Written by: Manasi Sohoni, Student Volunteer
Finding a job is challenging during “normal” times, but throw in a pandemic and upcoming recession and job hunting becomes even more daunting.
Understanding this and seeing how the GTA PR and communications community is negatively impacted by COVID-19, CPRS Toronto held a virtual career development seminar on July 22 for communications professionals and recent graduates. The goal of this seminar was to help the community understand the principles of career development and job searching.
The one-hour online seminar was hosted and moderated by Michelle Dias, CPRS Toronto’s Vice President. Guest speakers Nina Kalos EVP, General Manager, Veritas Communications and Roxanne Cramer, Career Coach and Recruiter, walked through the fundamentals of career planning and provided the audience of entry-to mid-level participants with solid, first-hand advice.
The seminar was kicked off by Michelle, who spoke about the current job market and what consequences it has faced in these unprecedented times. She mentioned that working in the travel and tourism industry, which has been heavily impacted by COVID-19, was the inspiration for creating this session. After welcoming everyone and giving an overview of the seminar, she introduced the first speaker, Nina Kalos, as a great resource and a dedicated leader.
Nina, who also recruits for Veritas Communications spoke about various ways to ‘wow a recruiter in an interview.’ She mentioned interviewers today don’t just look for candidates who dress the part and bring in an A+ resume, but are also looking for candidates who are authentic and can present their stories. Nina shared steps to take before, during and after an interview. Conducting thorough research, forming connections with the employers, sending a thank you note and asking for feedback after an interview were some of the crucial steps she mentioned.
Following Nina, Roxanne Cramer, shared her thoughts on building your brand, managing career goals and their timelines, how to identify your strengths and then measure your performance. Roxanne mentioned that one of the major necessities when it comes to working in the communications industry is to find your passion and stick to it. Having a smile on, getting excited when you talk about the work you do and your accomplishments, shows that you love what you do. She further went on to talk about how necessary it is to be a good writer and have knowledge about various technological platforms like social media, CRM programs, analytics and databases.
Roxanne also gave tips on how to build your resume and all the necessary information to be added on. She mentioned that every resume needs to be tailor-made as per the job descriptions. She reiterated the point about portfolios being necessary to showcase your work to a potential employer.
At the end of the session, participants asked Nina and Roxanne questions and had the opportunity to network through the Zoom chat box. CPRS Toronto plans to keep hosting similar virtual events in this time of need to provide communication professionals the networking opportunities they are seeking.
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