I remember looking for my first full-time job. I was just out of school and I needed a job ... and fast. My English degree was not particularly marketable, and I got quickly discouraged when I realized that you need to have had a full-time job to get a full-time job.

I ended up being lucky and landed a decent editing job with a reasonable salary. I'm afraid not everyone is granted the same good fortune. In fact, if all employers were like Ben Huh, an Internet entrepreneur and founder of the Cheezburger Network, entry-level job seekers looking for rewarding work would have to sacrifice salary. Big time.

According to a recent Globe and Mail article, Huh has a simple recruitment strategy: offer low pay to attract applicants who are really passionate about the job. Huh's tactics are intended to weed out money hungry individuals. He claims that providing a great work environment compensates for low wages.

Umm ... am I the only one who's suspicious?

Although a positive attitude and passion for the job are undoubtedly important qualities to look for in a new recruit, I don't think an employer needs to offer low wages to score a keen worker. In fact, I would argue that non-competitive wages cut out a large section of the employment pool -- new graduates with great minds and even greater student loans to pay off. Could it be that Huh is not attracting the "best" candidates but merely the more affluent ones?

There seems to be a commonly held belief that if you love your job you should be willing to do it practically for free. While I certainly think that a pleasant, supportive and enjoyable work environment is hugely correlated with job satisfaction, should people have to sacrifice income in order to be happy at work? Let's face it: job satisfaction doesn't pay the rent. Besides, getting paid a fair wage validates the work one does and makes an individual feel appreciated. Assuming Huh is passionate about his own job, does he pay himself a pittance for the work he does?

With today's high unemployment rates, it's not surprising that many people are desperate for work. Frankly, Huh's recruitment strategy sounds more like a rationalization to pay poor salaries than a means to recruit motivated staff.

Makes the question "are you passionate about your job" take on a whole new meaning.

Veronica

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If another summer serving up hamburger and fries just doesn't appeal to you, know there's still time to find work that might be a bit more engaging. Though you may have missed the boat for some jobs (the deadline for most City of Toronto summer jobs was mid-February), you can still apply for a few summer trainee positions at the City. Deadlines are fast approaching ...

As well, check out "Hot Jobs", part-time recreation and culture positions that come up periodically in the City. Right now, lifeguard/swimming instructors are needed -- applications are due April 1.

(While you're on the City of Toronto site, look at the job possibilities for next year. In addition to supervising kids at a city-run camp, you could teach fitness, tai chi or cycling. Some of the summer jobs (PDF) take place on the Toronto Islands, where you could drive a tram, lead a tour, or welcome visitors to a garden inspired by Franklin the turtle.)

But let's go back to the present, where you can still apply to the Ontario Summer Experience Program. There are some bang-up jobs in the program, like:

• OPP Summer Marine Student
• Geological Assistant
• Veterinary Science Researcher Assistant

You have to be between 15 and 24 (or 29 if you are a person with a disability), but you don't need to be a student. These positions are posted every two weeks through until May 24. Although they only pay minimum wage ($10.25 per hour), a summer job with the province could give you solid and relevant job experience and a great opportunity to network.

The same could be said about working for the federal government. Check out the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP), which hooks full-time students up to jobs related to their field of study. Positions include Ontario Storm Prediction Centre assistant and student border services officer. (Here is a list of the government departments participating in FSWEP.) You can apply throughout the year, but March to June is the peak recruitment time for summer jobs.

Young Canada Works (YCW) is another federal summer program to check out. It offers:

• YCW in Both Official Languages, where students can acquire work experience related to their studies while improving second-language skills.
• YCW in Heritage Organizations, where students can gain practical knowledge in research, new media, exhibitions and conservation.
• YCW for Aboriginal Urban Youth, where Aboriginal students can organize cultural, sports or recreational projects in a friendship centre.

For More Information:

• Toronto Public Library's Ramp Youth Site: Summer Employment

kathyo

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In our current employment market, which continues to be quite competitive, being a creative and cutting-edge job seeker can set you apart from the masses. But how do you know whether you're crossing the line from innovative to over-the-top? I ask myself that question every time I come across what appears to be an emerging trend -- the video resumé.

Nowadays, job hunting is often equated with "branding" and "selling" yourself. Video resumés are consequently seen as a way for candidates to "market their personal brand." With the emergence of companies like The Original VideoBIO Inc. and CVTV, which offer to shoot and produce your video, what's stopping you from tossing your paper resumé into the recycling heap and jumping onto the video resumé bandwagon?

