June 15, 2015 Leave a Comment

Ask the Employment Specialist: Looking for work when working on contract

Dear Joanna,

I’m on a six-month contract working at a local large law firm. My contract is winding down with three months left. Out of fear of being unemployed again once the contract ends, I started applying for jobs in other law firms. As you know, jobs are scarce and the competition is fierce. One employer has invited me to a job interview! Now I feel badly about applying now since I’ve developed a pretty good rapport with everyone at my present company.

If I were to actually be offered another job, do you think it’s okay to leave, say 2 months before the end of the contract?

Signed: Concerned Contractor (CC)

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May 18, 2015 Leave a Comment

Ask the Employment Specialist: Cultural fit and the job interview

Dear Joanna,

When I follow up with the interviewers to ask for feedback on my interview and why I have not been hired, I have heard everything including: “you are overqualified” to “under qualified” to “you need Canadian experience” to “you have too much Canadian experience” to “you are not a good fit”. I am confused because have all the experience, skills, education and qualifications required in the job description! What is wrong with me? What does “you are not be a good fit” even mean?

Signed: Fit and Ready

Dear F&R:

The JVS’ Toronto’s counsellors whom I consulted on this question emphasized the importance of understanding that each organization has its own culture. A company’s culture can make or break the hiring decision. As a job seeker and future employee, I would explore the following:

1. Study the company’s culture prior to the interview.

This will help you read between the lines of the interviewer, and better answer the questions. Each organization and company has its own culture, which includes the company’s norms, values, how they spend their money and budgets, how they hire, their interview style, right down to the design of the interior and exteriors of their offices or buildings.

2. Understand your own preferred working style.

If you thrive in workplace environments with structure and order, and you interview in one of those IT companies which are known for their creative atmospheres, which is completely opposite to your natural style, you might find it a challenging place to work. Most likely, the interviewers will pick that up.

3. Research the company on social media.

Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to learn about the company and connect with employees. Find out as much as you can about the culture and systems including the dress code, management style, and the history of the company. Read the company website and learn about other employees and company information on the website and LinkedIn. Follow the companies. Consider cold calling employees for an information interview on the phone or in person. Research any media coverage or newsletters on the Internet.

4. Drop in.

Visit the company office in advance. Observe the décor, the art work, the floors, the marketing materials, and brochures, if possible. See if the employees are happy? Are the phones ringing? How’s the bathroom? Is it clean? Are the offices messy? Disorganized? Is it a corporate environment? What kind of computer stations are there for the employees? Do people work from home? You can ask these questions in an information interview or through Twitter as well.

Joanna

May 11, 2015 4 Comments

Land a Survival Job and Make it Work for You

As part of career coaching clients, I am often in a position of having to try to convince them of the benefits of survival work to help carry themselves over tough financial patches in their lives. Job seekers are nervous about taking a job outside of their career path, worrying that it will take them away from their intended direction. They also tell me that they worry that survival work might be perceived by potential employers as a failure. Actually, survival jobs can be a source of new opportunities — sometimes, they’re just a chance to bring in some short-term income, other times they become opportunities to meet new people, learn new skills and maybe even move into a new career.

What are Survival Jobs?

For some people, survival (or interim) jobs are lower skill, short notice, often short-term positions which job seekers take to carry themselves over while working on another longer term goal. Some people spend their entire careers in such positions, preferring the variety and physical challenges of these positions. Others do the work because they have no choice, burdened by challenges such as low skills, a need for urgent income and problems finding work. Depending on your skills and physical abilities, there are a range of positions that you might be able to find that could be described as “interim”.

Typically, these might include:

General Warehouse — working daytime, afternoon or night shifts, requiring the ability to lift weights such as 30-60 lbs, and having safety shoes. This kind of work mostly does not expect experience or any certification and often pays minimum wage.
Cherry Picker/Forklift — working often full days, requiring a Forklift Licence and Certification in Fall Arrest Protection. Salary might be higher — about $15/hour.
AZ Drivers — loading, unloading and delivering materials or goods. These jobs require an AZ license, driving experience and often a clear driving abstract, as well as the ability to lift 50 lbs.
Bakery Production/Batch Mixers — late afternoon and night shifts, mixing ingredients and working in an assembly or production line in a commercial bakery. These jobs require attention to detail, the ability to lift some weight (40 lb), some administrative abilities (stocking, shipping and receiving) and packaging.
Metal Fabrication — working with metal in a manufacturing environment, including operating equipment that produces, cleans or processes the materials, sorting, packing, transporting materials. Requires Steel-toed boots, safety goggles and gloves, and the ability to lift a medium amount of weight (20 lbs).
Landscaping — working outdoors, doing tasks such as leveling, laying and cutting stone, planting, sodding, grading and operating equipment. These jobs are team efforts, so good teamwork and communication skills are valued, as is experience in this field.
Construction — working on construction sites, doing a range of tasks including scaffold erection, assembly and stripping of concrete forms, concrete pouring, carpentry and/or woodworking, basic plumbing and electric knowledge and many others. Experience using nails guns, power tools, saws, measuring tape, hammer, and other tools are often required. Companies often will provide some training. Jobs are often performed on weekdays, starting early in the morning (7:30 am)
Warehouse Clerk — Often shift work, these jobs will include some training, but prefer experience and knowledge of computers and scanners, as well as working with inventory and cycle counts and shipping/receiving. Forklift is often valued, in addition to strong communication skills and the ability to do some lifting.
Food Service — these jobs are shift jobs, that often into the night and over weekends. Employers are most interested in an enthusiastic and warm personality, as well as the ability to multitask well. Knowledge and a passion for food and drinks is valued. Certain certifications might be needed, such as Smart Serve for alcohol servers might be required or Food Handling Certification for those working in the kitchen.
Call Centre Representative — these jobs often require evening and weekend shifts, making outbound calls to sell a product or service, or to gather market survey information via the telephone, or deal with incoming calls from clients. Most importantly, employers value communication skills and a warm, yet professional demeanour. Sometimes, employees might work from home. Second languages are valued, especially French.

Where can Survival Jobs Be Found?

Jobs are almost always advertised through agencies and require a resume to apply. Often agencies invite candidates to call directly or to come in person to the office at certain designated times, but other times, they require resumes to be submitted online or via email.

Our employment counsellors will help you find survival jobs at any of our Employment Source locations.

The second best way to find these positions is to identify the agencies that hire in your area. Here are some agencies that I was able to find in the Toronto area:

Other sources of jobs and employers include aggregating sites such as Indeed.ca or SimplyHired.ca, where a candidate can search , using keywords (“general labour”, “Warehouse Clerk”, etc) and location, and set up an alert system that will inform them via email every time suitable jobs appear.

Finally, general labour jobs are also posted on local classified boards such as Craigslist and Kijiji.

Bottom Line:

From my experience with clients who take survival jobs, the benefits of survival work mostly outweigh the challenges. Besides earning income, people enjoy the structure and routine of working, the opportunities to meet new people, gain new skills, and sometimes opportunities for advancement in new and upcoming sectors. Interim work could also help job seekers in their job search for other work, by providing them with recent references and an easy answer to the “what are you doing right now” question often asked by interviewers.

April 6, 2015 4 Comments

Ask the Employment Specialist: No Canadian Experience

Dear Employment Specialist,

Is Canadian experience really required for getting a job in my field in Canada? I am new to Canada and am looking for work in accounting. I have been interviewed several times, and the feedback is that I do not have enough Canadian experience. My Microsoft Excel, QuickBooks and other technical skills are top-notch. These are required for the jobs.

What is going on here?

Signed: No Canadian Experience Eh? (NCEE)

Dear NCEE,

I have discussed this common complaint of our newcomer clients with my colleagues at JVS Toronto and some employers with whom I work. The general consensus from these conversations is that Canadian experience should not vital to getting a job in one’s field in Canada, other than a few cases in highly regulated fields such as engineering, medicine, law, chartered accounting and architecture.

Further, I have heard from countless hiring managers that they recognize and value international experience. First and foremost, it is critical that the client have the skills and qualifications required for the position. I can’t remember a time when I have seen job postings which require Canadian experience, although I know that fee-for-service recruiting firms in architecture and design fields sometimes do require that from their candidates.

Some employers have explained to me that the phrase “lack of Canadian experience” is often code from the interviewer that the candidate will not fit into the workplace or team culture. In addition, this feedback can also be code for “you do not have the technical or soft skills we are looking for.” Often this means that the candidate is not communicating (verbally and non-verbally) and not properly prepared to handle the interview questions, especially the behavioural interview. It is challenging to figure out the workplace culture. This applies to everyone looking for work in the job market. This is a subjective criteria for hiring a candidate, but research demonstrates that likeability is key when interviewers make hiring decisions.

Here are eight suggestions to deal with this obstacle to getting that job offer.

