1 / 22

Career Planning Seminar for International Students

Michael Mandrusiak, Student Counsellor Angela Bohonos, Career Employment Advisor. Career Planning Seminar for International Students. Planning Ahead for the School to Work Transition. Overview. Trends and service needs in Canada Highlighting our career preparation seminar

irisa
Download Presentation

Career Planning Seminar for International Students

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Michael Mandrusiak, Student Counsellor Angela Bohonos, Career Employment Advisor Career Planning Seminar for International Students Planning Ahead for the School to Work Transition

  2. Overview • Trends and service needs in Canada • Highlighting our career preparation seminar • What can we learn from it?

  3. Enrollment Trends • International student enrollment is on the rise • Active Recruitment strategies • Oklahoma City University – 31% • Boston University: 4,571 in 1999 • Dalton, 1999 • 72% do not plan to return to country of origin • (Spencer-Rodgers, 2000; Parr, Bradley & Bingi, 1992)

  4. U of M Enrollment Trends • Office of Institutional Statistics, University of Manitoba, 2007 International Students International Students

  5. U of M Enrollment Trends International Students International Students Office of Institutional Statistics, University of Manitoba, 2007

  6. Country of Origin for Seminar

  7. Rationale • New responsibilities, knowledge and skill requirements for student development professionals • Eg. Wood and Kia (2000) • Our own experiences • What can I do with an Economics Degree? • 90-Day Panic • Do international students need career planning?

  8. What Students want to know • Work permit questions… • How do I become “legally employable” in Canada? • How do I deal with employers who are reluctant to hire a foregin worker? • Job search questions… • How do I find job postings? • How do I write a cover letter or prepare a resume? • Interview… help! • Career Preparation questions… • I want to know for sure what to do after university • To learn about having a career and life in Canada

  9. What We Did… • 6 session seminar in the Winter term of 2007 • Closed group, attendance ranging from 14 to 22 • Interactive and fun!! • Small groups • Food

  10. Session 1 • Worries and Challenges • What jobs do I like • Interview preparation • Small talk • Transportation • Housing • Homesick • Winter • Language skills • Meeting new friends • Cultural differences • Lack of work experience • Jokes/slang • Looking stupid • International status/ work permits

  11. Session 1: Career Word Game

  12. Session 1: Career Word Game

  13. Session 2 • What is important to you in a career? • Learning • Financial Return • Challenge • Achievement • Equity & Respect • Interest • Recognition • Location • Job Market • Contribution • Family values

  14. Sessions 3-6 • Session 3: Matching interests to career possibilities. Identifying potential employers (NOC code, labour market info). • Session 4: Work permit info and interview etiquette. • Session 5: Job skills and Resume building • Session 6: Culmination and reflection.

  15. What We Learned…

  16. The data… • Increase in reported levels of confidence (p<.05) and knowledge (p <.05) Student Ratings of the Career Program • Rating of the program (1 = Strongly Disagree; 5 = Strongly Agree)

  17. Student Feedback What parts of the seminar did you find helpful? • Interviews and resumes • Job search skills • Learning about the “soft skills” • Group discussion • Identifying potential employers • Practice interviews

  18. Student Feedback What might make it more helpful? • More time!!! • More group discussion • Former international students as guest speakers • More coverage of resume and cover letter writing

  19. Our Observations • Sharing of Canadian/western culture (eg. Small talk) • Flexibility! • Students respond well to small group interaction • Need for screening regarding level of acculturation to western culture

  20. Our Observations • Recognizing external pressures and responding to urgency • More active collaboration with other departments needed. • Marketing: • Rooms/space • word of mouth • student groups • Other campus departments

  21. Concluding Points • An increase in student diversity comes with a need for programming targeted at meeting the unique needs of these diverse groups. • International students represent a growing population on Canadian campuses • Preparation for transitioning to a career in Canada is an important need for many international students. • Student development professionals can learn from each other as we make creative efforts to respond to the changing and diverse range of student needs.

  22. Contact Information • Michael Mandrusiak • Phone: 204-474-8622 • Email: M_Mandrusiak@umanitoba.ca • Angela Bohonos • 204-474-6580 • Angela_Bohonos@umanitoba.ca

More Related