The education you get from your time at college is definitely important, but remember you have other assets to help you get a job at the end of it. Your education is only one piece of the puzzle. Remember that when you graduate, you’ll be competing against hundreds of other new grads for jobs – how do you stand out? You want to make use of everything that’s available to you. One of the most under-used and greatest resources available at college is your faculty.
Your faculty comes from the industry; full-time faculty have usually been in the industry for a number of years, and part-time faculty are still in the industry. What that means is that they know people! They have industry connections that might be hiring or looking for new talent, and are in a position to connect you to those people. They’re also the people who know you best in terms of job skills. They’ve seen you grow and learn and can vouch for your skills and capabilities.
When I was in the Business – Marketing program here at Algonquin, I took advantage of the fact that I wasn’t in a massive lecture hall where the prof didn’t even know my name. I made a conscious effort to get to know my faculty (and it turns out they were pretty awesome people), and get them to know me. That meant participating in class, and talking with them on a break or before/after class. Once I had built up that relationship, my profs would start sending job opportunities my way. In fact, my first internship was sent my way by my program coordinator. That was a great experience for me, and all because I took the time to get to know my faculty.
It doesn’t stop there either. I started as a Student Ambassador doing tours of the college before making my way to my current full-time job. Know how I found out about the tours gig? One of the profs at the college knew I was looking for a job, heard about the Student Ambassador position and let me know about it. That was my stepping-stone to a job I absolutely love, and all because my prof gave me the heads up.
So work hard while you’re at college, do your best and rock your studies, but don’t forget the brilliant people who are teaching you. You never know, you just might have them to thank for a job you love.