By Caroline Homet — Contributor

On Jan. 27 and 28, students gathered for the annual Career Bootcamp offered by Bishop’s Career and Transition Services to learn skills needed to enter the professional world.

Bishop’s students from all years of study learned tips on writing resumes, preparing for interviews and networking in an intensive two-day event including many presentations and workshops.

Beyond the practical information learned about resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles and interview questions, the two-day event was focused on “connections.” As second-year psychology student Isabelle Callan explained, “By the end of the workshop, everyone was on a first-name basis with [Ivan], the guest speaker, and most of the alumni who attended. It was a great opportunity for students to make connections with people in their field.” Gaby Loupiac, a graduating biochemistry student, added, “We have good alumni connections and should take advantage of reaching out to them.”

The intensive and immersive format of the bootcamp made it a unique environment for learning how to prepare for the job market. Gaby Loupiac said, “I never felt like I could have found this information on my own. It almost felt like [the career bootcamp] was tailor-made for us.”

Nadège Allard, a fourth-year applied psychology major, said, “I’m graduating, so I wanted to maximize the resources offered here and find more guidance into the real world.” However, not only graduating students benefited from the boot camp. Emmanuelle Morin, a second-year business major in the co-op program, was quick to apply the skills she learned to her current experience as a student. “I’m currently in the process of having interviews for internships,” she said. “Doing mock interviews really helped me gain confidence in my interview skills.”

After a first presentation on resume writing by career and employment advisor Kim McFadden, participants had personalized advice from Bishop’s staff to work on their resumes and cover letters. Karen McKenna, Human Resources Manager, closed the first day of boot camp with an interactive presentation on the hiring process and how to prepare for interviews. Equipped with professional headshots taken the previous day, participants learned how to start their own LinkedIn accounts on Saturday.

Public speaking educator Ivan Ruiz proved that awkward networking conversations are easily avoidable with a few adaptable icebreakers. Participants got to know each other by practicing their dynamic small talk with each other. After the adrenaline rush of mock interviews, during which students were paired with alumni working in their field, networking activities continued during a 5 à 7 with bingo asking participants to find the jugglers, skydivers, acrobats and other personalities amongst the group.

Career boot camp ended with Ruiz teaching the entire room how to salsa to compete in a dance-off.