Finding a Path


This 3 minute video from 2012 remains relevant today for the way it articulates how university students are thinking differently about their career planning. The advances in technology happening in the world have, quite simply, "changed everything".

As parents, your role is to continue to encourage your young adults to follow their interests, look for new experiences, and take appropriate risks to 'put themselves out there' in the professional sense.

Questions you might ask are

  • How did this experience change or impact you?

  • What did you learn?

  • How will you apply this learning to the next experience?

  • Who do we know who can help connect you with a new experience in an area of interest?

  • If money were no object, how would you want to spend your time?

An Investment in Success

Every university is heavily invested in producing successful students, and one marker of that success is post-graduate employment. As a result, every campus will offer a wide variety of career development services to students. The office and the people who staff it will be a gold mine of resources to support students search for a job while at university, as well as help them to consider career/professional pathways.

Services usually include: resume help, interview prep, interest inventories and assessments, career counselling and coaching, mentorship opportunities, job fairs, online job banks, and much more.

What is co-op?

Co-op is work-integrated learning. Students do paid work terms where they apply their learning and are given credit toward their degree for their work terms.

Co-Op Programs

Hear UVic students talk about how the co-op program experiences helped them to fine-tune their career path.

Co-op education is critical to COVID-19 recovery in Canada

An article written by University of Waterloo.

Some degree programs have mandatory co-op (e.g. Engineering at Waterloo, U of Alberta, and UVic) while others have an optional co-op program (e.g. Engineering at UBC, any Arts program at Waterloo and a number of programs at Carlteon).

More and more degree programs and universities are including some kind of work integrated learning (WIL) in the form of co-op, practicum, or internship. Universities including SFU, Concordia, U of T Scarborough, and Ryerson U are committed to having some kind of WIL in every program they offer.

What else can help my daughter/son find their way toward a career?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been shown to be useful at helping individuals determine possible careers based on personality traits; all SMUS grads have had the opportunity to explore their MBTI profile and consider how it might shape their future pathway. This report is available to them in MaiaLearning after graduation.

Students will want to start to develop a professional network of people who can help them by offering mentoring and connections.

Some students find it helpful to spend time with a coach or counsellor who will help them to explore their interests and skills. There are many professionals who can help students find their path.

What is my role as a parent?

Here is a great set of questions that can be helpful to pose to a young person exploring career options. Talk openly about your own answers to these questions!

  • What do I enjoy doing?

  • What kinds of activities are fun and fulfilling for me?

  • What am I good at?

  • What is my skill set?

  • What qualifications have I gained through experience?

  • How much money do I need to make to feel satisfied?

  • What jobs are available in the place(s) I’d like to live?

  • Do I want to travel?

  • What are my values?

  • How important is it to be of service to others?

  • Am I looking for intensely challenging work or something relatively easy?

  • Am I willing to do what others tell me without question, or would I rather make most decisions on my own?

  • To what degree do I need stability and security?

Source: goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/career-counseling