Career Services and Co-operative Education 2020-2021 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION 2020-2021

Content Career Advising Services

04

Career Events

09

Employability Programs Co-operative Education Online Presence

16 26 34

Career Advising The Career Services office, also referred to as the Career Centre, is Carleton University’s one-stop shop that provides year-round career advising services to students and alumni of all programs and years of study. For the 2020-2021 academic year, one-on-one career advising services were available via virtual appointment (email, video conference, and over the phone) to help students review and polish their resume, cover letter, CV, personal statement, and LinkedIn profile, practice for upcoming job interviews, learn about and prepare for grad school and professional training programs, and explore their career interests and future career paths.

Career Advising Services For the 2020-2021 academic year, all career advising services were available via virtual appointment (via email, phone, and video call). The Career Centre’s switch in service delivery from in-person to online was a seamless transition and resulted in fewer “no shows” and cancellations.

Career Advising Sessions Career Services conducted a total of 2.706 virtual career advising sessions throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. This represents a 42% change in the total number of career advising sessions completed compared to the previous academic year due to not being able to offer drop-in sessions.

Students Served Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, 1,360 unique individuals attended a virtual career advising session. Of the 1,360 individuals, the majority, 1,311, were current students (a mix of undergraduate and graduate) and 49 were alumni.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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Career Services, specifically Yvonne, helped me tremendously with my law school applications. Yvonne helped me once, sometimes twice a week for two consecutive months with editing, revising and rereading my application essays.

I was admitted into all four law schools that I applied to as a result of Yvonne’s thoughtfulness and expertise. Thanks to her and the Career Centre, I will be continuing my studies in law school at the University of Toronto.

Rebecca Sattaur, Fourth-year, Public Affairs and Policy Management

Carleton’s Career Services were incredibly helpful as I began my job search, especially given the stressful environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The written resources and always friendly engagement sessions with Yvonne really made me feel that I had support in my corner when facing the often-daunting tasks of job applications, interviews, and new positions!

Christian Cioffi, Bachelor of Arts, Economics & History, Class of 2019

Accessible Career Transitions (ACT) Accessible Career Transitions (ACT) is a specialized career advising program that provides highly-individualized career support to Carleton University students and alumni who identify as having a disability.

Through the ACT Program, participants can book one-on-one career advising appointments with a dedicated ACT Advisor and receive regular communications about inclusive job opportunities and recruitment events. ACT appointments are a chance for participants to get assistance developing key career documents, such as resumes and cover letters, review effective job search and interview strategies, practice identifying and articulating their skills and strengths, and review how to talk to an employer about workplace accommodations and disclosing their disability.

All ACT advising appointments were conducted remotely via phone or virtual meeting throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. Virtual ACT advising sessions offered participants increased convenience and flexibility, resulting in a notable decrease in “no show” and cancelled appointments.

The ACT Advisor conducted a total of 410 advising sessions from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021; this represents a 19% increase in attended appointments (66 more) compared to the previous academic year.

In addition to an increase in attended appointments, the ACT Program’s growth also increased during the 2020-2021 academic year. The ACT Program gained 161 new registrants through referrals from the Paul Menton Centre for Disabilities (PMC), the ACT to Employ Program, Career Services, and submissions from the online ACT registration form, as well as an additional 364 new registrants after the ACT and ACT to Employ student database merger. This brings the total number of students and alumni registered with the ACT Program to 1,163; an 82% increase in new registrants (525 more) compared to the previous academic year.

I thought I'd update you on some of the exciting news with my job search. I received confirmation that I will be working as a Student Program Officer with the Canada Border Services Agency this summer. I am so grateful that you were able to help me with my resume and various cover letters this year. All the hard work paid off!

ACT Student

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Undeclared Advising Program The Undeclared Advising Program is a proactive career exploration initiative.

This program invites students admitted into the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Undeclared Program to meet with a Career Counsellor for specialized career advising sessions. The goal of this program is to provide BA Undeclared students with an opportunity to explore their major and career options, and ultimately help them declare a major.

The Undeclared Advising Program’s success is measured by comparing how many BA Undeclared students who participated in the program declared a major by the end of winter semester to how many BA Undeclared students declared a major after not participating in the program.

View the results of the 2019-2020 Undeclared Advising Program below:

79 Total number of BA Undeclared Students in 2020-2021

37

Students attended an Undeclared Advising session

Students chose not to participate in the Undeclared Advising Program

42

22

8

Undeclared Advising Program participants declared a major by April 2021.

Students out of the 79 who did not participate ended up declaring a major by April 2021.

For the third year in a row, the Undeclared Advising Program has proven to be a successful initiative in helping students explore their areas of academic interest and make the decision to declare a major. Of the 37 students who participated in the 2020-2021 Undeclared Advising Program, 59% (22 students) declared a major by the end of the academic year. In comparison, only 19% (8 students) of the 79 who did not take part in the program ultimately declared a major by April 2021.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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Career Events Career Services and Co-operative Education hosted a number of virtual recruitment, outreach, and skill development events throughout the 2020-2021 academic year designed to help students explore their interests, increase their career-readiness, learn about jobs and companies in their field(s) of interest, and connect with employers and recruiters so that they may begin building their professional network.

