October 24, 2016 Leave a Comment

Ask Our Employment Specialist: How to win at the online application screening game

Dear Employment Specialist,

I keep applying for teller/customer service positions at the banks. As recommended, I register on their website, post my resume and cover letter and apply for job opportunities as they come up. I have never received a phone call for an interview.

What am I doing wrong?

Signed: Online

Dear Online,

Did you know that many of the larger companies like the banks use an online software that is automated for screening of online applications? It is known as the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). To help figure out what needs to be done so that your resume and cover letter will be flagged for the recruiter or hiring manager on the ATS, I spoke to Michelle Edmunds, Founder and Job Search Coach at Focus Industry Consulting as well as Employer Outreach and Placement Coordinator at Ryerson University’s Chang School. She advised the following:

1. Category matching.

Did you notice how job descriptions have become more creative, with many new job titles, departments and roles that haven’t been seen before? Functions and roles contain fewer tasks and there is a bigger focus on outcomes. Companies are looking for specialists, not generalists.

Create a separate section in the top third of your online resume that captures your relevant specific category of expertise. For example, Client Relationship Management, Communications and Financial Analysis.

2. Resume keyword matching.

Focus on the priority keywords within the job description. Use the exact words and language in the posting. Don’t copy and paste those words exactly as is — instead, write your matching or relevant work experience with detailed examples, while still ensuring that you are capturing the key terms that are important — for example, if you are applying for a “Customer Service Representative”, and phrases such as “relationship management”, “analytical skills” and a “bachelors degree”, appear in the job description, these are mandatory qualifications.

Keyword matching shows the system that you understand the job requirements and that you speak their language.

3. Include your accomplishments.

This is your strategy to market yourself in both the online application and interview. It’s how you can stand out from the crowd. Your accomplishments should be unique, valuable and strategic, and they should match the job posting’s job description first, and then the listed requirements. The phrases need to be personal and real. Using the keywords in the job description, prepare these statements, so that they are well-received by the outcome based job lists on the ATS.

Based on the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action and Result), you can prepare these statements for the resume as well as to respond to the behavioural questions in the interview.

4. Limit your online applications.

Don’t spend all your time on the ATS. Build your professional network, meet as many people as possible in your field, engage in information interviews, use social media to research and network. Despite the proliferation of online tools, most people continue to get jobs through people they know.

Good luck!

October 17, 2016 Leave a Comment

CanPrep Webinar: Harnessing the Power of Networking for Professional Success

When you’re a Newcomer to Canada, building professional connections is a great way to find opportunities that could lead to employment. Networking with professionals in your field for information and career growth should be part of your job search and is a great way to build your personal brand.

This interactive webinar is Presented by JVS Toronto (CanPrep) in partnership with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC). The webinar will help you gain insights on how to network and build social capital through specialized groups and volunteerism for professional integration and success.

You will learn about:

Increased awareness of specialized programs and how these programs can help with successful networking.
Gain greater knowledge on how skills-based volunteering can assist with achieving professional goals.
Hear an Internationally Educated Professional share how networking helped to grow his personal brand and successfully settle in Canada.

Click on the “Play” button to view the webinar.

Our Panelists:

Monina Febria, Program Coordinator, Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs), TRIEC
Paula Speevak, President and CEO, Volunteer Canada
Renan Orquiza, P.Eng. Project Manager, Watters Environmental Group Inc.

Facilitator:

Irene Vaksman, Director, Newcomer Services, JVS Toronto

To register for more informative webinars and other services offered by CanPrep, click here: https://www.jvstoronto.org/pre-arrival/canprep/#canprep-registration

October 17, 2016 Leave a Comment

Ask Our Employment Specialist: Handling Illegal questions at the interview

Dear Joanna,

I’m in shock. I just came back from an interview for a position as a customer service/order desk clerk position. The interviewer asked me if I had any children, how old they were and if I will be having anymore children. I know that these are illegal interview questions. I am so turned off that even if I get the job offer, I will refuse it.

Please could you advise me in future as to the best way to handle illegal job interview questions at the interview.

Signed, Illegal Experience (IE)

Dear IE,

The Ontario Human Rights code prohibits prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job for which they are hiring, as per the federal Employment Standards Act. Questions should be job-related and not used to find out personal information.

In a nutshell, employers should NOT be asking about:

your race
gender
religion
marital status
age
disabilities
ethnic background
country of origin
sexual preferences/orientation

If you are asked an illegal question it is important not only to know your rights but also to be able to respond to the question with dignity and assertiveness. You can respond in four ways to an illegal question at the job interview:

1. You can answer the question
2. You can refuse to answer the question, which is well within your rights
3. You can examine the question for its intent and respond with an answer as it might apply to the job
4. If you cannot see the intent behind the question, then ask “Can you please tell me how this is related to my ability to fill the position?” Most (if not all) interviewers will reword the question as it relates to the position.

