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By on February 17, 2017 in Our Stories, Search Strategies

Image by Unsplash, pixabay.com

In the summer of 2014, I had just finished my first year at university. Commuting was helping to save the family money, but it left me with little money for myself after I had to quit my job to accommodate the lost time travelling. I had worked at a Shoppers Drug Mart ten minutes away from my house, and leaving not only lost me my discount, but the ease that went into working every day.

I wanted to try and gain a position that had more to do with the profession I wanted to go into, which was being a doctor. I also wanted the ease that came with working close to home. So I opted to apply for a numerous amount of jobs – probably too many. I’ve heard from many since then that if you are applying to too many jobs at one time at the mall, things circulate and its likely to reflect poorly on you. I probably applied to about 10 retail jobs at the mall, but still holding out for an opportunity in research, I applied to about 10 more that I found on a school hiring website.

I found that using the resources given to me by my school was a huge advantage to the position I ended up receiving. You are technically paying for these services, so it is worth it to give them a chance. I would never have known where to get a research position after being in my first year – I barely knew where the library was – but using this school resource was a huge asset. Anyway, I had three callbacks from about 20 applications (such is life sometimes). I had a callback from a clothing store in the mall and two callbacks for research positions in psychiatry and in biology.

I ended up interviewing for the psychiatry position and the clothing store position, because the biology lab position ended up not working with my schedule. I was taking summer courses at the time and didn’t want to have something with too many hours. The research position was great because it was part of a program at U of T where there are a limited number of hours, which made it flexible for students. I had never worked at a retail store before so I was a little bit confused in the interview. Do I know what to do with inventory? No, I don’t know how to work a POS system.

It turned out that that job at the mall was the first job for which I had ever been interviewed and rejected. I always prepare well for my interviews – going over common answers that are typically asked, picking out my dress, relaxing myself before I get in there. I come with my cover letter, resume and references ready. It just eases my mind so I can perform my best. I guess my lack of experience kind of undershot my chances, so I ended up taking the position in psychiatry.

I’ve been working in that job for two years and I’ve learned a lot and made plenty of great friends. The fact that it is flexible helped me balance school and work and allowed me to meet different psychiatrists and employees at CAMH. The key to finding a good job is making sure that your resume is short and highlights all of your relevant accomplishments, preparing for the interview as well as following up after the interview, and just making sure that you are prepared every step of the way. You’d be surprised at the kinds of jobs you can find when you’re prepared!

By on August 15, 2016 in Resumes & Cover Letters

Let’s get one thing clear – the majority of professionals spend at least eight hours at work every weekday. Per year, that’s 1,842 hours. But that’s not the end of it – in their lifetime, professionals spend at least 90,000 hours working!

Needless to say, working a job that you don’t like is a massive waste of time.

Sure, it’s risky to change jobs in the current economy. Plus, your resume may come up against an average of 250 others. Considering that recruiters take as little as 6 seconds to decide whether or not to read a resume, it’s fair to say that the job market is pretty tough these days.

But what’s at stake here is your life. You shouldn’t stick to your old job just because you’re afraid of the competition.

An easy way to face this challenge is to send a resume that works. Read the full guide to making a resume here or start with quick tips from the infographic below. It will seriously improve your chances of getting closer to your dream position.

If you rely on these 5-minute resume tricks, you’re bound to create a resume that makes a great impression on recruiters.

Here’s what you can do right now to improve your resume:

  • Organize your resume so that it’s scannable, and pick a font that enhances readability.
  • Attract recruiters’ attention with a compelling introduction and choose strategic keywords to keep them interested.
  • Structure information in order of importance.
  • Include numbers and statistics that illustrate your expertise.
  • Have someone else proofread your resume to get rid of mistakes or typos. Use Grammarly or Language Tool to correct your resume too.

Your resume and online profiles should present one professional narrative – a story about a person who knows what they want and will do their best to achieve what they want.

With a revamped resume in hand, you’re ready to face recruiters and apply for your dream job.

Need more 5-minute resume tricks? Check out this infographic to polish your resume and land your dream job.

Image by Natalie Severt

Image by Natalie Severt

This article was contributed by guest author Natalie Severt.

By on January 13, 2014 in Our Stories, Search Strategies
Image by jdnx, Flickr

Image by jdnx, Flickr

Throughout my business school undergrad, it was drilled into my head that an internship was mandatory if I wanted to get a full-time job right out of school. Marketing students were steered towards large consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies like Kraft, Loreal, and P&G. The goal of every student was to beat out their classmates to score an internship with one of these prestigious companies. I tried – albeit unsuccessfully – to be one of these students in first and second year. I knew by third year I had to get an internship.

I was an average student with a part-time job and some research assistant experience – but I didn’t have enough to make me stand out. As far as employers knew, I wasn’t the cream of the crop.

I didn’t end up with an internship in my third year.

I went into fourth year with no real (read: marketing) work experience. As predicted, my friends with summer internships received full-time offers. They coasted through their final year with confidence that they’d walk into a job the next year as long as they kept their grades up. Those of us without internship experience struggled to apply for any jobs we could find. We’d all start with ones posted by our school’s career centre, and some of us went outside to sites like monster.ca in hopes no one else was looking there (which they obviously were). I started applying to companies I recognized – but only big ones. As the months went by, my stress level increased, and my “ideal job” criteria decreased. I applied to smaller companies I recognized. I researched websites for any companies I could think of and sent them a resume, even if they didn’t say they were hiring. Then I started applying to any job postings I could find that “kind of, sort of” related to marketing, whether I recognized the company or not.

The life-changer for me in my fourth year was obtaining a position on a conference executive team. I was VP Marketing for the year and put my all into it. One of my team members, two years younger than me (and who I likely wouldn’t have met if not for the conference), sent me a vague message near the end of the year saying that a friend of a friend’s cousin was looking to hire a recent marketing grad. I was given a first name and a phone number – no company name or job description. But I called, found out about the company, went in for an interview, and started working full-time just one month later.

Is my company a CPG? No. Does my job make me happy? Yes. Nearly four years later, I can’t imagine working anywhere else.

So, what did I learn from this experience?

  • Don’t just apply for jobs because that’s what your program pushes you towards. Apply for jobs and companies that interest you.
  • Remove your tunnel vision when applying for jobs. You know how much competition there is in the job market. Consider expanding your search criteria.
  • Don’t be afraid to take a chance on a job. It’s your first one. Get that experience on your resume, and if you find it isn’t for you, move on.
  • Make room for extracurriculars in university/college. With some programs, your marks will hold greater importance for employers. In mine, that wasn’t the case. The reason I was hired over another applicant was because I had “marketing experience”. Even though it was a volunteer post for a university conference, it made me stand out.
  • Make connections – not only with people in your class or even your year. Expand your group of contacts. You never know who someone else will know.

Everyone will have a different experience on the job hunt; this is my own. Share your job hunt story with us on Twitter @StudentsDotOrg, or email it to us.

More tips for your job hunt:
A Student’s Guide to Attracting Recruiters on LinkedIn
5 Places to Start Your Internship Search
Do Extracurriculars Add Value to My College Experience?
The Best Time to Work For Free
7 Tips to Make Your Resume Stand Out
Doing Freelance Work to Pay for School