Although paper resumés can be staid and boring at times, I'm still unsure that video resumés are the way of the future. They don't provide an opportunity to demonstrate written communication skills and can be time-consuming and costly to produce. And, sure, a video message can be a great way to show off your charm, vibrancy and verbal communication skills to a potential employer. But what about those of us who aren't exactly the Grace Kelly or Clark Gable type? Will we end up selling ourselves short?

More importantly, I worry that video resumés open the door to potential discrimination. While it may be common in some European countries to include personal information like age, sex, marital status and a photo on a resumé, these details are never provided in Ontario because the Ontario Human Rights Code forbids employers from requesting them.

Perhaps videos could play a limited role in the job hunt: they could be used in addition to traditional resumés or in competitions for broadcasters, facilitators, or conference speakers, for example. Overall, however, I'm not convinced that the hiring world should adopt this questionable practice. So if you were getting excited about starring in your very own autobiographical production, you might just have to save your pearly whites for interview day.

Veronica

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Once I wrote a fantastic customized resumé and equally fabulous cover letter, not realizing until it was almost too late that they were due the next day. Sending my application by email was not an option. Not trusting the mail, I decided to drop my resumé and cover letter off in person.

When I got to the company, the place was locked down tighter than a drum, and I felt kind of creepy trying to open the doors. The end result was that I didn’t get the application in on time, and, of course, I didn’t get the job. Who knows? If I had paid attention to the details of the posting, I might have landed a new job.

It’s common for job postings to contain specific application instructions. Sometimes employers ask job seekers to fax their resumé, some ask them to mail it, and yet others want an email. Also look for details as to whether you should send the resumé in the body of the email or in an MS Word (or rich text) attachment. Often ads will stipulate: “No telephone calls, please.” Needless to say, making a phone call could ruin your chances.

As well, don’t forget to put the job call number or job title in the subject line of your email or cover letter if the posting asks for that. I have even heard of companies who ask job hunters to include the name of their favourite cartoon character in the subject line. You can bet that they don’t really care whether you prefer Bugs Bunny over Porky Pig. It’s just a way to weed out applicants who can’t follow instructions.

Finally, you can never be too careful about tiny details like the following:

• Having the correct email address (for email applications)
• Sending snail mail packages to the correct address
• Putting enough postage on the envelope

And, unlike me, make sure that you send your application before the closing date!

Susan Stone

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Normally I wouldn't take more than a passing glance at a government budget. But a Toronto Star article referring to last week's throne speech piqued my interest. It talked about a new agenda aimed at getting our "1.5 million unemployed back to work, with billions of dollars in investments to spur creation of cutting-edge jobs in the knowledge-based economy."

Wanting to know more, I took on the self-inflicted torture of reading Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth. Wandering through the budget maze -- I admit I got lost a few times -- I picked up a few crumbs of information of interest to job seekers.

Young Workers
Youth organizations have gotten a nice piece of the cake, with funds forthcoming for Career Focus internships, Skills Link, Pathways to Education Canada and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

Older Workers
It seems that older workers, however, have received but a sliver of the sweet stuff. The government does, however, plan to expand the scope of the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, a program "designed to improve the employability of participants from 55 to 64."

Manufacturing Workers
The government also plans to cut all remaining tariffs on manufacturing inputs (like raw materials) and machinery and equipment. I gather that this initiative is supposed to create 12,000 jobs over time, just don't ask me how.

Knowledge-Based Workers
Looking into the future, the government has earmarked just under $2 billion for "post-secondary education and research, technology and innovation, and environmental protection," or PSERTIEP (my acronym). The gold medal winner, the Canadian Space Agency, landed almost half a billion dollars to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. In addition, money will flow to set up a new "enterprise innovation commercialization program" and a new post-doctoral fellowships program.

Other items in this category to receive funding include:

• A nuclear and particle physics facility
• Genome Canada
• The Rick Hansen Foundation for spinal cord research
• The National Research Council Canada's innovation clusters program

The government is clearly investing in the knowledge economy, and although I am not against this strategy, I wonder if it will translate into employment. If it does, will it only cutting-edge jobs for those with advanced degrees? In the near term, will this budget help unemployed workers find a job, or are they going to continue to take a royal beating?

