Professional Development

The Gustavson School of Business has prepared me well for a future career not only through in-class studies and an impressive co-op/internship program but also with their eight-month self-study course that focused on professional development called Career Preparation Across Borders or COM 405. This is not your traditional class. Instead of classroom lectures and tests, COM 405 requires students to complete a variety of assignments worth credits to pass the course. While enrolled in COM 405, I developed my professional skills by completing online certificates, watching informational seminars, going to conferences, and finishing my personal marketing plan.

Certificates

 

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In the winter of 2017, I completed the Microsoft Excel 2013 Advanced certificate. I thought I should take this course because it would build on my knowledge of Excel. Reflecting back on my co-op experiences, this course truly improved my ability to report on data effectively and efficiently.

 

 

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Hootsuite is a great platform for managing business’ social media accounts. To gain a better understanding of the program, I completed the Hootsuite Platform Certification.

Informational Seminars

Since I plan to pursue a career in either Accounting, Finance, or Entrepreneurship, I feel it’s very important to get information from professionals before I graduate. The informational seminars I watched really helped me figure out which path I want to pursue after I leave Gustavson.

CSS Speaker Series: Andrew Johns (Financial Advisor, Mentor, Entrepreneur)

This was a great video that gave me a lot to think about for when I graduate and enter the workforce. Some of my takeaways were:

  • Soak in everything, regardless of what you are doing.
  • Grit: Grind your way to the top and persevere through everything to grow and succeed.

 

CPA & ACAF Programs (CPA BC): Sheena Reagan

This video provided me excellent information before I complete my degree and pursue a CPA designation. From this, I was able to create a game plan for my schooling in order to finish all the prerequisites and get accepted into the CPA program. If all goes well, I will start working on my certification in 2018/2019.

TedX Talk – How to get your ideas to spread 

This short video gave great insights about what it takes to change an idea into a business, focusing mainly on marketing efforts. This TedX Talk helped me create a fun, interactive marketing plan that will help spread my idea.

TedX Talk – How great leaders inspire action

Simon Sinek is a well-known author, motivational speaker, and marketing consultant. In this video, he discussed how the real way to inspire people to either work for you or buy your product, is to focus on the why not the what or the how. This video, as well, gave me insights into how to better market the Multi-Mesh to the public.

TedX Talk – Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume

This TedX Talk focused on the idea that people need to move away from hiring based on credentials and grades, and move towards hiring for potential, work ethic, and self-motivation. After attending several guest speaker series and completing LPOI/II, it seems that the trend towards hiring based on soft skills is approaching.

Conferences

Global Leaders Conference (Gustavson School of Business Event)

After completing my second co-op and applying for my final placement, I participated in the Global Leaders Conference at the Victoria Conference Centre. This was a full day event, consisting of several individual speaker presentations, a business panel talk consisting of previous Gustavson graduates, and a few personal branding exercises. This event gave attendees an opportunity to hear first-hand what it’s like to graduate with a Commerce Degree and what the future holds.

Real Talk Summit by ManTalks

In March of 2017, my father and I traveled to Vancouver for the Real Talk Summit conference. This was an 8-hour event focused on all things entrepreneurship. The conference had a variety of local BC entrepreneurs who spoke individually to the crowd or were part of panel discussions. The keynote speaker was Gary Vaynerchuk, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia.

Marketing Plan

While I completed my first and second co-op, I worked hard to complete a marketing report for my personal venture. The project consisted of qualitative data which I gathered through personal interviews, and quantitative data through a custom survey. If you want to learn more about the project, click here.