Some ideas of what to do when you have the education, but lack experience.

You did it! You graduated and after some blood, sweat and tears, you received a certificate, diploma or degree. You may have thought that your education alone would get you the job, yet now that you are ready to join the workforce in your chosen profession, you have encountered a bump in the road…..all the jobs posted require one or more years of experience, and to add to your worry, no one has contacted you for an interview.

Before, I share some ideas of how to overcome this obstacle, I would like to share with you a valuable piece of advice I once received, that once I heard it, it made perfect sense on a great way to look at and handle challenges. The advice the wise woman shared was simple: “take a deep breath and breath!” You can’t eat the elephant whole in one bite. You can only eat it, one bite at a time.” To this day, I still remember her words to keep perspective and avoid situations where I may be acting more like a dog chasing its own tail!

In order to prevent yourself from what may feel like is the equivalent to chasing your own tail, it is important to start with knowing what key skills employers are expecting from post-secondary graduates. Understanding this is the key to your self-assessment, direction and job search strategy. Post-secondary graduates are expected to have abilities in complex problem solving, critical thinking, people management, creativity, judgment and decision-making. Think about your life experiences, what you learned in school or during your practicum, and think about how you have demonstrated those skills. Here is a tip: Volunteer experience counts too!

To get started you should gain about as much knowledge of the places you want to apply to as possible. There are companies out there that do an AMAZING job of communicating their work culture, values and mission. I once stumbled upon an architectural company’s website, and after reading the information they posted, I became excited, and wanted to apply for an architectural intern position posted in their careers section. There was just one problem – I do not have a degree in architecture! What I am trying to say, is that taking the time to learn about a company, can be engaging and inspiring, you may be able to get a “feel” of their work culture, and also helps you to answer the question of “why should we hire you,” for example. Your efforts will show initiative, critical thinking and a genuine interest in working for the company. Doing the research will help you make a plan, know what to write in your cover letter, and as noted above, prepare for an interview.

Should I include entry-level work experience on my resume?

I would like to address what seems to be a bit of a misconception that having entry-level work experience (retail, hospitality, general labourer, etc.) on your resume will hurt your chances of getting a job in your chosen profession. The good news is that it absolutely will not. Do not overlook or underestimate the importance of entry-level jobs, even in an entry-level position, how well employees perform in those roles can have an effect on the success of the company. Employers recognize the skill and character development gained from successfully performing tasks and handling responsibilities. What you learn on the job develops different skills, then what you learn in school. On the job work experience is not irrelevant and can demonstrate your ability to show up on time, work diligently throughout your shift, ability and desire to work as a team, communications, customer service, time management, even problem solving to name a few. Did you just note that I listed some skills that you can add to your resume? Skills, including interpersonal skills and ability to perform job tasks will get you the job – does your resume reflect that? How well did you read the job ad and research the company to make sure you are demonstrating what is relevant to the potential employer, in your resume? Think of your resume as proof that you possess required skills.

But I don’t have any work experience. Now What?

Qualifications are not measured solely in number of years, so don’t panic. Rather than playing the waiting game to be hired, try a different way to gain rich experience and demonstrate your knowledge and work ethic. Some ideas can include making an impact on your resume by showing you are results oriented and take initiative. How? Sharing goals you set for yourself and the steps you took to get there, such as taking additional training to minimize skill gaps; learning code, mastering social media marketing. If, for example, you want to pursue a career as a fashion designer, building relationships with designers, retailers and PR executives is very important. Perhaps you can put your social media skills to good use and start a blog. There has been an increase in people starting their own clothing lines and promoting them on social media, building their own websites to sell their products online. Another example you could use is talking about a time you volunteered to manage a project no one else wanted to work on, or about stepping up to help complete someone else’s work to meet a deadline or just to get the job done, etc. This demonstrates to the employer, determination and foreseeing what it takes to achieve results, to name a few.

Instead of breaking down the doors, try using the handle.

