EDMONTON – It’s only November, but university students’ thoughts are already turning to summer jobs.
A steady stream of students came through a recent Agriculture Career Fair organized by the University of Alberta’s career and placement services office.
For Amber Taylor of Wetaskiwin, the career fair was a way of short listing employment prospects and getting her foot in the door.
“If you meet face to face, they’ll remember you from career fair,” said Taylor, who was checking out the job market with two other students.
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She chatted with recruiters from Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the Royal Bank, hoping to find a job in southern Saskatchewan near her
fiancé.
“It’s a way to get known,” she said.
O.J Zawaski of Edmonton said getting a job early may help him nab a high-paying job to help pay down student loans. The fourth-year agriculture student said chatting with prospective employers also gives him a better feel for the job than a written description in the university job centre.
The plum jobs are with the chemical companies, Zawaski tells his friends. Summer students get to drive new vehicles and organize barbecues and golf tournaments.
“It’s one of my coveted jobs. You don’t have to do physical labour.”
The career fairs are also a good way to scout prospective employees, said Barb Bjorkeland, sales specialist with Dow AgriSciences in Calgary.
“It’s an opportunity for us to interact with students and talk about ourselves and our company.”
Dow, which hired eight University of Alberta grads last year for the summer, recruits at most major western Canadian universities. Because the students will be working closely with farmers, Dow wants students with good communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
“If you come from a farm background and know something about agriculture, that’s a big asset,” Bjorkeland said.
Dan Orchard, agronomist with Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers in St. Albert, Alta., said his company usually hires a couple students every year.
Orchard, a university grad, worked for two summers with the company before he was hired full time.
He said Sturgeon Valley recruits at the U of A and Olds College, but as a U of A grad he’s biased toward the university.
Guy Bonneau, manager of the Lakeland Applied Research Association in Bonnyville, said the association attends the career fair every second year looking for students.
It’s also a way of letting students know there are jobs available with applied research associations.
“It’s basically grunt work, but we still want it to be challenging and fulfilling for them,” Bonneau said.
