Mentoring, Internships and Networking

Networking is the act of connecting with people. It is a long-term strategy to help you advance your career. It can connect you with people so you can build lasting, beneficial relationships. It also means keeping in regular contact with people in your professional circle.

Many people share contact information through business cards or online. LinkedIn is a popular social networking site for professionals.

Networking tips:

• Be ready to tell people who you are and what your goals are.
• Research who will be at an event before you go. Newspapers and employment resource centres can help with this. There may be someone there in your field you've been wanting to meet.
• Keep in touch with contacts you make. This helps build your relationship and can lead to opportunities.

Be sure to deliver on any promises you make. If you say you will do something, make sure  you can do it.

A mentorship occurs when an experienced worker helps you by providing work-related advice and assistance.

The TRIEC Mentoring Partnership is an organization that helps skilled immigrants find jobs. The program has created more than 10,000 mentoring relationships of this kind. 

Contact the Pickering Welcome Centre at 905-420-3008 or the Ajax Welcome Centre at 289-482-1037 for more information.

Learn more about Mentorship opportunities with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council

An internship occurs when a schooling organization places a student into a work placement opportunity. The job may or may not pay the student, depending on the arrangement between the employer and the school.

These positions may also be open to young employees looking to learn a job skill or enter a new industry. Internships are a great way to earn Canadian work experience before you start your career.

The Durham College field placement program lets students apply what they've learned in the classroom to real job experience.

Durham Continuing Education's Enhanced Language Training (ELT) program provides eight weeks of advanced English classes for internationally trained professionals plus an additional eight weeks for the participants to gain Canadian work experience through an unpaid internship/mentorship.

The above placements happen while the student is still in school.