Volunteering can help to get a better inside view. If you have not already done so, think about your career objective; now think about places where you can volunteer to get experience. Even seasoned professionals had to start somewhere, and I highly doubt they started at the top. Volunteering, and let’s not forget internships, both present a perfect opportunity to get your whole body in the door and make meaningful connections, while gaining experience, and demonstrating your abilities and willingness to learn. Why go through the effort of breaking down the door, when you can just walk through it? I cannot stress enough how important it is to really take the time to reflect on these areas. Taking the time to do this will help you develop and implement a plan that allows you to continue to grow and help narrow the “lack of experience” gap. This could be a crucial step to ensuring you are able to achieve your ultimate goal. I have had conversations with individuals who got their degree, but ended up going in a different direction because they lacked “experience” and since bills do not go away and a roof over ones head is always nice, they took jobs that did not relate to their degree and soon after, life happened and they stopped pursuing their profession. This is not the end of the world, but if before you know it, five or so years have gone by, you may have compounded the problem. Speaking of bills, if you need to take a different kind of job, do not feel bad, but try to find an entry-level position within your field of study that may provide opportunities for making connections aka, networking, or at least something that will offer you transferrable skills to add to your resume. Remember that volunteering allows for some flexibility so that you can still work, while keeping your eye on the prize.

Already volunteering? Great, but don’t stop there!

Another way to try to make meaningful connections is by attending networking events for professionals in your field. Currently we are in the middle of a pandemic, but all is not lost, do some research, look-up- companies and associations, for example, and see what professionals are doing to stay connected; are there any online webinars or networking events you can attend? How about an online Job Fair? This could be a great way to reach out and connect with other professionals.

Ugh! Is it really necessary, to network?

The short answer is yes, it is. If the word “network” suddenly made you feel like there is giant elephant sitting on your chest, don’t worry, we have two workshops designed to teach you how to network like a pro: Branding Yourself and Informational Interviews. Here is another quick tip: when you are conducting informational interviews, you are networking, and you are humbly in the driver’s seat, asking the right questions to get advice on how you can achieve your career goal. The good news is that it does not have to be anything complicated or overly involved. If you are not feeling as confident as you usually feel, and are at a low point in your job search, our Self-Care for Job Search workshop, can help a great deal in overcoming the job search blues and give you a renewed hope and self-confidence.

If you need ideas of different resources you can use for research, help with networking and interviewing call us at (204) 989-6503. Our workshops will help to ensure you can articulate your goal, sound professional and prepare for interviews. We would love to share some helpful tips to help you on your journey.

Figuring out what to do in terms of work can be a daunting and seemingly overwhelming task, one which is made much easier with some help. Here at OVRC, we have a wonderful crew of career professionals ready to assist you, every step of the way.

As one of the career counsellors at OVRC, my job is to help people answer the age old question “what do I want to be (or do) when I grow up?”, whether they are students starting out or retirees still wanting to make a contribution, or any one at any stage of their working life. There are many tools and techniques that can be used to help answer this all important question. Today I thought I would share with you a simple and fun one* that you can do yourself to “get the ball rolling”.

Start by writing out a description of your ideal work day. This is purely an exercise of the imagination and it works best if you imagine you have a magic wand and you can wave away any concerns about money, time, what various people in your life think or expect. In effect, if you could simply do what it is you would like to be doing for work without any other responsibilities…what would it be?

Dream Big!

Remember, this is your Ideal Work Day: describe what you are doing, where you are doing it. For example: “I’m sitting at my desk in a fancy high rise office building in downtown, helping people achieve their financial goals”. Using as much detail as possible, describe what your physical space looks like: “My office has wall to ceiling windows with loads of sunshine and a stunning view of the sky”. What are the specific tasks you are doing “I am analyzing financial market reports, collating the data and preparing reports for my team of financial advisors”. Who you are interacting with (or not!) and how: “I spend my mornings researching and interpreting data from numerous sources, I use my lunch hour to connect and network with clients at a 5-star restaurant nearby, I enjoy working my way through the excellent menu with one new spectacular dish each day (remember this is “Magic Wand time”!). “My afternoon is spent in meetings and dialogue with my cracker jack team, inspiring them to keep being the number one financial advising team in the country!”

Plan Your Path

Once you have this marvelous fantasy all written out, take a fresh piece of paper and across the top write 3 column headings: Essential (what you can’t live without) Optimal (would be nice but not a deal breaker) Pure fun (the “icing on the cake” stuff). Now go through your story & place each element of it in its proper column.

Going through this exercise usually distills what you need to the essential nuggets…what feeds your spirit and soul; the stuff that motivates you, drives you forward. Next step? Now comes all the fun of exploring how to create a career path that incorporates the essential bits, some of the optimal bits and maybe an “icing on the cake” bit or two as well. After all, isn’t that sometimes the best part of the cake?

If you would like some help with figuring out “what next?” in your career, call us at OVRC (204-989-6503) and book an appointment with one of our Career Counsellors, either Kristina Lonstrup or myself, and we’d be happy to give you a hand. We would love to be your guide as you explore your career path and plot your next best future! Our services are free and we are all set up for virtual appointments.
Happy dreaming!

