Looking for work

David Lam hosts Douglas College job fair

By Julia Siedlanowska, Staff Writer

The concourse of the David Lam campus was buzzing with activity on October 2 as job seekers looked to connect with employers at the Douglas College job fair..

The job fair, hosted by the Student Employment Centre, connected students with 17 employers including Bayshore Home Health, Best Buy Mobile, Bank of Montreal, Boulevard Casino, Costco Wholesale, London Drugs, RBC Royal Bank, Red Robin Restaurant, Rogers Communications, and the Developmental Disabilities Association, among others.

“In organizing this job fair, the local business community responded favourably to the opportunity of meeting with potential candidates, especially from an institution such as Douglas College,” says Barb Kojder, coordinator and job developer at Douglas College. “To prepare students for the event, preparatory workshops including ‘Resumes and More’ and ‘Presenting with Success’ were offered during the two weeks leading up to [the event]. Many students in attendance at the Fair provided positive comments to Employment Centre staff,” says Kojder.

In the concourse from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., students had the opportunity to explore the booths and speak to employers. One student said of the event, “I thought it was good because there were a lot of different booths and they were varied.”

“We noticed that today was a job-hiring fair, and to be hired for a job you need to have public speaking [skills]. So we saw a lot of the people out here coming to us saying that we need this because they sometimes don’t go through interviews well, and we coach them to know how to present themselves effectively,” said Kusayla Nathan of the Downtown Coquitlam Toastmasters Club, an international non-profit educational organization.

Sam Badaye, Art Director of SNX Powerhouse, provided the Other Press with a description of his business and the type of talent he was looking for: “We do everything that encompasses advertising and marketing,” said Badaye. “There’s a technical side… and then there’s the artistic side and more creative side. So that’s content generation, branding products, branding companies, building a front of the business really.”

Director of Innovation for SNX, Navid Shahram expressed his views on connecting with students at the fair: “We’re all students, we all know what it feels like to be a student. We want to help people just like us out. And we hope to inspire as well. Sometimes you just need to dive into what you love and if you have the drive and you have the passion beautiful things can come out of it.”

With the Douglas College Student Employment Centre having opened its doors September 16, the job fair is just one of the services they have to offer. “With offices at both campuses—room 2844 in New Westminster and room A1430 at David Lam. Both locations offer computer and Internet access, a variety of job search resources, and onsite assistance. Other services include: weekly workshops covering a wide range of job search topics both online and physical Job Boards; access to labour market information and job leads; and resume, cover letter and interview help,” says Kojder.

“Our objective is simple. We are here to assist current Douglas College students and alumni connect with jobs.”