graduate - Academic Calendar - University of Western Ontario

Make the most of your time at Western — get experience!
GET EXPERIENCE at WESTERN
Community Service Learning - Co-operative Education - Fieldwork - Job Shadow - Internships - Practicum - Volunteering
To learn skills that can be included in a resume
Often students complain they can’t get a first job because they do not have any prior employment to include in their resume. If you think paid
employment is the only type of experience an employer is looking for, it is not true! Employers and recruiters look for experience, as well as other
transferable skills. Employers are often willing to train someone who is eager to learn and do the work for free, or on a part-time basis. It’s a great
trade off — the employer gets the work done and you get the skills and experience your resume is lacking!
To figure out what you like
How many times have you answered the phrase ‘what would you like to be when you grow up?’ You may be very confident about your chosen
career path (eg. you’ve always wanted to be a doctor), or you may be less sure of your future occupation. You may spend four years, or more,
in university only to discover on the first day
of your new job that you strongly dislike an
important element of your career. Getting practical
experience in the field now, while you are still in
the planning stages, will give you a taste of what
is to come. The more varied experience you have,
the clearer your vision will be of where you would
like to end up.
To meet people and make
contacts
While you’re honing your transferable skills
and scoping out potential industries, you’ll also be
doing something else: gaining valuable contacts!
Networking is potentially the most important job
search technique. The best thing you can do to
give yourself a competitive edge when searching
for your dream job is to develop a strong network
of people within the industry.
To give back to your
community
The wonderful thing about gaining experience
is that while you catch a glimpse into your future
career and enhance your resume, you may also
be able to give back to your community in a
valuable way. You’ll gain the skills you need, and
community organizations will be able to provide
programs and services to those who need it most.
This may turn out to be the most rewarding
component of your experience!
Conclusion
Getting experience is an important step in
determining your career path! Just remember that
skills are valuable, and whether you learn them in the
classroom, in an office, or at a volunteer placement,
you can – and should – include these skills on your
resume. In today’s job market, it is important to
highlight all of your skills and experience to give
yourself the most competitive edge.
If you would like advice regarding how
to obtain experience, or how to include your
experiences on your resume, we would be happy
to help. Just call, email, or drop in with your
questions.
Choosing the Right experience for you:
How to find On Campus jobs:
What could be more convenient than working and attending class in the same location?
That is true one-stop shopping! To find on-campus work opportunities:
• Watch for the Hospitality Services Job Fair in the spring, summer and fall
• Visit the various campus employers to ask them about their hiring schedule
• Check out the Working at Western website at communications.uwo.ca/careers
How to find Off Campus jobs
CareerCentral https://careercentral.uwo.ca
• Login with your UWO username and password and try an advanced search
Experiential learning refers to hands-on experience you obtain by applying theoretical
knowledge in a real-world setting. We call it learning outside the classroom! With
experiential learning, you may have the chance to ‘test-drive’ a particular job or employment
sector to see if it is a good fit with your skills. Other benefits include the development of
skills such as teamwork, leadership, initiative, and communication. Experiential learning
can provide you with relevant, rewarding experience as you build your resume, and make
you more competitive for summer jobs and post-graduation employment. Experiential
learning includes community service learning, co-operative education, fieldwork, job
shadow, internship, practicum and volunteering.
There are a number of volunteer programs on campus; search for Western’s Volunteer
Program postings in CareerCentral. You can also become a Career Leader for The Student
Success Centre and help others discover their career path, while learning a whole lot
yourself! Other volunteer opportunities can be found in the Volunteer and Clubs section in
this guide
Off Campus (In your community and abroad)
You can search for “Volunteer” opportunities in CareerCentral. Also, check out www.
success.uwo.ca to find volunteer opportunities in the London community, and around the
world!
Western offers courses in various faculties that have a community service-learning
component: check out success.uwo.ca and click on experience to search by your faculty and
discover CSL courses in your field of study!
Western also has a number of non-academic CSL programs including:
Western Serves: a popular one-day service event at various locations in the London
community, offered annually on the 3rd Saturday of September.
Alternative Spring Break (ASB): a week-long service program occurring during Reading
Week where students have the opportunity to travel and volunteer in locations all over the
world. Previous years’ experiences have included building houses in New Orleans, and
serving at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
Internships & Co-ops include Western’s Internship Program and the Summer
Engineering Co-op Program (SECOP). Information on completing an internship
as a part of your program, or outside of Western, can be found at success.uwo.ca.
Or contact your faculty to see if they offer co-operative education as part of their
programming.
working
experiential
learning
volunteering
Community
Service Learning
internships
Get Experience!
STUDENT GUIDE 2010-2011
www.success.uwo.ca | successcentre@uwo.ca | 519-661-3559 | UCC210
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