Laurie Sutherland, Career Counsellor/Facilitator OVRC
*adapted from Barbara Sher’s book “Wishcraft, How to Get What You Really Want”

Covid-19 Blog Edition (Bonus Round Two)

Greetings fellow earthlings! ‘Tis I, Betty, your friendly neighborhood Employment Facilitator here with some more tips about staying positive during a pandemic job search! snorts at self

Anyway, aside from the total Shakespeare moment up there, hopefully you’re staying safe and following all the public health guidelines. Now that we’re back in a lockdown sighs heavily job search just got way more aggravating again, didn’t it?

I want to talk about a couple of things that have been coming up over the past two or three months that I think are important in terms of maintaining a sense of perspective.

Adjust Expectations

Many of my clients are super frustrated that they’re applying but not getting interviews at a ratio they think “should be” happening. There are two separate issues here, so as they say, let’s unpack that.

The first issue is what kind of throughput you should be expecting. We tell people, even in a NORMAL job market (which this totally is NOT) to expect interviews anywhere from every five to fifteen applications, depending if they’re using a tailored cover letter and how closely qualified they are.

I’m getting folks who, in a PANDEMIC, are mad because they’re only getting interviews every three to five applications they send. Wait, what? You’re doing better than 75% of the population as it is. Just take a breath and know that you’re doing better than okay. Even at one in ten, you’re doing respectably.

If you’ve sent a hundred resumes and gotten crickets, it could be your resume. It could be your cover letter. Heck, it could be your industry! For some strange reason, there isn’t a lot of demand for food and beverage servers right now as an obvious example. chuckle But a lot of industries are struggling, not just hospitality. Admin work and managerial work seem to have been particularly gutted for some reason, so it likely isn’t you. Nobody ever likes being told to be patient, but sometimes that’s all it is.

Also remember, the hiring process just developed a gajillion new safety protocols and challenges, so employers are taking a lot longer than normal to even get back to people. Having to write job ads by Zoom meeting is absolutely not fun. Not every potential applicant has a computer or access to the Internet, much less a “quiet” space in their house. Trying to interview by phone with two kids doing schoolwork and a barking dog in the background seems frustrating. What if the HR Assistant working from home runs out of ink and can’t print anything? Of such things are recruiting nightmares made.

Celebrate What You Can Control

The second issue – and the more IMPORTANT one - is that you’re defining success by a metric over which you have absolutely ZERO practical control, and that’s whether or not they call you back.

You can have the best pitch in the world with the most amazing skills match and still not get called. Maybe they decided to fill internally. Maybe they decided they don’t really need to spend that money right now because, pandemic. Maybe there’s some weird political thing internally you have zero clue about that means they didn’t pick you. I constantly remind people that you have no idea what is going on behind that curtain; and there is no point working yourself into a froth over it.

One of my mentors, Ron Bartlette, used to have an expression, “celebrate the small victories”. When I’m in job search, personally, I try to celebrate the things I have ACTUAL control over:

Did I apply for the job? Yay, me. Did I research the company so I can write the cover letter? Yay, me. Did I screw up my courage and ask for that informational interview? Yay, me. Did I add some more companies to my target list today? Yay, me. Did I contribute to a discussion on Linked In within my professional wisdom? Yay, me. Did I attend the online workshop at OVRC to improve my job search skills? Yay, me.

All of these things are choices I can make that I have control over, and these are what I should celebrate. These are the “small victories” Ron was talking about. In approaching the job search this way, you will feel much less frustration and anger, because you will be focusing on your own actions, not other people’s actions. It seems a little silly, but it WILL make a difference.

Need help with tailoring your cover letter or resume? We’re still here and we can meet with you by phone or videoconferencing, so just give us a call. Call our reception line at 204-989-6503 for details and to book an appointment. Did your job disappear again with the new restrictions? This might be a great time to do some career counselling and make a change into work that will be more rewarding.

Workshops, Betty? Did you say workshops? Why yes, in December 2020 we are running THREE different virtual workshops on Zoom: Standard Interview Questions (Dec 8), Branding Yourself (Dec 11), and Self-Care for Job Search (Dec 16). Check our website for details and call 204-989-6503 to register as space is limited.

Stay safe out there and be gentle with yourself.

