Tonight's main course: expert career advice
Of all the things a student can do at university, savouring a leisurely meal with professionals offering free career advice could be the most sensible. That’s the idea behind Advancement and Alumni Relations’ (AAR) awarding-winning Dinner for Eight.
The program pairs working professionals, typically Concordia alumni, with students seeking job-market tips. Hosts are matched to students according to career interests.
The dinners are so popular that when participants met at Otto Restaurant in Montreal’s financial district, on March 21, there were three hosts per table.
Heather Ferguson, an MA student in media studies, thanks her stars for meeting Paula Berandino, a communications specialist at Sun Life Financial and a John Molson School of Business (JMSB) graduate. “[Paula] had just gone through a job search herself,” says Ferguson. “So she actually had lots of tips on which websites to consult, how to network and translate that into a job.”
It’s sage advice as up to 80 per cent of vacancies are never advertised, according head hunters. Indeed, it’s why participants are encouraged to stay in touch.
Sarah Pepper, a JMSB marketing major, gained three personal introductions in her field before her first course was served. “It will help me a lot because the alumni who were present are open to staying in contact with us,” says Pepper, who plans to work in the United Kingdom after she graduates.
Dinner for Eight complements AAR’s popular Mentor Program, a similar set-up minus the epicurean experience. Meanwhile, advice from experts such as Patrick Hardy, sales director at CNW Group, is as diverse as Otto’s wine cellar. Although confident and outspoken, Hardy favours carrots over sticks to motivate his staff. “We work with human beings and we’re all unique, so a cookie-cutter approach just doesn’t work,” he tells his guests between bites.
Like all hosts who sign up to the dinners, Hardy is generous with his knowledge and is stimulated by the youthful perspectives his protégés bring to the table. Yet hosting, he and his peers say, is not bereft of challenges.
Possibly the most common source of anxiety hosts face are students’ queries over their qualifications and inexperience.
“I was surprised that [students] really feel they need to know everything before they get a job,” says Sharon Hunter, a marketing consultant. “You have to be prepared to think on your feet and learn and adapt as you go. That was one of the messages I was trying to get across.”
It arrived. “They definitely gave me a sense of what the workplace is like,” Pepper says of her hosts. That in itself puts the 23-year-old slightly ahead of the curve.
Related links:
• Dinner for Eight
• Concordia Mentor Program