Skip to main content

12th IEP Conference in Toronto - Feb, 2015

By


It was a pleasure to speak at the 12th Annual Internationally Educated Professionals (IEP) Conference on Feb 27 this year at the magnificent Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

 This was the second IEP conference I attended in a row and I was overwhelmed see the level of interest among delegates to connect with the speakers and to network with other delegates as a pivotal strategy to achieve career success.

 What was more heartening to see was the quality of questions the attendees raised during the panel discussion. It pointed to their good grasp of the challenges faced by newcomers and their resolve to overcome them through the many strengths they bring with them to Canada.

 Like the previous year, importance of investing time and effort in personal development and networking with other professionals in the field featured as two main themes of the discussion.

 I underscored my position on the importance of positive attitude and perseverance both during and after job search. I spoke anecdotally to my understanding of how to build a strong personal rapport with prospective employers long before they have or do not have a job to offer. Proactively brushing up your skills to stand out from the competition and be seen as a valuable future addition to your employer is the key to success. This requires demonstrating the very same skills that you would be expected to use in your job. I reiterated the importance of training ones' mind to think like a successful person and always being forthcoming and willing to help others around you.

 Some specific techniques for job search were also discussed and my fellow speakers did an incredible job at inspiring the delegates to think outside of the box when approaching prospective employers. Bob Lank, Group Leader Development at CEO Global Forum shared his wisdom on learning from more experienced mentors and making the most of one's time interacting with people who have traversed the path before you. Marcus Paul, President at Crownmark Investments also shared valuable nuggets of insight on career success, specifically with reference to developing one's core competencies and soft skills. He had some very interesting stories to share from his own experience to drive the point home.

 All in all it was a wonderful experience meeting young energetic professionals from all over the world united through their common goal - making an impact in the lives of people through their work.

 I wish you all the very best as you embark on a new professional journey as new Canadians.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back to the Basics of Self Empowerment - Victim or Creator?

By
A young boy I was mentoring years ago as part of a program run by  The Citizens Foundation  in Pakistan blurted in middle of a group pep talk, "You don't understand sir, the whole world is against me; the teacher never gives me the marks that other students get for the same work." Being a mentor, I was a bit taken aback by that downbeat remark but I realized that I had to be sensitive to how strong emotions from other students might come into play. Before I even had a chance to wrap my head around the possible nuances of the comment, another boy cut in "But sir, he does not even try." Rewind one week to the orientation session; we all gathered in a small room already filled with a bunch of passionate boys and girls all wanting to make a real difference in the lives of less privileged students living on the outskirts of Karachi. An equally enthusiastic speaker adorned in crisp white shalwar kameez spoke about the Victim-Creator model of thinking. I was fas...
1 comment
Read more

My 200 Meetings Over Coffee

By
Who would have thought that coffee would come to be recognized as the Swiss Army knife of professional (and not so professional) networking? Centuries ago, when the first of Kaldi's goats nibbled on the nameless red berries, I'm sure the poor goatherd had no clue that the serendipity would eventually give birth to a whole new way for people to build real-life relationships with each other. Fast forward many centuries; today we are all familiar with what "let's meet over coffee" means. Well, for one it doesn't mean you have to drink coffee. It is just an invitation to have a casual conversation about things that might be of interest to both parties. In not too distant past, many conversations that started with that phrase ended up becoming admirable success stories for businesses and individuals. 200 Coffee Meetings Later This realization came to me a bit late in life. I do not recall considering my first coffee meeting as a chance to offer or rec...
1 comment
Read more

Of Clocks, Clones & Cloaks

By
It was last Wednesday evening and I had just gotten back from work. The news that our world had changed yet again a few hours back, had not permeated my senses through the deluge of social media posts that had to follow. So I threw myself on the couch, glanced the clock on the wall and flipped my laptop open. The first thing I saw was a news report posted a few days earlier, about scientists working on a grandiosely  ambitious project  to bring back to life the extinct woolly mammoths that walked the earth for hundreds of thousands of years. The next thing I noticed was another report about a 14-year old schoolboy in Dallas Texas who got arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school. Let me admit; for a moment I too felt guilty for my brazen revolt against the newly established norms of civil obedience, but still dared to glance the clock again only to make sure I had not traveled back in time. And just then, my cell phone buzzed with a Twitter notific...
Post a Comment
Read more