Career Awareness Committee

Career Fairs

By Aaron Shufletoski, BCLS

Chances are you have been asked at one time or another to participate in a Career Fair for the Career Awareness Committee. The Association Update generally has a request for volunteers running continually for different events that we would like to have our Association present at. It is sometimes a struggle to get volunteers and we are very grateful for everyone that signs up. Having local volunteers is essential to being able to attend these events and it is always good to show that our members are active in the community.

Some volunteers have had mixed feelings about running a booth, trying to engage with strangers and entice the strangers (or even worse, high school students) to start a career in land surveying. It may help volunteers to participate more easily if they know what the intent of the fair is. We attend various different events and it is always a good idea to look in advance at who will be attending the event, to be prepared and know how to engage.

Typically we attend three different types of fairs:

Elementary Career Days

These events are usually brought about when your child comes home and asks if you can come to school tomorrow and talk about your job. These can be a lot of fun, only takes an hour or so from your day, and you get to show off in front of your child’s friends. This is mostly a competition for who has the coolest parent, which you can easily win. Some ways to connect with the students are to give places that are named after surveyors, show the music video, and have old plans for the students to handle. More ambitious volunteers can bring a disto for the students to measure with or even a scanner and scan the room. If you understand Minecraft, you could explain how a surveyor could solve many disputes when playing with friends on how they can make boundaries. These career days may plant a seed in one of your child’s classmates, or entice your child to follow in your footsteps.

Secondary School Career Fairs

A major priority for Secondary Schools is to prepare students to choose a career and determine what post-secondary school to attend. Of course, the least interested person in careers at the fair is the student! However, alongside the students that are there just for free swag – which the ABCLS has an excellent supply of – there are also teachers, parents and career counsellors present at the fairs. While the students may not show any interest, engaging with the other people at the fair may make you feel like you are making more of an impact. Including items that the students can interact with will help attract some students to stop and look, such as a robotic instrument, scanner or drone, old plans, posts, or even plumb-bobs. You might want to ask parents and counsellors if they know of any students that are outdoorsy and involved in scouting, exploring, or geocaching. If they do, give them some information to take home. They might benefit from your insight and experiences regarding what to expect with respect to post-secondary. Even if the counsellors don’t know of a student that may match presently, they may come across one in future years and remember your interaction.

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