This article will provide you with tools to ensure your resume is well constructed and stands out.

This article will provide you with tips to ensure your cover letter stands out from the stack.

Successful Job Searching Strategies By Simon Erlich This article provides you with tips on how to make your job search more efficient and effective. When searching for a job, do you spend hours scrolling through job posting websites and firing off your resume off to as many postings as possible? If this sounds like you, you might want to consider booking an appointment with a career adviser ASAP. Otherwise, keep on reading below and consider also exploring our blog post on how to write a successful resume. So How Do People Get Jobs? If the answer to job seeking is not to search the internet sending out resumes, how does one do it? Good question. First, we need to put the shoe on the other foot and consider how employers prefer to hire. The graphic below illustrates this nicely. Why, you might ask, do employers hire this way? Let’s discuss. Hiring employees takes up a tremendous amount of an organization’s time and resources: new positions must be scoped, job descriptions written, postings advertised, applications reviewed, interviews scheduled, interviews conducted, candidates considered, offers sent out, and new staff trained. Now imagine all of this work could be avoided, thus giving employees more time to focus on growing the business? Well, it can be. See the base of the pyramid. The time commitment of a hiring process is one of the main reasons employers prefer to hire internally; when hiring internally employers know exactly what they are getting in a candidate. This is not only a good business decision, it is also human nature. For example, when you go away and you need someone to look after your baby, your pet, or your house, who do you go to first? Someone you know and feel confident in, of course. There exists an important level of trust that comes with preexisting relationships. This trust is as crucial in finding a pet sitter as it is in finding an employee. Of course, if you are reading this article you are unlikely to already be working for an organization and eligible for internal positions. So, we encourage you to work your way up the pyramid and do the next best thing(s). From our previous discussion, we can clarify our job searching goal: You are trying to situate yourself as someone an employer can be confident in. Since you probably do not have direct connections with tonnes of employers, you need to create other opportunities for them tobe confident in you. As per our pyramid, this means you need to establish relationships and connections that can both vouch for your skills and abilities as well as connect you with colleagues and job openings. If you cannot get to know an employer personally to build trust, building a relationship with someone that the employer trusts is the next best thing. Here is a playful example of how this scenario unfolds: Employer, Bill, is talking to his golf buddy, John, on the golf course. “Hey John, we have been playing golf for 10 years now and you are a friend I respect and trust. I have a question for you.” Bill says. “Sure, go ahead.” Replies John. Bill goes on, “So I just had one of my IT specialists quit yesterday and it was right in the midst of our website redevelopment process. I do not really have the time to set up a whole hiring process. Didn’t you say a while back that you knew some people in IT?” says Bill. John replies, “Ya, I know a few folks that I play trivia with on Wednesday nights. They are great people, you would get a long with them well. I think one of them, Sarah, is looking for a job.” Excitedly, Bill says, “Really? That sounds great. If Sarah is interested, can you pass along my phone number and ask her to call me on Monday about the position? I would really like to hire for this position fast, but also want to ensure it is someone who fill fit in. If you say Sarah would fit in, I think this could be a great fit!” This scenario depicts the all so commonly occurring referral. In this scenario, you want to be Sarah. Sarah has a professional network and has let them know she is job searching. Okay, so what is my point? Having a network of people that can vouch for you, or at least connect you to uneasy to find job opportunities, is a far more effective job seeking strategy than throwing your resume into the internet abyss and hoping it is the last one left on the desk of a hiring manager. This scenario encapsulates the job seeking strategies from our pyramid just above internal promotions and it is where you should be investing the majority of your job searching time and energy. Conclusion So, now you know there is a better way to go about your next job search. However, there is still much more to job searching than simply building a professional network. If you now think it might be helpful to have some professional guidance in figuring out how to successfully find a job, consider booking an advising session. See what we can do for you.

