After hosting our first ProValues (PV) discussion 15 years ago with a group of PhD Engineers, our PV team was thrilled to present at the kick-off session for the Engineering Graduate Students Career Seminar at Simon Fraser University. The session helped students poised to embark on their career journeys to understand the role that understanding your values can play in a career search and in managing your career over the long-term. The event was designed to illuminate the crucial intersection between personal values and choices, giving every participant a framework to hold themselves accountable through their job search and beyond.

In leading the session, the ProValues™ team provided students with a unique opportunity to delve into their core values, how these can be aligned with their career aspirations (and why they should), and how to make it a part of the exploration process, rather than seen as a luxury that they cannot afford at this stage in their career.

"The ProValues exercise and subsequent debrief for our group of engineering graduate students helped many students think for the first time about how career choices and values can (and should) align for career success. The individualized reports gave each student concrete feedback and directions on how to explore their career options and how to advocate for their professional needs. The exercise and workshop were such an effective and efficient way to introduce the concept of personal agency in career management and has triggered deeper, thoughtful discussions on career planning instead of just job hunting." 

– Session Coordinator, Dr. Carolyn Sparrey, Simon Fraser University, Graduate Program Chair

Our team was thrilled to hear that the SFU Graduate Engineering department is now incorporating values-based questions into every career seminar this quarter. It will give students more visibility into how alumni and SFU leaders have incorporated values into their own careers. 

We look forward to working with other engineering programs who are looking to help their students explore careers