Mineral Exploration

30 F A L L 2 0 1 5 Photograph : Cour te sy of Erin Bros Now he's passing on the favour, men- toring students and professionals daily by email, over Skype or FaceTime, and in person. With Bros, he assigned her books to read and exercises to build her character, hone her vision and help her set goals. While she values it all, it's mining his 44 years of experience that helps the most. "Pat takes time to talk to me about anything," she says. "He has so much knowledge and experience. He lets me bounce ideas off of him. It's made a big dif- ference." Particularly when it came to pre- paring for AME BC's Mineral Exploration Roundup conference in Vancouver. "Everyone that's hiring is there," says Kendra Johnston, a project geologist with Independence Gold Corp. and the Roundup organizing committee chair. Students are a big focus. The student workshop explains how the industry works. A networking night introduces many of the key employers. And a human resource forum looks at where the indus- try is and what its staffing needs will be. "I talked to Pat about Roundup quite a bit," says Bros. "He helped me under- stand how to navigate the show, who to meet, what things to stress. This year, I went in knowing exactly who I wanted to talk to." (See sidebar for tips on preparing for Roundup.) Bros realizes she's lucky; she's com- fortable talking to new people and mar- keting herself. "I know a fantastic geolo- gist who can't find a job because he can't sell himself," she says. "With the down- turn, you have to work hard to find work, and I have to work even harder to find mapping work." Not hing concrete came out of Roundup. Then she broke her leg skiing. But Bros didn't give up. She continued to email contacts and talk with McAndless. Finally, she landed a job with the Yukon Geological Survey doing field mapping. "I'm 100 per cent sure I got the job because of Pat," she says. "Having someone like Pat say anything positive about me is such an excellent reference." It's a reference that came from a lot of hard work. "Erin is driven to be the best she can be," says McAndless. "A successful career in geoscience is only a matter of time for her." ■ How to make the most of Roundup A conference like Mineral Exploration Roundup (January 25 to 28, 2016) is one place to land a job in mineral exploration and mining. But with pre- events, workshops and forums, and 6,000 other attendees, it can quickly become overwhelming for job seekers. "To be effective, students need to have a game plan," says Pat McAndless, the man behind Geodude Corner, a website full of marketing tips for geologists. "Go alone, without your comrades. They are your competition." Seven steps to a successful conference: 1 Self-evaluate. "That's more than 'I want to work in the field,' " says Kendra Johnston, Roundup organizing committee chair. Narrow in on exactly what you want to do, where you want your career to go and what you want to learn. 2 Research. Find companies that do what you want to do. Then find the ones that are actually working. 3 Do more research. Pick five companies that you would like to work for and learn about each company's projects and people, using the web, the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), 43-101 reports or company annual information forms. 4 Make a professional business card. A unique, geology-themed business card will help you stand out. Adding a geoscience theme sends a subliminal message that you are passionate about the industry. On the back of the card, list your geoscience skills. 5 Plan. Download the conference schedule and prioritize which talks, workshops and forums you want to see. 6 Work it. Seek out your selected companies, speak to a geoscience or engineering representative and ask engaging questions based on the research you have done. Don't hand out resumés unless asked. 7 Follow up. Obtain the company representatives' business cards, follow up with additional questions about their projects and send in your resumé. Breathing in the Cordilleran geology scene: Erin Bros in the field.

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