Online job search is the norm. Check out our tips for using online resources to help you get noticed by employers in a competitive marketplace.

Sometimes it is difficult trying to figure out what employers are looking for. How often should they be contacted? What information are they looking for? What factors will make me look like the most suitable candidate? We have highlighted a list of the recommendations, taken directly from our Career Week 2017 Employer Panel, to help address some of the common questions.

Many of us have dealt with career-related losses in our work life. Whether it is from a company downsizing, business closure, workplace termination or a failed business venture, the need to regroup and start over again can be daunting. The workingcentre.org highlights information on the Job Loss Cycle in their article, Job Loss – stages of Grieving. When you find yourself experiencing denial and isolation, anger, bargaining/desperation, depression and acceptance, it is important to recognize that these are all natural stages and reactions associated with the loss of your employment situation. Everyone responds to job loss in a different manner.

You have applied to all relevant online postings – now what?  10 Strategies for Finding Jobs in the Hidden Market

The gig economy is not new, but it is gaining in popularity.  The reasons for its growth according to a June 2018 US based Forbes article(1) are:

• There is a growing “education gap”.
• Attitudes toward work are changing.Workers want more freedom with their schedules, and work location.
• Employers are utilizing freelancers more often due to cost savings.
• Technology has advanced, and costs have come down making hardware, software and connectivity more affordable.

There is something about the month of September...warmer clothes, cooler nights, leaves changing and students returning to school. While many parents and students grapple with the challenges of online and in-class learning options, it is inevitable that students of all ages will learn more about both subject material and how to navigate distance education platforms. Yet back to school is not just a term for children, youth, and young adults. Newcomers, career changers, job seekers, and the under-employed can take advantage of numerous online learning experiences as well, some of which may even be free.

As an Employment Counsellor, a major part of my job is coaching people on job interviews. I have the benefit, in this job, of having personally been in more job interviews than most people will in a life time. When I was younger, I worked as a seasonal labourer and had to find a new job every winter when I got laid off from my summer gig. Over the years I have worked in customer service roles, print production, restaurants, general labour, in education, publicity and, even for a little while, as a junior forest ranger. Interviewing has just always been a part of my life. Over the years I have learned five reasonably simple things that have had a major impact on my interview skills. Doing these things won’t be a complete substitute for good preparation, but if practiced as part of your interview prep they can give you much more control over interview situations.

When a job ad says the organization prioritizes applications from underrepresented groups (and lists them), should you identify that you are a part of any/some of those groups in your application? What about in the case of disabilities including mental illness?
The problem with self-disclosure even in instances where companies are striving to use more equitable hiring practices, is that employers can appear to, and even believe that they are satisfying their mandate to hire diverse employees while still discriminating by choosing among "preferred” barriers to employment.