Wish you could ask an upper-year student some questions about course selection? Looking for an extra set of eyes for your resume? Nervous about your first round of co-op interviews? Waterloo’s ARBUS Society can help.
Run by Arts and Business students, the ARBUS Society offers workshops, social events and networking conferences to help you gain confidence and skills, make connections with alumni and fellow students, and prepare for professional life after your degree.
“We have lots of professional development and networking events — sometimes a little more social, sometimes more professional — I like to keep a good mix,” says society president Jenny.
Consider joining the team yourself. Working with ARBUS Society is a low-stress way to test-run many aspects of professional life. Applying for a position gets you interviewing experience and feedback. As a society executive member, you’ll gain soft and hard skills, ranging from leadership, teamwork, and communication skills, to design, marketing, event planning and operations experience.
Callie took the jump in her first term at Waterloo. “My goal was to meet upper year students in my program that I could learn a lot from,” she says. “I joined the team right in September 2023—I didn’t even know my way around campus! But it was definitely very helpful having upper years guide me through that transition as a first year.”
“You know how in high school you need to get a certain number of volunteer hours? Clubs in general are a type of volunteering experience,” says Spencer, VP Events. “And volunteering is a great way to get some hands-on experience before your first co-op term.” As ARBUS Society President, Jenny makes a point of planning events well in advance, so society members can comfortably fit volunteering into their school schedules.
Time can feel like a precious commodity during your degree, but investing some with ARBUS Society can pay off over the long term. “These events help create a bridge between your degree and the real world,” says Nicole, VP of Design. “People say, ‘What can you do with a Bachelor of Arts?’ And in reality, you can do a lot!
“I think that’s our main goal in the ARBUS Society, to alleviate that stress for people who are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts.”
Our resume critique event is important because it’s from an Arts & Business perspective. You’re having an upper-year student talk with you through your resume, rather than someone from a different program who can’t market your program in the same way that a student can who has been through those experiences themselves and has very similar career goals to you.
I would really encourage first and second years to get involved early. Getting involved not only helps with developing skills, but recruiters like to see that you’re volunteering your time. And it makes your undergrad experience better—you get to meet likeminded people.
Joining a club and putting yourself out there is one of the biggest things I wished I’d gotten into when I was starting off. Definitely take advantage of all the events. And free pizza—that’s an added bonus!
Getting to know the team has been an amazing opportunity. As the VP of Design, I was lucky to get a lot of experience with software, like Figma and Photoshop. I got to apply my skills to social media creation, poster design—that’s something I’m really happy I got to learn through the club.
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