Career Fairs Career Services held 3 virtual career fairs throughout the 2020-2021 academic year; the Fall Career Fair took place in the fall semester and the Winter Career Fair and Spring Career Fair took place in the winter semester. The virtual career fairs were hosted using Brazen, an online event platform.

A total of 26 new companies attend a career fair in the 2020-2021 academic year. A few of the more popular new companies were Redmane Technologies, Huawei Technologies, Canadian Association of Professional Employees, and Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

The 2020-2021 virtual career fairs generated a combined total of $54,000 in revenue.

Virtual Fall Career Fair # of Companies in Attendance: 45 # of Students in Attendance: 1,271 Total Employer-Student Conversations: 2,915 Most Visited Booth: Canada Revenue Agency (152 chats completed)

Virtual Winter Career Fair # of Companies in Attendance: 37 # of Students in Attendance: 1,260 Total Employer-Student Conversations: 2,950 Most Visited Booth: Export Development Canada and Ericsson (171 and 170 chats completed, respectively)

Virtual Spring Career Fair # of Companies in Attendance: 44 # of Students in Attendance: 1,080 Total Employer-Student Conversations: 3,224 Most Visited Booth: Canada Revenue Agency (212 chats completed) Employer Feedback “This event was great. I felt the virtual world gave us the ability for the students to have the resume on hand and gave the booth holders time to read over their resumes to ensure they are a right fit and/or give pointers on what they may need to be the right fit.

Overall great experience had by our booth.”

Winter Career Fair Employer (name not given on survey)

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With the amazing help from the Career Service Help Booth, an introvert like me had a great social-networking experience during the job fair. When I first entered the event lobby, I had no idea where to begin, so I naturally entered the first booth, which was the Career Service Help Booth. I was welcomed with hospitality by one of the well-trained representatives, Malie (Career Counsellor). She explained to me how to request a video chat, how to join the waitlist, how to interact with potential employers and what should I focus on during the video chat. After that I read through most of the companies' descriptions, qualification requirements for job positions available, and started chatting with companies’ representatives. I chatted with Modern Niagara’s HR coordinator in Toronto about their future projects and opportunities. Since the positions available during the fair were for students who would return to Carleton to continue studying and I will be graduating this summer, she saved my resume and offered me to check out the company website for summer full-time working positions. Overall, Carleton University’s virtual career fair was better than my expectations, all the staffs and HRs were friendly and helpful.

Grant Liu, Fourth-year Electrical Engineering

Faculty Requests Over the course of the academic year, Career Services is often asked by instructors and professors to visit their class(es) to deliver career presentations and/or in-class workshops. As students often look to faculty for career guidance and employment advice, these in class workshops, also referred to as Faculty Requests, are a key opportunity for Career Services to build relationships with individual faculty members and collaborate to support the career development needs of students. All Faculty Requests for the 2020-2021 academic year were conducted virtually. Virtual Faculty Requests were delivered using web conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and BigBlueButton and faculty members could choose between asynchronous (recordings) and synchronous (live presentations) options.

The Career Services team delivered a total of 164 virtual faculty request workshops throughout the 2020-2021 academic year; an increase of 45% (51 more) compared to the number of workshops delivered in 2019-2020. Through these 164 faculty requests, Career Services was able to reach 3,316 students.

Over the course of the 2020-2021 academic year, Career Services noted the following Faculty Request trends: • The majority of faculty requests were from instructors within the Faculties of Science and Arts and Social Sciences • The majority of workshops were synchronous (delivered as live presentations) • The majority of faculty requests were for third- and fourth-year classes

Thank you for facilitating such an engaging and resourceful workshop and for sharing these resources. I am very impressed by how you connected the class materials and topics to the workshop. You have provided invaluable information to the students and amazingly highlighted the significance of what they have been doing in class.

Ghadah Alrasheed, Instructor

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Career Workshops Navigating the Canadian Workplace: Career Workshop Series for International Students

Major-ly Confused: Tips on Choosing Your Program!

Navigating the Canadian Workplace (previously known as “I want a job in Canada. Where do I start?”) is a career workshop series that offers Carleton University’s international students the opportunity to learn about Canadian hiring processes, get tips on how to conduct a successful job search, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of how to integrate into the Canadian workplace.

Major-ly Confused is Career Services’ annual major exploration event for Bachelor of Arts (BA) Undeclared students and students who are considering changing their major or program.

Career Services transformed the five-week, in-person workshop series into a virtual, self-directed workshop series for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Each workshop was recorded and posted on cuLearn. Students could view each workshop recording, complete related assignments, and review the slides and resources at their own pace over an eight-week period. Students who viewed all five workshops and completed all workshop assignments were eligible to earn the Navigating the Canadian Workplace Participant acknowledgement on their Co-Curricular Record (CCR).

A total of 275 students registered for the Navigating the Candian Workplace Workshop Series throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

In order to continue to provide students with an introduction to the process of exploring areas of academic interest, the 2020-2021 Major-ly Confused event was held as a virtual panel of upper year students who each spoke about their experience switching or declaring a major. BA Undeclared students, as well as first- and second-year students interested in changing their major or exploring other degree programs, were invited to listen to and engage in a Q&A with the panelists on Zoom. Career Services also used the Major-ly Confused event to present additional campus-based services and resources that students can use to help them make informed decisions about their career and academic goals.

