How to build a meaningful career with zero to little experience. | Pillars Network x UTM MSA

4-6 PM, IB 250 (Nov 13)

Event is applicable to all levels of professional experience, programs of study and disciplines.

This event is only open to University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) students and alumni. If you would like to see Pillars at your campus, send us an email.

You can't get a job without experience. But how are you supposed to get experience without a job?

​​​About the event

How are you supposed to get experience without a job?

The notorious question that barricades every university student.

You've stared at a blank resume, wondering what you could possibly put on it.

You've scrolled through LinkedIn, watching people your age land internships, build impressive portfolios and somehow seem three steps ahead.

And you've probably caught yourself thinking: I haven't done enough yet.

But what if you're overlooking the experience you already have?

That class project you spent weeks working on.

The club you helped organize.

The community initiative you volunteered for.

The personal project you started but never thought to include on your resume.

These experiences might be more valuable than you realize.

The challenge is knowing how to recognize them, communicate them and use them to open doors.

Join Pillars Network for an interactive, hands-on workshop on how to build a meaningful career with zero to little experience. We're going beyond generic resume advice to show you how to start building your professional identity, even if you've never had an internship or a formal job.

​​About the speakers

Muhib Waqar is a Mathematics student at the University of Waterloo and Co-Founder of Pillars Network and UmmahHacks. He previously spent six months as an Applied AI Engineer at Zown, developing multi-agent systems. Before entering tech, Muhib built clothing brands and social media and automation agencies, gaining hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, technology and business development. Having taken an unconventional path from homeschooling and independent projects to working in AI, he brings a practical perspective on building skills, creating opportunities and turning personal interests into professional experience.

Nabeeha Ahmed is a Digital Enterprise Management Specialist student at UTM, minoring in Professional Writing and Communication, and Co-Founder of Pillars Network. She has previously interned at Microsoft, IBM and Dayforce, working across technology, consulting, marketing and communications. In 2023, she published research on the barriers Ontario youth face in securing their first jobs through York University, which has since been cited in national research and policy reports. Her contributions to community leadership and service have earned recognition at all three levels of government, including from the House of Commons of Canada, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and local municipal leaders.

About Pillars Network

Pillars Network is a Canadian Muslim movement building spaces and programs for Islamic education, professional growth and cross-sector collaboration. We exist to bring Canadian Muslims into the same rooms to learn, connect, upskill and collaborate around what we are responsible for building together. ​Questions? Email the Pillars Network team or reach out to the Co-Founders directly: Afifa, Muhib or Nabeeha.

​​​About UTM MSA

Thank you to UTM MSA, our event partner. They are the official body of muslim students at the University of Toronto Mississauga.