Volunteering
Volunteering may be the shortest and most direct way to
paid employment. An added bonus is that many
organizations offer some training for the jobs that you
volunteer for. Most of the skills you learn in such
training are the skills you need for a successful career.
Relocating
Be aware that relocating may dramatically increase your
chances of finding a job. There may be more opportunities
in another geographic area or considerably less
competition.
Employers in urban areas have their choice of experienced
professionals. Smaller, rural organizations have more
difficulty attracting seasoned professionals. This
increases the possibilities for a new graduate who is
prepared to relocate to get that much needed experience.
Generating Job
Leads
Labor Market
Information
It is very important to be aware of the current job
market both in your area and in other geographic
locations. This will help you determine where you have
the best chances of succeeding in your job search.
Resources for research include:
- Newspapers
- TV news and documentaries
- Career Centers
- Chambers of Commerce
- business and professional organizations
- business magazines (Canadian and
American, including entrepreneurial
publications)
- Yellow Pages and other telephone
directories
- libraries
- family, friends
- personnel agencies
- internet
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The following are particularly useful sources of job
information, leads and ideas:
1. Classified and career ads.
These require daily scrutiny. Remember: the early bird
gets the worm
2. News stories. These can be
mined for job ideas. For example: an unemployed auto-body
mechanic got a great idea when a hailstorm hit and
hundreds of cars were damaged. He approached a large,
established firm and proposed an aggressive outreach to
motorists promoting the firm's quality bodywork and fast
turnaround. He increased sales for the company and
created a job for himself
3. The Yellow Pages and other directories. These
are useful for developing job leads. For example, an
unemployed teacher, social worker or other helping
professional will want to consult the Yellow Pages for
lists of all the helping agencies and not-for-profit
organizations which employed people with his or her
skills. Some geographic regions have specific
directories. In Alberta, one directory of this kind is Community
Connections, found in public libraries.
4. Your public library. This
can be a great resource. It stocks industry and trade
publications which give names of employers in specific
industries.
5. Career Development Centers and Canada Alberta Service
Centers. These centers offer job leads in
the form of posted job orders on electronic kiosks and
should not be overlooked.
6. Personnel agencies. Gather information
about the agencies in your area. Which occupational
groups or industry clients do they specialize in? Add to
your list the ones which are most relevant. It's very
important to understand that personnel agencies don't
find you a job. Rather, their purpose is to find suitable
employees for their employer clients. Employers pay a fee
to the agency which is usually a percentage of the annual
salary of the position they're filling. The agency
maintains an inventory of applicants from which they
refer job-seekers when there appears to be a match.
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