A total of 18 students attended Career Services’ virtual Major-ly Confused workshop during the fall 2020 semester.

As a result of the event, Career Services observed an increase in students booking undeclared advising sessions and major exploration appointments.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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Career Workshops (Cont’d) Career Webinar Series The four-part Career Webinar Series was created to help undergraduate and graduate students identify opportunities to continue developing their skills and navigate their career journey during a global pandemic. The four-part series was offered three times throughout the academic year; once during each the summer 2020, fall 2020, and winter 2021 semesters. The webinar series covered the following topics: Career Growth Mindset, Developing Employability Skills, Job Search and Networking during COVID-19, and Preparing for a Virtual Interview. Each webinar included supports and resources available to Carleton to help them plan, prepare for, and take action steps towards developing their future career.

The webinar series was well-received by students from all years of study and programs. An average of 40 students attended each webinar session.

The host made us all feel really comfortable. I am a first-year student and I had no idea about how interviews are done. She made it really fun and interesting. It was also good to hear about the interview experiences that the other participants had to share.

LinkedIn Profile Building Workshop Career Services’ LinkedIn Workshop was created during the 2018-2019 academic year in response to students showing an increased interest in online branding and self-marketing. The LinkedIn Workshop gives students an introduction on how to build an eye-catching LinkedIn profile and use the professional networking site for career exploration and job search purposes. The goal of the workshop is to give students the confidence and knowledge they need to connect with or with employers, peers, mentors, or any individuals, they’d like to add to their professional network.

The 2020-2021 LinkedIn Workshop took place virtually via Zoom. A total of 90 students attended the virtual LinkedIn Workshop during the fall semester.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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Employability Programs In order to help students gain experience and increase their job-readiness, Career Services encourages students to get involved in our employability skills development programs. These programs help students meet industry professionals, develop in-demand interpersonal skills, test their knowledge and make connections between classroom learning and real-world workplace requirements. Ultimately, enhancing their employability skills allows students to gain a better understanding of the knowledge, skills, and educational requirements they may need to follow their career interests.

ACT to Employ Since transitioning to remote work in mid-March 2020, ACT to Employ has continued to provide holistic support to our students and employer partners. While recognizing the uniqueness of the circumstances we’ve faced in 2020-21, we are proud of the way our team has pivoted to remote work, and grateful for the continued engagement of our students and employer partners.

Students continued to receive support throughout the application process, interview stage, and during placement, while employers have been encouraged to create remote opportunities for ACT to Employ students, and to develop placements that are well-suited to virtual environments. All student and employer meetings have pivoted successfully online using various virtual platforms, and check ins are also conducted remotely. Overall, the transition to remote work has been relatively seamless for ACT to Employ.

At the beginning of each term, students receive an on-boarding package which, after the shift to remote work, now includes tips for working from home, an acknowledgment that these are unprecedented times, and encouragement to reach out to ACT to Employ staff if support is needed.

ACT to Employ has also integrated wellness and work-from-home tips into our social media content.

ACT to Employ Placements During ACT to Employ’s second year as a standalone program, student awareness of and interest in the program continued to increase and through a combination of remote and work from home campus-based subsidized placements and external positions, ACT to Employ successfully supported 175 student work placements from May 2020 to April 2021.

Summer 2020 Positions Supported: 50 Most Placements: SEO, Registrar’s Office, and the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre Fall 2020 Positions Supported: 60 Most Placements: SEO, Registrar’s Office, Athletics, and Campus Safety Winter 2021 Positions Supported: 65 Most Placements: SEO, Athletics, Registrar’s Office, and Campus Safety

The ACT program is such an incredible and transformative opportunity for both students and employers and I want to thank you for everything that you do to make it such a success.

Personally, the program has had a profound impact on me as an employer and working with ACT students and seeing such growth has enriched my time at Carleton.

2020-2021 Carleton Employer

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“Thank you and your team for all that you do, it definitely doesn’t go unnoticed and I know many students, including myself, have a lot of appreciation for this program and the team that makes it happen.”

2020-2021 ACT to Employ Student

“I’ve been working for a week now and I just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying it. The team is so kind and knowledgeable, and I’ve started my first project. I already know that having this experience is going to serve me so well.”

2020-2021 ACT to Employ Student

“Thank you for your support and encouragement and for this program. I am very grateful and have had so many opportunities arise from it.

Personally, academically, and professionally, everything is just coming together and it feels like all of these things in my life are now starting to make a difference and that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

An amazing feeling ” 2020-2021 ACT to Employ Student

“The best part of this experience, and I am going to speak from the past three years, is that I have found confidence in myself in ways that I never felt before. I also have this amazing team that recognizes and values my input and contributions, and I can not adequately put into words how extremely validating that is. I consistently feel heard and feel a deep sense of belonging.”

2020-2021 ACT to Employ Student

“I am really feeling good about this hire. It’s a true success story. I think the way we worked with him and built up responsibility over time was a good strategy.”

2020-2021 ACT to Employ Employer

International Internship Program International internships provide students with the opportunity to work internationally for academic credit, and are typically unpaid opportunities. Internships are an excellent way for students to gain real-world experience, develop industry contacts, and build their resume to market themselves for future career opportunities, all while experiencing life in a new country and culture.