Hi. John Perry here. I have decided to come up with some quick tips on ways to be successful on a Telephone Interview, since many people may never have done one before…

1. The first thing that comes to mind, especially on a cell phone, is to make sure you have good reception for your phone call. Pick the room in your home with the best reception if you are using a cell. If you are on a landline, pick a room with a door you can close to keep out distractions and other noise.
2. Answer the telephone within two to three rings. Greet the interviewer in a positive and professional manner. “Hello, John speaking…”
3. Body language and posture can also have an effect on your voice so sit up straight or take the call standing, and remember to smile!
4. Think about the pace of your answers… You will be nervous and may find yourself talking quickly. Walk around while you talk on the phone, this will help you slow down and feel more at ease. Keep your notes handy to refer to if you have them.
5. Focus on the interviewer. Just because they can’t see you, don’t be distracted by emails, or drinking tea, etc. You can let the interviewer know you are interested by giving reassuring signs when they are talking such as “I see”, “yes”, and/or “okay” etc.
6. At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for their time, and let them know you enjoyed the interview, restate your interest in the role and ask what the next steps are.
7. Follow-up the telephone interview, by sending a thank you email the same day.

By Lisa Elmhurst - Employment Facilitator

Often I have had conversations with clients who did not realize how much information and time it takes to develop a strong well written resume that highlights your relevant skills in a clear, concise way.

Unless you already have a strong resume that clearly demonstrates your relevant background and education for the job, more than 20 minutes will be required. Expect your appointment to take approximately an hour and a half to two hours. This is because the Employment Facilitator will need to take some time to get to know your work self and therefore, will need to ask questions about your work and volunteer history as well as education and training. This is an important step in assessing what does and does not need to be added to your resume.

Equally important are discussing your job/career goals. “Anything” is not a job title and it does not describe what industry you want to work in or what kind of work you want to do. The skills required for a Carpenter are very different to the skills required to be a Health Care Aide, for example (yes, I have had clients with skills and training in two very different employment fields). If you do not have a reasonably clear career goal, or at least a sense of the industry you would like to work in, it is very difficult for us to assess what is relevant and put what is needed in the resume. Your relevant strengths, skills, attributes, and education will be different based on the kind of work you are applying for.

Remember that your resume cannot be longer than two pages, so how can you possibly ensure that all of your best skills and attributes are reflected, without overwhelming or maybe even frustrating your potentially new boss? Research shows that managers spend approximately 30 seconds to three minutes reviewing a resume, which is all the more reason to put only what is relevant to the position you are applying for.

To maximize your resume appointment, be prepared to discuss (without having to guess) the following information to save time (it is helpful to write it down):

1. Employment | Volunteer | Education | Training Dates: The month and year of your start and end dates of the last 15 years of your work (if you have lived long enough to have worked that long).
2. Names: Proper names of places you worked, training institutes, courses/programs, job/volunteer titles, workshops, online training, etc.
3. Computer Programs | Equipment | Heavy Equipment | Tools | Machinery | Vehicles
4. The Extras: Have you participated in or been a part of planning any small or large projects or events, served on any committees, or have any professional memberships?
5. Accomplishments Big or Small: Improvements that benefited the company, customers, clients, patients,
   or yourself?
6. Quantifying and qualifying your accomplishments or responsibilities is a great way to demonstrate value to the employer
7. Let’s talk about sales: Did you meet or exceed goals or targets? By how much? How often? Percentages are good to keep track of without giving away personal financial information of the company you worked for.
8. Lastly, discussing your daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. Maybe your responsibilities do not change from day to day or month to month. That is ok.

The goal of the appointment is to show your abilities and describe what valuable contributions you can make to your new boss, so the easier it is for you to recall important information, the easier it will be for the Employment Facilitator to most accurately describe you on paper.

I hope this information is helpful and will help you to make the most out of your resume appointment. We book resume appointments on a weekly basis. If you would like to book one, call the centre on Monday mornings by 8:00 am. If you get our voicemail, please leave a message with your name and phone number so we can call you back. We would love to assist you with showcasing your best you!

Written By: Lianne Stephensen – Career Counsellor and Workshop Facilitator – Osborne Village Resource Centre

As a Career Counselor, I see many people in career transition at different stages of their life who need assistance with job search. As someone who has changed careers several times, I have come to know the importance of developing an effective job search plan. Many times with clients, that I see, what is often neglected, is how they are managing the difficulties of the typical process of job search itself. Being through job search and career changes numerous times, I can fully understand the frustration and fear around interviewing and not getting the job or the disappointment and the financial burden of being out of work. In all honesty, if I could tell my 20 something year old self what my 40 something year old self knows now, my career path would probably have been much different. Having said that, I gained so much perspective and knowledge that I now use when assisting clients in the same situation I was and so there was definitely a reason for the career path that I call my life.

