Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash, Unsplash License
With classes returning to in-person in the Fall, it is likely that many UBC and non-UBC extracurriculars, work and volunteer positions will too. However, some of these opportunities will probably remain online during this upcoming transition period and into the future. A friend of mine, for example, is working from home for her Co-op position she began earlier this summer. Still, there are some benefits you can gain from remote learning and work! Although a bit challenging, my past several months communicating and working virtually were far from a painful experience. At the very least, it did not stop me from exploring new opportunities and connecting with others. I will be talking of my experiences working online and how what I learned may be helpful for a (hopefully) smooth transition to in-person classes and opportunities!
Socializing remotely, and joining extracurriculars & clubs
Thanks to a site recommendation from a peer in a study group created by the administrator of an ENGL 110 course group chat, I found a remote position through volunteerconnector.org. (As a side note: I highly suggest initiating study sessions within course group chats! Many will likely appreciate you for doing so). This website has plenty of non-profit organizations posting their volunteer openings and allows you to filter through different causes and features (there is a filter option for remote work too!). From here, I got one of the first opportunities that allowed me to jump from customer and food service to a more administrative role, where I got the chance to connect with other volunteer members and learn new skills that would be transferable in other volunteer or job positions.
If you are looking to become involved in UBC outside of your courses and meet new people, clubs are a great way to find your niche on campus. Finding and joining one that would interest you this coming fall can be quite daunting, whether you are a first, second, or upper-year returning student. You can start by reviewing amscampusbase.ubc.ca, where there are details and contact information for more than 350 AMS clubs! To gain more insight into the ones you are thinking of joining, I suggest asking around on the UBC subreddit (or digging up answers from past posts), your UBC graduating class’s Facebook group, or simply your courses’ group chat!
Work Opportunities and Networking Virtually
While there have recently been shortages in job opportunities, this should not prevent you from exploring and applying to openings! Second to third-year students (some disciplines accept first years) are eligible to apply for their department’s Co-op program in September, and job listings through UBC’s WorkLearn Program become available twice a year, at the beginning of March and August. Currently, I am doing a WorkLearn as an Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Assistant. This job opportunity has a great balance between in-person desk shifts and remote work, which include tasks such as helping prepare for workshops and writing posts for the Learning Commons Website! These give us the freedom to brainstorm our own ideas and collaborate with others on different projects, and is definitely one of the reasons I enjoy this position. Jobs through the WorkLearn program also tend to be more manageable (time and location-wise) around your courses at UBC, so I found it much easier to balance my school and work-life.
When applying for openings, tailoring your resume and cover letter according to each job description is helpful to demonstrate how your skills and previous experience are fitting for the position. Although this can take quite a while, it was a great learning process that increased my confidence for future applications.
Networking is still possible as well! Connecting with and messaging employers and recruiters on LinkedIn is always an option, but another resource that might be worth looking into is Ten Thousand Coffees, a career networking platform allowing current students to connect with alumni from UBC and other universities in the world. Using students’ career interests and goals, the platform will match them with alumni and other experts who can provide advice or insight on particular fields over virtual coffee meetings. If this interests you, you can create an account here: https://www.tenthousandcoffees.com/schools/ubc.
It is also helpful to remember that career advice and help on your resumes/cover letters are still available remotely. The Centre for Student Involvement and Careers reserve a few hours for drop-in advising through Monday to Friday for all students, (with some designated for graduate and PhD. students), as well as peer coaching available by appointment for 30-minute time slots via Zoom and phone. If you are interested in getting to know more about the CSI&C, I recommend dropping into their virtual workshops that cover a wide range of important topics and skill sets for job hunting! They occur on a very frequent basis and the dates are on a calendar here. I attended their “Feeling Stuck or Unsure” session, and this definitely increased my interest to join future workshops! The hosts presented strategies they used to overcome career uncertainty, different approaches to shaping career paths, and provided a detailed navigation through useful career resources. They also shared how to scrutinize job descriptions to know what is worth applying to, as well as tips on networking etiquette. By the end, the session helped me identify and reflect on any anxieties I had toward job networking and exploring future opportunities.
What I Learned from Remote Work and Study
Although there are numerous benefits to working remotely, from my experience it can be easy to underestimate the time we need for coursework and commitments. If you already have or are thinking of doing remote work, I highly suggest accounting for any potential changes in your schedule and commitments. It has been a long while since our last in-person classes, so it is entirely possible that we might have difficulty determining how much time to delegate to coursework and other roles. Consulting your supervisors in advance about any uncertainty in your commitments will help minimize some potential stress and confusion. Ask for what changes you should anticipate in all the positions you are currently holding, and ensure that the hours at your job, extracurricular positions, and other commitments are workable around a live class schedule. I also recommend creating a schedule that would help you get a visual of what your day looks like. It is quite easy to create a rough one on excel or Google sheets – or better yet, you can use a paper planner (which is said to be more effective!). Personally, I like to pair this with a task management app – I use Todoist. You can sort tasks through different labels, date them, and the app sends you an email of all your due and overdue tasks every morning.
Most importantly, working and studying remotely made me re-evaluate my work-life balance – extensive screen-staring made it more challenging to separate my work from home. Making sure to set time aside daily for breaks, even during your busiest days can truly help boost your productivity and overall well-being. Strategies that worked for me were the Pomodoro technique (I personally do 30 minutes of work with a 10-minute break), or simply promising myself at least an hour to continue with that book or show I cannot stop thinking of (you can replace this with whatever activity you like).
In summary, virtual work and learning have so many benefits that you can potentially carry forward as we move back to in-person in September. Of course, it is quite likely that there will be a continued presence of virtual work/volunteer opportunities and commitments. Whether that is something you want to invest in is entirely up to you!