Reflecting back to March 2020 and the halt of all student mobility programming, the International Internship Team quickly pivoted and began working with several of Carleton’s international partner organizations to create and develop remote and virtual internship opportunities in order to be able to continue to offer students an option to gain international work experience. Virtual internships allow students to work with an international organization to gain meaningful degree-related experience, as well as earn academic credit, all from a work from home position.

“I participated in an eight-week international virtual internship in the Fall 2020 Term. I was partnered with Global Experiences and I worked as a Research Intern for a professor from Dublin City University. I assisted this professor’s research on the European Migration Crisis by gathering academic journal articles, writing a book summary, and researching how the COVID-19 virus has affected migrants and their ability to come to Europe. This was a fantastic opportunity to strengthen my research skills and broaden my knowledge about a different international crisis. I was given a significant amount of freedom to research and analyze the information I collected, which allowed me to become a better learner and more efficient at writing. I would recommend this opportunity to all Carleton University students!”

At the time, offering virtual internships was a very new initiative to most of our partners and required prompt action to bring onto our internship offerings roster. The virtual internship option was first launched in the summer 2020 term and has since proven to be a rewarding experiential learning opportunity for Carleton students interested in gaining Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, the International Internship Team placed 116 students in virtual internships.

BGInS Broader Program Total

Summer 2020

Fall 2020

Winter 2021

8

12

19

18

28

31

26

40

50

Annual Report 2020-2021

How many Internships Caitlyn Belik, fourth-year BA in Summer 2020: 26 Law with Concentration in TransFall 2020: 40 national Law and Human Rights Winter 2020: 50 Page 19

In the Fall 2020 term, I participated in a virtual internship, and it was one of the best decisions! I interned with an international NGO for 10 weeks! I quickly realized that a virtual internship would not only be an amazing way to gain professional skills during this time but a super fun way to network with individuals in my field all over the world. I found that many employers need individuals that are able to adapt to the current situation, and having the experience of a virtual internship on your resume is a great way to show that. With my position I was given the opportunity to work with like-minded individuals and increase my knowledge of the non-profit sector while developing my interpersonal skills.

The connections that I have made with my employer and co-workers were amazing! I plan to visit the organization based in New York City in the future.

Inaara, fourth-year, BGInS Summer 2020 created an opportunity for me to complete my International Experience Requirement (IER) virtually.

By the end of my orientation week I had a notebook full of personal and professional skills! The journey was one of great discovery; since day one, my cohorts and I learned about Peruvian culture and its history. We learned about design thinking and prototyping, but most of all I learned a lot about ourselves. One session in particular helped me understand the importance of setting expectations, how to set them in a healthy way, and how the mind uses memories to anticipate these expectations. The connection I built with my mentors will last me a lifetime. I have plans to travel to Peru in the near future to visit them and hopefully work in their shadow towards socially and environmentally sustainable solutions.

Dana, third-year, BGInS During the summer of 2020, Carleton’s Virtual International Internship Program helped me partner with Global Experiences, which provided me with the opportunity to gain valuable international work experience. The ten-week internship proved better than I could have hoped. I received a placement working as an illustrator for a small artistically driven business in Barcelona. Throughout the summer I was able to build strong professional relationships and gain many skills related to networking and working in a different cultural environment. There were many people at Carleton, both other student interns and employees, who were supportive, encouraging, and very helpful throughout the experience. I would strongly recommend this program to any student.

Julia, third-year, Anthropology and Art History Annual Report 2020-2021

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International Internship Program (cont’d) To further engage with international partners, the International Internship Team hosted Instagram Live events a few times with various partner representatives to review their internship opportunities, application, and hiring processes and answer any questions students had about the virtual internship option. The Team also invited partners to share their best practices and industry knowledge at our Orientation Sessions and Post-Internship Sessions each term. Through engaging our partners in new ways and finding different avenues to connect with them virtually, we found it truly strengthened our partner-ships, emphasized our sense of community, and enabled us to offer a more holistic approach to our internship programming.

In addition to finding new ways to engage with partner organizations, the International Internship Team is also developing new relationships with academic departments and offices at Carleton. The International Internship Team has further expanded the scope of the Program and will, for the first time, be offering internships to graduate-level stu-dents through a pilot program with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) for the summer 2021 term. The Team is also working to establish a partnership with Carleton’s School of Social Work that would allow social work stu-dents to complete their Practicum Placement (a mandatory degree requirement), through an international internship.

Global Experiences is extremely grateful and proud of our relationship with Carleton University and their students.

Since our partnership began only a few years ago, we've worked together to help well over 100 students complete internships abroad and virtually. So much of this success is owed to the dedication and hard work that the Internship Coordinators devote to their students, helping them to navigate their options, setting expectations, providing financial resources, preparing them professionally, and continuous support from start to finish. Students come to us prepared, ambitious and excited, leading them to be high quality interns who have life-changing experiences. I cannot speak more highly of the team at Carleton and their amazing students. We love working with you all and your students and look forward to our continued successes together!

