Career Speed Networking

Think of speed dating with a professional twist.

Concordia graduates from various professional backgrounds in arts, sciences and humanities are invited to share personal career-related stories and job tips with current students in a fun and interactive environment.

Modelled after the speed-dating concept, student participants had one hour—divided into six, 10-minute sessions—to meet and pose questions to any of the mentors about the job market and their professional pursuits.

 

Information for Students (Mentees)

Under the umbrella of the Concordia Mentor Program, the Career Speed Networking event creates an opportunity for successful graduates to meet and share their career experiences with current students.

What to expect

The speed networking segment is divided into six, 10-minute sessions. Groups of two to four students will be paired with a mentor to ask questions and pick up job search and career tips. Every 10 minutes, the students will move to a different mentor for another round of networking. An informal cocktail reception will follow, where you may continue discussions started during the speed networking session.

This event is not a career fair or job recruitment opportunity. However, the wealth of information and career tips provided by graduates can help you build and develop your future career.

How to prepare

To maximize this networking opportunity and make the event more meaningful, we suggest that you:

• Come prepared with a short list of questions for mentors. Choose two or three and use them as guidelines.
• Be open-minded. In case there are no alumni from your field of study or career of interest, remember that even people working in other fields can still be valuable sources of information.
• Arrive at the event on time. This will help you to get oriented and to feel more relaxed and confident. Remember to bring a pen and paper to take notes.
• Attend the "Basics of Networking" workshop at 5 p.m., immediately proceeding the Speed-netwoking session.
• Expect to learn, build your career network and have fun!

Sample questions

• What is your job like? What happens in a typical day?
• What duties and responsibilities does your job involve?
• What kind of problems do you deal with?
• What kinds of decisions do you make?
• Why did this type of work interest you and how did you get started?
• How did you get your job?
• How would someone get an entry-level job in your field?

Information for Mentors

Joining the Career Speed Networking event as a mentor is a great way to stay involved with your alma mater. By sharing personal, career-related stories and job tips, you'll help current Concordia students in their job search and future career.

To help students to prepare in advance, we'd like to publish online the names of alumni volunteers with their job titles and degree information.

What to expect

The speed-networking segment is divided into six, 10-minute rounds. As a mentor, you'll be assigned a table and matched with two to four students. You'll introduce yourself and the students will then ask you career-related questions. Each round, students will be prompted to move to a new table to meet a different mentor.

An informal cocktail reception will follow, where you may continue discussions started during the speed-networking segment.

How to prepare

Bring your business cards to share with students and fellow alumni.

Prepare an introduction that provides a snapshot of your professional background, experience and current work situation. Consider sharing highlights of your professional career.

Prepare short ice-breakers to encourage shy or nervous students to participate in the conversations. Ice-breakers may include general questions about a student's field of study or career interests.

Typical questions students may ask

• How did you get your job?
• What do you like most/least about your job?
• Did your degree prepare you for your career?
• Do you have any advice to offer about potential internships or jobs in your career field?