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Tips for students looking for summer work

Life guard at a poolIt’s only February, and even the groundhog doesn’t seem to think that summer is coming any time soon. So who’s thinking about summer jobs?

Employers are. Google “Summer jobs” and you will find a list of jobs and programs in your community with opportunities for youth and post-secondary students. You might even be surprised to find that some of those opportunities’ deadlines have already passed and been taken by a quick early bird.

Don’t worry, though. It isn’t too late. There are still plenty good opportunities out there to find something meaningful.

Why look for summer work?

Besides the obvious reasons for working (i.e. bringing in some much needed cash), a summer job might have some unexpected benefits which are even more beneficial than money in the long term, which may include:

  1. Add some new experience to your resume
  2. Network and meet new people, some of whom might want to hire you permanently or hire you again next summer
  3. Make a good impression and gain a reference
  4. Learn some new skills that you can take to your next job or help develop new business ideas.

First: make sure your resume is up-to-date and looking good.

Have a resume ready before you start looking for work. Don’t wait until there’s a job to apply for — you don’t want to rush this process.

Here are a few basic principles for writing a good resume:

  1. Make it no longer than 2 pages
  2. Use a simple, sans sarif font (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica)
  3. Write it in 1st person, but without pronouns (No “I” or “my”)
  4. Include:
    • Your name and contact info
    • A Summary/Profile which includes your skills
    • Work history, with dates, job titles, company names, locations
    • Details of some of your key accomplishments in each job
  5. Don’t include:
    • An objective
    • Your personal info such as age or citizenship
    • Your references (those can be presented at the interview)
  6. Make sure to spell check carefully
  7. Prepare a simple, short and well written cover letter, to accompany each resume, written specifically for each job.

Here are detailed instructions and samples for student resumes from some of my favourite sites:

Second: get online, search for and bookmark relevant job sites for leads.

There are lots of good resources online for work leads. Start off with a Google search and bookmark the sites that seem to lead to good opportunities. Check out some of the sites dedicated to summer or student jobs:

Third: seek out government programs.

All levels of government, including federal, provincial and municipal, have programs to help students look for and find work. These positions fill quickly, so don’t delay:

Fourth: look and ask around — tap into your networks.

Speak to family, friends, teachers and other community members about your job needs. Tell them about your availability and skills. Have your resume available to share.

Look around, there are often opportunities right nearby:

  • Local stores and services might be looking for help — walk in and ask if they’re hiring students. Offer your resume and tell them them that you live nearby, within easy access. Think of your bank, doctor’s office, local mall or supermarket
  • Check out websites for the local parks and recreation departments, as well as for summer festivals and events
  • Think about local summer camps, private and public, day camps and overnights. Think of your particular skill set — is there a local tennis, chess or art club that you could work for?

Bottom line.

Act fast: get your resume ready, go online and ask around. Good student opportunities are out there for those who act quickly.

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Ask the Employment Specialist: Tattoos and body piercings at the job interview

A barista with visible tattoos serving coffee to a customerDear 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:

1. Consider the industry and position you are applying to.

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.

2. Research the workplace/company culture.

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.

3. Disclose that you have tattoos or piercings, if you hide them 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?”

4. Don’t let tattoos or piercings distract your interviewers.

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.

Joanna

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Ask the Employment Specialist: Expert job search tips for the new graduate

Drawing of a typewriter with the words "Dear Employment Specialist"Dear Joanna,

I have recently graduated, and am now having trouble getting a job in my field of study. I have submitted my resume to hundreds of entry level positions that fit my degree, but have yet to receive a single interview. My friends reviewed my resume. I also took it to campus career centre. So, I know my resume is good. I’d really like to know if you have any advice on what I may be doing wrong.

Signed: Waiting for my first break (WFMFB)

Dear WFMFB:

Tailor, prioritize quality over quantity, and leverage your network are the keys to the advice that Mentor Coach, Luki Danukarjanto of FOCUS.inspired provided when I interviewed him recently to address your question. A former expert recruiter and business consultant with Deloitte, Luki had some excellent insights to share:

1. Tailoring.

“Part of what I look for as a recruiter is ‘did the person even try?’ Often I receive a cover letter that is a cut and paste of the job role and company into the body of a note that generically describes their qualifications.”

A resume should be specific, not a general summary. Resumes should have your responsibilities and accomplishments adjusted to reflect the role. Incorporate some of the messages you learned from your information gathering into your tailoring

2. Show how you add value.

Take some time and understand what value you would provide to the role and the company. Showcase this experience, skills and qualifications as well as education in your application, then to have that come out in your application.

3. Cover letters.

This is nothing more than a document that is worded in a way as to show that you understand the nature of the challenges facing the company, and describes how you would benefit them, if you were hired into the role.

4. Quality versus quantity.

“Some people complain that tailoring takes too much time”.

If you aren’t willing to spend that time on something you want, how effective would you be in the role for which you are applying? Make the effort to apply properly to fewer jobs, rather than applying on mass without making an effort.

5. Focus on the job you really want.

If you really want to a role as a store manager, for example, why would you apply to a project manager or other unrelated roles? Spending more time on finding the roles that fit you and your experience are better served than just randomly applying for similar roles that might not fit you.

6. Leverage your existing network.

Secure informational interviews, create a LinkedIn profile, reach out to friends, family, professors, teaching assistants, past employers, co-workers, and anyone you connected with at your school and from your past. See who they are connected with; see who and what you know. Connect.

Luki had a lot more advice when you get to the interview stage, and eventually when you start the job, but we’ll save that advice for a later time.

Good luck on your job hunt!

