July 24, 2024 Leave a Comment

Ask the Employment Specialist: How do I Look for a Job While Working?

Dear Joanna,

I am currently working full-time as a social worker at a local community agency. Often, I work overtime hours and am on-call 24/7. I love my work and the clients, but there is no room for any promotion, professional or career growth at this agency. I have been a dedicated and successful employee for over eight years. During these years, I have acquired several certifications, degrees, have learned countless skills and gained relevant experience on my resume.

I am ready for a new job, and the next step in my career path. How do I look for work when I am working full-time?

Job Searching and Working (JSW)

Dear JSW,

I congratulate you on your desire to continually learn and grow in your career. You sound like a talented and competent professional who deserves to be promoted, recognized and presented with better opportunities in the labour market.

There is a consensus amongst the experts in the field that it’s better to look for work while you are working , as candidates currently employed tend to be more attractive to hiring manager. Andrew Klappholz adds that “being gainfully employed automatically takes a lot of the pressure off and frees you from the desperation that makes many unemployed people take jobs they don’t want.”

It is definitely difficult to balance your current job responsibilities and tasks with the time commitment of looking for another job, so it might take you longer to find the dream job. So, while you are working, I recommend the following tips, as presented by writers quoted above:

1. Think through whether you want to be transparent with your own boss.
Usually, it is a good idea to keep your job search quiet and do not share this with anyone at work. Some firms have a policy to fire people who are actively searching for work. You’re your job hunt on a need-to-know basis, warns Hein. However if you trust your manager and he/she is supportive of your learning and growth, you might want to share your frustration at work and see if there are growth opportunities within your organization. Can you transfer to another department? Can you apply for a senior position. If the answer is not, then it is time to start looking in the labour market for your dream job. I will leave it up to your discretion if it is best for you to be straightforward with your boss.

2. Access more information for your job search.
As an engaged member of the workforce, you’re likely to have access to lot more information in your field that could benefit you than if you were unemployed. “Keep your eyes and ears open for things and make mental notes,” one expert, Tammy Gooler Loeb, suggests, “You may have the opportunity to get more information about what’s going on that may feed your job search.”

3. Creative Networking.
Use your time off, lunch hours, after work hours, weekends and during personal and vacation days if need be, continues Loeb, to meet people in your network. Invite professionals in your field for a drink or a cup of coffee, after work. Request information interviews and connect with as many people as possible ,who you think could help you with your job search without betraying your current employer. Make sure that you explain to individuals who receive your resume that you are currently employed and that your search is confidential.

4. Don’t job search on company time.
When you are at your current job, you should stay focused and productive. In fact, I recommend you over perform, exceed the manager’s expectations, never say no, and accept new projects and responsibilities. Don’t hurt your productivity. In your cover letter or resume applications, you can list specific times to reach you, especially for the recruiters. Do not use company email address or phone numbers when on the job hunt. Use your personal email and telephone contact details on LinkedIn, Twitter and throughout the entire process.

5. Never say anything negative about your current employer.
It is definitely tempting to spill your guts, but hold on to yourself for now. Bad-mouthing your company or boss is not going to get you a job. Remain positive and focus on your skills, experience and expertise relevant to the position. Market yourself as someone who has gone as far as you can go in the company, and that you are looking for a more senior position that is not available in your place of employment.

6. References.
Don’t use your current boss as a reference. Receiving a reference check call could put your supervisor in a compromising position. You should only use someone from your current workplace if you trust that they will keep your job search confidential.

7. Don’t rush!
Take your time to explore all your options and opportunities in the labour market. Make sure that you have done all your homework, and put yourself in the best position to secure the job that you want before leaving. If you have a an opportunity to job shadow or try out a new possible job, then consider taking a couple of vacation days to do this. You want to ensure that if you do decide to leave your current employment that you are making an informed decision.

I wish you lots of success and courage to move to the next step in your career.

Joanna

July 24, 2024 1 Comment

The Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Job Search

It’s nearly impossible these days to read the news without coming across discussions about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to make everything so easy that it will “eventually take away all our jobs.” Such scary predictions are hard to challenge when AI seems vast and confusing.

So here’s a definition: AI is a field of computer science that focuses on creating technology that can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. It does so by gathering a large amount of data and “learning” from it. This “machine learning” trains computers to recognize patterns in the data to make predictions or decisions. As a result, it can be used to perform a range of tasks that humans usually do—only quicker and (sometimes) better.

