November 7, 2016 1 Comment

Tips from an Employment Counsellor: Should a new graduate take a job that is not in their field, just for the sake of money?

We asked our staff to share examples of the kinds of questions that clients sometimes ask, and the answers they offer. This question from a client came to Cindy Chen, an Employment Counsellor at JVS Toronto Employment Source Scarborough.

A client who had graduated from Community College came to see me, after struggling to find work in his field for a while. He wondered whether he should you take a job that is not in his field, just for the sake of money.

Having just graduated from a program that you have invested time and money into, you are probably eager and ready to jump into the workforce and start practicing your craft. With the competitive job market out there, this can be more challenging than originally planned. Most job postings for even junior positions usually require a minimum of 1-2 years of relevant experience, what is a new graduate to do?

If you were enrolled in a program that had some form of field placement, such as co-op or internship then you can include that experience as relevant, however, if your studies did not include such practicum, it would be a good idea to start volunteering at an organization that you would like to be employed at. Market your time and talent as a valuable commodity and your presence will benefit the organization, as opposed to them doing you a favour by allowing you to gather experience there.

If money is an issue — chances are it probably is — and since you have just invested time and money, and now need to work and pay off your debts, perhaps taking the job that’s offered to you isn’t such a bad idea.

Make sure that the job is worth your while; factor in transportation time and cost, as well as the pay and hours of work. If all balances out, then the offer should be seriously considered. Remember that you can continue to search for employment while you are working; you might even conduct a better job search while you are working, since you won’t have pressure and desperation associated with unemployment.

Another benefit of taking an interim job, is that there are often transferable skills that you could pick up from the job that might be useful later on, such as customer service, communication, administration, or relationship building. It also demonstrates to future employers that you are not afraid of hard work.

Accepting the immediate job will help alleviate your financial stress, provide you with practical experience, opportunities for personal growth as well as a potential network to get to your next and more desirable job. You really will not know where an opportunity will lead until you take it.

Cindy Chen is an Employment Counsellor at JVS Toronto Markham Employment Source. She is trained as a Registered Social Service Worker (RSSW), and describes herself as an advocate of inclusion who is passionate about helping others.

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.

March 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

Precarious Work in Ontario: trends and resources

Maybe it’s just me, but since 2015 swung around, I have noticed a surge of reports on the poor quality of jobs that are being created in our economy. It’s no surprise to my colleagues and me, who, almost daily, meet people who are struggling to make ends meet, while often working in multiple low pay, unstable jobs. The Workers’ Action Centre tell us that this phenomenon, often called “precarious work”, is more common than we think:

Today, one in three jobs in Ontario is temporary, contract, part time or self employed. Working in these jobs, we are often denied basic protections and rights – for example, public holiday pay, access to employment insurance, much less pay than permanent workers doing the same jobs, adequate health & safety coverage.”

These low paid, insecure jobs are found in all sectors, from general labour, to banking, retail, journalism, administration and anywhere else where people are hired as temps, relief, contract workers or freelancers. The worst pay and most precarious jobs often go to women, youth and immigrants, working long unpredictable poorly paid hours, often with families support.

Toronto’s United Way reported in February this year that income inequality in the city is growing faster than in other major Canadian cities, with a 31 percent growth in the last 25 years. The report found that Torontonians express pessimism about the benefits of hard work, with almost three-quarters reporting that hard work doesn’t necessary lead to success, and that many residents experience unequal opportunities, believing that their background and circumstances (including race, gender, and household income growing up), impact on their chances for a good financial future.

Recently, the CIBC released their Canadian Employment Quality Index, which showed a decline in the quality of jobs on all their measures, including full vs part-time and pay. In terms of the distribution of part- vs full-time jobs, the report showed that since the late 1980s there has been a steady rise in part-time positions, although this did improve a little in the last year. The report also noted a drop in pay levels , with “The number of low-paying full-time jobs has risen faster than the number of mid-paying jobs, which in turn, has risen faster than the number of high-paying jobs” and a widening in that gap, over the past year.

In response to these trends, Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne recently announced a formal review of the province’s labour and employment standards, to consider changes to the Employment Standards and Ontario Labour Relations Acts, so to better protect people in precarious work.

This may include addressing issues such as:

minimum wage
overtime
public holiday pay
scheduling
pay levels for temporary and part-time workers
paid sick days
union rights
temp agency workers’ rights
wage theft

Rights and Resources

Probably my favourite source of information about the rights of workers in precarious jobs is the Worker’s Action Centre, who describe themselves as a “worker-based organization committed to improving the lives and working conditions of people in low-wage and unstable employment”. In addition to their advocacy work, they also offer a very useful annual publication called Your Rights at Work. Workers who are seeking advice can also call them at (416) 531-0778 for support with workplace issues.

Another excellent source of information is CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario), who provide detailed and informative information to people in a range of languages. Their Employment and Work section includes a number of publications that would be useful for precarious workers.

It also is worth reading the actual legislation. The Labour Relations Act can be found here and the Employment Standards Act here.