Explore career pathways
Searching for employment includes a few simple components:
The labour market
Understanding the labour market can help you make decisions about your career path, like:
Choosing an occupation – If you’re going to spend time and money preparing for an occupation, it’s worthwhile to do some labour market research about it before you make a commitment. What is a typical day on the job like? How good are the employment prospects? What is the average salary range?
Identifying training and education programs – What credentials are employers looking for? Which schools offer the programs you’re interested in? Labour market information will help you make a wise choice.
Tapping into the hidden job market – Labour market information can help you access the 80% of jobs that aren’t advertised. For example, if you learn that a specific industry is expected to grow in the near future, you can focus your job search on employers in that industry.
Armed with labour market information, you’ll be better equipped to make effective choices about work opportunities and career directions. No one can predict the future but labour market information can help you prepare to succeed, whatever it brings.
Target positions
Identify positions to target by doing your research. How well informed are you about the field you wish to enter?
- Look up companies online (their focus/mandate/mission, who’s expanding/who’s shrinking), trends, new developments, current literature, etc.
- Who are the experts? (try the industry or professional association, academic supervisor, etc.)
- Who has funding in your area of interest (e.g. research)?
- Which specific employers do you wish to target? Do they have competitors?
- Blend hard info (e.g. online research) with soft info (e.g. info interviews).
- Determine company size (start up, small, mid, or large corporation)
- Find a work environment that suits your style
- Decide where in the world you want to work
Employment search Resources
Twenty percent of jobs are found online and eighty percent through networking so maximize your time spent online by setting time limits, apply don’t scroll, and be active on social media.
Job boards for students and recent graduates:
Networking
The art of connecting with people to build relations. Connect with people you know and those you want to meet to gather information about your industry and possible opportunities. The intent of networking is not to get a job but rather to gather information and resources that will lead to a position.
There are several different ways to network:
- Social media such as LinkedIn
- Attending industry nights
- Conducting informational interviews
- Career fairs
- Meeting employers on campus
Utilize your network by fostering the relationship, sharing information, and asking for referrals. Continue building the relationship once you secure employment by embedding networks in the work you do.
Social media
Employers use social media to recruit and research potential candidates therefore creating a professional online presence is important and can work to your advantage. In order to maximize the use of online profiles they need to be completely populated.
Deciding what social media platforms to use will depend on your industry but we will explore the most common ones and how to use them.
- LinkedIn: Connects you to people, industry, and employment. Populate your profile, keep it professional, and make it public.
- Twitter: Connects you to employers in real time. Use your full name as your Twitter handle and get noticed by tweeting information about your industry.
- Blogging: Spark can employers interest about your area of expertise. Blogging demonstrates your communication and industry engagement.
