University of Alberta Faculty of Law students gathered at the Shaw Conference Centre on Friday, September 16, for Career Day 2016 to network with potential employers, including representatives from more than 35 Alberta and BC-based law firms, the federal and provincial Crown, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO), and the City of Edmonton. The annual career fair is organized by the Student Articling Committee, with assistance from Career Services Officers Mandy England and Pat Neil.
"Career Day is a tremendous opportunity for students to learn about the entire range of opportunities at hand and to make connections with potential employers," said Dean Paul Paton, who brought greetings from the Faculty of Law during the lunch hour. "One of the priorities of my deanship is enhancing Career Services and supporting our students in whichever way we can to prepare students for - and help them find - successful legal careers. Whether that career starts in a large or small law firm, in government, or in a non-traditional setting, we endeavor to ensure that U of A law students are supported in the search throughout their time with us."
Throughout the academic year, Career Services provides a number of opportunities and initiatives for students, including welcome BBQs and law firm visits throughout Alberta, interview skills panels, on-campus interviews, clerkship information sessions, networking sessions in Calgary, firm hops in Toronto and Vancouver, mock interviews, small firm career day, business etiquette seminars, resume and cover letter preparation, job shadowing day, and many more.
In his remarks to the Career Day luncheon, Dean Paton thanked the career fair participants as well as the student organizers who put in countless hours to make the day a success. He also offered guidance based on his own experience graduating into a very difficult market in 1992:
"In this challenging economic climate, the need to be flexible and resilient - whether that's which area of the law you decide to practice, or where you choose to practice - is particularly important. What you think you might want to practice today might not necessarily align with the employment opportunities in the current market. But if you keep an open mind and continue to seek out new skills and opportunities, you just might discover a passion you didn't know you had."