Below are some suggestions on how to respond to these illegal question, directly:

Do you have a disability? What is it?

Redirect the question to talk about your abilities or strengths, rather than any disability. You could mention your experience, fitness, flexibility, current knowledge, maturity, stability, lack of childcare commitments, common sense, reputation and business client contacts.

If this leads to an objection that you are over-qualified, or that you may expect a higher salary or pension, mention (if it is true) that, at this point in your career, work satisfaction is a higher value for you than a higher profile, higher paying position and this is what you want to be doing.

Are you married?

If you are married and you have children, you can assure the employer that you have reliable childcare with backup for emergencies, that you do not take company time to make private calls, and that you pride yourself on punctuality.

If you are married and you don’t have any children at home, assure the employer that regardless of your family situation, you are and always will be fully committed to excellent performance at your job.

If you are not married, assure the employer of your reliability and some community involvement (because you never know where the prejudice is: will they judge you for not having children? Will they worry that you might be planning to have children?).

Regardless of your family situation, emphasize that you are free to do overtime and travel for the company, if that is true for you.

How long have you been in Canada? Where are you from?

Whether you chose to answer the question or not, relate your answer to current Canadian markets, trends and knowledge and to the employer’s immediate needs. Mention your transferable skills with confidence. Relate your ability to learn quickly and the way you have adapted to life here. You could speak about the reputation of the institution where you were educated, and parallels between your own training and methods and those here. Refer to challenges you have faced in your country that are similar to those encountered here.

Joanna

October 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

How to be noticed on online job application systems

Increasingly, employers are turning to electronic methods to standardize recruitment and make resume screening more efficient. You may have noticed that when you apply to a job online, you are often redirected to a website that requires you to sign up, create an online profile, answer a long series of questions and then upload a resume before you are able to apply for the job. The goal of the employer is to gather more information from you, to allow them to pre-screen candidates, using keyword searches and make more objective decisions about whom they will call to an interview.

The programs used by employers to gather the data and sort through it are called ATS programs – Applicant Tracking Systems. They are online sites where job seekers can create an profile and apply directly to all the suitable jobs with a particular company. Candidates can upload a resume and cover letter, as well as give employers access to other online information about themselves (such as LinkedIn, blogs) as well as additional documents (such as proof of professional registration) as required by employers.

The advantages of ATS for candidates is that it enables them to set up profiles with each of their employers of choice, get notifications (or ‘alerts’) when jobs are posted, and — once the profile is completely set up — apply easily. It also enables candidates to share more information than the conventional emailing of a resume and cover letter.

But as most job seekers would testify, online job application sites are frustratingly difficult to navigate and full of technical bugs. They also can take a lot of time to set up. Many job seekers also find that despite setting up a profile and applying to many jobs to which they seem perfectly suitable, they are still not getting called for interviews.

To make sure that you maximize the odds of getting being noticed on an ATS system, here are some tips for using it:

Prepare an ATS optimized resume

The ATS will extract the relevant data from your resume to compare to other candidates. So while some employers might print out your resume before the interview, many admit to never looking at the document itself, which makes resume writing for ATS difficult for job seekers.

While it’s still important to prepare a resume that looks readable visually, it is even more vital to ensure that it is coherent and targeted resume, in terms of:

Spelling – make sure that the resume is error free; remember: misspelled words will not be picked up by the system

Keywords – edit the resume to use the keywords that the employer uses in their posting

Layout – keep the resume simple and cleanly laid out:

no tables, columns or text boxes, or formatting such as underlining
no fancy text, tabs or fancy spacing between letters
no graphics or unusual symbols — you can use a simple bullet (●), dash (-) or line ( | ) to separate items
no abbreviations or unexplained acronyms
don’t use creatively worded headings, or rely on bold or underline– rather stick to the standard headings (in capital letters, if you want it to be obvious that they are headings) such as PROFILE, PROFESSIONAL HISTORY, EDUCATION, etc
don’t use headers or footers
no need to number pages or title them
unless otherwise instructed, create a resume in Word format, not PDF (which often cannot be read on ATS)

Save the resume under a name that identifies you and the job (e.g. KarinLewisEmploymentCounsellor.doc).

Complete the online profile in full detail

Don’t take any short cuts when completing the profile. Complete all fields in the profile, even those marked as optional. Include your cover letter, resume and any other relevant documentation. When asked to explain an item, do so in full detail. Write full, clear and suitably detailed replies to all questions. Use proper punctuation and capitalisation in your sentence. Don’t rush through it — make sure it is as good as you can make it.

