Supporting fellow Concordians in the workplace

Alumni who work at Montreal-based Beiersdorf Canada embody the spirit of Choose Concordians program

September 13, 2013

By Joe Barde

Mutual experiences can enhance relationships. According to Amanda Cabiakman, BComm 12, the opportunity to intern under the guidance of a fellow Concordian helped her excel.

“Our shared background fortified our relationship from the beginning,” says Cabiakman, whose work as both an intern and employee was supervised by colleague Jennifer Beauchamp, BComm 07.

“She understood what it is like to be a John Molson School of Business student, what I studied and was experiencing.”

Cabiakman says their immediate rapport helped her successfully complete an internship at Beiersdorf Canada, a skin-care product manufacturer that later hired her as a full-time employee.

From left: Jennifer Beauchamp, BComm 07, and Amanda Cabiakman, BComm 12, at Beiersdorf Canada’s Montreal offices | Photo courtesy: Jennifer Beauchamp

In many ways, Beiersdorf embodies the spirit of Choose Concordians, an initiative spearheaded by Advancment and Alumni Relations to encourage alumni to hire fellow graduates. By leveraging the university’s career centres to offer job-posting services,on-campus recruitment and facilitate Co-op work terms, the Choose Concordians program gives employers easy access to a pool of talented candidates.

Beiersdorf works closely with Concordia’s Institute for Co-operative Education, which arranges student work terms in private industry, non-profit organizations and government agencies. The company hires 10 to 12 Co-op students annually.

Beauchamp, who as a brand manager still supervises Cabiakman, strongly backs Beiersdorf’s continued involvement with the Co-op program.

She too landed her job after completing a Co-op with the corporation. “The Co-op program allowed me to understand more concretely what business is,” Beauchamp says. “It allowed me to get the job and career I have today.”

And now — speaking from a managerial standpoint — she says taking part is simply good business.

“It enables you to find talent out there. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to have Co-op students. And it makes the organization better.”

Beiersdorf has also participated in the Apprentice, a business competition based on the TV show and organized by SIFE Concordia, a student-run organization. Competing teams are asked to assess a real-world business problem. Beiersdorf representatives served as judges and gave feedback to participants.

For Beauchamp, such events present opportunities to further strengthen the Beiersdorf-Concordia relationship. Such platforms, as well as Choose Concordians, allow management to get a sense of the high-calibre students the JMSB produces. “Concordia has a fantastic reputation around here,” she says. “It’s held in high regard because we push the relationship.”

Both Beauchamp and Cabiakman are keen to see Beiersdorf continue to give opportunities to talented Concordians. Beauchamp attends networking events for business students and has given talks about her career and profession.

“It’s nice to shed light on what it means to be a brand manager and work in marketing,” she says.

Cabiakman volunteers with student organizations and attends networking events geared to marketing students. She recently took part in Dinner for Eight, a mentorship program organized by Advancement and Alumni Relations that brings together Concordia students and grads over a meal to share career advice.

“I think it’s great for Concordians to support Concordians. My objective is to strengthen that relationship,” she says.

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Supporting fellow Concordians in the workplace

Supporting fellow Concordians in the workplace

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