Strategies for Students 

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Strategies for Students

From finding mentors to locating job opportunities, check out these resources to help you navigate your early CGA years.

FROM: JUL-AUG 2007 ISSUE | BY MINDY ABRAMOWITZ

You’ve enrolled in the CGA program and are taking steps toward realizing your ambitions. But what can you do to ensure you get the most out of this new challenge? Take advantage of the following educational and career strategies.

Get Help When You Need It

Your fellow students are your best allies – both as study partners and friends – when it comes to getting through tough courses. Get to know your classmates and attend local chapter events, which are designed to bring together CGAs and students in a variety of fun settings, and to facilitate the exchange of ideas. The people you meet bowling could become the study group that helps you pass your FA2 course. In addition to helping you work through dense course material and prepare for exams, a study group is a friendly environment where you can compare notes about career options and job prospects. It can also be worthwhile to enroll in lecture courses just for the people you will meet.

As a student, you’re no doubt familiar with edNET (http://lms.cga-canada.org), the source for course materials, assignment due dates, and grades. It is also a one-stop shop for advice, course tutors, technical support, past examinations, and information about review sessions and recorded lectures.

Financial assistance is available through provincial and territorial CGA associations. And students enrolled in all three sessions of an academic year are eligible to participate in the federal government’s Lifelong Learning Plan, which allows students to withdraw funds from an RRSP to finance educational costs. Also ask about your employer’s tuition reimbursement policy.

Find a Mentor

It is never too early to begin cultivating relationships that will inspire and sustain you throughout your professional life. A good mentor can give you guidance on your education, career choices, and networking.

The friends you meet in your courses and at chapter events can share valuable insight and advice from their own experiences about a range of issues you might encounter as you progress through the CGA program and your career. Over time they might become your trusted counsellors and mentors.

Your workplace is another excellent place to look for a mentor. Consider your supervisors and colleagues; these are people you see every day so they have the advantage of proximity and familiarity.

Follow Your Interests

One of the most exciting challenges in your career as a CGA will be deciding which area of accounting to pursue. The CGA program can prepare you to specialize in industry, information technology management, the government and not-for-profit sectors, or public practice. CGAs and students are in demand in every business sector, and your regional Employment Referral Service can connect you with positions appropriate to your level of education as soon as you begin the program. Sign in on the CGA-Canada website (www.cga.org/canada) and search job listings by keyword, business sector, region, and level. For optimal results you can store up to three cover letters and résumés online in a searchable database for prospective employers.

As you advance through the program, let your affinities and interests guide you. Indulge your curiosity by registering for courses that fascinate you, by talking to other accountants, and by working with organizations that impress you. Let your mentor be your sounding board as you explore your alternatives.

My interest in literature and the arts led me to work for Canada’s largest literary magazine. Career options opened up to me from the moment I could call myself a student in the CGA program.

It takes dedication and stamina to earn your designation, but the returns are immediate. As you work through the program you can expect your skills and competence to be increasingly valued by your employer. Once you become a CGA, you will be poised to develop what is already well on its way to becoming a stimulating and rewarding accounting career.

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