Tips for resumé, cover letter & job interviews
Job Search Tips
How to translate everyday skills into buzzwords for your resumé
How to explain your employment gap without hurting your chances of getting the job – The Muse
Expo & Job Fair Info
UPEI Volunteer Fair 2022: Volunteers have many opportunities to make a difference in their communities
Job Fairs on PEI
- Many jobs in tourism available in 2022
- SkillsPEI Job Fairs 2022
- BioVectra looks to hire more staff – Job Fair November 2021
- Canadian Home Builders Association – PEI – Job Fair 2021
- Tourism job fair attracts a high number of job seekers – TIAPEI Job Fair Spring 2021
Videos
10 Career Fair Tips
Transferable Skills & Soft Skills: What’s The Difference?
This video from Work It Daily sums up transferable skills and soft skills:
Explaining work experience
This Snagajob video shows how to explain employment gaps:
Career shift, transition and occupational change in later life
Benefits of volunteering
Volunteering is a good way to build onto your resumé. You can also find your references this way. This video from Snagajob explains the benefits of volunteering well.
Networking / Informational meetings
Don’t think you are good at networking? It’s a myth to think so, says Michael J. Hughes, from Networking for Results. Check it out:
Here’s advice from D’Youville College on making that first impression in 30 seconds or less:
Cold calling is one effective way to find out from potential employers, or friends and family who can lead you to potential employers, what jobs are open.
Many businesses and organizations use Facebook and Twitter to promote their services and occasionally post jobs.
They also post jobs on their own websites and other job boards. Job seekers who apply by e-mail and then wait for the employer to contact them might be missing an important step in their job search. Employers keep telling The Employment Journey that face-to-face interaction is the best way to get hired.
The elevator pitch: connecting with employers
If you happen to meet an employer you would love to work for at the grocery store, at a social engagement or elsewhere, you need to be prepared to talk about how your skills could add value to their company. It is called an elevator pitch because you have about as much time as an elevator ride to introduce yourself and say a few things about your skills and abilities.
The following Snagajob video illustrates the best way to promote your skills to a potential employer:
Working from Home
Working at Home – which jobs are legitimate, which are scams?
A career practitioner recently asked The Employment Journey about work-at-home jobs. Which jobs are legitimate and which are scams? The following is a list of websites that could help you find out:
Atlantic Provinces Better Businesses Bureau http://atlanticprovinces.bbb.org/.
Canadian Anti Fraud Centre http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/english/home.html.
The following video from Rob Brauer of the Internet Truth Project has some good tips about spotting scams:
Resume tips
Workopolis has an in-depth video on the mistakes on resumés that may cost you an opportunity at a job interview:
Take tips from a recruiter who has seen thousands of resumés come across his desk. Check out this video from Workopolis:
Are you planning to apply to Walmart, Atlantic Superstore or other major employer? Prepare to fill out a job application on-line.
Body language during a job interview
How do you sit in a job interview? What do you do with your hands and feet? This video from the TheSite.org gives helpful hints on proper body language during the job interview.
Voice coaching: what’s a good tone when you’re on the job search? This video from Forbes magazine knows:
Job interviews: do’s & don’t’s
This video from Workopolis gives an example of the wrong way to do a job interview and the right way to do a job interview:
This Workopolis video shows common mistakes and how to fix them:
The following Snagajob video shares techniques to help a job seeker calm down before a job interview.
In the job interview, you may be asked about your strengths and weaknesses. This video from Howcast gives tips on speaking about your strengths:
This video from KCRATV shows the best way to handle the “weakness” question:
How do you stand out during an interview?
When preparing for a job interview, remember the three Cs:
- Chemistry with the employer
- Content of your knowledge
- Confidence
This video from Career Joy TV has some good advice:
Deciding on a career change
TEDtalk: Every decision is a career decision. Career development expert Dave Redekopp evokes new ways of thinking about young people’s career decision-making.
Job fairs do’s & don’t’s
Vault Video has a good video on what to do during a job fair. This advice is also helpful for career fairs and post-secondary days at high schools.
This video from Cleared Jobs Dot Net is a humourous take on the dos and don’t’s in attending a job fair.
Standing out in the job market / What Employers are Saying
Monster.ca has an interesting video on what hiring managers look for in job seekers:
Mentorship
Finding a mentor
The video from the Better Life Coaches Channel on YouTube below has good tips on how to look for a mentor for your job search.
Tips for job seekers looking for mentors
There’s so much to consider when looking for a mentor. This video from UXPA International shows where to look for a mentor and how to build on the relationship:
Youth & employment
ROAD TO EMPLOYMENT: THE DOCUSERIES
This series follows a pair of recent graduates, Denis and Clinton, as they leave their home in Victoria, BC to journey across Canada in search of answers to the ageless question: How do youth build meaningful, relevant and sustainable careers?
Road to Employment also has a career advice blog and a podcast. Check out their website here.
What can be done to help post-secondary graduates?
CBC News The Exchange reports on how the school system, government and employers can help college and university graduates get jobs best suited to their diplomas and degrees.
Videos – miscellaneous
The Intern, starring Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, is about a seventy something worker taking an internship at a company run by a thirty something entrepreneur. It’s a comedy that brings to light the reality of mature workers starting over in a career.
Two videos were recently produced on PEI to raise awareness of workforce participation of youth, newcomers and Islanders who have returned home.
The PEI is My Home video campaign featuring people explaining their choices to stay on PEI.