Here are my Top 7 Tips to Developing an Effective Job Search Plan

1. Determining Your Why

Searching for a new job is almost a full-time job, as it takes hard work, time and commitment to succeed. The last thing you want to do is to send out hundreds of resumes and wait for a reply that may never come. What I often recommend to clients is how important it is to be organized right from the start. In today’s fiercely competitive market, you need to have a strategic plan for your job search before you actually begin, from where to look, to identifying the specific kind of roles you want to apply for. Are you looking for a new job because you hate your current field of work or is it because you have become so good at your job that you no longer feel challenged in the role you are currently in and need to step up and find something more stimulating?

There are a lot of really good books out there on finding your ideal career to help you figure out what you want to do. At the very least, you should know which fields or industries you are interested in, and what types of positions you are suitable for. In addition, you want to have variety in the types of job search activities you are doing such as networking, interview practice as well as different job search strategies to help you find the job you love perhaps a lot sooner and with greater success.

Some job search techniques include prioritizing tasks, creating a target network list, researching companies, applying only to relevant jobs, and ensuring you fit in adequate breaks and variety in job search activities.

2. Understand the Realities of The New Workforce

The permanent job, for the most part, is becoming harder and harder to come by. There has been a large increase in contract, temporary, and part-time work over the years with entrepreneurship on the rise. For these reasons, self-awareness, self-esteem, flexibility, and creativity are more important than ever. People must assume responsibility for their own lives and financial planning. Lifelong learning and constant retraining is essential for workers of all ages. In order to continue to be successful, workers will need to continually prepare for the next level of technology. For each individual, changing careers several times during their work lives will still be the norm, and so will the need to have a “portfolio of skills, “which can be marketed in different places.

In summary, as a job seeker you need to be open to change, be willing to retrain, and stay informed about new and emerging work trends.

3. Reframing Your Perspective by Developing a Growth Mindset

Some people get upset when they have lulls in their job search simply because they did not expect them. This is not pessimistic; it is realistic. There will always be times when someone will not get back to you, networking meetings will not go well, and you do not know what to do next. What I often tell clients is inevitably you will be rejected from jobs, you will not get the interview or it will take longer than it should. The trick is being able to make peace with all this by recognizing in advance that setbacks are normal. Strategize and plan for ways to remember this and comfort yourself when you are in a middle of a setback. You can write down your top ideas for example in a job journal to remind yourself of them or post positive affirmations in your office to help you to stay encouraged and motivated.

People often think that skills like networking, interviewing, and negotiating are innate, but this perspective could not be further from the truth.

Just learning anything in life, from how to make homemade bread, to training for a marathon, job search skills are learned – and require lots of practice to become proficient. For example, your first networking calls may be a bit awkward or you may sound overly rehearsed in your first interviews. That is okay and very normal. You will only get better with time and sufficient practice. I know as I have been there myself and have seen many of my clients improve with additional knowledge and practice.

Another tip I teach in my workshops and one-on-one appointments to individuals is that it is important to pay attention to your thoughts and that instead of having a “fixed” mindset you want to develop a “growth” mindset.

The beauty of a growth mindset is that anyone can adopt it any time; you do not have to buy anything or spend years learning the concept. It is simply a choice and change in your perspective– and something you can start doing right now to start building resilience. It takes some effort, but it is worth it as it enables you to be more positive, hopeful, and flexible in your thoughts and actions.

When you are disappointed by something, instead of getting upset (which is natural), ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” You can also experiment with challenging yourself with the question, “Why is this actually the best thing for me?”

4. Surround Yourself with Supportive People

This can be a formal or informal group of other job seekers. It should also include your family and friends. People are much more resilient when they have support from others. Family, friends, other job seekers, and our staff at OVRC can all help you be much more resilient and provide the support and the encouragement you need, particularly when times get tough like when you did not get job offer you wanted .

5. Set Up Small Wins

Are you better at research than writing cover letters? Do some research before starting your cover letter to prime your mind for success. Then do some research after spending time on the cover letter to reward yourself. Prefer networking? Schedule one to three networking meetings a week. Fill your time with valuable activities that you enjoy. Emphasize the ones you like more and use them strategically to help you feel successful. The momentum you gain from that will help you carry you forward.

