Jayne Hayden retiring after 32 years at the University of Waterloo

Jayne Hayden has been putting care in career advising for 26 years with the Centre for Career Development (CCD). After 32 years at the University of Waterloo, on March 8, 2024 she embarks on a new path on her career journey heading toward retirement.

For anyone who's had the privilege to work or have an appointment with Jayne, you know she is a kind, compassionate, inquisitive, thoughtful and supportive person. She cares deeply about an individual’s passions, creativity, purpose and ability to think about careers from different angles. She approaches career advising from a person-centered, trauma-informed lens.

One of her greatest skills is creating a rapport with folks that puts them at ease as they deep dive into personal reflection and analyze what’s next on their career journey. Jayne has built a career by connecting well with students and alumni, probably because of her non-linear education and career journey, as well as the understanding and wisdom she brings to her interactions and relationships. 

Jayne’s path started at Waterloo by earning a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (she wanted to be an Archaeologist!). After finishing her undergraduate degree, she tried a variety of jobs in various fields, from fundraising to human resources, to figure out what resonated.  She decided to shift gears and attend Conestoga College for Computer Programming and worked briefly in life insurance before starting her career journey at Waterloo as an office administrator for the Arts Student Union.

The key to careers is deep self-introspection

The self-introspection gave her the clarity to make career choices that resonated with her, one of which was her desire to support others. It was at this point that she applied to be a career advisor at the Career Resource Centre, which was part of Cooperative Education & Career Services (CECS) and was later promoted to Career Resource Centre manager.  During this time, career planning assessments, appointments and workshops were run by Counselling Services. In the early 2000s, these services moved to CECS.

To continue to provide career counselling and planning outside of Counselling Services, Jayne was required to complete a master’s in Counselling Psychology. As her career journey continued to go in a new direction, Jayne embraced this change and enroled at the University of Toronto to complete her master’s in Counselling Psychology degree while continuing to work at Waterloo as a career counsellor. When the Career Resource Centre rebranded to the Centre of Career Action, Jayne left supervising and has been working as a career advisor since.

As a career advisor, Jayne has touched the lives of thousands of students and alumni

She has had many notable accomplishments over her 32 years of employment at the University of Waterloo.

During her time at the CCD, Jayne was instrumental in:

• Creating PD1: Career Fundamentals.
• Assisting EDGE and PD1 co-op TAs each term.
• Developing and writing much of the CareerHub content.
• Developing 60 hours of career curriculum for the WE Accelerate program.
• Conducted team lead training in support of their students and graded assignments.

She was also an adjunct professor for 15 years, teaching a for-credit career development course (ARTS111). Jayne is also passionate about sustainability and has been a Green Office Ambassador in CCD for the past four years, where she has been co-leading the work to advocate for more environmentally conscious efforts within the unit and engage the staff in sustainability topics.

Jayne has had a diverse and dynamic career at Waterloo, and she will be continuing her dynamic lifestyle in retirement. She is working four part-time jobs, including teaching a career development course at Conestoga College and working as a personal trainer and fitness instructor at Kitchener YMCA. She hopes to spend more time with family and friends while enjoying her very large and wild backyard complete with an organic vegetable garden.

We wish Jayne all the best in retirement. Her last day in office is March 8, but she officially retires on April 30. We will miss her at the Centre for Career Development!