SAIT alumna gets competitive career advantage
Soon-to-graduate SAIT students are already thinking about job hunting — and this is not your grandfather’s economy. Applicants can’t just go to a local business and hand in their application in person (no matter how many boomers still give this advice). Standing out among the piles of resumes hitting recruiters’ desks can be daunting, but SAIT alumni have an advantage.
Applied learning is more than hands-on — it’s the opportunity to learn real-world skills from real-life experiences. Recent graduate Melanie Schulmeister knows exactly how important those experiences can be. She participated in the Alberta Deans of Business Case Competition in her final year at SAIT, and not only did she learn skills that go far beyond textbooks, she got a job.
How did your experience in the case competition help you land a job in industry?
Melanie Schumeister (MS): I participated in the Alberta Deans of Business Case Competition during my last semester at SAIT when I was interviewing for marketing positions. The competition gave me more talking points and experience for interviews, which landed me my first marketing job in industry.
What unexpected skills did you learn as part of the experience?
MS: The case competition advanced my conflict resolution skills extensively. When our team was unable to agree on a solution for the determined case problem, we learned we need to take a break and switch gears. Then we were able to come back to the table with solutions.
What was it like to participate in a high-pressure competition?
MS: Participating in a high-pressure competition was stressful at times but it was also a lot of fun. We relied on each other as a team greatly throughout the weekend as we were all feeling similar emotions.
What was the best part about working with your team?
MS: The best part of working with my team during the competition was how well we got to know each other in such a short amount of time.
What were some of the different skills various members of the team brought to the table?
MS: We had a well-rounded team filled with most majors. Having an Accounting, Supply Chain Management, Financial Services and Marketing major on the team gave us an extensive skill set and knowledge in every aspect of business. Some of us thought differently from each other, which created open discussions during the competition. We figured things out together using the skills we learned at SAIT.
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SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.