For job seekers and employers, new AI-driven technologies bring a huge and dizzying array of tools that claim to make hiring and job search better and more efficient. It’s important to note that your job search already relies on AI in many ways.

If used thoughtfully, AI can be a helpful tool. But it is important to remember that there are still many ways in which humans are much better at job search than machines.

Let’s look at some of the ways AI is already being used, some of the tools you might want to consider, and when it’s worth relying on human skills to best navigate the job search process and stand out from the competition.

1. Optimizing Resumes and Cover Letters

When you upload your resume and cover letter to a recruiting site, ATS recruiting tools scan, sort, and select those that best match the employer’s specific job descriptions. Some AI tools (such as JobScan and Zety) can be helpful for job seekers to analyze job postings, identify the most suited keyword, and optimize resumes and cover letters. They can help highlight relevant skills and ensure compatibility with the posting, which might improve the chances of the resume and cover letter you have submitted being identified by ATS and forwarded to the employer.

Another use of AI is to help with language, grammar and spelling (I use Grammarly for this – its Chrome extension has a useful free option for checking basic spelling and grammar, regardless of whether you are a first-language English speaker).

Cautionary note: Some AI platforms offer to write your resume and cover letter, often for a fee. But there are some reasons to be skeptical of such offers. Firstly, there’s no reason to spend money when there are organizations such as JVS Toronto that can help with writing a better, more personalized resume for free.

Secondly, you will be required to share a lot of personal information with the app for your resume. That information then becomes the property of the platform, which should raise some privacy concerns for users.

Third, and most important to the job search, writing a resume and cover letter is very useful to prepare you for job interviews. The process allows you to think and sort through your work history and skills and figure out how to describe yourself best.

Finally, text written by AI tends to be impersonal and uninteresting. Employers are also increasingly aware that job seekers will use these tools. It’s possible that AI detectors will soon become part of ATS systems. When this happens, you don’t want to be dismissed as someone unwilling to invest the effort needed to do your job search.

2. Enhancing Job Search Experience

Many job search platforms (Indeed and LinkedIn) use intelligent algorithms to understand and match job seekers’ skills, interests, and experience with job postings in real time. They categorize and rank job listings based on relevance and create a tailored job search experience for job seekers. This is why LinkedIn can impressively recommend jobs to you that you might not have considered, simply based on your profile, contacts, and activities on the platform.

3. Interview Preparation and Practice

An increasing number of online apps and platforms offer AI-based virtual interviews that simulate real interview scenarios and offer job seekers feedback and opportunities to practice their skills.

Cautionary note: These are still in the early stages of development and are not necessarily effective. Also, job seekers should keep in mind that employers rely on job interviews to evaluate interpersonal and communication skills, and despite AI algorithms’ impressive ability to use data and identify patterns, it is not good at understanding the complexities of being human and building relationships. Humans still do that better, and a skilled employment counsellor/coach can do a much better job at helping you figure out how to impress an employer in interviews.

4. Personalized Learning and Skill Development

AI-powered learning platforms (LinkedIn Learning, for example) facilitate personalized skill development by recommending relevant courses, certifications, or workshops based on individual job seekers’ career goals and aspirations. These platforms use machine learning algorithms to analyze user behaviour, assess skill gaps, and provide tailored learning recommendations.

By leveraging AI, job seekers can continuously upskill, often at their own pace, to stay competitive and adapt to the ever-changing job market. LinkedIn Learning is free through many educational institutions and public library systems.

5. Networking and Building Connections

To help you expand your network to people who might be helpful in your career, LinkedIn’s AI-based platform analyzes information (data points) in your and others’ profiles and identifies shared interests and locations. It then suggests connections to people with similar backgrounds or shared professional goals. This can help you expand your network, strengthen relationships, and tap into hidden opportunities. It also enables automated follow-ups, reminders, and personalized messaging to nurture and build professional connections that could help you with your job search.

So, to conclude, it is important to recognize that AI will become an integral part of the job search process as technology evolves. Your challenge as a job seeker is to use the tools available with care but be aware of the risks. Using too much AI to write your resumes and cover letters and prepare for interviews can make you sound more like a machine than a person and won’t necessarily help you stand out. As we face new technology, we all must strive to find a balance between using machines and keeping the human touch — after all, employers are still (for now) human.

