Personal & Professional Development

2020 has been an unprecedented and extraordinary year. What we at the OLC have been pleasantly surprised by is how inspiring our contributing authors have been. Many of our posts touched on the reality of the pandemic, but they were written from a place of positivity and resilience. To wrap up 2020 at the SFU OLC, we've curated our top 12 inspiring posts and summarized how they can continue to inspire you in the New Year.

Gaining research experience, for many, is the first step to forging a rewarding career path in many fields across SFU. But are you confused about how to get the research experience you need? In this blog, Des’ree shares some helpful tips that help you find great research opportunities.

Communication skills are more than spelling and grammar structure. As per Alyanna's supervisor, "Communication is a strategy action to receive what you expect to accomplish.” Read on to learn more about how she develops a different perspective of what communication is about from her co-op experience.

Robert's boss shared a key lesson with him about an essential trait that can get one hired. What is that trait and how can you develop it? Read on to learn more from Robert.

Finding a co-op placement can be quite stressful, but if you stick with it you might just find your dream position. Read John’s article on persevering through a difficult job search and making the most of a co-op placement.

How you carry yourself in your working environment will determine your growth, achievements, and what kind of work environment you engage in. Read more about how Tiffany realized what she has made out of her experience is what ultimately defined her workplace.

See how Career Peer Julia finds confidence and gains perspective regarding career and educational planning at the West Coast Virtual Fair. The final piece of a two-part series.

Wondering what it is like to work to work for TEDxSFU? Curious why you should seek leadership roles in student clubs? Des'ree interviews Nhi Nguyen, the former Project Lead of TEDxSFU and asks about her experience, lessons learnt and the challenges she faced in this position.

Can introverts be outstanding leaders? Check out this article from Des'ree in which she talks about what kind of traits introverts have that can be harnessed for leadership roles.

Follow Gabriel on a journey of self-reflection as he shares with us some of the lessons he's learnt while on a Co-op term at Tranction on Demand.

As a university student, have you been having some trouble making remote teamwork fun and engaging? Des'ree shares what she's learned from her remote semester experience and provides some tips on how to improve the quality of your teamwork experience.

Networking in person can be tough but virtual networking online can be even more confusing. Have no fear, Des'ree is here to help! Here she shares her advice and tips for how you can better virtually network at the next webinar social event.

Having trouble figuring out how to stay engaged at work from the comfort of your own home? Tiffany shares some ways she’s become more proactive with her learning despite working from home, and how she’s gotten more involved at IBM during her remote internship experience.

Thinking about working remotely for your next co-op term? Political Science student, Maja Lampa describes her experience adapting to remote work during her first season with the Federal Government and how she found meaningful work in uncertain times.

Being able to keep an optimistic outlook was the key skill Sandy discovered that would help her weather the changes the pandemic brought earlier this year. As a research assistant promoting physical activity and social connectedness among seniors in BC, she had to figure out how to switch tracks quickly and easily without loosing sight of her team's objectives. Read on to learn how she found the silver linings to her new remote working situation.

How do you prepare for an interview at the Government of Canada? Haebin summarizes for you the key points from a webinar hosted by Angela Foraaunet, a Human Resources Advisor in the Public Service Commission of Canada. Read on to learn more about Ms. Forraunet’s golden advice on acing the interviews and aiming for success.

TW has been hearing this line over and over for a large part of her life. For the most part, she didn't know how to manage her ADHD symptoms, mostly because she didn't know she had ADHD. Read on to learn more about TW's journey and why going to SFU Health & Counselling was life-changing.

Who are SFU’s Career Peers? What was it like to be onboarded and trained remotely? What are they up to on the (virtual) campus this semester? Sharon Gill, a Career Peer at Career & Volunteer Services at SFU, tells us all.

It's no easy feat being able to stand out from the crowd when job-seeking after graduating. For Taylor, her unique SFU background comes from her combined SFU Athlete and Co-op work experience. Read on to learn more about why she recommends fellow athletes to join the Co-op program.

A lot of Oliver's friends and classmates would talk about wanting to travel away and work in new and novel places. Oliver didn't feel the same way. In this blog post, he shares his reasoning for staying at SFU and why he always wanted to work where he studied.

A coffee interview might seem like the most informal type of interview out there, but don't get too laid back yet. Check out this edition of the Interview Series to learn more about how you should handle preparing and carrying out a coffee interview masterfully.

In his first job, Graham worked as a dishwasher. Now, he just completed his fifth co-op work term as a Project Coordinator for Translation at SAP. Graham describes what his co-op journey has been and what he's learned along the way.

As Priscilla learned, working at a scale-up company comes with valuable lessons and takeaways but also unique challenges. Read on to learn more about what she learned from her time working as a Strategy Intern.