Employment Searches

Employment searches   Looking for a job can be a challenging task.  It helps to have a plan for how you will search for your job.  Research shows that there are three ways people get jobs.

1. Public Agencies

Canada Employment Centers (CEC) are government run agencies that operate to help you find a job.  They match companies with job openings with job seekers.  They also provide support services related to finding jobs.  For more information check out the CEC website.

2. Newspaper Ads and Internet Searches

In newspapers you can usually find employment opportunities in the classified ads.  On the Internet you can use a search engine like Google or you find a web site that specifically lists jobs like Work BC.  If you're wondering why you might look for a job on the Internet, consider the following:

Five Reasons to use the Internet in your Job Search

Source: Career Option Magazine

3. Hidden Job Market

The hidden job market refers to personal networks, unadvertised jobs or creating your own job.  Techniques for accessing the hidden job market range from work experiences to cold calls.  Work experiences can be paid or volunteer based, but they give you an opportunity to learn about a specific job and it gives a potential employer a chance to observe your work habits and attitudes.  At the end of the work experience you leave with a better understanding of the job and maybe a potential lead for a future job.  In other words, you have extended your network.

A cold call is when you call a company you are interested in to see if they have any job openings.  Cold calls are challenging.  You have to call someone you don' t know and ask if they have a job.  You also have to be prepared for many people saying "no" .  It' s important to remember they are saying "no" because there are no jobs, not because you called them.

To help prepare for making cold calls consider the following steps:

1. Find out something about the company before calling.
2. Write a script for what you will say.
3. When you call ask for the human resources manager or the person responsible for hiring.
4. When you make contact with the appropriate person, introduce yourself and tell them why you are calling.
5. Ask them if there are any job openings.
6. If there are no openings, thank them.  If this business may be part of your future career goals you can ask the person for an informal interview and tour of the business.  This will help you learn about the company and build your network.  If a meeting is not possible, ask the person if they can recommend someone else in the same career area.