Dear Employment Specialist,
As software developer who recently ended her contract and is looking for work, I was excited to come across a JVS Job Fair that is coming up soon, with some fantastic employers in my field.
I am particularly pleased to have an opportunity to meet hiring professionals face to face and am keen to make the best of this opportunity. Any tips?
Signed: Keen on Job Fairs (KJF)
Dear Employment Specialist,
I am a computer programmer with a company that designs transportation solutions for the trucking industry. I know I am lucky to have my job, but I worry about keeping up my skills, with new advancements coming up all the time in my field. I worry that it eventually will be necessary for my company to replace me with someone else who has the new skills and knowledge, because I have not been keeping updated.
My employer doesn’t do much to help me with updating my skills and I don’t really have the money or time to take off to go take a course. Any suggestions on where or how I could improve my skills?
Signed: Struggling to Keep Up (STKU)
Dear STKU,
Some people might be surprised to hear that employers in the ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) sector struggle to find employees with the skills they need. In fact research that examined ICT trends for the next few years, showed that by 2019 there are expected to be 182,000 jobs in that won’t be filled in Canada because of a lack of skills. A Globe and Mail article recently pointed out that these include careers such as “computer programmers, software engineers, data administrators, information systems analysts and network operators – good paying, interesting jobs in a variety of fields, including healthcare, entertainment, financial services, marketing, and just about any other industry you can think of.”
You are not the only one we have heard from in your field who complains that while employers ask in interviews about candidate’s commitment to life long learning, they don’t always make it easy for ICT professionals to get the training they need. So, it’s up to you to take the initiative and seek out courses. The good news is that there are many online options available.
Many of the high demand skills in your sector can be learnt online, often using high quality, low cost or free sites. The Globe and Mail article identifies some good suggestions for accessible online courses, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which are free online courses, often from highly respected universities and colleges. Look for courses on sites such as Coursera, EDx, Udacity, and Code School which are especially renowned for information technology and computer sciences.
I commend you for making an effort to keep your skills up to date. Try to stay ahead of the curve, by tracking which skills are in high demand. You can do this by reviewing job postings in your field, and identifying what employers ask for. Set up online job alerts, and keep track of jobs as they are posted.
One final tip — if your employer is open to paying for training, the government of Ontario might be able to help. Working with the Government of Canada, they offer The Canada-Ontario Job Grant to provide financial support to employers who wish to purchase short-term training to existing and new employees. JVS Toronto is an approved service provider of the Grant through our five Employment Services locations in the City of Toronto and York Region. Contact us for more information.
Good luck with your career.
Dear Joanna,
I worked as a marketing assistant for about a year and have evidence that I exceeded my targets each month. Suddenly, out of the blue, I was fired by my supervisor without any explanation or feedback. My termination paper stated that I had “poor performance”.
I’m shocked, upset and worried about what to say about this at the job interview, especially when I will be asked “what happened at my last job?”.
Signed: Fired and Fearful
Dear FF,
I am so sorry to hear this. For what it’s worth, almost everyone I know (including myself) have been fired, without any clue why until much after the fact. You’re in good company — including Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [Read more…]
Dear Joanna,
I have tattoos on my arms and body piercings on my left eye brow. I’ve started my job search as a help desk or customer service representative at a telecom company. Do you think that my tattoos, and body piercings would affect the hiring? Should I hide them in the interview?
Signed: Proudly Tattooed (PT)
Dear PT
The statistics speak for themselves. Research from a survey conducted with 2700 managers and coworkers on a popular salary survey site reported that 76 percent of respondents felt that tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview; over 39 percent of those surveyed believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers. Overall, 42 percent of those surveyed felt that any and all visible tattoos are inappropriate at work, and 55 percent felt that way about body piercings.
Age plays a significant role in how tattoos and piercings are perceived at work. Regarding your upcoming interviews, I refer you to the following four suggestions from Monster and Money:
Generally, I would recommend covering your tattoos and removing the piercing for the first interview, especially in conservative industries such as accounting or banking. That tattoo or piercing is more likely to worry employers if you’re applying for a customer-facing position, such as a salesperson, customer service representative or a health care provider.
Even if the interviewer is fine with tattoos, they have to consider that their customers, clients and patients may not feel the same way. For more jobs in media, IT and creative industries, these employers might be more lenient.
You can use social media to find this out. Examine the photos and profiles of employees at the company you are pursuing. If this doesn’t work, then join some of their groups that are relevant to your career goal and ask this question. Use Twitter to follow the company and employees and again, find out what they recommend.
As a last resort, call the receptionists to ask about the dress code for the interview.
If the tattoo is inked in a spot that would probably be exposed in day-to-day work – your arms, for example – bring this up when the interviewer asks if you have any questions. Wells suggests saying something like: “I have tattoos on my arm. What are your thoughts about needing to have those covered up, or is it OK to wear a short-sleeved shirt where they might be exposed?”
Job interviews are stressful enough, so I wouldn’t recommend doing anything to distract from your skills and value. As Gottsman says, “You want to be remembered for your skills and your value, not for what you wear or have on your body.” Wear a proper suit. Accessories like rings and watches can hide certain tattoos, but make sure they don’t shake when you move.
For another perspective, check out Kate Parkinson’s on the matter post in this blog.
Dear Joanna,
How do I respond to the question at the interview that requests that I explain my weaknesses or what I would like to change about myself at work? This is by far the hardest question that I have been asked at the job interview.
Signed: The Weakness Question (WQ)
Dear WQ
I love the piece written by blogger Aja Frost from an excellent career blog called The Muse (although I beg to disagree with her about the intent behind the question — I do think it’s often meant as a trick question). Regardless, you need to be prepared to respond in job interview in a way that presents what we might call “your best self” yet demonstrates that you are open to learn and improve, as well as able to accept feedback and criticism with self-awareness.
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