7 Suggestions For Your Very First Job Search!

Get ready for remote

Nowadays more and more work is moving online — including the work of finding work in the first place!

You’re more than likely to take part in remote recruitment. That means potentially no face-to-face meetings from uploading your resume all the way to digitally signing your employment contract!

You may have heard people talk about pounding the pavement and handing resumes door-to-door. But in today’s workforce, you can potentially find your first job without even leaving your house.

So we suggest you start by familiarizing yourself with the digital tools you’ll likely need to succeed, such as video conferencing software, and learn to work around the problems of remote work, such as loud roommates and the need to manage yourself.

Rehearse for interviews

Many people seem to think that if they pre-plan their interview answers, that they’ll feel too canned and forced when they speak.

But even actors know that the reason you rehearse is to help it feel more natural!

You’ll find that there are many common and recurring questions at interviews that you can come to expect, such as:

• Tell me about a time you overcame a difficult situation?
• What is your greatest strength/weakness?
• Why do you want to work for us?

Because you can reasonably assume that these questions are coming your way, there’s no reason not to prepare your answers in advance.

Once you know what you want to say, practice saying it! You can even book a mock interview with META to get hands-on experience that’ll make your next interview your best interview!

Keep your resume relevant

Both on paper AND in-person (i.e. at your interviews), the overall amount of experience you have to talk about is not nearly as important as the amount of RELEVANT experience you can talk up.

Chances are you have never had a job before, or maybe you’ve never had something that felt like a real step forward for your career. So it is extremely useful to know that lack of experience is not as big of an issue as most people make it out to be.

If you understand what the employer is looking for, and you read the job description closely, you’ll be able to recognize the related skills that you have built up in your life and how they have presented themselves.

It could be through volunteering, or school, or hobbies — but we promise that it’s not possible that you have NO experience that you can’t tie into your resume. So all you need to do is phrase your experiences in a way that connects them to what the employer expects out of a good candidate.

For example, if you were in Scouts you could talk about the teambuilding or leadership skills you learned along the way, when you apply for a job that puts you in a team-focused environment.

Keywords are key

One of the easiest ways to make yourself seem like the best fit for any job is to describe yourself the way the company describes their ideal candidate.

That means that when you look over the job description in the posting, or read through any recruitment materials they may have on their website (such as a “why work with us?” page), you need to keep an eye out for terms that get repeated, or highlighted.

Typically you’re looking for adjectives and adverbs that stand out as the best descriptors.

A company might be looking to hire a “positive, friendly salesperson”. The key words here are “positive” and “friendly”. So it would be best to describe that time you volunteered at a soup kitchen as helping to create a “positive and friendly environment for the guests”, for instance.

Don’t ask when you can Google

It’s a pretty big faux pas to go in uninformed to an interview.

While “attention to detail” might not be something the employer has said they’re explicitly looking for, it is always a given that if you make them think you weren’t paying close attention to their job posting or public company info, then you won’t take working for them seriously either.

Don’t show up to an interview and ask the recruiter what the job is. Don’t call their administrative assistant 15 minutes before you’re supposed to be there asking for directions. Don’t forget to write down the contact info of the person you’re supposed to follow up with and have to sheepishly ask for it again.

While in some cases there may be clear gaps in information — things like exact salary, benefits, schedule, and other things that typically come up during the job offer and negotiation phase — it is up to you to fill yourself in as best you can before you turn to your recruiter for assistance.

Your network is your net worth

Roughly 4 out of every 5 job vacancies are filled by someone in the recruiter’s network.

You may be in a particularly advantageous position if you are just exiting school, too! Because you have a much more diverse friend group that you were likely much closer with than you might be with your future coworkers.

These people, along with mentors, family, and your online social circles, form the backbone of your blossoming network! They can help you source job opportunities, offer you referrals, provide you with guidance on application processes, and more.

Throughout your career you’ll find that a good network is worth more than any education or work experience you can find.

Keep your online presence clean

If you were considering dating someone, don’t you think you would look them up online to learn more about them? Or if you were going to buy an expensive new product, wouldn’t you read some reviews on social media first?

Employers have to make the same type of decision when it comes to hiring. Employing someone means taking on a working relationship with them, one that comes with many associated costs and risks.

So just like most people look to the internet before making big decisions, sso too will your potential employers be looking you up before hiring.

There are two things you need to do to improve your odds of finding work when it comes to your online presence.

Firstly, you need to purge anything that doesn’t put you in a good light. You don’t have to delete yourself from the internet, just make sure that your private info and pictures are set to private.

And secondly, you can become more active in online circles that help your career. Not only does this grow your network, it also lets recruiters see that you are already involved in the industry. And by teaching or sharing info online that’s related to your field, you can help other people see you as an expert!

Whitby Location

Unit 6 - 15 Thickson Road N.
Whitby, ON K8P 1K2

Phone: 905-725-0087
Toll Free: 1-888-401-9636

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