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Career Development
Where to Look for Your
Next Job
Networking
Assessing & Planning
Typing Tests
Assessing & Planning
You know it. It's time
for a new career. Whether you've only recently decided to find a
new occupation or you've been casually hunting for years, it's time to
take action.
If you're heading out of
university with no experience, facing a serious disability, trying to
raise a child, or struggling to learn English or French in a new
country, starting a new job search may seem daunting, exhausting, even
frightening.
But the situation need not
be discouraging.
With proper planning, hard
work, attention to detail, and, yes, a bit of luck, you should be on a
promising career path in no time. The key to success is making a
good start: pinpointing what you want and determining the steps you need
to take to achieve your goal.
Get
online ...
The truth is, an enormous
amount of career information is available online. Virtually every
modern industry has a slew of sites devoted to it, many with detailed
facts and employee testimonials. Are you technologically
illiterate? No matter. Even if you don't know the difference
between a URL and a USB, it's a good idea to book an appointment at an
employment agency or with your school's career counsellor. They're
there to help you through it all, including navigating the digital maze.
... but
don't get bogged down.
While online research can
provide plenty of background information, it doesn't show the whole
picture. There's more to career research than words on a screen
(or on paper). You might want to explore alternative means of
investigating whether a certain career path is right for you. Even
something as simple as testing out a hypothetical job routine -- for
example, trying out a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call or spending the entire day
crunching numbers -- can be an awesome way to gauge if a certain career
is for you.
Get out
there ...
A hands-on approach to
occupational study is almost always the best way to see if a particular
industry is for you. Go talk to employers and workers in an
industry you're interested in, and check out what it's all about.
Say you're interested in becoming a surveyor. Establish contact
with some contractors or foremen, preferably (but not necessarily)
someone with whom you already have some sort of contact. Offer to
buy the person a coffee so the two of you can discuss the nuts and bolts
of the industry. While this approach may seem intimidating or
presumptuous, more often than not employers are receptive to the
questions of newcomers; after all, you may be the future of their
industry. Just remember to work around their schedules, and not to
take it personally if they're too busy to fit you in right away.
... but
don't get discouraged.
Even if you've never had a
meaningful job, there's no need to panic as you explore possible job
paths. Industry inexperience is far more common than you may think
it is. There's no need to lose hope. A lack of experience
can be compensated for by upgrading your education or volunteering for a
local non-profit organization. Also, there are some
government-sponsored wage subsidies available for employers who hire
inexperienced workers, making it an appealing option for many companies.
Your local
career centre should be able to provide you with more information on
such programs. All in all, a visit to a career centre is a good
idea. You may be surprised at how far simply having someone listen
to your career hopes (or even confusion) will help to make the way
forward clearer, and will help to keep your spirits up.
Diversity Canada's
Employers Want YOU
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