Sales on books with diet plans, self help books and gym memberships are at an all time high this time of year. As well, many people also determine to change their careers, pursue career progression or look for a more fulfilling role.

For DAP students, who are at UBC “for a good time and not a long time” [Lyrics not original to me 😉 ], it is time to get things moving to have success for this year’s campus recruiting and for pursuing any employment before your program completion.

In your aspirations to better yourself, be sure to keep the focus on your career plan and get moving on the action items that will lead to your future transition before your expected DAP completion date sneaks up on you!

Here are seven things you can do to “Create Career Momentum For The New Year!”

1. Attend Career Focused Workshops – This Winter/Spring you can begin taking the DAP Career Workshops Series which will take beginning  January 14 and take place on Mondays in January and March, ending April 1. This series will take you through a process to begin preparing every aspect of your career search process to prepare you for your impending career transition. You can learn some very timely career strategies including refining your career direction, preparing your career documents, developing networking skills, preparing for interviews and understanding the CPA recruiting process, just to name a few. These workshops will take place before your evening classes starting at 5:00 pm and ending at 6:15 pm to allow you to make it to class.  They are posted now and you can register for them through COOL.

As well, If you will be ready to start work in January or September 2020, now is the time to prepare for CPA recruiting. Along with the above, there will be some workshops specific for CPA recruiting to prepare you for Spring campus recruiting starting with the January 14th CPA Recruiting Overview Workshop.

2. Network More – If your network is small, if it has not been producing career leads for you, or if it is non-existent, it is time to take action to change this. “If you take care of your network, it will take care of your career!” [My words] Pull out those business cards from last year and reach out to the people that you have not connected with for awhile and wish them a Happy New Year. Then, tell them what you are up to and see if you can connect with them to ask questions about the industry, their company and their own career path.

Utilize LinkedIn more purposefully by researching, targeting and reaching out to people that work In your field and connect.

Talk to as many people as you can and be sure to ask them what they do for work. You know after they tell you what they do, your turn will follow. Be sure to tell them your career goals and what you are doing now to build your network. If it makes sense, ask them to connect or share “places you could look or people you could talk to” to help with your career research.

Note: If you do not have any business cards yet, the DAP Student Club will do a business card run in early Feb. Or, you can utilize Vistaprint.ca and get your own professional cards there at a very reasonable price.

3. Identify & Learn New Skills – Your career has a set of core competencies. Identify what they are and look for ways to talk about hoe you have utilized them in the past them and look for ways to develop them. It might be time to leave that comfortable job you have now and target something that will better develop your competencies in your targeted career. It won’t be long and you will need to demonstrate these competencies. Now is your time to build, strengthen them and begin planning your messaging to demonstrate them.

4. Say “Yes” To New Experiences – Discomfort is a common feeling during career transition. Too often people hold back due to uncomfortable feelings regarding taking new steps and as a result remain in unfulfilling and “dead-end” jobs because they don’t want to experience the discomfort of reaching for something new and possibly unknown. Some students have also reminded disconnected and unemployed at the end of their DAP experience because they did not take action while they were at UBC. They chose to remain comfortable in the known and focus on academics alone, only to wish their end result was different. I have found the dissatisfaction of an unfulfilling career is much more impacting on people’s lives than the discomfort of a career transition. If nothing else, it is certainly more temporary. So be courageous! Say “Yes” to things that will bring you career success in the months to come!

5. Set Goals – As one writer stated, “You only hit what you aim at!” Setting goals lessens the distance between potential and the candidate. Each action item closes the gap and helps the job searcher take another step toward career success. Mountains are climbed on step at a time, a journey to the moon is made by one correcting entry at a time and an elephant can be eaten one bite at a time. (pick your chosen analogy) The seemingly looming large goal of career transition can be tackled one strategic step at a time. Give your steps dates and times and they will happen! The main thing is get moving!

6. Protect Your Time & Take Action– Spreading the goals out over your DAP experience will be much more doable and successful than trying to achieve success during your final few months at UBC or after you have completed the program. Setting time aside for your career goals now will ensure you can tackle your assignments, keep your current job, protect your personal time and move your career ahead simultaneously. The process of finding employment is more important than your education itself and is deserving of a spot on your calendar.

7. Meet With A Career Coach – Aside from providing resume and cover letter reviews, career consultants are able to assess where you are in your thinking and level of preparedness and can help you see and cover your blind spots. An honest conversation around your career objective, your challenges, your needs and areas that need your attention will help you significantly. Then, one of the greatest things you can do is…take their advice. I’m just sayin’! 🙂

So whether you are planning on shedding a few pounds, getting ripped at the gym or succeeding in your career…you can…if you really want to! Just follow the steps!

Good luck!

Russell

Russell Garrett is the Owner of Protocol Business Solutions, a Certified Career Consultant and your DAP Career Coach. Russell will be delivering the Winter/Spring Career Workshop Series from January 14- April 1 2019, as well as other workshops to prepare DAP students for 2019 CPA recruiting and overall job search. Russell will also be on campus for in-person coaching during the same period which can be accessed through COOL and he is also available to DAP students for online coaching appointments set up through email.  

Contact Russell at dapcareersupport@sauder.ubc.ca.