Katherine Adams, Enrollment Manager, Global Experiences/AIFS Abroad Annual Report 2020-2021

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Job Shadow Program Job Shadow is an annual career exploration program that allows upper-year Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science students to spend the day with an employer, a Job Shadow Mentor, at their place of work. This program helps students make connections between classroom learning and work requirements, and gain a better understanding of the knowledge, skills, and educational requirements they may need to follow their career interests. The Job Shadow Program teaches and guides students to self-develop job shadow opportunities and select Mentors directly so that their job shadow experience is tailored to their specific career interests.

Due to the shift online, the 2020-2021 Job Shadow program was converted from an in-person workplace experience to a virtual experience in order to continue providing students with the opportunity to explore different career paths and connect with professionals in their industry of interest. The virtual Job Shadow Program been a great success and the number of mentors joining the program and students expressing an interest and participating in the program increased significantly compared to the previous academic year.

The 2020-2021 Job Shadow Program facilitated a total of 217 job shadow pairings; 139 pairings with BA students and 78 pairings with Science students.

This represents an incredible 178% increase (139 more) in the number of job shadow pairings compared to the previous academic year.

Career Services worked with two professors over the fall and winter semesters to facilitate a for-credit iteration of the Job Shadow Program within each of their online classes. A third-year psychology class and two third-year english classes participated in a job shadow assignment that instructed the students to self-develop a job shadow placement under the guidance of Career Services. The assignment served as a valuable experiential learning opportunity and allowed an additional 99 students to participate in a virtual job shadow experience during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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“At the beginning of the term, I was selected to complete a job shadow placement at the Department of Justice Canada | Ministère de la Justice du Canada. Upon successful completion of the program, I can undoubtedly say that this experience has been nothing short of astonishing. This opportunity has given me tremendous insight into the practice of litigation, working in the public sector, and the day-to-day operational tasks of counsel.

Given the rise of COVID-19, it is incredible to see how courts and lawyers have adapted to remain both functional and operative during this unprecedented time. A big thank you to Career Services for making this opportunity possible, and Yusuf Khan, Litigation Counsel at the Department of Justice Canada, for the support, guidance, and mentorship.”

Angeli Patel, fourth year BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a Concentration in Law

The virtual job shadow experience provided both mentors and students greater flexibility around scheduling their job shadow meetings. It also removed restrictions and allowed students to connect with Job Shadow Mentors who would typically be unable to host a student at their place of work due to not being located in Ottawa or requiring a security clearance to enter the premises.

New Job Shadow Mentors The following organizations participated in the Job Shadow Program as Mentors for the first time in the 2020-2021 academic year: -

Department of Justice Canada Senate of Canada Women & Gender Equality Canada Global Affairs Canada Shopify Office of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Communities - Vista Centre Brain Injury - Sustainable Development - Technology Canada - Statistics Canada - Amazon - Youi.tv

-

Ross Video Kinaxis CHEO Alberta Health Services EllisDon McAfee Toronto General Hospital IBM Ontario Provincial Police National Research Council of Canada Department of Neuroscience, Health Canada Biological and Radiopharmaceutical Drug

Andre Edmonson, Technical Product Manager at Ross Video, was among the group of first-time Job Shadow Mentors, and showed his strong support for the career exploration program by recruiting 16 of his colleagues to participate as well, in order to provide career insight into various units within Ross Video. Fourth-year software engineering student, Alec Jeffery (above left), was one of the students who was able to participate in a Job Shadow experience with Ross Video as a result of Edmonson’s efforts and shared a photo of himself learning about Quality Assurance and Product Verification with Job Shadow Mentor, Satinder Pal Singh, Product Verification Engineer.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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Work Study Program The Work Study Program is a financial aid program funded by Carleton University that provides part-time, on-campus employment opportunities for undergraduate students in financial need. The number of students able to participate in Work Study is limited to the number of positions the University can fund.

Like Career Services’ other student employment programs, in order to continue to provide students with the opportunity to gain campus-based work experiences, the Work Study Program was run virtually as a remote work program for the 2020-2021 academic year. Carleton employers wanting to hire a Work Study student were asked to create new work opportunities that could be done remotely or to only post jobs that would allow the student to complete the work from home. To support the transition to online, the deadline to post a work study position was flexible and remained open into October, until all work study students were placed.

A total of 327 work study jobs were posted and 156 students were hired for remote campus-based positions as part of the 2020-2021 Work Study Program.

Co-operative Education Since its creation 33 years ago, Carleton University’s Co-operative Education program has facilitated work-integrated learning experiences within many local, national, and international employers. The program has grown to include the co-op option for over 150 degree programs, majors, streams and concentrations. As work-integrated learning is becoming increasingly important for securing employment after graduation, more and more students are choosing the co-op option.

Online Co-op Support The Co-operative Education office responded quickly to shift co-op support services and resources for both employers and students online when Carleton University announced the 2020-2021 academic year would be proceeding virtually.

Co-op Student Support in a COVID-19 Environment All in-person co-op student support services were made available through online methods. Co-op students were able to book virtual one-on-one co-op advising appointments for job search support, mock interviews, and document reviews. Co-op workshops and large-group sessions such as the Job Search Kickoff, COOP1000 resume seminars, and student panels were offered virtually using various web conferencing tools and recordings were made available for asynchronous viewing.

Additionally, a bi-weekly Co-op Student newsletter was created to communicate with students about upcoming events and to provide timely resources and advice.

