This November, Pooja Happy (BA 11’) will be volunteering for the 5th year in a row with the Career Exploration Interviews program (CEI). Hosted by the University’s Career Centre, CEI aims to connect students, postdoctoral fellows, and alumni with community-based professionals to learn from their career stories. An Arts grad who started working for a large engineering company after graduation, Pooja definitely has many unique stories and lessons to share.
Her career path was not always set in stone. During undergrad, she had originally planned to work in health care, abandoning that plan once she realized it was a poor fit for her goals and personality. Now a Project Controls Manager and Lead Business Analyst at WSP Edmonton, Pooja uses her volunteer work with CEI as a chance to share what she wished she knew when she was first starting out her career. Unaware of the different types of jobs out there after graduation, she leveraged the skills she learned volunteering during her undergraduate degree to help her find a career she loves. During the CEI, she now offers resume review, mock interviews and helps program participants take on one of the most intimidating topics of all: how to negotiate salary. Talk about a subject that we all wish we knew a bit more about!
Pooja says that one of the best parts of volunteering with CEI hearing updates and successes from the students she’s worked with. One of her favorite stories involves a previous mentee who not only used her advice to secure a higher salary but went on to teach others to do the same. While program participants certainly benefit from the CEI program, Pooja herself also benefits professionally as well from this work as it gives her a connection to University and provides some extra insight on the recent graduate experience. This grants her access to different perspectives while building her own network; essential skills when she was working as a hiring manager.
Pooja encourages anyone who is interested in volunteering with CEI to “just go for it!” You don’t need to feel like you have all the answers, she says, or be able to solve every problem. While hosts may feel a bit of imposter syndrome, Pooja recommends looking at the interview as a conversation with someone with similar interests. Ultimately, being able to share your perspective is an amazing tool to help a student move forward in their career.
When she’s not busy working or volunteering, Pooja loves checking out some of our famous Edmonton festivals (Heritage Days is her favorite), going out to eat and meeting friends.
Applications to volunteer with CEI are open until September 15th, with the interviews taking place in November. Find out more and apply online HERE
