Good Afternoon Sexy Readers!
The end of winter is drawing ever closer, and hunting season is about to open up across much of Ontario and the rest of Canada and U.S. Though some of you dislike the practices that come with the soon to open season, it is never too late to start learning the skills required and the tools of the trade. No matter who you are, from the most experienced veteran, to the newest newbie, there are always new skills to pick up. This is especially important for some of the graduating class, who will soon find themselves out in the world abroad fending for themselves once again. I’m talking about job hunting. Yes yes, anyone can track a deer or moose through the forest, it comes naturally to most, but hunting for jobs can be especially difficult for people who have never seen the outside of the University. Today though, I’m going to focus less on the interview skills and more specifically about how to actually find jobs.
Hunting for jobs on Jobmine is like hunting in a game preserve or zoo. The jobs are fluffed up, specialized, and there are very few of them with a lot of visitors trying to get in on the action. The real world job hunt is a lot more like being a character with no lines in Jurassic park (after all the power goes out and the raptors escape) where at every turn you wait for your turn to get devoured, and only the main characters will get to face off against the giant T-rex. The point I’m trying to make, is that you can’t just look for the big players when you’re looking for jobs, and you can’t wait for jobs to come to you. Sure, everyone wants to work at Gigahard or Orange or Wasazon*, but these companies make up only a small part of the potential home you will make for yourself in the future. So, where do you go? That’s a pretty good question!
There are a number of skills you can use to find places to work, and I’m going to warn you, Googling ‘places to work in X’ is not among them. The first and foremost lesson, is that most people don’t hunt alone. You must use your networks of family, friends, grandparents, co-workers, teachers and even people you meet on the bus to help you find jobs. It never hurts to ask ‘hey, do you know anyone working in ___’, because it works. Your parents know more people than you would guess. The next tip: knowing what you want. Figure out what you like and make sure you narrow your search to what you want. There’s no point in looking at manufacturing jobs if you want to do R&D. It’s a waste of effort. Next, expand your hunting ground. You tried using Jobmine. You tried Google. You even asked your parents. So now what? 90% of the private sector is private for a reason, and you can’t find hide nor hair of them online. Well that’s where print comes in. Yes, actual real paper with ink on it. Use the newspaper classifieds, companies you hear about in your favourite magazines, and investor listings to check out what companies there are hidden. Tech listings and city listings of local companies can also yield sweet results (heck, even a phone book can hide a piece of gold). Any company trading on the stock market has an identifier, use it to find them. This may shock you, but not all of the world lives on the interwebs. Suit up and go to a job fair (these are also listed in newspapers), but don’t plan to get hired on the spot. Use the opportunity to collect company information, and take down names of important contacts. Browse patent office websites and check for patents on things you find interesting. Find out who holds it, and see if they are worth taking a look at. Finally (and notice where this is in priority), sign up for some online job listing sites like talentegg.ca or engineerjobs.com. These sites periodically update with important info, and can be a source for many small companies. They should not be your only source. Your primary search engine should be your own brain and motivation.
That’s enough for now my Sexy Readers. It’s tough to pack more than that into such a small space. Just remember, the jobs are out there, but simply believing won’t bring them to you.
Until next time,
Stay Sexy
*names have been changed to protect the innocent.
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