Career week at the U of M began on Jan. 9 and gave students the opportunity to network, furthering their potential success at finding jobs.

Students were encouraged to interact with the career advisors to find out about the weeklong event intended to enhance career and employment experiences.

A workshop titled “Taking the Fear out of Career: Coping with Career Decision Worries” took place on the first day of the event. The workshop helped students learn how to cope with the anxiety that may come with making career-based decisions.

Thursday, Jan. 10, featured two workshops: “A Practical Guide to Decision Making,” which guided students through decision-making processes such as why decisions may be difficult and how to improve decision making, and “Career Fair Success: Resume Ready,” which allowed students to review their resumes and learn how to properly present a resume while giving a good impression to a potential employer.

Two seminars were featured on Monday, Jan. 14. The first workshop, “Resume Critique,” was for students who already had a resume created and were seeking an employment advisor to look over their resume. The second workshop, “Career Information 101,” helped show students different career options that they may not have yet considered. It also gave them tools for successful career planning.

The two workshops on Tuesday, Jan. 15 were titled, “What is Graduate School? Do I Want it or Need it?” and “Luck Isn’t Everything: Creating Your Own Career Opportunities.” These workshops allowed students to see the bigger picture after graduation. They helped point out the deciding factors of attending graduate school and how students should market themselves to create unexpected job opportunities.

The grand finale of career week, Jan. 16, is the day of Career Fair 2013, where over 80 potential employers are available for students who are looking for full-time or part-time work, summer employment, or volunteer opportunities.

Employment advisor Lindsey Hiebert from career services told the Manitoban that Manitoba was not hit as hard during the recession like many other provinces in Canada. She did admit that there have been hiring freezes or lower employment rates in particular sectors or industries.

Hiebert said the reason for Manitoba’s immunity during the recession is its diversified economy, which is a strength during economic hardships.

“Overall, I would say Manitoba is in a good position. We try to focus in Career Services on helping students become [more] employable through career planning and goal setting, getting related work/volunteer experience, and networking.”

When asked about the reality of the pervasive “follow your dreams” paradigm regarding career choices, Hiebert commented that it is easy to merely say “go for your dream job” without taking other factors into consideration, such as salary. She mentioned, however, the importance of loving whatever it is you’re currently in pursuit of.

“If you don’t love what you do, it is difficult to devote such significant time and effort, and I would more than suspect that how interested you are in your job would affect how productive you are on a daily basis,” said Hiebert.

Hiebert argued that career choices come down to what an individual values the most. Examples include how much you make, the potential to help other people, whether the job is right for you or not, and the level of freedom you have to make your own decisions and be creative.

“Is it a requirement for you that your job helps you to fulfill goals in your life? Or can you realize your dreams outside of work, and is that okay for you?” said Hiebert.

The career fair is intended to help students along in finding out what they want in a career, to get the career they have always wanted, and to help in the planning stage for education.

The event, which takes place every year, yielded approximately 4,000 students last year. Hiebert said she has spoken with many students who have found success through career week by networking with potential employers and obtained a job because of it.

Lisa Chang, a second-year nursing student, said she plans on attending career week to find something in the health-related field.

“I’ll be looking for pretty much any type of full-time employment for the summer because I need it for tuition,” said Chang.