Hey there, aspiring students! As a first year Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) student, I know how daunting the thought of a job search can be. For this very reason, as September came to an end, I was eager to attend the Launch Your Career (LYC) professional development conference hosted by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF). LYC is designed to be a critical step in developing first year students professionally to be better prepared in the co-op process.
Firstly, hats off to SAF for a smooth transition to a virtual version of LYC this year! With that being said, I can say from experience that this event didn’t let me down. The biggest takeaway from LYC if I had to sum it up in one word would be networking. Think of networking as an opportunity to meet recruiters face to face to establish a connection that makes you stand out from the pack in today’s competitive workforce.
Our guest speaker at the conference, Stuart Knight, taught us that the key to networking lies within sparking interesting conversations, and boy oh boy was he an interesting and captivating speaker. The LYC virtual event also provided us with a LinkedIn 101 workshop, which gave me extra motivation to create an attractive LinkedIn profile that will help me attain networking and career opportunities. The SAF has proven time and time again that they will support our endeavors, from offering opportunities to learn skills such as networking, to landing our first co-op placement and beyond!