6. Being Brave Means Being Vulnerable

You will never know how something will go unless you try. Even if it is small steps that make you, uncomfortable such as panel interviews or setting up an informational interview with someone. You cannot learn from that which you do not know. In my Effective Job Search Planning workshop, I teach participants how to develop SMART goals, which refer to: Specific, Meaningful, Actionable, Relevant, and Timebound. This form of goal setting method has been around for many years and is easy to learn and incorporate into your job search. By developing SMART goals, it will enable you to be more specific and allow for clearer direction. Your goals can be daily, weekly or monthly if you like that you can write down and later assess how you are doing and whether you need to make any adjustments or changes along the way. An example of a SMART goal could include, “I will network or message 3-6 people on Linked In in my industry in the next two weeks.”

Creating goals also gives you the motivation to step outside your comfort zone and write down that which you want to achieve. For those of us who are visual learners, this can also be an empowering way to move actions from thought, to written word, which will hopefully lead to a desired outcome. It does not have to be something big. The key is to remember that just taking one small step, no how matter how big, is a STEP. An action that you may have been too afraid to take before, but now you have. Check in with yourself after you have completed it and ask yourself, how did that make you feel? What went well or what are you willing to do next time? Keep challenging yourself to move forward!

7. Prioritize the Things You Love in Life During Your Search

There is one more very important thing you need to remember to do during your job search. That is to prioritize activities you love to do!

Since job searching can be extremely stressful, making time for self-care is very important! I know for me, when I was in job search mode, I would often try to go to the local Y and participate in a deep-water aqua class two or three times per week. I loved having that routine in the morning and being able to socialize with others and feel good doing something healthy for my body and mind. I would then continue with my job search afterwards feeling renewed and energized.

Incorporating in a fun activity instead of say hopping online and searching non-stop for jobs for four hours can help bring perspective, balance, and joy into your life. It will also allow you to manage your time and energy better. Other examples could include spending time with family, running, yoga, hiking, or anything else that you really like that maybe you have or have not included as part of your self-care routine!
In summary, job seekers can improve the time they spend finding work, by being more organized and more productive. The general rule is to get specific as to what are the areas of your job search that are going well and not so well. Are you scheduling breaks, self-care, time out to recharge and rejuvenate your mind and body? Looking for jobs is still hard work, however, the way we approach it in a more efficient and positive manner can make a world of difference! The key thing to remember is that we can all learn to improve our capacity to find work more effectively and creating a job search action plan that works!

References:
Hund, Heather (2018). Art of Job Search: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding a Job You Love.
Graham, S. (2018). The Canadian Career Strategist: CCS eGuide. Toronto: Career Professionals of Canada.

By Betty Punkert, Employment Facilitator/Computer Instructor

Reinventing yourself can be hard. Changing careers (or even figuring out what you want to be) can be a real struggle for people. Many times, my clients are overwhelmed with possibility and feel paralyzed, unsure of which direction to go. I’m not a career counsellor, but I’ve found a few really simple questions you can ask yourself when you’re assessing a career to get the options down to a manageable size:

1) Can I make progress on this career goal in a year or less?

Is there a goal or two that you can make some progress on in the next year? Can you sign up for a class or some volunteer work? Can you do some research to either confirm or eliminate it? When all of our goals are ten to twenty years away, that is too fuzzy to really get your brain around. Tony Robbins says, "Most people overestimate what they're going to do in a year, and they underestimate what they can do in a decade". So let’s figure out the first baby steps. Visualization without realization is hallucination (or: a goal without a deadline is a daydream).

2) Is this a goal that current me has, or is it a goal past me has that I’m hanging on to?

I took an amazing workshop at the Canadian Mental Health Association a year ago. This was one of the key questions they asked when we did goal setting exercises. Ouch! We all have goals youthful us had. Maybe yours were impractical like mine (I wanted to be a jockey for a while, then I wanted to be Connie Chung) and maybe not. But, sometimes when our past self goals show up in our career plan, we have to really ask ourselves if this is still something that is relevant to us, or are we clutching it because we don’t want to feel like we failed past us?

3) Are you willing to pay the price?

Every choice has a consequence. Every goal has a price. That price may not be financial. Maybe you will have to pay a lot of money for schooling. Maybe you will have to move to an unfamiliar city. Maybe you will have to do a ridiculous amount of unpaid work to build your reputation or your brand. Sometimes when we really think about what that career choice will mean, we find that we’re not willing to pay the price. That’s NOT a bad thing, by the way; better to know now than to get halfway through an expensive degree, or resenting the hundreds of hours of volunteer work. Own it and let it go.

