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Advising

The skilled team of advisors at the Centre for Career and Personal Development is available to help you make the most of your ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ journey and to help you be better prepared for your career.  We look forward to meeting with you.

Career Advising

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Career Development and Life Design team

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Leadership development

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Career advising

Access career advising to enhance your career journey through personalized advice. Our team can help you prepare for your job search, enhance your interview skills, and make a plan for your career journey. You can book an appointment, come for a drop-in session, or learn from a Career Development Specialist in a workshop.

Get assistance from a career development specialist

Kick-start career planning and develop professional skills by booking an appointment with a career development specialist. 

The Career Development team aims to empower and guide ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ students to find career happiness through coaching and self-exploration. Get support with: 

  • Creating compelling cover letters, CVs and resumes 
  • Building effective job search and networking skills 
  • Preparing for job interviews/mock interviews 
  • LinkedIn best practices 
  • Career planning and exploration 
  • Career assessments to identify strengths, skills values and interests 
  • Understanding Canadian workplace culture (international students) 
  • Using Life Design to address challenges and plan ahead 

Ways to connect

  • Don't have a resume yet, or need help making it more effective?  
  • Not sure what comes after graduation?  
  • Need help finding suitable career paths for your degree? 
  • Want to better understand your strengths, communication style, personality and interests, and how they can help you find a job you will love? 

Get support with job searching or finding potential career paths by meeting with an advisor. Work together to build a career development plan, improve resume/CV, prepare for an interview, and much more.  

To review a resume and/or cover letter with a Career Development Specialist, please bring a printed paper copy.  

Begin by booking an appointment on for a suitable time slot. 


Our regular drop-in hours (Tuesdays, in person, and Thursdays, virtual - 12-1:30pm) for Fall 2024 semester, conclude the week of December 9, and will restart the week of January 6, 2025.

For the Zoom link for virtual Drop-Ins on Thursdays 12-1:30, go .  Wait for a Career Development Specialist to greet you.  They may be seeing other students.  Appointments are typically 15 minutes in length.

Resume Rescue occurs on Wednesdays 12-1pm, for Fall 2024 semester, conclude the week of December 2, and will restart the week of January 6, 2025.  Bring your resume or cover letter for some quick tips and advice.  

Prior to attending Resume Rescue, we recommend viewing our Career Clips on Resume: Appearance and Format and Resume: Content and Sections.  Also sign up for Resume Cover Letter Essentials Workshops in the CCPD Event Calendar.

Career tip

Start working on your resume as early as you can. Just like a term paper, it is hard to write an effective resume in one night — it takes time, effort and multiple of revisions.

Did you know?

First impressions count! Whether they are made in-person or through a cover letter and resume. It only takes minutes — or even seconds — to make a first impression count.

Request a workshop

Workshops are available on request for faculties, lectures and student groups. To request a standard or custom workshop, please fill out . 

Career Development and Life Design team

Talk to a Career Development Specialist for help with the job search or finding potential career paths. Work together to build an action plan, improve job search documents, or prepare for an interview.  Connect with our Life Design Specialist to learn about how Life Design can help your personal and career journey. 

Services and programming

  • Assistance with resumes, cover letter, interview preparation, LinkedIn use and job search  
  • Guidance with self-assessments to discover your values, strengths, interests  and aptitudes 
  • Advice on how your degree can transition into a career

Drop-in advising offers quick, on-the-spot support for students seeking career guidance. During these sessions, students can meet with a Career Development Specialist without scheduling an appointment in advance. Topics commonly covered include resume and cover letter reviews, job or internship search strategies, LinkedIn profile tips, or answers to general career-related questions. Each session typically lasts about 10-15 minutes, making it a convenient option for students needing immediate advice or feedback.

This flexible service is ideal for students who have specific questions or need brief guidance to move forward in their career development.
 

The Centre for Career and Personal Development offers a variety of free workshops to help students build career skills, gain experience and connect effectively with employers. Visit the Career Education - Workshops page to explore upcoming workshops and register.

  1. Browse online resources

  2. Watch a Career Clip

    Browse short Career Clips 

  3. Working in Canada

    International Student Services (ISS) has Regulated Immigration Advisors who are legally authorized to provide advice on Canadian study permits, work permits, visas and Permanent Residence. To take advantage of these services as a current or newly-admitted ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ international student, or graduates within one year of convocation, please email ISS from your ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ email. 

     

  4. Working on campus

    A part-time job on campus can be a convenient option for students. This resource explains what is required in order to apply for work. 

    View resource

  5. Career-boosting strategies for international students studying in North America

    International students looking to gain career-building experience in North America must understand how to showcase to employers that they have anunderstanding of North American business protocol and can build connections between the local and international culture. Academic training does not always adequately prepare students for the professional work environment. Learn how to plan, organize, work in teams and understand the politics of work and leadership.  

    Learn how to build experience with this PDF guide from MyWorldAbroad. 

  6. What's your international IQ?

    This resource describes what skills internationally-focused recruiters are looking for, and what it takes to succeed abroad in a multicultural team.  

    View resource

  7. Career Clip: Intercultural Communication and Career Success

    How to improve communication skills to succeed in a diverse and multicultural workplace. 

    Watch the Career Clip

Career and Life Design Advising and Coaching

Get in touch

David Cataford
Career Development Specialist, Undergraduate Students
dcatafor@ucalgary.ca

Liliana Gonzalez 
Career Development Specialist, EDIA
gonzalml@ucalgary.ca

Matthew Geddes
Career Development Specialist, Master's Students
mjgeddes@ucalgary.ca

Charlotte Anyango Ong’ang’a
Career Development Specialist, PhD Students
charlotte.onganga1@ucalgary.ca

Harrison Yeung
Career and Life Design Resource Specialist 
harrison.yeung@ucalgary.ca

Lygia Vernon-Swinney
Career Education Specialist
lygia.vernon1@ucalgary.ca

Victoria Hirsche 
Life Design and Work Integrated Learning Specialist 
vlhirsch@ucalgary.ca

Leadership development

Interested in learning more about your leadership style and have ways to keep building your leadership toolkit? Join a leadership workshop today or email lead@ucalgary.ca to connect with our leadership team.