Alba Inc. Success Stories Pt. 1: Katrina

Over the years, Alba Inc. has helped dozens of clients kick-start their dream careers. We would like to share with you the processes we took and the experiences they’ve had with us. To start us off, we have our first client: Katrina.

Katrina graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in June 2020, which was during the pandemic. Like many new or recent graduates who graduated during the pandemic, she faced challenges looking for a full-time job. Many companies were downsizing, halting hiring, or even eliminating the entire department. In particular, sectors like marketing and human resources are not considered to be revenue-generating positions; therefore, positions in these departments were often the first to go. Katrina had been looking for a job for about three months before she found us. She was especially frustrated because she was an international student who needed to secure a work permit to stay in Canada. For the past three months, she’s received rejection letter after rejection letter and was feeling discouraged. .

When Katrina came into Alba, our consultant Sydney took her case. One of the first problems our consultants spotted was Katrina’s resume. She had undervalued her own experience and failed to sell herself and her technical and transferable skills to recruiters (a common problem in many newly undergrads). Your schoolwork and GPA are important, but you should emphasize your actual work experience and how your studies have helped you excel in work environments. Therefore, the first thing Sydney did was to dig into Katrina’s past experiences. She found tools Katrina used in past projects, courses she’s taken that’s tangible to her work, and skills she’s learned in past experiences. Sydney then helped Katrina practice how to really show-off her strengths instead of conceding them.

The second thing Sydney did was creating a customized program for Katrina to provide additional training and polish her technical skills and HR knowledge. In particular, Sydney focused on bridging the gap between academic studies and actual workplace experiences. Sydney said, “back when I just graduated, I had a hard time transforming the knowledge I learned in school to be useful in my daily work life. There’s definitely a gap between what we learn in school vs. what we need in the workplace environment, and I believe Katrina was having trouble connecting the two.” Sydney also contacted HR professionals to advise Katrina on the pillars of human resources and act as mentors.

The third step Sydney took was a little bit out of the scope, but it was an important and necessary step: mental support. Katrina was feeling defeated and demotivated after receiving her 20th rejection letter; however, Sydney gave her words of encouragement and explained that it’s simply a part of the process. With the help of other Alba consultants, Katrina wrote down each interview question and her answer. The consultants then went through each question and answer with her and pointed out where she can improve on. They helped her learn from her own experience and change her answers accordingly.

Soon enough, within two months, Katrina was able to land a job as an HR generalist in one of the leading biotechnology companies in Vancouver, Artron Bioresearch. The annual salary they provided was above $45,000, which exceeded her expectations. In the beginning, Katrina was simply hoping for a full-time job that would allow her to extend her stay in Canada. However, now she’s accomplished her overarching goal, and she’s also found a job in her field of study doing something she’s passionate about.

Contact us at Alba Inc. for more information and career consulting advice!

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