How to 'land'​ a job in a very competitive economy

I graduated from the University of Toronto in 2007, full of hopes, dreams and sadly, unrealistic expectations. Armed with a major in Philosophy and minors in History and Political Science, I was fully expecting that I would be offered a lucrative position in no time. In fact, I was convinced that the money I had spent on my education warranted a high paying position.

Unfortunately reality set in. I applied to more than 200 jobs and was not receiving any calls. Mind you, this was in 2008 and the recession had just started in Canada. I was becoming increasingly disheartened and could not understand how someone from U of T could not get a job when people who barely had half of my academic qualifications were thriving professionally. One of the reasons I was not getting called was due to my lack of work experience. My resume had “education” but no internships and aside from working at my parent’s business, I had no other work experience to use in my resume.

There were other problems:

1. Have realistic expectations: I suffered from a common belief that all University graduates are desired commodities and I should have been more realistic about my expectations. It is important to do your market research and see what is a realistic starting salary for whatever position you apply for. Also note that geography determines how much you make. People working in suburbia earn less than those working in major cities.
2. Do not be married to the city you live in: I only wanted to work locally and would not even apply for any roles downtown Toronto. I changed my view on that pretty quickly after realizing that I had to branch out to maximize the opportunities that are available to me.
3. Do not underestimate your work experience: I thought that managing my parent’s drycleaners was not relevant but it actually taught me so many valuable skills such as time management, working in a fast-paced work environment, handling multiple priorities, teamwork, and customer service.

If you have ever worked at a McDonald's, Tim Horton’s, Home Depot etc., please DO NOT discount that experience. As a recruiter I see that as being extremely valuable and worth mentioning on your resume. Very few people have experience working as an Engineer right after graduating (unless you take part in a co-op program) so we look at part-time work and volunteer work to gain a better sense of who you are.

Please take part in a coop program so that you can gain work experience while you are studying. You will be able to better understand what you do and do not enjoy doing at work.

4. Google yourself: What kind of content appears? Does the content portray an accurate picture of who you are? Follow these tips to ensure your content is professional:

• Do not be sloppy on social media.
• Manage your brand by ensuring that the cyber-information paints a positive picture of who you are.
• Manage your privacy settings.
• Maintain a professional presence on LinkedIn. Use a good headshot and complete your info on LinkedIn. It is never too early to create a LinkedIn account. As you progress in your educations and or career, add the information to your profile.

5. If you do nothing else, please DO the following!!

Create a professional email address when applying for jobs. Using an email such as “daredevil99” or “flycutie” will only garner laughter and will not get you a job. It is not professional and employers are looking for people who understand the importance of professionalism.

Check your EMAIL daily. You have the capability of checking your email on your smartphone. There are NO excuses for not replying back to a recruiter in a timely manner. If you can’t even check your email at home when you are not working, how will you respond to our customers once you are hired.

I hope these tips help you get one step closer to your future career!