Gear Up to Graduate
Congratulations! With graduation right around the corner, it's time to put all the pieces of your UVic experience together—your interests, competencies and experience—to help you make the leap into the working world.
Don't worry—it's normal to be anxious, and we're here to help. We've put together all the resources you need to take the next step.
Plus: Even after you graduate, you can continue to access our career help and resources forever as an alumnus!
DID YOU KNOW? You can continue to access our career help and resources forever!
Access resources to help you take your next step
From job posting links to career exploration worksheets, and everything in between, here are resources to help you maintain momentum. You can also learn about available financial support.
Learn about possible careers
- Complete the career motivator worksheets and other career exploration resources
- Check out possible careers for your program area plus professional associations to connect with
- Meet with a career educator to discuss your goals and options
- Access career counselling through Counselling Services to complete more comprehensive assessments (if needed)
- Check out the resources available through Career Cruising
- Join the Horizons and Navigator program to help you discover career possibilities
Find out how to describe your strengths to employers
- Assess and articulate your competencies using our competency resources
- Learn how to answer interview questions by using these interview tips and meeting with a career educator
- Check out the Horizons and Navigator program to help you land the job you want
Write effective résumés and cover letters
- Visit our résumé resources section to learn about formatting and what to include
- Check out our sample résumé and CVs for inspiration
- Utilize VMock to get effective feedback on your resume, and meet with a career educator to discuss your VMock results
- Meet with a career educator for résumé feedback on how to adjust your résumé from "student" to "professional"
Develop interview and networking skills
- Book a mock interview with a career educator (select the Appointments tab and then Career Services)
- Try out different networking strategies by reviewing our networking resources
- Make a habit of regularly checking the Co-op and Career portal for any relevant events or workshops
Utilize LinkedIN:
- Learn how to use LinkedIn's alumni tool
- Read this helpful article or view this video tutorial about LinkedIn's alumni tool and how to use it
- Join the "UVic Alumni" group on LinkedIn (plus faculty- or department-specific groups), and sign up for other discussion groups and associations in your field of interest
- Make sure your LinkedIn is up to date with this LinkedIn checklist
- Attend a LinkedIn Essentials workshop to learn how to use LinkedIn the most effectively.
Consider whether graduate school is right for you
Graduate school can be a great next step--for some, it's a career path (if you're thinking about working in academia), and for others it's a great way to enrich your learning.
We've put together some steps to help you figure out if graduate school is a good fit. You can also talk to your career educator for a one-on-one chat.
Access financial support
Many students are experiencing unexpected financial hardship because of COVID-19. Here are a few resources that may be helpful:
- UVic bursaries: Student Awards and Financial Aid (SAFA) has a range of bursaries listed on their website.
- The Government of Canada's Canada's COVID-19 support for Canadians and businesses: Learn about a range of new financial supports available through the Government of Canada. We've listed many of these supports below.
Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students
The Government of Canada has made this grant available to low and middle-income students who are in school full-time. If you are going to school part-time, see grant for part-time students.
For the 2020 to 2021 school year, you could receive up to $6,000 or up to $750 per month of study. The school year runs from August 1 of the current year to July 31 of the next year. You can receive this grant for each year of your undergraduate studies as long as you are still in school full-time.
Canada Student Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities
For the 2020 to 2021 school year, you could receive $4,000. You can get this grant for each year of your studies as long as you still qualify. The school year runs from August 1 of the current year to July 31 of the next year.
If you qualify, and have an assessed need of $1,400, you will still receive the $4,000 grant. In this case, the grant would cover your assessed need, so you would not need a student loan.
See details & ongoing updates here.Support for Indigenous students
Additional support from the Government of Canada
- This quick government survey can help determine which government benefits you could be eligible for.
- There is a suspension of repayments of Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans between March 30 and September 30, 2020.
- Funding is being provided to support student researchers and post-doctoral fellows.
- There are a range of new and updated Government of Canada work opportunities and employment programs being offered by the Government of Canada.
- Depending on your provice of residence, you might be eligible for some provicial assitance programs.
Connect with your personal career educator
Did you know you have a dedicated career educator who specializes in your area of study? Your career educator can help you:
- discover what types of careers would be a good fit for you
- develop your interview and networking skills
- work through the challenges of graduating at this unique time
Connect with your Career Educator.
Join the alumni community
As a new grad, you'll be a part of the UVic alumni community! UVic Alumni Relations runs a ton of programs to help you stay connected.
Stay in touch with alumni in your community
More than 110,000 UVic alumni live and work around the globe. With regular alumni events held in cities across Canada and the world, it's easy to stay connected.
Learn about alumni groups in your region and see what's coming up near you.
Explore job posting sites
We've compiled a list of popular job posting sites to help you get started. Explore these sites to find a wide range of work opportunities.
Opportunities may be impacted by COVID 19 and may change or be removed as the situation develops. Co-op and Career is not vetting individual posting sites or opportunities. We encourage you to connect with organizations directly to keep in the loop.
- Opportunities
available at
this time - General
job postings - Industry-specific
job postings - Volunteer
work - Using Twitter
in your job search
Employers across all sectors have been impacted by COVID-19, and this has changed the range of opportunities that are being posted.
Some sectors are actively hiring. Here are some curated lists that may be helpful if you're looking for positions in Victoria and Vancouver. We'll add other lists as we gather them. Remember that you can always connect with your career educator to chat about the experience and skills you can gain from these opportunities, and how they fit into your overall career goals.
- Opportunities in Victoria and Vancouver
- Top 20 Jobs in Canada for 2021 (CanadianVisa.org article)
- Who's hiring in Canada (LinkedIn post)
- Top 25 Most in Demand Jobs in Canada, 2021 and beyond (CanadaWiz.ca article)
- Working during COVID-19 (WorkBC resource)
NOTE: Opportunities may be impacted by COVID 19 and may change or be removed as the situation develops. Co-op and Career is not vetting individual posting sites or opportunities. We encourage you to connect with organizations directly to keep in the loop.
Opportunities may be impacted by COVID 19 and may change or be removed as the situation develops. Co-op and Career is not vetting individual posting sites or opportunities. We encourage you to connect with organizations directly to keep in the loop.
Co-op and Career is not vetting individual posting sites or opportunities. We encourage you to connect with organizations directly to keep in the loop.
Check out our volunteer resources page for tons of information and volunteer opportunities, or check out posting sites below. Opportunities may be impacted by COVID 19 and may change or be removed as the situation develops.
Co-op and Career is not vetting individual posting sites or opportunities. We encourage you to connect with organizations directly to keep in the loop.
Are you on Twitter? Many organizations tweet out job postings that are newly posted or about to expire. Here are some good Twitter handles to start following if you're looking for work:
- @uviccoopcareer
- @VicTourismJobs
- @Victoria__Jobs
- @WorkBC
- @TalentEgg
- @GTHiringBlog
- @BCJobsPlan
- @BCjobs
- @BC_TopEmployers
- @SimplyHired
- @BC__Jobs
- @TheCareerCentre
- @MyVancouver
- @Vancouver__Jobs
- @Jobsprout
- @CalgaryJobs
It's also a good idea to follow specific companies you're interested in working for—many large organizations even have a separate HR Twitter account that tweets out job opportunities. To find these Twitter accounts, search "@[company name] HR" or "[company name] HR Twitter".
You can also use Twitter to tweet companies directly and ask about job opportunities—it's a fast, informal way to get more information.