Check the profile carefully before submitting it

Don’t just upload a resume and assume it will fill the right fields – often the system misreads the resume. Check your profile carefully to ensure that all the resume details are properly captured.

The bottom line is to keep in mind that ATS is an increasingly commonly used method of prescreening candidates. Take some time and make sure you prepare your profile in such a way that you increase your chances of being noticed and contacted for an interview.

FINAL TIP: Don’t rely only on ATS to secure your next position. While it is true that many companies require applicants to apply online, that does not mean that candidates won’t benefit from networking with potential employers online on LinkedIn and in person. Do both — create a strong ATS profile and find ways to reach out to potential employers as well. Ideally, your target employers should be aware of your candidacy before they even set out to post a job, or call candidates for an interview.

Karin Lewis is the Blog Editor and a contributing writer. A senior Employment Counsellor at JVS Toronto, she presently balances the roles of Case Manager, Consultant to Toronto’s Jewish Family and Child, as well as Communications and Marketing (Social Media) Specialist.

October 3, 2016 Leave a Comment

How online mentoring (CanPrep) can help you find a job in Canada

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
– John C. Crosby

Potential new immigrants who are in the process of immigrating to Canada soon have many things on their mind – A new life, new work environment, new world. They have all these questions they want answers to – What kind of job opportunities should I be applying to? Do I have a resume that is right for the Canadian job market? How do I write an effective cover letter that can get me results? What are the expectations from me in my new Canadian work place? Our program participants have shared with us that they just want someone to listen to them, direct them and validate them. They need a mentor.

A ‘mentor’ is usually a more knowledgeable or experienced person who guides the less knowledgeable or experience person often referred to as the ‘mentee’.

At CanPrep, we offer online mentoring as part of our pre-arrival employment services to Canada. Our mentoring program – Canada InfoNet connects Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) to experienced professionals in Canada who act as mentors.

Who are our mentors?

Our mentors are passionate and motivated professionals who understand the challenges of immigration, many from personal experiences. They are investing their time to give mentees a better understanding of their industry in Canada. They want to help build their confidence which is essential to setting and achieving personal goals.

The primary motivation of Mentors of our online program is to provide guidance and support. They share their knowledge of industry standards and practices, certifications, training and education, and the job search itself through a safe and easy online format. This has helped mentees formulate strong job search strategies which has a huge impact on how soon they can find employment.

Why online mentoring?

There are many ways that a Mentor’s time and effort can have an impact. Mentees will:

Gain insight into Canadian work and values
Understand current workplace and industry trends
Receive critical feedback on resumes and interview techniques
Get help with self-marketing techniques and confidence building
Identify skills required by market demands, and guidance on licensing processes in their province of landing
Gain access to professional networks
Understand how to present themselves in the best possible light to potential employers

What is the impact of mentoring on program participants?

Nitesh is a professional who is in the process of immigrating to Canada. He applied to CanPrep and started working with his Employment Counsellor on the different components of the program. Since he had optimal time for a 10 week partnership with an online mentor, his Counsellor connected him to Rick who has been a star mentor with Canada InfoNet for many years now. Nitesh (mentee) and Rick (mentor) used the online mentoring system to discuss various topics that Nitesh had concerns about. Towards the end of the partnership, Nitesh felt:

It was a wonderful experience to interact with a working professional who has been living in Canada for many years and who knows the complete ins and outs of the labor market there. For a new immigrant like me, the most important part is to get guidance on how I can get a job in a competitive market. I am glad that I was connected to an experienced and knowledgeable mentor through CanPrep and I really got a very good insight on how things work in the Canadian job market.

His online mentor had contributed to building his confidence to start a new phase of life for him and his family.

How does online mentoring work?

Mentors and mentees are usually signed up on Canada InfoNet which is an online, interactive, mentoring platform. Each mentoring partnership lasts for 10 weeks long. The partnership goes through 5 different stages of Orientation – Relationship building – Learning Conversations – Building Networks – Moving On.

The online discussions occur on a secure private discussion board at a time of convenience for the mentor and the mentee. The program requires at least a weekly 1 hour communication in total. This gives enough opportunity to build a relationship between the two and also to move through the various phases of the program.

How to sign up for online mentoring?

Internationally Educated Professionals with a permanent resident visa, still living in their home country and planning to arrive in Canada in the next 3 to 6 months are eligible for online mentoring. To begin with, they can sign up for the CanPrep program here. Once their eligibility has been established, a CanPrep Employment Counsellor will get in touch with them for the next steps.