Experience building: Get involved and get experience

August 2, 2022

Experiential Opportunities 

Experiential opportunities can have many positive effects on personal, academic, and professional development as well as critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and networking skills. These opportunities provide short-term and/ongoing micro-engagements to help you gain experience with the stay-at-home regulations.  

  • eLearning Programs 
  • Career Treks & Internships 
  • Formal Mentoring Programs 
  • Online corporate challenges 
  • Hack-a-thons 
  • Student Conferences 

Professional Associations 

These are organizations that engage individuals interested in a specific profession. Build a professional network, find a mentor and access events.

Volunteering 

Get involved within your community and gain valuable professional experience while assisting organizations to reach their goals and build better communities.  

  • Check the OSCARPlus volunteer job postings (see OSCARPlus > Student Success Centre > Volunteer & Experience Building > Postings) 
  • Volunteering on Campus 

Build a Network 

Connecting with people is one of the best ways to explore careers and build social capital. You can discover practical and inside information from someone in a specific career or industry. A network helps you find your path, open doors and will support your career development. 

  • Have a Career Conversation (see OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Career Conversation > Become a Participant) 
  • Attend a networking event or conference 
  • Join a club 

Clubs 

Joining campus clubs and societies is a great way to build experience. McMaster has more than 300 ratified clubs, divided into the categories of academic, recreational, cultural, religious, and social issues. By joining clubs, you are able to grow your network, learn and build transferable skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication. Clubs are a great way to gain experience for applying to other career opportunities, setting candidates apart from the others. You can join clubs in different capacities, a general member who participates in club meetings and events, or an executive member who holds leadership positions within the club  

  • Many clubs have a website or social media account to gain insights and updates about them 
  • The McMaster Student Union has both a Club Directory and Instagram account (@msuclubs) dedicated to university clubs   

Appointments on OSCARplus 

Book an appointment to speak with one of our trained peer experts to help you find opportunities and create a plan to get involved. OSCARplus > Student Success Centre > Appointments > Experiential and Employment > Book by Appointment Type.