Joanna

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Ask the Employment Specialist: The five worst words to use in your Linkedin summary

Close up of eye glasses atop a resumeDear Joanna,

I’m preparing my LinkedIn summary. I’ve been warned not to use the word “I” in the summary part by the employment counsellors yet I have read opposing advice about what to write and what NOT TO write on my summary. What do you recommend?

Signed: Worst Words (WW)

Dear WW

That’s a great question. In addition to the feedback that I have received from employers as a job developer, as well as Liz Ryan’s blog on this topic, here are five approaches to consider NOT using, when writing your LinkedIn Summary:

1. “I am a motivated and experienced professional“

Stay away from fluffy soft skills language including “I’m savvy, smart and strategic”. The same applies for the resume and cover letter. LinkedIn is viewed by many recruiters and potential contacts, who don’t have time to read your whole profile. You have less than 5 seconds to grab the readers’ attention. Make your profile strong. You can do this by building your professional brand in your summary.

2. “I am a Jack / Jill of all trades“

Don’t be a generalist. It is impossible to do everything well. I agree with Liz Ryan when she says that this is a “desperate message that doesn’t give anyone confidence. It’s up to you to decide what kinds of jobs you want and to brand yourself for those opportunities”. Be specific and detailed. Professionally brand your skills, experience and qualifications in a clear and concise way so that the reader understands your expertise and value quickly. Write about your career path – the one you are on and one you want to achieve.

3. “I’m an expert/guru/virtuoso/wizard/smart“

Confident people don’t praise themselves. Fearful people brag about themselves in praising adjectives — savvy, strategic, insightful, and more. What you should do is present your experiences, skills, qualifications, achievements, publications, projects and other concrete and relevant information in your summary for the readers, who might not know you.

4. “I’m open to all job opportunities“

Impossible. No one is open to everything. You sound desperate and unprofessional. Also, the reader has no idea how to connect with you. Focus in on certain jobs and certain organizations, the way good salespeople focus on their most important prospects. It’s not a recruiter’s or hiring manager’s job to decide what you’re supposed to do next in your career; that’s your job!

5. “I…”

There is mixed feedback from employers regarding the use of the first person vs third person in your summary. Most recommend that the content should be consistent with your resume and in the third person. This aligns with your efforts to professionally brand yourself in terms of the value added service and expertise that you can offer employers and your current and potential contacts. Using “I” might make you sound egotistical — as if you are telling a story which has far less credibility than showcasing the facts of accomplishments, skills, experience and qualifications. That said, some sectors respond well to a more friendly tone.

In addition to listening to advice from professionals, make sure to review other LinkedIn summaries of professionals in your field. Look for the successful, well-connected, well established fellow professionals and learn from their profiles.

Joanna

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Ask the Employment Specialist: Handling a bad reference

Dear employment specialist2Dear Joanna,

I’m very worried about the last five job interviews after which the recruiters have asked for my three work-related references. In each case, I have been rejected and have not received the job offer. These opportunities are exactly in my field and I meet all the qualifications required.

I think that I might have bad references! How do I check this out and overcome these possible negative references in my job search?

Signed: Reference Blockage (RB)

Dear RB

When you’re looking for jobs, a bad employment reference can make or break the final job offer, even if it’s inaccurate or biased. I found the best advice on this issue from speaking to my colleagues at JVS, as well as this blog post.

Based on that, and my experience with job seekers and employers, here is what I recommend doing:

Verify your references.

Find out what kind of references you can expect from your previous employers, especially if you left on bad or uncertain terms. Have a script ready and ask a friend to pose as a prospective employer. Your friend can call the human resources department or your old boss to get a sense of what kind of employee you were, and although the tactic has a sneaky element to it, your former employer has nothing to lose, while you, on the other hand, could lose a job offer

Be proactive with recent negative references.

If you use your current boss as a reference, you could be in trouble. Did you ask permission to use them as a reference? What was the response? What was your relationship like? Prospective employers almost always want to know about your most recent job experience, and usually you can’t hide it, so be proactive.

Either way the facts will come out, so know how to tell your side of the story to a prospective employer. Be polite and congenial, and focus on conveying yourself as someone who has learned from past mistakes. Think twice before challenging the validity of the bad reference directly – even if you’re in the right, you would hate for your prospective employer to interpret your challenge as egotism or stubbornness.

Consider whether you want to use older references, if they are negative.

If you have a bad reference further back in your employment history, it’s easier to gloss over it. Don’t volunteer the information, though. If a prospective employer asks you directly whether they should expect a bad reference, you can say you had a job sometime in the past that didn’t end well. In a sentence or two, succinctly lay out the crux of the bad reference, explain what you learned from it, and finish up by noting that your overall record speaks for itself. Additionally, be creative with your resume. If subsequent employers or the passage of time gives you an opportunity to cut off your resume at the point of the bad reference, do it.

Reach out to bad reference sources

If you’re dealing with a particularly negative reference that has cost you multiple job offers, consider reaching out to your former employer’s human resources department. Let them know that their reference is costing you the opportunity to get work – after all, human resource workers tend to have a greater appreciation of the legal risks of defamation and slander.

Be level-headed and polite, and ask if you can work out an agreement on a less-negative reference. Any time you learn that a former employer has issued a factually inaccurate reference, it’s important to call the human resources department immediately to correct the record. If the company has no human resources department, then call your old boss or his replacement — or, if the two of you have too much bad blood, call their boss. Try to proactively approach bad references before they get the best of you – and your future career.

Bring in new fresh references.

Find opportunities (volunteering or consulting) that can help you meet and use new and positive references. Never stop networking, even with current and former co-workers. Consider with their permission using them as references. Hopefully you have built some solid connections with your co-workers or even a manager from another department. See if you can use them as references.

Best of luck with your job search,

Joanna

JVS Toronto

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