Ivey Business School (Western University)

Career Mentors: What to Stop, Start, and Continue Doing for Recruitment

The Career Management podcast episode gathers undergraduate mentors to share concrete "stop, start, continue" tactics for navigating the recruiting season that runs from January to August. Their advice spans the full hiring pipeline—application strategy, networking, resume crafting, and interview performance—offering a playbook for students seeking internships and full‑time offers. Key insights include quitting the habit of benchmarking against classmates, limiting applications to those that align with personal strengths, and abandoning the myth of a perfect candidate in favor of authenticity. Mentors urge students to identify and showcase their "superpowers," apply for roles outside their comfort zone, and treat networking as relationship‑building rather than a numbers game. On resumes, they recommend trimming irrelevant experiences, tailoring language to each job description, and treating the document as a living, feedback‑driven artifact. Interview guidance stresses brevity, genuine storytelling, and viewing the conversation as a two‑way assessment. Notable quotes reinforce the themes: "Recruiters love authenticity," "one yes can change everything," and "use humor and vulnerability to connect with interviewers." Mentors also share practical habits, such as asking for referral suggestions at the end of coffee chats and maintaining a running list of achievements for quick resume updates. The implications are clear: by internalizing these habits, students can reduce burnout, increase the relevance and impact of their applications, and build sustainable professional networks that extend beyond a single hiring cycle. Consistent, resilient effort—rather than frantic sprinting—positions candidates to secure their desired roles and lay the groundwork for long‑term career growth.