As a student, trying to find a job that works with your schedule can be a challenge. Sheikh, a student in the Global Business Management program at Mohawk College, can relate to hunting for the best student job to fit his needs having overcome the challenge himself when he moved to Canada.
“I was a consultant for the last six years in Bangladesh, and I want to move up to doing international consultancy,” said Sheikh, describing what drove him to join the Global Business Management program. “I figured this course is an opportunity to increase my network on a global scale.”
Sheikh knew that part-time jobs were good for students trying to balance their schedules, and started doing research into not only what kind of jobs students have, but also how students find jobs. “It took me a while to settle down here in Canada and to find a job. I worked six years in consultancy so the idea of working a job that's not in my field felt like stepping backwards,” he said.
“I did not want to waste a lot of time, I wanted to do something that’s related to my field. I was looking for opportunities on Indeed and LinkedIn before I learned that there are students who work for Mohawk College through something called CSEP,” continued Sheikh. “I checked out the Career Ready portal and I found job listings for social media positions, Marketing positions and working with Mohawk College’s Foundation department. Social media stuck out to me because it's something that I've been doing and it's something I want to do, so I applied and now I’m an Alumni and Marketing social media assistant.”
Through the Campus Student Employment Program (CSEP), Sheikh discovered a treasure trove of targeted jobs for college students with no experience. Now that he’s settled into his new position as a social media assistant, Sheikh is doing work that he loves every single day.
“I think the CSEP opportunity has been amazing. I work with the Alumni and Marketing teams.
I help as much as I can with the social media channels of the college. I also sometimes help with the coverage of events such as our convocations. During events I’m usually required to go and be there for the entire day, taking pictures as much as I can and coming up with content ideas on the spot for our social media pages. That has been amazing.”
Looking back on his experience, Sheikh wanted to share the advice that there are jobs for college students out there, you just have to apply.
“I feel like a lot of people don't put themselves out there. They don't try because they feel like they're not going to get it. But I'd like to mention that if you don't try, you're not going to get it either way. You literally have nothing to lose here. So, I would say to put yourself out there and take a chance, because if you keep on wondering whether or not you're going get it and you don't apply, you're never going to know.”
