July 16, 2018 Leave a Comment

Online Job Applications: How to win at the screening game in Canada

Did you know that many companies, large and small, use automated software for screening online applications and resumes? It is known as the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). To help figure out what you can do to ensure that your resume and cover letter will be seen by the recruiter or hiring manager on the ATS, CanPrep has assembled a panel of experts who share their advice on:

How to optimize resumes and job applications for online screening
How employers use Applicant Tracking systems (ATS) for selecting candidates
How to use platforms like Magnet – an online job search support and resource service – as an effective job search tool
How employers use Magnet to screen job seekers

We also feature CanPrep alumni, Eduardo Almeida, who shared his personal story on how he successfully used online platforms to gain employment in Canada

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April 13, 2018 4 Comments

It’s Job Fair Season. Are you Ready?

It’s job fair season. Employers set aside days from work, hoping to meet and talk to candidates with the goal of finding their most important asset and biggest single budget item: future employees. They will set up tables in large halls, with business cards and company information in hand, and excited hopefulness to fill specific job postings with great candidates.

So, employers are ready. Are you?

Job fairs provide job seekers with one of the very few chances job seekers get to meet employers face-to-face; a one of a kind opportunity to impress them with those valuable characteristics that your resume cannot communicate to employers: your interpersonal skills, communication skills, professionalism, and likability. Think of a job fair as a way to build a professional network — to meet employers in your field, secure job interviews and learn as much as you can about the local labour market (including job openings, workplace culture, and the nature of sector). Sometimes, job seekers can even have an interview on the spot. Though it is unlikely that you will get an actual job offer at a job fair, you can make progress toward getting that job offer, if you do it properly.

How do you prepare?

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January 11, 2016 3 Comments

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

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

July 6, 2015 2 Comments

Ask the Employment Specialist: The benefits of volunteering

Dear Employment Specialist,

I am a new immigrant and recent graduate looking for work in my field of environmental sustainability. Many employment counsellors have recommended that I volunteer as a strategy to build my career. How can I work for someone for free? I am over my head in student loans and dealing with resettlement issues.

What do you think?

Signed: Free for nothing

Dear Free

There are a tremendous amount of benefits of volunteer work in your search for employment in your field. If you didn’t have an internship or coop opportunity through your university, and lack a professional network and related work experience, volunteering can definitely help you. I am a big believer in volunteering; it’s how I got my job when I was involved in a career transition.

Here are some of the benefits you should consider:

Gain related professional experience.

Research and identify organizations that have legitimate volunteer departments, represent causes that are meaningful for you, and that have possible spots where you can gain work experience, learn and improve your skills and qualifications. Check out sites such as Charity Village, Volunteer Toronto, your relevant sector council or professional association as places to volunteer.

Build and Leverage Your Professional Network.

While you are volunteering, be dedicated and apply the same effort to your volunteering as you would as an employee. Always make sure your work gets done. Be as helpful as possible to others. Make an effort to have lunch with the team, and find other opportunities to start meeting other people at the company. Build a relationship with your supervisor because they may be able to refer you to a colleague for another opportunity.

Help others and help yourself.

Research reports that adults who volunteer may live longer and healthier lives and it increases empathy and compassion. It’s not good to isolate yourself when you are looking for work. Volunteering can help you get out of your home and get involved in positive experiences, as well as get the positive feeling that you are giving back to the community.

Bridge the gaps in your resume.

Add your volunteer experience to your resume and social media presence. Employers value candidates who make a difference in the community; it helps you answer the question “what are you doing right now?” It also covers the gap in your work history and keeps you busy while you are looking for paid employment.

All the best.

January 19, 2015 Leave a Comment

9 Google Search Strategies to Boost Your Online Job Search

Google, being to go-to resource for all information these days, is also an excellent place to start your job search. The strength of Google is your ability to search for people, companies, recruiters, information and resources locally. It also allows you to search in complicated ways, using combinations of keywords.

Some tips:

1. Specify the search location: mention a province, city or even postal code.

2. Combine terms; use quotation marks around or add a plus sign (+) between words which you want to search together:

If you write Accounting Clerk Jobs into your search, you will get results for each of those words, separately and together, getting results for Accounting, and results for Clerk, as well as results for Accounting Clerk.
If you write “Accounting Clerk” jobs (or Accounting+Clerk) you will get jobs only where Accounting Clerk is mentioned.

3. Eliminate certain terms; include a minus (–) directly in front of the word to keep certain terms out of the search:

Accounting -Manager jobs to exclude the term Manager

4. Separate or combine searches; use EITHER and OR (in all caps) to get results to:

combine terms (Toronto AND Markham), or
separate them (Toronto OR Vancouver)

5. Be specific; choose your job titles with care, using all the different keywords that might be relevant to your search:

Various job titles, such as: Accounting Clerk, Bookkeeping Clerk, Bookkeeper, Accounts Payable Clerk
Specific skills that are unique to your field, such as: Excel jobs, Simply Accounting jobs
Special knowledge that you might have, such as Accounting Spanish jobs

6. Figure out all of the terms; use a wild card search, substituting an asterisk (*) for unknown terms or parts of a term:

Account* (with the asterisk directly after the word) could result in searches for Accounting, Accountant and Accounts
Account * (with a space between the asterisk and the word) could result in searches for Account Clerk, Account Manager and Account Executive

7. Search for synonyms; add a tilde (~) directly before the word, to find similar terms:

~Accounting Jobs could result in searches for Bookkeeping jobs or Finance jobs

8. Search within particular websites; add site: and the name of the site, to find a term within a particular website (such as a company site):

Accounting site:jvstoronto.org will result in any parts of the jvstoronto.org website where the term Accounting is mentioned.

Another useful service provided by Google are the Google Alerts, which notify you by email every time your search terms appear. Set up alerts for people, companies and/or job titles in certain locations. You will be able to customize how often you get the alerts and the types of websites you want to search. This might result in you finding out about positions before they appear on the aggregating sites (such as Indeed.ca).