Counselling

How can social science and humanities graduates obtain successful careers? The answer is simple – reach out and talk about what you may want to do. The Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor is dedicated to helping you overcome your educational/career barriers and develop new career – relevant skills. Career counselling is about facilitating self development in order for you to feel confident in making the right educational and career decisions. 

A career counsellor is a professional who works with individuals to build and maintain a healthy career identity. If you have re-occurring concerns about any of the following issues, then individual career counselling or participating in a group workshop can help you clarify your situation.

• “I don’t know what my degree is all about and what I can do with it.”
• “I'm not sure that I am in the right program.”
  
• “My parents and friends tell me that my Arts degree is too general .”
• “I am feeling the pressure to find out what I am going to do after I graduate.”
• “I am not feeling motivated to continue my studies because my education does not relate to  what I really want to do with my life.”
• “My parents feel that I am wasting my time – and now I feel like I should transfer programs.”
• “My friends who are in professional programs are just better off compared to me.”
• “Graduate and/or Professional School is what I want to do; but what are my options?”
• “How do I start finding out which program or career is right for me?”
• “In social situations, I don’t tell others that I'm in a liberal arts program  because I know what they
  will say.”

 To book your confidential, individual career counselling appointment, please email sonny.wong@arts.ryerson.ca and indicate your availability to meet.  

• Do you want to strengthen your education and career decision making skills?
• Do you want to find out your career options beyond your Major and Minor academic training?
• Do you believe it will be helpful for you to identify “your own career maps” and how to get the best out of your program to prepare for the world of work?
• Do you want to develop to identify, understand and reach for meaningful opportunities and learn how to use them to build a healthy career identity?
• Do you want to learn how to self-evaluate if graduate or post-graduate programs are suitable for your personal/professional aspirations?

As a Faculty of Arts student, you can access a variety of resources that will help you begin exploring your educational and career options and develop your career skills. These resources, which were developed by the Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor and are uniquely tailored for students in the social sciences and humanities, cover a range of topics including: investigative tools to begin your educational and career decision-making process; career options related to your program of study; researching the labour market; writing an effective cover letter, personal statement, and resume; and more. 

Use these resources before joining one of the Faculty of Arts career workshops or speaking to the Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor.

The Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor offers a series of educational and career planning workshops that are tailored to meet the unique needs of students in the social sciences and humanities. Highly rated by participants for their usefulness and relevance, these workshops will leave you with a plan of action.

• Transition from High School to University – Secrets Which Are Meant to be Shared
• Maximizing Your Program Fit – The Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Earning a Minor
• Increase Your Labor Market Research Skills to Increase Your Self Knowledge and Ability to Make Good Educational/Career Decisions
• Application to Graduate and Professional Schools
• Getting into Teachers’ College is No Big Secret
• What Are My Career Options with an Arts Degree?
• What Kind of Work Do I Want? I Need to Stop Saying I Just Want a Good Job
• What to Look for in a Job Ad: Skills, Qualification and Clues to Tap into the Hidden Labour Market
• NO MORE to Template Resumes! Where is the Self in the Self-Marketing?
• Increase Your Self – Confidence in Interviews
• Career Planning by Program - What can I do with my Degree?

Please watch for the e-invite by your Program Advisor for these upcoming workshops. RVSP as soon as possible to avoid disappointment since space is limited.

Here are some of the program-specific and Faculty of Arts-wide career events to watch for in the upcoming academic year.

• Career Conversation Night (Philosophy)
• Mix and Mingle with Professionals (Arts and Contemporary Studies)
• Live Library (Faculty of Arts)
• Talking Professional "Books" (English)
• Career Development Lecture (Sociology)
• How to be Admitted to Teachers' College
• Parents as The Coach (for parents of incoming Faculty of Arts undergraduate students)

Please watch for the e-invite by your Program Advisor for the dates of these events.