Name: Jessica Londei-Shortall

Education: PhD, Organizational Psychology, Université de Montréal (2019)

Current Job:  Consultant in Leadership Assessment and Development, Optimum Talent

 

  • When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

    It varied… when I was 3, I wanted to own a candy store, then become a writer, a teacher, a journalist. It was in CEGEP (2 years before university in Quebec) that I discovered psychology and decided to become an organizational psychologist.

  • How did you become interested in career development?

    Having myself wondered a lot what I wanted to do (and seeing psychology colleagues equally lost), I decided that I wanted to help others figure out their path. I went into organizational psychology because I liked how it could be a much broader role than only career counselling, but that career counselling was a part of it.

  • What are you doing now that you’re done school?

    I am a consultant, which means I work with many different types of people, from foreman to financial analysts to different levels of managers, and I love it! I help organizations determine if the person they have is the right fit, and then help the person realize what they need to develop. It’s very rewarding to have those kinds of conversations.

  • Looking back, how did being a member of GSEP help enhance your current career?

    It helped me connect with other professionals in career counselling, inspire me to continue to do what I was doing and give me concrete tools to bring the client experience further. I learned so much from the two Cannexus conferences I’ve been to!

  • What is something surprising you’ve learned since getting into the career development field?

    That simply knowing your path isn’t enough. When I started, I thought most people simply had no idea what to do and if we told them, they would go on to realize their dreams. What I realized is that a lot of people know what makes them tick, but they are afraid or unsure of how to get there, and that our job is to support them in their journey, not just provide them the map (maybe they need a compass and a jug of water too, even if they are the ones walking their path).

Learn more about CERIC’s Graduate Student Engagement Program (GSEP).