To ensure co-op students had easy and quick access to the most up-to-date co-op information, Co-op also created and distributed new resources such as a COVID-19 FAQ, a Guide To Working from Home tipsheet, and FAQs for students at various stages of co-op. In response to work term cancellations, Co-op partnered with the Registrar’s Office to implement a temporary “final work term waiver”. The waiver allowed 33 students to graduate with the co-op designation despite the unexpected loss of their final co-op job. Co-op also reduced barriers to accessing co-op, by removed the English Proficiency testing requirement (OPECS).

Co-op Employer Support in a COVID-19 Environment Co-op maintained consistent support services for employers during the shift to remote work. For existing employers, Co-op increased communication touch points, continued to conduct work site visits through virtual means, and created and distributed new resources such as an Employer COVID FAQ and a Working Remotely with Your Student tipsheet. Additionally, in order to allow employers to fulfill student hiring commitments and prevent work term cancellations, Co-op expanded the definition of acceptable work terms to include shorter work term durations and reduced work hours.

To engage with new and potential employers, Co-op outreach activities continued virtually throughout the year in the form of online sessions to provide detailed information on how to hire a Carleton co-op student and review available funding programs that could help offset the hiring costs. Changes and updates to funding resources, like the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP), were tracked and communicated via social media and regular updates to Carleton’s employer website. Co-op also introduced a new funding resource, The Campus Co-op Employer Fund (CCE), offering $4,000 in support to Carleton employers who hired co-op students. The CCE resulted in 140 campus-based co-op work terms.

Annual Report 2020-2021

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and your team for the seamless process for hiring a co-op student. The process was amazing, thorough, and FAST!!! Our student started today. So thank you all.

Kristie Tousignant, Director of Health and Counselling Services Page 27

Co-op Work Terms

Co-op Students Hired

Jobs Posted

Co-op Interviews

A total of 1,657 co-op students completed work terms in the 2020-2021 academic year. Of those, 1,486 were undergraduate students and 171 were graduate students.

4,086 co-op jobs were posted throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

Employers conducted 4,001 individual interviews over the course of 2020-2021.

This represents an increase of 1.8% in individual interviews (71 more) compared to 2019-2020.

Most Work Terms

Co-op Advising

Total Work Terms

Carleton University offered the highest number of co-op work terms in 2020-2021: 140. The second highest number of work terms was offered by Ericsson: 117.

Twelve of our valued employers provided more than 50 work terms each, over the past year.

Co-op students booked a total of 1,192 co-op advising appointments throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. This represents a 53% increase in Co-op Student Advisor appointments (412 more) compared to the previous academic year.

Co-op students completed 2,541 work terms throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

Annual Report 2020-2021

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“As an engineering student, I had always pictured myself being an engineer, but this experience really opened my eyes to research as a career path. At university, the experiments are already planned out for you, and you have a lab manual that has been used for years. But at the Radiation Protection Bureau, I was able to help plan how the experiments would actually work. It was a really unique experience to participate at the planning stage, and very interesting to see how people with different academic backgrounds will approach the same problem differently.”

Jessica Mayenburg, fourth-year biomedical and mechanical engineering student who completed three consecutive work terms at Health Canada’s Consumer & Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau.

“You really do feel like you are making a meaningful contribution to your country, and from my very first day on the job, I felt like I was just another one of the junior analysts on our team. That really helped me integrate into the workplace, and I feel like the experience that I gained through my co-op has prepared me for the transition from academic to professional life.”

Ahmed Heshmat Ibrahim, a fourth-year political science student who completed three work terms at the National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces.

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COOP 1000 A brand new, refreshed version of COOP1000 was launched in September 2020.

COOP1000 is a six module, eight-week, online preparatory course designed to assist students entering co-op for the first time with requisite employability skills including: • • • • •

Identifying and marketing your skills and achievements Writing effective resumes and cover letters Preparing for successful industry specific interviews Planning and executing a successful independent job search and Transitioning from school to the world of work, professional ethics and

After completing the COOP1000 course, 84% of students felt better prepared to build applications, attend interviews, conduct networking, and successfully work in a co-op position, 92% of students reported COOP1000 provided them with a good understanding of how Carleton’s Co-op Program works, and 88% of students would recommend COOP1000 to a friend.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, COOP1000 enrollment grew by 45% over the previous academic year.

COOP 1000 Feedback: Great course! I feel prepared for my next steps in the Co-op program.

It was very helpful in learning and understanding what is needed for being successful in finding a job and creating a resume.

My co-op advisor did an amazing job of guiding us through this course and always communicated efficiently with me.

In general it was a good course which enlightened me about the job world, plus the instructor (Kevin) was always available for guidance.

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Co-op Awards The Co-op Awards are presented each year to recognize the outstanding achievements, contributions, and performance of our co-op students and their employers.

2020 Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year: Johanna Button, Fourth-year, Communication and Media Studies

2020 Graduate Co-op Student of the Year: Ritika Bhatia, Master of Computer Science

2020 Co-op Employer of the Year: Andre Edmonson, Technical Product Manager, Ross Video

Johanna Button completed an eight-month work term as an Outreach Assistant at Canadian Digital Service (CDS), a team that collaborates with other federal departments to make it easier for Canadians to access and use government services. Button was nominated by Aaron Snow, CEO of CDS, and Chelsea Novak, Head of Outreach at CDS, for consistently exceeding expectations and relentlessly advocating for the needs of all Canadians by ensuring that important government information is presented in a way that is relevant and accessible.