1. Prepare.

Make sure to do the best job possible in preparing your resume and cover letter, and getting ready for your in person and telephone interviews. Research the company, the job descriptions, and identify the employees who might be interviewing you. Learn the values, the workplace culture, and the nature of the business. Use social media resources such as LinkedIn and Twitter to do this. Prepare effective behavioural interview responses. Seek out employment services for newcomers such as those offered by JVS Toronto newcomers services. Look for sector-specific employment program for newcomers, job search workshops for new immigrants, as well as any opportunity to work with an employment counsellor and job developer who understand your profession.

2. Communicate.

Learn how to articulate your skills, experiences, projects and talents in a clear, concise and effective way for both networking and interviewing purposes. Expect to have to explain your work in clear, simple terms in the interview; pretend you are explaining your resume to someone who has never heard of your type of work.

You will need to learn the language used to express your work and why the firm should hire you. . Sometimes, words are lost in translation with some languages. Be specific. Again, it may be worth seeking out sector-specific employment programs for newcomers.

3. Look for Internship or Placements.

Some newcomer job seekers report that taking an opportunity to get Canadian experience, even if it’s nominally paid (or even unpaid) may be worth it. They able to acquire hands-on experience that is critical for their resume and LinkedIn profile, keep their skills fresh and updated, build a professional network and hopefully obtain references and sometimes even paid employment, eventually. One source of local placements for newcomers is provided by Career Edge in Toronto.

4. Secure a mentor.

Linking up with a professional in your target field can be a very effective way to make contacts and learn about the local labour market. You could seek out your own mentor, or access services through TRIEC Mentoring Partnership, in which JVS participates through our services for newcomers.

5. Consider evaluating your credentials and degrees.

Figuring out how your credentials are evaluated in Canada can help to boost your credibility and competitiveness. Information on this process can be found at Settlement.org. Once you know your equivalence, add it to your resume: “evaluated by…. as equivalent to a Canadian Masters…”

6. Build your professional network.

Since over 80 percent of the jobs in the labour market are hidden and can only be found through connections. It is critical that new immigrants (or any job seeker, for that matter) networks as much as possible through social media, associations, trade shows, conferences, career fairs and employer events, so to learn from and mingle with professionals in their field.

7. Volunteer.

Contributing some free time in the community is a fantastic way to show that you give back and build your networks. The best thing you could do is volunteer in your own field to gain experience and a reference, but even if that is not possible, spend time in a meaningful environment and meet people who might be in a position to refer you to others or to jobs. Once you come to an interview with a recommendation, your lack of local experience is less likely to be an issue.

8. Seek out Canada’s best diversity employers.

In an article in the Globe & Mail’s Ask a Recruiter column Julie Labrie suggests that newcomers do research, to identify the companies that lead the way in hiring diversely, such as the Globe & Mail’s annual list of top 100 companies that do a good job with diversity. “See if companies in your field made those lists. Explore companies that market their services to the new-to-Canada segment, too. Many industries, including the financial and telecom sectors, are serving the immigrant population as a key part of their business strategy. Also consider applying for relevant government jobs related to your past experience,” she explains.

I hope this helps you understand this complex issue better and figure out some strategies for overcoming this barrier.

Joanna

March 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

Watch Out for Job Scams

A few weeks ago, I received an email – an anonymous message offering a job which seemed temptingly simple and attainable. Too good to be true.

While online free classifieds sites such as Craigslist and Kijiji can be good sources of jobs, scammers are known for using them to get the attention (and money) of unsuspecting job seekers. Recently, Global News reported on a scam where a candidate applied to a Craigslist job posting, was interviewed online and offered the job. Superficially, this seems reasonable; however, the fact that the position offered $20 an hour for data entry from home should have been the first clue that this was fake (again, too good to be true). The bigger clue of trouble was the fact that the candidate received a cheque from the company for a large amount, which he was told to use to purchase equipment to do the job. The cheque bounced and the candidate was forced to use his own money to repay the debt.

The lesson: if you are expected to hand over money to get the job, whether you are buying materials, equipment or paying some kind of fee, don’t; you are most likely being scammed.

Red flags to look out for.

The job offer arrives via email, despite you never having applied for the job
It’s too good to be true: salary is too high for very simple duties
The hiring process is too easy: you have not met the employer/there is no interview/the employer doesn’t conduct a background or reference check
The potential employer wants your credit card or other information
There’s no address or other employees
The employer wants you to purchase equipment or materials
The employer asks for a recruiter’s fee

Bottom line?

Be suspicious. Ask questions. Be assertive. Don’t let your desperation blind you from seeing the warning signs that a scammer might be trying to part you from your money or your personal information.

If you think you’ve been scammed, keep your records (emails, voice mails etc) and call the police to report it immediately.