and actively participating in career fairs can further enhance an organization’s appeal.

Advice for Career Educators

Gabriela’s advice for new career educators is to be patient and understand that expertise grows with experience. In the post-pandemic era, she urges tenured career educators to embrace technology fully, stay up-to-date on digital trends, and adapt their teaching approaches based on the personality types of their students. 

Gabriela reminds us that amidst the endless stream of information, individuals and organizations have inner compasses – intuition and mission, respectively. These guiding lights can help navigate the ever-evolving landscape of education and employment. Success in the modern career coaching age becomes achievable and deeply fulfilling when individuals and organizations cultivate an organizational culture and a workplace environment that empowers employees to contribute their best towards the company’s mission, all while pursuing their own career goals.


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CIBC’s Strategies to Create Inclusive Career Paths

Having received diversity and inclusion awards for over a decade, CIBC is internationally recognized as a global leader for its initiatives. To get an understanding of how CIBC’s strategies create meaningful and inclusive career paths for students and new grads we spoke with Shalise Goffe, a Senior Manager of Campus Strategy and Recruitment at CIBC. 

Shalise Goffe Headshot

Shalise joined CIBC because of the great things she heard about the culture and people. After seven months with CIBC, she can say that it is all true! 

“The people are open, inviting and supportive. The culture is one of transparency, empowerment, and growth and it really does feel like a family because everyone wants to see you win!”

Student and New Graduate Initiatives

As one of Canada’s largest banks, CIBC knows the importance of bridging the gap between post-secondary education and the workforce. That is why they have set up dedicated initiatives for students and new grads to successfully hatch their careers

We asked Shalise how CIBC’s Student Leadership Academy (SLA) enables students to succeed in the workplace. “It allows students the chance to grow both professionally and personally by pursuing their interests and passions in addition to their work term. Our students have access to workshops that help them gain new skills or simply refine their existing set. Through our workshops, leadership connections, and other SLA activities our students get to explore life at CIBC and their future careers. Providing them with a supportive environment, learning opportunities and the ability to showcase their leadership skills enable them to succeed in the workplace.”

CIBC also runs a co-op program for students and new grads. This program “encourages our co-op students to bring new, creative, and innovative ideas to CIBC. Selected summer students are challenged to work on a real CIBC business problem in a team with other students, along with the support of an Executive Sponsor and Project Lead. It’s an opportunity for them to push themselves by thinking outside the box and collaborating with others to come up with solutions.”

“It’s important to be a student of life and that means the learning doesn’t stop once you’ve left school.”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategies at CIBC

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have come to the forefront of recruitment and internal dialogue over the last few years as their necessity has risen to attention. With 10 groups throughout CIBC focussing on like-minded individuals coming together with shared interests or backgrounds, there is a place for everyone at CIBC.

We wanted to dive deeper into CIBC’s initiatives, so we asked Shalise to describe why diversity, equity, and inclusion are important at CIBC. “At CIBC we want you to feel a sense of belonging. We want you to come into work each and every day truly believing that you can be your authentic self without hiding or covering who you truly are and that you will be accepted for it. Only then will you feel like it’s a safe space that’s open for you to bring your whole self to work.”

When it comes to the CIBC’s internal strategies and the future of recruitment, Shalise had this to say: “Candidates are interested in a company’s diversity and inclusion strategy and how they fit into it. Going back to the belonging piece, people want to join a company that they feel safe in, that they feel cares about them and that are making commitments to be inclusive and equitable. It’s important that we are hiring diverse candidates so we can be reflective of the communities we serve.

Final Thoughts

CIBC has built an array of initiatives to foster an inclusive and diverse workplace for students, new grads, and experienced professionals alike. It is a workplace where everyone is welcome and CIBC is constantly evolving to stay at the forefront of critical initiatives. 

“We want you to grow both personally and professionally and there are a number of ways to do that at CIBC.”

To learn more about CIBC’s student and new graduate programs check out their employer profile on TalentEgg!