Olivia Poulin\u2019s dream of becoming a CEO is much closer than she thought.<\/p>\n
The fourth-year business student from Brock University\u2019s Goodman School of Business is one of 18 students selected from across Canada for a unique job shadowing program that matches top university students with CEOs of leading companies.<\/p>\n
The CEOx1Day program, led by search consultancy firm Odgers Berndtson, matched Poulin with Paypal Canada CEO Paul Parisi.<\/p>\n
The pair will spend the day together on Tuesday, March 6 at PayPal Canada\u2019s office in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline Foley, Odgers Berndtson\u2019s Chief Marketing Officer, said the program was designed to uncover Canada\u2019s future leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted students to understand what it means to be a leader today and to get a sense of the business from an operational side,\u201d she said, adding that the day will be filled with learning and mentorship opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents have the opportunity to observe what makes a great leader, how business decisions are made and how CEOs surround themselves with good people. They also get actual insight into the business, as the CEOs will often share their vision and plans for the business throughout the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The selection process was a rigorous one, comprised of a psychometric test, phone interview and a half-day office visit where students navigated one-on-one speed interviews and group dynamic exercises.<\/p>\n
Foley said multiple factors are taken into account before the final 18 students are selected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look for well-rounded students who have ambition and who have done more than just academics in their university careers,\u201d she said. \u201cThrough the psychometric testing, we look for things like resilience, ambition, sociability, curiosity, group leadership, teamwork \u2014 things we know are key characteristics important for today\u2019s leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program has created 88 matches in Canada and more than 1,000 around the world.<\/p>\n
Poulin, a Niagara Falls native, said the Goodman School of Business has helped to prepare her for this opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got involved at Goodman at the beginning of my first year, and I feel like all the experiences I\u2019ve had in the last four years have led me here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Poulin has participated in several student clubs, the Monster Pitch entrepreneurial competition, case competitions and the Brock Leadership Citizenship Society. She is also the founder of Pupadise Inc., a local\u00a0in-home personalized pet-care service\u00a0that works with more than 300 customers in Niagara.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m constantly subjecting myself to criticism and ways to improve,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom competitions and presentations to class projects and mock interviews, Goodman has prepped me all along the way for this day.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she is most looking forward to learning about Parisi\u2019s leadership style.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m interested to find out what experiences he had that led him to his position as CEO, what is it about his thinking or approach that makes him stand out and how he uses that to make business decisions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The rigorous selection process shows Goodman students are prepared for a competitive work environment, says Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlivia being selected as one of the 18 students across Canada is an extremely great honour, both for her and for the Goodman School of Business, and it once again demonstrates that our students understand content and are prepared to pivot and think critically, even in challenging environments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Goodman School of Business student Olivia Poulin\u2019s dream of becoming a CEO is much closer than she thought. Poulin is one of 18 students selected from across Canada for a unique job shadowing program that matches top university students with CEOs of leading companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":49363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39,3319,4052,1,4],"tags":[6299,594,6301,6300],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49361"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49367,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361\/revisions\/49367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}