By Simon Erlich Have you ever been excited to start a new job only to find out after a few months that it is not for you? Well, do not fret, you are not alone.  Discovering you are not the right fit for a job or organization is a common occurrence in job-searching, and one that can cost both you and an organization valuable time and money. However, there is an easy way to avoid this emotional rollercoaster, and that is by assessing your fit for a job before you ever begin to write an application.  Oh, and there is a big bonus to what I am about to detail for you. If you go through the process I describe below and find out you are passionate about the job, you will have set yourself up to be a prime candidate; talk about a win-win situation! Start with Self-Reflection Before you can assess whether a job is a good fit for you, you have to be self-aware of what is going to ensure you can thrive in a position. So, take a moment (or a year) to reflect on what constitutes your ideal job. Below I have listed some common indicators you may want to consider during your self-reflection:  Of course, you should definitely also consider more standard indicators of job fit, such as: pay, benefits, commute time etc. but these are the things people usually consider without thinking about the topics above. As such, do not simply dwell on these surface level indicators of fit. You will spend a significant amount of your waking time at work, so go the extra mile and really reflect on what an ideal working situation looks like for you.  Once you have taken some time to self-reflect, it is time to start assessing your fit! Do Online Research The fastest and lowest barrier way to assess your fit is to turn to our old friend, the internet, and dive into publicly available information on organizations you are interested in. I recommend starting with an organization’s “About” page and paying specific attention to sections that discuss “Why Work For Us,” “Mission,” “Vision,” “Values,” or “Culture.” These pages will provide you with a superficial glimpse of what an organization strives to publicly be. For example, see what Amazon’s “About” page looks like to get an idea of what to look for. Based on your self-reflection, do you think Amazon would be a good fit for you? Perhaps, purely based on their stated values, the answer is yes. But of course, there is more to the picture than meets the eye.  It is important to recognize that the information posted on these pages is what an organization publically strives to achieve. This is powerful because they can and should be held accountable to these statements. However, just because something is stated on an organization’s website does not necessarily make it accurate in reality. So, if you feel like your values align with what is publicly said by an organization, that is an excellent sign to dive a bit deeper into really assessing your fit! Read Available Reviews The next place to take your online sleuthing is to publicly available employer review websites. Explore what former employees have posted on sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn. If the reviews are all negative, this can be a pretty clear sign of issues within an organization. However, it is far more likely that reviews are mixed, which is more symbolic of human diversity and workplace preferences than it necessarily is about the fit of an organization for you personally. So, I recommend reading reviews with your self-reflected values in mind, and seeing if there are conflicts with your priorities. If you are interested in a collaborative workspace, and many reviews indicate that the work culture is like working in silos, you may have found a significant red flag. Depending on the context and availability, it can be prudent to explore consumer reviews of an organization as well (say, through Google). What is the public’s perception of an organization, and what are the typical problems or highlights? Evaluate if any of these reviews clash with your workplace needs. A quick note: if you have found a red flag – a clash with your workplace priorities – consider that a good thing. You may have saved yourself significant time applying, interviewing, or even starting a job you do not want to do! Time For a Coffee Chat! Unless you discovered a significant red flag in the first two steps, connecting with a current or recent employee of the organization you are interested in is by far the most effective way to assess your fit for a job.  But how do you find this person? There is a myriad of ways! The first and most impactful approach is to search within your network? Do you know any acquaintances that already work for the organization you are interested in? If so, because they know you, they are more likely to sit down for a coffee with you.  If you do not have any acquaintances working for the organization, what about through their acquaintances? Having a friend or co-worker connect you with someone in their network is likely to yield you a coffee chat because there is an established relationship of trust mediated by your mutual connection. Oh, the power of networking! However, sometimes you just do not have access to a connection at a given organization. If this is the case, not to fear, LinkedIn is here! Use LinkedIn to search the organization you are interested in working for, and you will find employees that work there. The next step is to find the best employee to talk to, which is probably someone who works in the same department or field that you are interested in. If it is a big organization, you will want to find someone who meets the above description as workplace experience can vary significantly across departments in

This article provides you with tips to succeed in your next interview.

