Recently we hosted a workshop at the Ted Rogers School of Management with the Ted Rogers Co-op Students’ Association, bringing together over 40 students from various fields of study within the school. This event was a success and allowed us to chat in-depth with all the students about the importance of building lasting relationships in the workplace. Attending workshops and networking events like this are especially important for young professionals breaking into the tech industry. They're great for growing connections and relationships, providing students with opportunities to build bridges between themselves and industry professionals.
The career workshop we hosted at TMU
These types of events have always been and will continue to be a huge part of our HR department goals and strategies for 2023. They are also closely tied to our Co-op program which we value immensely. In general, this is how TribalScale benefits from investing in workshops and networking events:
- Recruitment: meeting potential candidates, identifying talent, building pipelines.
- Company branding and growing our presence in new locations.
- DEI: get to meet a diverse group of people that we can potentially hire.
- Cost effective: budget friendly way to meet with new talent and avoid high recruitment agency costs.
For students and young professionals, these are the benefits associated with attending career events for professional development and some tips to consider for each:
Networking & Personal Branding
Networking is a huge aspect of these events since you're chatting with a variety of professionals. It can be nerve-wracking, but with time and practice you should be able to shake hands, introduce yourself, and talk about your experiences with ease. As you're engaging with different people, make sure to ask them tailored questions so they can share their own experiences with you too, this will give you a ton of insightful information that you can learn a lot from.
Personal branding goes hand-in-hand with networking and will allow you to stand out from the crowd. After attending a career event, post about your experience and the key takeaways on LinkedIn or in a blog, this is a great way to self-promote and highlight your professional development efforts. As well, take the time to add professionals to your LinkedIn network, if you connected with them at the event and got to know them then you'll want to stay in touch and make sure they're seeing any career updates you post. Taking it a step further, you could even send them a follow-up note like:
"It was great chatting with you at the [blank] event last night, I appreciate you sharing your insights on [blank]."
Mentorship
As you're meeting professionals and growing your network, this opens you up to mentorship opportunities. A mentor can be anyone—a peer, a senior industry professional, etc. and career events are the best place for building mentorship alliances. Be upfront about your intentions when you're speaking to different people, mention that you're interested in finding a mentor. This opens up the conversation to build a mentorship alliance with them, or for them to connect you with another person that is better suited.
Gain Career Insights
These events are a great opportunity to gain insight on new industries and fields of work that you may be interested in. You're chatting with professionals of varying seniority, perhaps from different job functions and different industries—this is the best time and setting to ask whatever questions are on your mind. As students and young professionals, this might be a stressful time where you're making different career decisions and wondering what the best path forward may be for you—take advantage of events like this to get the answers you need.
To recap
Step out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there so you can reap the benefits of career events! If you're a student or a young professional in tech, follow us on socials to get updates about our upcoming workshops and career events—we'd love to see you there!
Ada is the People & Culture Coordinator here at TribalScale and is focused on managing and leading the Co-Op Program for the organization. Outside of work she likes to travel, workout, and spend time with her family and friends at their cottage.