Career Development is a familiar word of past to parents of the NEXTGEN. Today, it’s at the forefront of planning for students and their parents as a way to assure that the years in post secondary will include their best choices for the future that lies ahead.
In Episode 2 Cori Foged shares advice for students who are about to enter post secondary, and the importance of aligning their personality and preferences to the choices that they make in their selection of programs, courses and as well the type of post secondary.
Stay tuned for Episode 3 with Cori on what talent means to different people.
Cori’s Blog
Shopping for and finding the right higher education can sometimes be overwhelming as the choices are endless. Where do you start? Open houses, websites and brochures, engaging recruiters, etc. all are in place to help you make the right decision for your future education but to sift through the information takes time so it is good to have a strategic plan to guide the process. This process assumes you have spent some time considering what you would like to do in the future which is a whole other blog.
The first step in determining the right higher education experience is to talk to the employers that hire in the area you are interested in pursuing. Don’t just talk to one, gather a strong sample size of 10 or more. Ask employers what credentials they look for in the people they hire and the school they like to hire from and why. Once you have gathered that information (and made some great networking connections for your future, by the way) start researching.
If you are thinking of a unique program only available at one post-secondary, the research time will be considerably diminished. However, chances are you are considering higher education that is offered from a number of post-secondaries and that is where your sleuthing skills come in handy. To simplify your online searches you may want to check out FutureCite Forward XYZ
Start with reading the program descriptions on each post-secondary website. Investigate the types of courses that make up the credential and see if the course titles sound interesting to you. Finally, check to see what you need to apply. Each program usually has a different set of requirements and reading the application requirements can sometimes be like taking a degree itself, but well worth it in the end as not all admissions are created equal. Usually there is a combination of high school classes you will need to have completed and a certain mark you will need to have achieved. Entrance into programs is usually first applied, first accepted or competitive. If a program is competitive, entrance will usually depend on marks.
When you meet those great recruiters (because open houses and information sessions are great opportunities to learn more about your program), be sure to ask them about the process for application, timelines (usually October before the year you want to start is the beginning of application season) and the companies that hire their grads (they usually have a list). Wander around the campus and see if you like the feel and picture yourself going to school there. Education is an investment and you want to make sure it is the right one for you.
About Cori Foged BA
Cori is the Director of Career Education and Coaching Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta. She brings 20 years of experience working in the career development field specifically in higher educational settings with a focus on work integrated learning (WIL) and skilled in strategy, career management, student development, employer engagement, and operations management.
She has ideas – lots of them. Generating ideas is as natural as breathing to her and rarely is she at a loss on what to do next which makes strategy a fun game to play. Cori also likes to implement – whether it is a mentorship program, a wellness initiative or development of leading edge career content, there is always something on her list of things to do, articles to read or actions to take. She is a political and economic junkie. Last but not least, to Cori, people are the best – to her people make it all worthwhile.