None of these questions are easy. But, if you’re honest with yourself, they’ll help you narrow down your options to some items that you can make real headway on. As I often remind clients, you have two legs and five or six stools, so how are you going to stand on them all? We can’t pursue everything (that’s exhausting), so it’s important to be sure we’re really committed to exploring two or three things.

If you need to make a change in your career or you feel like you’re stuck in your current job, think about taking our Career Exploration workshop. We’ll assess your values, skills, and attributes, and help you brainstorm some ideas of careers that fit who you are right now. We won’t tell you what to do next, that’s up to you, but the first step in effective sales is to know the product; and really, what is job search but selling yourself to a potential employer? Call our Reception Desk at 204-989-6503 for more information, or to register.

By Betty Punkert, Employment Facilitator/Computer Instructor

Frequently I work with clients who are looking to make a substantial change in what kind of work they are doing. This may be because they are new Canadians and do not yet have the certification they need. It may be because they have undergone physical or mental health concerns that mean they cannot return to their old career

In any case there is often very strong resistance to the fact that I am trying to simplify their resume or omit particular skills or education as they are not relevant to what comes next. But they worked very HARD on that certification, they remind me. They are very PROUD of that accomplishment. They don’t want to give it up because it is important, and this is the key idea here, to THEM.

Let me use an analogy from another area of life to help make this clear.

Parable of the Chef

You and your best friend (or your life partner) have decided you want to try out a particular new restaurant. It’s quite expensive, and so you’ve been saving and planning ahead to make this a memorable experience. You check out the menu online and have decided you know exactly what you want and you have been imagining how awesome it would taste for weeks.

You arrive at the restaurant and with great anticipation, place your order for your meal. And yet when the server comes back, it’s not what you ordered at all. It’s something else on the menu. Perhaps you wanted chicken and got steak. Either way, even if it is more expensive than what you asked for, you are upset because it’s not what you wanted.

When you complain to the server, they respond with the explanation of, “well, the chef is very good at that dish, and they are very proud of how hard they have worked on it, so that’s what you are getting because it’s what they think you need to have.”

Are you feeling very satisfied right now? Probably not.

Give Them What They Want

And yet, when we insist on overselling ourselves or forcing our specialized upon an employer, not because it’s what they asked for (the job ad) but because it’s important to US, aren’t we doing the exact same thing as that chef? With exactly the same results?

Look, you need to sell what they’re buying. And if you were an engineer or a doctor or an accountant in a previous life but you’re looking to do something new, you have to sell the something NEW effectively. Your new employer only cares about what you will offer them going forward. Your past provides context in this situation, and if you’re trying to make it provide validation, you may be approaching the challenge from the wrong angle.

Focus on their needs, not yours, and you will get more responses.

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to separate your past from your future and presenting the skills you need to get your next job instead of your last one, give us a call on Monday morning before eight a.m. at 204-989-6503. Leave your name and number, and someone will call you to book an appointment with an employment facilitator to help narrow things down.

By Kristina Lonstrup, Career Counsellor

Do you like writing cover letters? Do you find it hard to get started?

A common misconception about cover letters is that it is an opportunity for you to write about your skills and experience. *pssst! That’s called a resume.

A cover letter should be seen as a different document. See it as a love letter.

Cover Letter as a Love Letter (or Who You Would Love to Work For)

I often hear clients say “Do you know where I would LOVE to work??!” Yet when I see the cover letter they wrote, it is paragraphs and paragraphs about the applicant. How will the employer know that you would love to work for them, when your cover letter is an autobiography?

When you write autobiographical paragraphs as a cover letter, you

a. expect the employer to read the WHOLE thing, which they probably won’t, and

b. expect the employer to extract related skills to the position. This might not happen—the employer might simply go to the next application.

I often hear clients say “I never know how to get started on a cover letter.” We will fix this!

Why Do You Want to Work for Them

Next time you sit down to write a cover letter, think about why you want to work for this particular employer. Visit the company’s website. Visit the company’s social media pages. Research what is special about the company, and make that your first paragraph. A cover letter that begins as “Here’s why I like you” is much more intriguing and inspiring!

How Do You Meet THEIR Needs

The next section on your cover letter should be how you meet the employer’s requirements. If the employer requires [ABC], there is no need to elaborate on separate experience of [LMNOP] that is irrelevant to the position. Follow the job ad and match your bullets to their bullets. This makes your cover letter clean, efficient, and easy.

Why don’t we make this easier for everyone?

Who would YOU love to work for, and why?

I love writing cover letters! Call (204) 989-6503 and book an appointment with me. We’ll have lots of fun.

