Career Conversations — Joaquin Suarez
Career Conversations with Joaquin Suarez
Navigating the search for your first full-time job that matches your major & interests can be an overwhelming journey. Whether you are a freshman, transfer student or a soon-to-be-alum, we all go through a stage during our undergraduate years where we aimlessly stare at the laptop screens, not knowing where to start. Not to mention that one resume.docx that’s been piled up on top of million tabs, waiting to be revisited when the pressure to get a job finally kicks in. It’s a dreadful experience, and we all deserve someone to ask questions, seek help from, and get support—so let’s talk about it.
Career Conversations, a blog series newly launched by CMNSU, aims to provide co-op experience of Communication students and alumni in diverse sectors. Through conversation-based interviews, we aim to capture insights and tips that will help you to get your foot in the door in the various professional fields.
“It's the best time to make mistakes while you’re still a student. Take as many risks and opportunities as possible – one right decision is all you need.”- Joaquin Suarez is a SFU alumni who graduated in Fall 2023 with an honours degree in Communication. With co-op experience, extracurricular involvement and a collection of memorable learning experiences, Joaquin shares his journey from graduation to landing a position as a Communications Coordinator at Fraser Health Authority.
1. How was your job-hunting experience after graduation? How is it different for full-time positions versus Co-op?
From my experience, the eagerness and potential to learn was the most important factor in co-op. Employers expect students to make mistakes, capitalize on that (to a certain extent)! Once post-grad comes,expectations grow disproportionately, so it’s best to be ready. The job market changes rapidly, and data or news never tell the full story, so don’t let that discourage you. That said, rejections will likely happen, interviews become more stringent and a little bit of luck is needed. How much impact you bring and how well your values align with the organization will set you apart from other candidates.
For Co-op positions it’s common to find more flexibility in terms of responsibilities—one position could be assigned different tasks, such as creating graphics content, captions and so on. Some positions give freedom on what students would like to focus on. My advice is to try everything until you understand what fits you best. In my experience, I went from graphic design, to events and finally writing is where I found my interest.
Post grad positions become more niche and specific in communications. For example, when they are looking for a social media specialist, recruiters will select those with direct experience, so transferable skills become more challenging to use.
2. Based on your previous answer, what strategies did you find most helpful during your post-grad job search?
This depends on each person’s unique experience and abilities. One advice I have is to set your career goals and curate your resume to that. I observed post-grad job descriptions focused on niche skill sets, so I made that adjustment. In my case, I set three key components to build my experience around: professional writing, community engagement and stakeholder relations. This ensures you get into a position that suits you best, otherwise it can become a, “what if I did this,” later on. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, then build a strategy on that.
For myself, I am the type to overthink before and after an interview. To tackle this, I focused on interview prep.
In terms of interview skills, what sources did you find helpful? - I did tons of research about the employer before the interview. Information is important, but the key is taking the information that will leverage yourself.I wrote notes about the employer’s external communications, identified cracks in them and provided solutions, and sometimes made communications plans and strategies based on that. I also recorded and listened to my answers on common questions like “Tell me about yourself”, “What skills do you have that will be applicable for this position?” and “What would your past co-workers say about you?”. What I also found very helpful was to transform every responsibility and qualification in the job description into a question, then write and practice answers for them using the STAR method.
3. Could you share some of the challenges that one may face during job searching?
I think one of the general challenges can be accepting rejections. It is an inevitable experience in the job hunt (unless you’re gifted). It hurts to receive the, “we regret to inform you…” email especially when you put several hours from application to interview preparation. The best way I handled it was to remind myself that I will get the position that suits me best (and that came true in the end).
4. How do you coordinate/manage your time?
I use Notion a lot (I learned this after university). I love building templates that are quick and efficient. It helps me track my projects, partners and so on. A lot of projects happen simultaneously with different team members and priorities, so this helps me track everything at once.
5. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I am very grateful to be in a position where I can make a difference for health care providers and patients. It’s rewarding, and a privilege that I can create resources and material, and supply information so that medical staff can support those who need care.
6. Were there any unexpected aspects of the jobs that you had to adapt to?
Be prepared for anything. Every organization will have its unique challenges, so it is the matter of being adaptable, and of course enjoying the challenge. A new position means new personalities and work cultures.I’m really grateful to be in a team that I enjoy working with and get along with really well.
7. How did your co-op/past internship experience contribute to your skill development and current career paths?
My past experiences brought me to where I am today, for sure. One of my past co-op experiences was similar to the industry I’m currently in, and my second placement helped me develop my writing skills to pursue it professionally. In short, my co-op really helped me identify what skills I wanted to develop further.
Visit Joaquin’s LinkedIn profile to learn more about his experience.
8. Any tips for writing in a professional work setting?
At first, I thought writing with more detail and info was the right thing to do (I learned the hard way). Professional writing should be brief, concise, and straight to the point. The best advice I can give, and the best advice I received for myself is just to practice, practice and practice (don’t worry about mistakes). You don’t have to like certain aspects of writing in order to make it your career, and many times I’d rather not; but, to love writing means doing it especially when you don’t feel like it.
9. Has your perspectives on career paths you want to pursue changed since before/after co-op?
My perspectives haven’t really changed. Ever since I started university, I always enjoyed writing, but the thought always lingered that it might not be so fun professionally. Doing a Co-op that emphasized writing scraped that feeling away. I’m still growing and have a lot to learn. After Co-op and now working post-grad, the questions only grow more (in a good way). I don’t know who I will be in 10 years yet and what unexpected things might come. I can’t define what’s next, but I’m happy with where I am now.
10. Can you share some tips for making a strong impression during job interviews?
This might be relatable to those who interviewed others before, but it’s the first 15-30 seconds that decide 80% of the interview success.. If it starts weak, it can be challenging to bounce back from that. be as ready as you can for the first 30 seconds of the interview. Some are naturally talented at this, but it’s a skill that can be developed with practice.
11. Any advice for current undergraduate students / soon-to-be alumni?
Meet as many people as possible – join clubs, network and talk to your professor or the person next to you in class. The people I met were so important in undergrad, and became even more important after school. Also take risks and be open to making mistakes, while it’s more forgivable during your university years. Setting the intention of networking helps ease pressure and tingles too. If you set it to learn, grow, and build lasting relationships, it will go beyond just landing a job.
12. Lastly, how can students make the most of their undergrad years to prepare for the post-grad job fields?
Opportunities that you come across in undergrad almost never come again (except if it’s a pyramid scheme) so maximize all the resources to your best capacity!