Don’t underestimate the importance of getting organized before you start your Canadian job search. Most people conducting a job search will not apply for only one job opportunity.
If you are in an active job search in Canada, more than likely, you will be applying for many positions – anything that opens up in your city that is in your field of expertise. That can equal many targeted resumes and cover letters.
Start with one resume and cover letter that is top-notch before you start tweaking it. Hire me if you need help creating documents to move your career forward.
Not only will you need to appropriately target each resume and cover letter for each job posting, but you will also have to keep track of where you’ve applied and the deadlines for each job posting, among others. This can get overwhelmingly fast if you are unorganized!
Many job seekers have an unrealistic picture of how long the job hunt will take. If you currently work full-time but want to change jobs, plan to spend up to 8 hours each week on job searching.
If you are currently unemployed, your Canadian job search needs to be your full-time job. However, if you stay organized, allocate time to critical job-searching tasks rather than common ones.
Remember: properly managing your Canadian job search is as crucial as finding job postings and submitting applications.
Canadian Job Search Tips to Stay Organized and Productive
Stay Current
If you have been searching for several weeks or months, an employer will want to know how you spent your time. Have activities with practical application to the job market ready to discuss. For technical people whose knowledge may quickly become outdated, show how you stay current in your field. An excellent way to stay productive and develop contacts in your area is to look for opportunities to volunteer.
Have a Clear Job Target – Career Direction
Before beginning your job search, you must determine a clear job target. When conducting your search, make sure you have a clear picture of what is important to you, what you want to do, what you do and don’t enjoy, and what skills you offer.
Get the most out of scrutinizing job postings to write targeted resumes; this is an essential step for many reasons.
In short, only you know what kind of work you want and what you are best qualified to perform. Use your time wisely by only applying for jobs of interest. A Canadian job search characterized by applying to any position that pops up will be doomed to fail. You will either end up searching much longer than you need to or in a situation you may dread.
If you are unsure where to end up, consider your credentials and professional background. This is a significant first step to narrowing your job search. Second, concentrate on your interests and what areas of your profession you see yourself in.
For instance, if you are qualified for project management, you may decide that your main interest lies in managing projects within a particular sector—giving you a great starting point in your job search. Within the industry you’ve selected, you can work for various companies, which will still provide you with plenty of variety in your job search without it becoming overwhelming.
Focusing your job search aims to give you a clear target to develop your resume and cover letters and your whole job search plan around one clear objective. Having a job target will eliminate stress and save you time and energy, weeding through many job opportunities you aren’t interested in or best suited for.
Preparing for the job interview is critical to ensure you don’t miss landing a job offer.
Develop a Job Search Plan
Develop your job search plan once you’ve figured out what you want. Your job search will be more effective if you map out your strategy.
If you are immigrating to Canada, there are job search steps for immigrants to make your hunt more accessible and quicker.
Set daily and weekly objectives to have a concrete way to evaluate your progress and determine the amount of time you will spend on each job search activity, like research, targeting jobs, and making contacts.
Built your schedule around relevant tasks you know will need to be completed. For instance, updating or creating a searchable and robust LinkedIn profile, updating and targetting your resume and cover letter for specific postings, networking activities to find the hidden job market, and the actual act of job searching all need to be factored into your schedule.
Before you even begin your job search, you should be able to plan the first week’s schedule based on what you know will need to be completed. Once you create your job search schedule – stick with it! Don’t pick and choose which items to complete, as this is the perfect recipe for an unorganized job search disaster.
Aim to organize your job searching days like an ordinary workday if you are unemployed. And if you are currently employed, you must schedule a substantial amount of time for job searching.
Even when organized, job searching is a time-consuming process and will require your regular attention. Schedule at least an hour or two of time specific to your job search each day.
Keep Logs of Job Contacts and Positions You’ve Applied for.
Staying organized is the key to a successful job search. Keeping a log/folder of all of the contacts you have made and a log/folder of jobs you plan to contact will help you stay organized. Especially when applying to a whole pile of companies, you must keep them all straight.
It can be embarrassing to cold call the same company twice.
Along the same lines, you don’t want to potentially ruin your chance of an interview if you are on the phone with one of the many companies you’ve applied to and confuse one company for another.
Staying organized is vital for keeping your sanity and making your job search run smoothly. It will also help you to track your success and progress. Keep your hard copy job search folders close by or your electronic files in a familiar place on your device. This is especially helpful when you are applying for numerous jobs.
Organize your Canadian job search further by keeping detailed notes on each company you’ve contacted or applied to so you can keep them all straight. When using to dozens of companies, you don’t want to worry about remembering which one is on top of your usual job search worries.
Your log/folder will be your best, most reliable job search companion. It will be an invaluable tool to organize your job search to help land your next big job quickly, easier, and with less stress.
Tap Into Your Network for Support
Remember, you may need support while undertaking your search. You may want to consider part-time work if you don’t have sufficient financial resources. Something with a flexible schedule will still allow you to attend interviews.
Jobs through a temporary employment agency are another option, as you may need to take an interim job until the position you want becomes available. This employment also allows you to broaden your qualifications and develop contacts in your areas of interest.
It is essential to have moral support during your job hunt as “no” will often be heard much more than” yes,” meaning that you will need people around you to boost your confidence. Besides friends and family, another great potential source of moral support comes from old professional colleagues, friends in your field, and new contacts you make each week. Keeping in touch with these people will help you network and find employment.
Post Your Resume to Online Canadian Job Boards
Many great online job boards allow you to post your current resume and cover letter directly to their site so that employers can potentially find you without you even having to apply. This strategy can vastly increase your chances of gaining interviews and, ultimately, a job offer. If you apply for a sales position, ensure your resume is correctly targeted to get the best results.
The best and most popular Canadian job boards for locating positions in Canada are:
- Indeed
- Google for Jobs
- Glassdoor
- Eluta
- Workopolis
- Job Bank
- WOW Jobs
- Monster
- Working.com
- CareerBuilder
And, of course, using the LinkedIn networking site for professionals, the list of job postings is growing daily.
Set Canadian Job Search Goals
Organizing and structuring your Canadian job search will make it much more comfortable, more pleasurable and give you a greater sense of accomplishment each day. Setting yourself goals each day will make you less likely to get discouraged.
Securing a rewarding job in Canada starts with being proactive and recharging your energy. By creating and following the necessary job search steps to obtain your employment goals, you will find yourself in a new position much more quickly.
What Canadian job search tips do you have for other job seekers? Comment and share below! If you need additional help, reach out to Candace for assistance!
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