By Betty Punkert, Employment Facilitator/Computer Instructor

Most of my clients don’t like writing cover letters, and I can’t blame them. After all, how many hundreds of times could YOU read, “I am writing to apply for the posted position…” before you wanted to stab your eyes out with a spoon?

Your first paragraph is critical to getting the reader’s attention, and that’s where this article is focused. Everyone says you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but folks assume that means at the interview. THIS is your first impression, this piece of paper right here.

Human Resources departments don’t hire pieces of paper, they hire people, and people have passions and reasons why they do things. Herb Kelleher, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines, was quoted as saying, “we can change skill levels through training, but we can’t change attitude”.

Let me use an example from my own career. When I applied to be a volunteer at OVRC in October of 2003 (I still have my original letter), the first line said;

Sometimes to get what you want in life you have to go back to the beginning.

This is different. This piques curiosity. This suggests an origin story. The remainder of the first paragraph explains how early in my career I volunteered with an organization called Journeys Adult Education Centre helping people who were working on their GED so I felt like there were some parallels between the two kinds of volunteering.

I like the idea of origin story, because it gives us a context in which to put our application. It gives us a way in which we can integrate our experience into our future with that company, and provides a way to be personable and relevant, and yes, dare I say it, EXCITED about where this might lead. (It also means we can pretend to be Batman or Wonder Woman for a few seconds without all that awkward Spandex.)

When you examine the cover letter in the context of origin story, it suddenly sucks a whole lot less to write, because you have some room to be yourself instead of repeating your resume. Some of my clients struggle with the idea that being personable and professional can exist in the same box. (I’m not suggesting you start cover letters with “hey homie, how’z it goin”, but a little engagement can go a long way in breaking through the clutter.)

So how do you express professional passion? How do you demonstrate a positive attitude?

The first thing I do with clients is get them to push past the “easy” reasons they’re applying: you need a job, the pay is good, you have the skills or education, it’s close to home, it has benefits, it’s a well established company, the hours are good. Get out of your head and start thinking with your heart; ponder why you chose this job ad of all the possible ones. (Don’t tell me you don’t care, because if that were true you would be dealing meth on the street because that pays very well and has flexible hours and is close to home, so we ALL care where we work.)

Begin by thinking about what you know about the company. What’s their reputation like in the community? Do you know someone who works there (or used to)? Is it somewhere that has helped you or your family in the past? Is it a cause near and dear to your heart? What connection can you build here? Ideally, we want some way for us to be able to show them that we understand them and can fit in their culture.

If that doesn’t work for you, then examine your own motivations. Why did you get into this line of work? Why did you take all that training? What is your favorite part of your job? Does this kind of work relate to some part of your life that maybe is NOT in your resume? If you can’t connect with the company in any way that feels authentic, then connect with your own reasons for doing the work. If you can’t do EITHER, maybe you shouldn’t apply.

Authenticity is Key

The key part of this is authenticity.  People often think that the process of building connection is “sucking up” and they are very resistant to it, sometimes flat out hostile. I cannot stress this enough, I am NOT asking you to lie. However, if you can’t demonstrate that you’re passionate about working there, why should they be passionate about paying YOU? (Ouch. There’s a thought.)

When you hit the sweet spot or say something that feels different, jot that down. Don’t worry about making great sentences just yet, you can do this out loud and make notes about anything that, as you’re answering the questions, makes you stop and go, “huh, never thought of that”. Sometimes it takes a while to get past all the RIGHT answers and get to one that’s REAL

Once you have an answer or two that is real and feels authentic to you, start constructing some sentences that express that idea in a way that is interesting (some examples):

• As a regular customer who enjoys a variety of food items at A&W, I am interested in joining you team to provide excellent dining experiences to all current and prospective patrons.
• When I offered to teach young people the art of filmmaking, I never expected to be the one who learned the most.
• To be able to help others at their most vulnerable is a privilege and a gift.
• On arriving in Canada nearly ten years ago, one of the very first lessons I learned was the importance of a well fitting and properly insulated door or window in a Canadian winter!

They know you’re writing to apply

Let’s get to something they don’t know, and tell them why you care about doing the work, and why it has to be them. That will get you farther than a hundred generic cover letters will. Remember that there is still a human on the other side of that desk, and that humans like stories. Start strong, and make sure they’re going to keep reading.

If you need some help because you feel like your cover letters aren’t selling you very well, call the Reception desk at 204-989-6503 and book an appointment with one of us. (No Spandex required, I promise.)