Navigating the various things that come with employment search, including understanding the role AI could play in this, can be an intimidating experience. JVS Toronto offers free workshops that can help ensure that you have a resume and cover letter that can beat out AI-driven templates. Not only that, but our 1-on-1 personalized employment services can also help you use AI to your advantage, overcome gaps in your experience history, and help newcomers secure their Canadian experience, among other things! Contact us today to see how we can help you in your job search.

November 2, 2018 Leave a Comment

Benefits of Professional Associations and Designations: A CanPrep Webinar

Professional Associations can help you build your professional network and increase your chances of finding employment in Canada. Together with industry experts, Carmen Jacques, Student Recruitment Manager at Chartered Professional Accounts of Ontario and Husam Sha’ath, President at FORTE Management Consulting Inc. and CMC Project Management Instructor at U of T School of Continuing Studies, we offer more information on “Benefits of Professional Associations and Designations for Newcomers to Canada.”

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

Advantages of having a professional designation in today’s Canadian employment market
What do Professional organizations do?
Perks of membership
How to leverage their offerings for job search
Difference between “certificates” and “certifications” [Read more…]

November 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

Ask the Employment Specialist: Handling a bad reference

Dear 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

March 16, 2015 2 Comments

Ask the Employment Specialist: Tips for Success at a Job Fair

Dear Joanna,

I’m going to a JVS Toronto Job Fair next week. As a recent university graduate, I am looking for work as a customer service representative and/or sales position. It would be my first time attending a job fair. Please could you give me some suggestions as to how to prepare in advance to be successful at this event.

Signed: Job Fair First-timer (JFF)

Dear JFF,

Job fairs are a fantastic tool to build your professional network. You can meet employers in your field, secure job interviews and learn as much as you can about the local labour market (i.e. the job openings available, the workplace culture, and the 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 the job fair, you can make progress toward getting that job offer, if you do it properly.

So here’s how I would prepare for our job fair and any other career fair that you attend.

Before the Job Fair:

1. Gather information about employers.

Do a Google search and use social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) to dig a little deeper for information on employers that you’d like to work for. Look for current job opportunities posted on their site and consider applying to the positions you are interested in. You can bring a record of the application to share with the employer at the job fair.

2. Prepare your questions.

Recruiters will remember your conversation if they feel engaged. Show that you are interested in working for their company by asking about current opportunities, the company’s work culture, and other open-ended questions. You can also request tips for getting hired with the company, or discuss some recent positive news they’ve featured. Avoid asking about salary or benefits.

3. Be prepared to market yourself.

Prepare a personal statement — also known as an elevator pitch. This short introduction is a way to express your suitability for working at the company. Have an idea of different things to emphasize with different recruiters.

4. Prepare your resume(s).

Make sure your resume is up to date, including your LinkedIn profile. Prepare a cover letter to accompany the resume. If you know which companies you are targeting specifically, you can prepare different versions of your resume (and cover letter) to emphasize different skills.

At the Job Fair:

1. Dress and act professionally.

Even if there isn’t a dress code, take care with your appearance and make sure that you appear well-groomed. At the very least, dress business casual. While you may not need to be in a full suit, slacks and a button up shirt and tie (for men) can go a long way toward projecting a professional image.

Speak and act professionally! Offer a firm handshake when you meet the recruiter and make appropriate eye contact. Silence your cell phone and don’t let it interfere with your conversation with employers.

2. Schedule a follow-up appointment, if you can.

At some job fairs, companies prefer making an appointment to speak with a representative following the event. This is an opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with the employer – something that is really difficult to do at larger events!

As one of our employment counsellors warns, “… if your sole purpose in attending a large job fair is to get quality time to discuss your application with a recruiter, you will probably be disappointed!”

Find out from the job fair organizer whether appointment slots are available, and arrange to meet recruiters during or after the event.

If you are making multiple appointments, make sure you schedule adequate time between your interviews so that you are not late to a meeting.

3. Gather business cards or contact details of employers.

Follow-up is key. After each conversation or meeting with a recruiter, take notes and ask for a business card. If this is not available, get the person’s name, company, job title, and email. Ask permission to connect with the recruiter on LinkedIn and find out whether you can send a follow-up email after the event.

Following these guidelines will guarantee that you stand out at any job fair, and increase the chances of getting hired after attending one.

Good luck with the job fair!

Joanna

P.S. Check our workshop calendar for upcoming job fairs in Toronto and York Region.

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