2006 Job Fair At SLAIS
The School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia held its first-ever student organized Job Fair on Friday, March 3, 2006. The event was coordinated and organized by members of the student organizations at SLAIS: the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Student Chapter, the British Columbia Library Association and Canadian Library Association (BCLA/CLA) Student Chapter, the Library and Archival Studies Students Association (LASSA), and the Special Library Association (SLA) Student Chapter.
Over 80 students and 20 professionals attended. The day opened with a keynote address by Simon Fraser University Associate Librarian Todd Mundle, who got the Job Fair off to a positive start by relating some personal and professional success stories. Mr. Mundle focused on the rosy future for the information professions, and shared his own insights as both an employer and an employee in the library world. Over the course of the day, two panel discussions took place, during which information professionals from a variety of backgrounds discussed their own experiences looking for jobs and staying active in the workplace. The morning session, “Where Do I Start?” focused on the beginning stages of the job hunt, from searching for postings to writing a cover letter to dressing for success at the interview. In the afternoon, the “Promoting Yourself” session dealt with personal marketing, on the job and within an organization. During both panels, student participants brought interesting questions to the table and were met with excellent answers by the professionals.
One-on-one sessions with information professionals were an integral part of the Job Fair. Students who had signed up in advance brought their resumes and cover letters along to have them critiqued by a professional in their area of interest. These twenty-minute sessions were a fabulous success, allowing students to polish their CVs while also networking with archivists and librarians with experience in the hiring process. Participants in the one-on-one sessions came away with an increased awareness of how to sell themselves through their resumes, and how to tailor their credentials to a particular position.
Members of the Job Fair committee for 2006: Natalie Catto, Cobi Falconer, Caitlin Fralick, Andrea Freeman, Paul Joseph, Tracey Krause, Carolyn Petrie, Todd Rowlatt, and Linda Williams. Thanks to Dr. Edie Rasmussen and SLAIS, the UBC Alma Mater Society, and the parent organizations whose donations were essential and much appreciated.
A very special thanks to all of the panel and workshop participants who made
the Job Fair a real success: Todd Mundle (Keynote Speaker), Heather Gordon,
Margaret Friesen, Sandie Bradley, Frances Fournier, Beth Barlow, Debbie
Schachter, Chris Ball, Terra Dickson, George Brandak, Dean Giustini, Simon
Neame, Shirley Lew, Diane Thompson, Krisztina Laszlo, Colin Preston, Teresa
Hartman, Janis McKenzie, Heather Scoular, and Shelagh Flaherty.
Photos from the Job Fair |
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