“Johanna truly is one of a kind and her work has been an integral part of the Outreach team – improving not just what and how we communicate, but changing perspective across government to be more thoughtful and inclusive,” Snow and Novak wrote in their letter of support.

Ritika Bhatia completed an eight-month work term as an Automation Scripting Developer at Ericsson. Dimple Thomas, Engineering Manager, nominated Bhatia for her strong technical competence, learning mindset, dedication, and utmost professionalism and respect she demonstrated in the workplace.

Bhatia’s top contributions throughout her work terms included using her strong machine learning background to teach 60+ senior engineers and members of Ericsson’s leadership team about the latest techniques and promising research studies in this niche field, facilitating multiple brainstorming sessions with the global team to generate and drive implementation of high potential business ideas, and driving Ericsson’s value proposition as a vendor of choice with their top-tier customers.

Andre Edmonson was nominated for Co-op Employer of the Year by third-year BIT student, John Lutz. Lutz praised Edmonson for framing his co-op work term as a partnership between the student and the employer and for cultivating a “student-first” learning environment. Lutz’s letter of support also expressed his overwhelming appreciation for the way Edmonson was able to create and maintain a welcoming and supportive work environment, even while working remotely. Lutz wrote that Edmonson’s efforts, which included making video mandatory to increase face-to-face interaction during regular meetings, coming up with fun challenges to engage staff in team building exercises, and asking meaningful questions for the benefit of his mental health during one-on-one meetings, had a significant impact on his co-op experience.

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“Every person that works with Ben would agree that it is a pleasure. He is a valuable contributor, extremely dedicated, very personable and a quick learner. He has quickly gained an understanding of the crude oil industry and Husky’s businesses…. Ben is an important member of our team and helps us meet our goal of transactional excellence every month. We are thrilled to have Ben on our team and have extended an invitation to him to continue working on our team in a part time capacity.”

Michelle McGeoch of Husky Energy, in her nomination of Ben White, Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance student

“Before starting at JLR, I was unsure about what area of civil engineering I wanted to specialize in. Having this exposure to structural engineering, as well as working alongside civil and geotechnical engineers, painted a very helpful picture of the day-to-day . activities of each specialized discipline not available in the university setting. This placement has told me that I want to pursue a career in the structural field.”

Liam Irwin, civil engineering student, in his nomination of Matthew Burtt at JLRichards Associates Ltd

“Dr. Mehta and the career opportunities she has offered me have immensely contributed to my professional growth. The projects that I have been assigned during my time at Parkwood have given me more experience in the field of research than I could have even hoped for; I have been able to write systematic reviews with full responsibility, giving me both career and academic development of my research and writing skills.”

Jessica Ahrens, Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Mental Health student, in her nomination of Dr. Swati Mehta at Parkwood Health Research Institute

“George has most notably played an instrumental role in ensuring the continuity of essential travel between Canada and Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the issuance of National Interest Exemption Letters. His work on this front has helped save businesses and safeguard Canada’s critical industries—from postal operations to the supply of energy. To date, George has assisted approximately 50 companies in bringing 100 essential workers into Canada. However, his most defining achievement came in November when, after months of tireless work, George was able to facilitate entry into Canada for a three-year-old child requiring life-saving heart surgery.”

Stefano Maron of Global Affairs Canada, in his nomination of George Polanyi-Williamson, Master of Arts in International Affairs student

In 2020-21, the following employers worked with Co-op for the first time, or returned to working with us: 021 Technologies Inc. ABFK CPA’s African Bronze Honey Company AltaLink Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. Andrews & Co. Chartered Accountants Backr Beckwith Township Blue Sky Spectroscopy Bulletproof Canadian Centre for Cyber Security CanvasPop Capital Conservation Services Centre for the Study of Living Standards Coder Sports Academy Connect Grid Ltd. Coveo D-A Integrated DAI Inc. Detail in Motion Egmont Group Entrepreneurs Start Here Face4 Systems Futurify Inc FVB Energy Inc Graham Scott Enns LLP Inflector Environmental Services InnVest Hotels LP International Custom Products Inc. Interset / Micro Focus IT Manager.net JET Creative Inc. Kemetco Research Lawson Health Research Institute Legacy Of Hope Foundation Manorun Organic Farm Maple Reinders Construction Ltd Marco Group

Molded Precision Components Mosaic Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula MyPitboard Inc. National Research Council Canada Nortak Software Limited Nova Scotia Health Authority Ostan Engineering Inc. Perennia Food and Agriculture Proslide Technology Inc PSA Halifax Public Services and Procurement Canada RBR Rebel Sairyo Sanofi Shape Productions Sonos Sportomics Standards Council of Canada Stephenson Engineering Ltd. Synercapital Synqrinus Terrapex Tetra Tech The Grounds Inc. The Rounds Theratronics TheScore Thompson Technologies Township of St.Clair Umbra Unity Health Toronto Upland InGenius Walters Group Inc. WaterAid Canada WJ Canada YinJiaYin Technology Co., Ltd

Online Presence Career Services’ and Co-operative Education‘s strong online presence, comprised of two student-facing websites, one employer-facing website, an employment portal, and widespread social media presence endeavoured to make students and alumni feel connected and supported in their job search and career development during the 2020-2021 academic year. Our well-established web presence provided students, alumni, and the broader Carleton community access to online career tips, career exploration tools, job boards, and helped users stay informed about virtual careerand employment-related events, services, and programs.

