work prep seminars

JOB SEARCH TECHNIQUES

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO FIND A JOB?

THE #1 MOST SUCCESSFUL...

IN PERSON ON THE STREETS.

USE GOOGLE MAPS TO LOCATE BUSINESSES THAT YOU’RE

INTERESTED IN

USE THE ‘SEARCH NEARBY’ TOOL. JUST TYPE YOUR ADDRESS IN AND THEN CLICK ON SEARCH NEARBY AND ENTER ‘RESTAURANT’ OR ‘CLOTHES’ AND YOU CAN SEE

WHERE THERE ARE LOTS OF RESTAURANTS OR CLOTHING SHOPS.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT APPLYING ON THE IN PERSON

1.PEOPLE USUALLY SAY “NO”

2. SOMETIMES THEY WILL BE RUDE- SO LEAVE YOUR FEELINGS AT HOME

3. DRESS FORMALLY

4. DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL RESEARCH COMPANIES AHEAD OF TIME AND MAKE INDIVIDUAL COVER LETTER OR WHETHER YOU WILL USE A GENERAL COVER LETTER FOR ALL COMPANIES

5. APPROACH AT LEAST 20 COMPANIES DURING EACH WALK ABOUT

6. WHEN YOU GO IN ASK IF THERE’S A MANAGER THERE SAY SOMETHING LIKE : “HI, HOW ARE YOU? I WAS WONDERING IF THERE’S A MANAGER HERE? I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU ARE HIRING AND IF I CAN DROP OFF MY RESUME”

7. WHEN YOU LEAVE, ASK FOR A CARD OR SOMETHING PREFERABLY WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS ON IT SO YOU CAN FOLLOW UP.

8. LATER THAT DAY, SEND AN EMAIL TO THEM TO FOLLOW UP (SAMPLES ON OUR WEBSITE)

2nd MOST SUCCESSFUL

INTERNET

HERE IS A LIST OF SOME JOB SEARCH WEBSITES

CRAIGSLIST - THIS HAS JOBS OF ALL TYPES. BUT BE CAREFUL, SOMETIMES THE JOBS ARE NOT REAL. SO IT IS BEST ONLY TO APPLY TO JOBS WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPANY NAME

KIJIJI- IS VERY SIMILAR TO CRAIGSLIST. IT IS NOT AS POPULAR IN VANCOVUER, BUT SOMETIMES YOU CAN FIND DIFFERENT JOBS THERE THAN YOU WOULD NORMALLY FIND ON CRAIGSLIST.

THE HRDC JOB BANK- THIS WEBSITE IS OPERATED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. MANY COMPANIES FROM ALL INDUSTRIES POST THEIR JOBS HERE. IT IS A GOOD SOURCE, AND UNLIKE CRAIGSLIST, ALL THE JOBS HERE ARE REAL.

WORKING.COM- THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LEAST USEFUL JOBS SITES. IT IS HARD TO NAVIGATE, AND THERE ARE USUALLY VERY FEW ENTRY-LEVEL JOBS. BUT IT DOES HAVE ALL THE JOBS YOU CAN FIND IN THE NEWSPAPER-SO IF YOU WANT TO SAVE 50 CENTS ON A NEWSPAPER, HERE IS WHERE TO GO

WORKOPOLIS.COM- THIS IS CANADA’S NUMBER ONE JOB SITE. COMPANIES HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO ADVERTISE HERE, SO THEY ARE USUALLY HIRING FOR HIGH LEVEL PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS- BUT SOMETIMES YOU CAN SEE ADVERTISEMENTS FROM BIG CHAIN RESTAURANTS WHO ARE HIRING LOTS OF PEOPLE AT ONCE.

HCAREERS, RAISINS-THESE TWO WEBSITES ARE SIMILAR. THEY HAVE JOB POSTINGS FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. SOMETIMES THEY ARE USEFUL.

GO2 HR JOB BOARD- THIS IS A GREAT WEBSITE IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB AT A HOTEL OR RESORT OUTSIDE OF VANCOUVER. THE SITE IS RUN BY THE BC HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY.

THE CAVE EMPLOYMENT CENTRE- THIS IS A JOBS WEBSITE OPERATED BY DOUGLAS COLLEGE. THEY HAVE LISTINGS FOR UPCOMING JOB FAIRS.

*REMINDER*- WHEN CONTACTING A COMPANY FROM AN INTERNET JOB BOARD, BE CAREFUL TO READ EVERY DETAIL OF THE AD, AND ONLY APPLY TO THEM IN THE WAY THEY HAVE REQUESTED

3rd MOST SUCCESSFUL- JOB FAIRS

JOB FAIRS CAN BE GOOD IF THERE ARE LARGE EMPLOYERS HIRING LOTS OF PEOPLE. THERE ARE JOB FAIR LISTINS ON OUR BLOG.

#4 LEAST SUCCESSFUL- NEWSPAPER

NEWSPAPERS ARE A TOTAL

WASTE OF TIME

TIPS FOR APPLYING ONLINE

1. APPLY IN THE MANNER THEY ARE ASKING YOU TO...IN PERSON NO, PHONE CALLS ETC.

2. WRITE AN EMAIL GEARED TOWARD THE KIND OF JOB IT IS

3.IF YOU CAN FIND THEIR NAME, USE IT! IF YOU CAN’T GET THEIR LAST NAME, FINE TO USE THEIR FIRST NAME

WATCH OUT FOR: DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE

5. NO PHOTOS/ MOVING IMAGES ON RESUME

6. INFORM REFERENCES THAT YOU HAVE USED THEM

7. READ “SCAM ALERT” POSTINGS ON CRAIGSLIST BEFORE YOU APPLY

8. AVOID HAVING YOUR EMAIL LISTED AS ‘SPAM’ BY: NOT MORE THAN 20 RESUMES EVERY HOUR, CHANGE SUBJECT HEADING, USE DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESSES.

CANADIAN WORKPLACE

CULTURE AND LAW