Networking and Its Importance In Job Seeking By Simon Erlich This article discusses what networking is and why it is important For many of us, the idea of networking provokes feelings of pressure, anxiety, and discomfort. However, that doesn’t stop career professionals, business big-wigs, and just about anyone with an opinion on how to get a job from using it. So, there is obviously some merit to recommending networking despite its emotionally associated stress. If you are interested in alleviating these feelings of unease when networking or simply hoping to improve your approach, then consider booking an interview advising session with a career advisor after reading the beneficial information below. What Is Networking? Let me start by saying I detest the word networking, or at least what it has come to mean. Today, the word networking paints a picture of people thrown into a rigid social setting, wearing formal attire, and trying to engage in contrived conversations. In these situations, the apparent goal seems to be the shameless self-promotion of only one aspect of who you are, your “professional side.” No wonder it can feel unnatural and uncomfortable. However, I offer a re-frame. At its core, networking is nothing more than relationship building, and I believe that is a better word to describe it. Yes, at the end of the day you are trying to promote yourself, but that does not, and should not, mean your focus should be on forcing your business card on 100 people and only discussing what you want in your career. When we think about networking instead as relationship building, we shift the focus of the conversation away from solely one’s career goals and open it up to the possibility of connecting over anything. In other words, you can be who you really are rather than only presenting a fragmented microcosm of yourself which is the “professional you.” Let me clarify, it is important to talk about your career goals in these conversations, and in many contexts this is exactly what is expected… at some point in the conversation. You do not have to start every conversation by asking “what do you do” and then becoming disappointed when that person does work unrelated to your interests. Part of the point here is to avoid trying to engage in solely transactional conversations where other people are seen as only helpful or relevant to you if there direct line of work dictates they can help you get to where you want to go in your career. Why Is Networking Important? Now that we understand what networking is, let us discuss why it is crucial. As I mention in my article on Successful Job Searching Strategies, the majority of jobs – perhaps as high as 80% – are not found on publicly available job searching websites. Instead, they are found through – you guessed it – relationships and contacts! This informative but straightforward fact should revolutionize the way you conduct job searching and shift your focus to an approach that puts a much higher emphasis on building your professional network. When you have an extensive network of people you are confident will champion your cause, then you have a much higher likelihood of seemingly serendipitous career opportunities arising. If you have built solid relationships with people in your network and they are informed about your career goals – whether an immediate job search or future career direction – they are more likely to connect you with people and opportunities they come across in their day-to-day encounters. As I discuss in my job searching strategies article, you are far more likely to land a job with a personal referral than by throwing your application [needle] into the stack [of hay] of resumes and cover letters. A Few Tips To Get You Started Now that you understand why networking is essential, it is important to refine your approach and understand how to do it effectively in a way that best suits you and your personality. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to doing this, given the immense complexity of human personalities. To learn how to network effectively, consider booking an interview advising session with a career advisor – you will be amazed by how much you can learn in one session! Here are a few tips for those who prefer to try it alone: 1. Every interaction you have in life – whether at a networking event or on the street – has the possibility of forwarding your career, and perhaps in a direction you have not even considered. Talking to people outside of your specific field can give you perspective, so do not shy away. You also never know who is in the network of the person you are talking to! 2. Be prepared. Yes, networking is about relationship building. However, people really are at networking events to talk about careers. As such, you need to be prepared to talk about yours. Can you tell your career story in 30-60 seconds? 3. It is a two-way street. Do not go to a networking event only prepared to talk about yourself. Yes, you need to be assertive to ensure your story is heard, but it is equally important to be a good listener. Of course, this is symbolic of a good relationship. Conclusion Hopefully, by reading this article you have become more clear about what networking is, and you feel more confident heading into your next opportunity. However, to develop your personal approach to networking and learn about proven strategies, book an interview advising session and have one of our counsellors ensure you are confident and well prepared for your future interactions. It is a small investment in yourself that will last a lifetime!