Website Analytics

Job Postings

Career Website (carleton.ca/career) Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year 77,072 users visited the Career Services website. The International Internship Program page was the most visited webpage on the Career Services site.

Career Services invites employers in all industries and locations to post their non-co-op employment and experiential learning opportunities on Carleton University’s online job boards, hosted within the mySuccess/CUHire portal.

Career Services recorded a total of 9,712 job postings throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

Co-op Website (carleton.ca/co-op) A total of 57,832 users visited the co-op website from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021. The most visited webpage on the Co-op website was the Undergraduate Co-op Programs page.

Job Posting Breakdown:

4,086 Co-op Positions 3,498 Full-Time Positions

Employer Website (carleton.ca/employers) 20,089 users visited the employer website throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. The most visited webpage on Employer website was the Salary Survey page.

1,010 Part-Time Positions 1,106 Summer Positions 12 Featured Jobs

Live Chat

Career Services offers users who visit the career website the opportunity to have quick, career-related questions answered through a Live Chat. The Live Chat is monitored by a member of the Career Advising Team during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Live Chat feature was used 639 times throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

mySuccess Portal A total of 18,725 students logged in to the mySuccess portal from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021.

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cuPortfolio cuPortfolio is Carleton University’s electronic portfolio system, a student-centered learning tool that provides a venue for students to collect and showcase academic and co-curricular artifacts, such as assignments, projects, videos, blogs, etc. It allows students to engage in reflective learning as they make connections between artifacts, experiences, and accomplishments. cuPortfolio can be shared with peers, professors, and potential employers both to demonstrate a student’s learning process and to provide concrete evidence that they have met specific course learning outcomes or have the required work experience for certain career or academic opportunities.

A total of 7,389 students used cuPortfolio throughout 2020-2021. This is a 35% increase (1,949 more) in the number of student users compared to the previous academic year.

The number of classes using cuPortfolio for coursework also increased from 64 in 2019-2020 to 86 in 2020-2021; a 34% increase in the number of classes using cuPortfolio.

Due to the shift online, in addition to more classes and students using cuPortfolio throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, students in asynchronous or blended courses had to use an online learning tool to learn how to use cuPortfolio as opposed to learning through an in-class workshop.

cuPortfolio has been a wonderful tool for the IPAF 3800 class. Students are able to utilize the tool to build a career portfolio full of tangible artifacts and evidence of skills which supports their transitions from their undergraduate programs. Stacy Malloch, cuPortfolio & IT Development Coordinator, provides timely and effective support which has made using the cuPortfolios a very straightforward process for me as an instructor and my students.

Lorraine Godden, Instructor, Developing Your Career

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As the instructor of a course on career-readiness, I have appealed to Stacy Malloch, cuPortfolio & IT Development Coordinator, every time I have taught the course with a request to come to my class to show students howYear to make the most of this CUPortfolio Use in themy 2020-2021 Academic a. How many classes used CUPortfolio for coursework in 2020-21? 86 (14% fantastic platform. The submission of a cuPortfolio increase) b. How many used CUPortfolio in 2020-21?in 7,389 (35% increase) isstudents a mandatory assignment this course and its c. Online cuPortfolio workshops delivered: 41 (33% decrease, likely due to is much increase inportability asynchronous and blended appreciated course delivery) by students. Many d. Did the shift to online mean more students/classes were using CUPortfolio? of my students have submitted their cuPortfolios Did it change the way students/classes were using CUPortfolio?

More classes to and students used the toolemployers this year (see above stats);and the other notable prospective already many have even change in the virtual environment was that students in asynchronous or blended courses had with to use an online learning to learn how to use met success.

The tool capaciousness of cuPortfolio the portfolio versus an in-class workshop is another feature that merits praise. A small

number of my students have made the most of the fact that the portfolio can house not only their cover letters and résumés, but also their blogs, their photo albums, their publications, and even links to their music. Stacy Malloch and the cuPortfolio are huge assets to Carleton and to my course.

Dr. Dana Dragunoiu, Professor, From Degree to Career

Social Media Growth

Instagram

LinkedIn

Career Services’ created a strategic plan to grow our Instagram account followers and enhance engagement to better connect with students in this virtual setting. CarletonUCareer, more than doubled its following throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. As of April 30, 2021, the account had gained 875 followers, bringing the total up to 1,729.

This represents a 102% growth and makes Instagram the department’s best performing social media platform.

Career Services’ and Co-operative Education’s joint LinkedIn page gained 859 new followers, bringing the page’s total following up to

Facebook

Twitter

Career Services’ Facebook account gained 20 new likes throughout 2020-2021 bringing the page to 1,093 total likes.

Career Services’ Twitter account, @CarletonUCareer, recorded 3,143 followers at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year.

2,609.

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carleton.ca/career STUDENTS

EMPLOYERS

carleton.ca/career

cuhire.carleton.ca

career@carleton.ca

carleton.ca/employers

carleton.ca/co-op co-opprogram@carleton.ca