University of Guelph-Humber

As chatter and the scent of coffee wafted through the Guelph-Humber Art Gallery last week, students clad in professional clothing, many carrying stacks of resumes, milled about the space with a common goal: to meet with potential employers of a future dream job in the accounting and consulting fields. 

Representatives from the “Big 4” accounting and consulting firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC Canada) visited the University of Guelph-Humber (UofGH) for a student networking and brunch event – the first time all four have appeared at the same time on campus for an event. The event not only reached its 55-student capacity, but it surpassed that with a waitlist of curious students from all four years of study, ready to engage. 

It also comes amid the fall 2024 recruitment cycle for placements and jobs, where it’s common to hire up to one year in advance for a fully secured post-graduation role in the business sector.

“Our students have a wonderful opportunity to get attention, especially those who are in the process of applying to something with any one of these firms. They have the opportunity to ask questions and get noticed,” UofGH Career Services Coordinator Melissa Patrizi said, who masterminded the event over the summer.

Although Business student Julia Medeiros is in her first year, she said she attended the event to get her “foot in the door” by sharing her resume and to gain insights about securing a placement in the future so she could plan ahead. 

Students expressed interest in working at one of these major global firms because of the opportunities for growth they offer. Second-year Business student Abdool Saheed said a job there could “open up more doors in the future.” Event attendee and Business alum Gurmon Singh (class of 2023) echoed this sentiment, adding she believes working at one of the Big 4 could be a major “stepping stone” in her career.

In fact, UofGH Business alum Dilshan Jayasinghe (class of 2019), who attended the event on behalf of EY, began his career there after graduation as a Junior Staff Accountant, and in five years, has worked his way up to an Assurance Manager – an “amazing” experience he said he’s grateful for. 

According to Patrizi, it’s beneficial for students to expand their network with alumni who are prosperous in their careers because they’re like-minded people who possess similar past experiences, whether that’s having taken the same classes, having the same instructors, being part of the same societies, and more. Alumni may also have a more vested interest in current students because of the emotional connection to UofGH. 

“Networking is all about commonalities,” she said. “It almost breaks the ice for [students]. It's one thing to walk up to a partner in a large firm, and the nerves that come along with that, versus walking up to an alum who was here just a few short years ago, who's now in that same firm.”

As alumni were once in the position of current UofGH students, they have valuable wisdom to impart, including not being afraid to put yourself out there and being active in extracurriculars. “Don’t just look at the books and the studies. Try to network. Try to go to the case competition,” EY Tax Manager and Business alum (class of 2018) Amandeep Singh said.

“Get involved in extracurriculars. Make sure you connect with the people that you meet there. Stay in touch with them, connect with on LinkedIn, go for coffee, chat,” alum Jayasinghe said. “And of course, giving back to the community because the extracurriculars you do, whether it's case competitions, conferences, on campus jobs, societies, volunteer positions, etc., it's the transferable skills and experiences you gain.”