For More Information:

• The Canadian Science Policy Centre: Budget 2010: Starting to Get the Message

kathyo

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I do realize that the present job market is very competitive. I was still surprised to recently see a job opening for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) posted for only 24 hours. Is it a reflection on the state of the labour market? Or, was it because it was a full-time permanent job -- a rare bird especially in the cultural field? It may be a little of both.

I remember being equally astonished that the main recommendation put forth at a workshop I attended on how to apply for the federal government -- a fairly complicated process with very precise guidelines -- was to search through the available positions daily. Some positions, particularly entry-level ones, attract so many candidates that they are only posted for 24 hours or even less. And, we're not talking about the 24 hours in the life of TV character Jack Bauer, which stretches on for weeks, months and even years.

Today's work climate gives a whole new definition to the saying "looking for work is a full-time job;" nowadays it requires a little overtime. Competition is fierce and being ready requires special training. From producing impeccable personalized resumés to acing behavioural interviews, there's a long way to go. Do not hesitate to seek professional help from a career centre. Take each job application that you sent as training and each interview that you get as practice. The important thing is not to get discouraged and to persevere. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

The race to employment doesn't start the day the job is posted but months before. The more time you put in getting ready, the more you increase your chances of success. The better prepared you are, the more stellar your performance will be. As a sportscaster recently commented on Olympic athletes, "What makes them so special is that they can perform under pressure." I would add to that, what allows them to perform under pressure and deliver is the intense preparation.

Watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks I found myself feeling sorry for the athletes who put in so much effort but ended up coming fourth, fifth or even twentieth. But if everybody who enters a race wins, it wouldn't be a competition. Not everybody has a hand at the gold metal or at the one specific job posting, but there's always tomorrow's competition.

Josée

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Have you ever come up with a brilliant idea that you shared with someone only to hear it repeated down the road as that person's stroke of genius? This happens frequently and it doesn't mean that the person you shared with is a thief. Our minds work in mysterious ways and it's sometimes hard to know where an idea originates. But when theft happens, it's nice to have the stolen brain wave returned (or at least credited) to its rightful owner.

The workplace exists as a communal setting where directors, managers and employees work together towards a common goal. It's normal that good ideas are retained and acted upon. But what happens when your boss consistently and consciously passes your ideas as his/her own?

Professor Nigel Nicholson of the London Business School appeases a husband who is concerned about his wife having her ideas stolen by her boss by pointing out that "she and her ideas are obviously valued" -- a bittersweet way of looking at things. He goes on to give her the following advice: "[P]ut things down in writing, and ... arrange meetings to talk about specific proposals and ideas."

Ron Brown of Moneywatch.com has other suggestions to stop idea thieving, such as making sure that "there are enough people -- ideally, senior people -- around you that are aware of your contributions to some of these projects or ideas that your boss is taking credit for." And, for a more drastic approach, he advises setting up a trap where you feed colleagues questions relating to the stolen idea knowing very well that your boss won't be able to resolve them and catch the idea stealer red-handed as he is forced to turn to you for answers.

Whether you go directly for the kill or choose the friendly let's share approach, intellectual property matters are tricky. Tread carefully and make sure that you are armed with the right ammunition if you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot.

Josée

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With the growing popularity of reality TV shows Shark Tank and Dragons' Den, the race to entrepreneurdom is officially on. Although I don't consider myself a business kind of gal, even I flirted with the idea of starting up a writing/editing venture while I was unemployed last year. The thing is, creating a business is no easy feat. It takes determination, dedication and a real passion for what you’re selling. And you need to be in it for the long haul.

I only started to understand the complexity of entrepreneurship recently while I was working on articles for poss.ca's Entrepreneurial Toolkit. Doing market research, writing a detailed business plan for potential funders, deciding whether or not to incorporate -- that's what business development is all about. And did I mention risk? According to Industry Canada, "About 96 percent of small businesses (1–99 employees) that enter the marketplace survive for one full year, 85 percent survive for three years and 70 percent survive for five years." But that's just talking about businesses that actually get off the ground. Many business ideas are dead in the water before they're even launched.

But taking a business risk can really pay off -- especially if you've got a dynamite idea that responds to or creates a market need. For instance, I couldn't help but be impressed when I read about Vincent Cheung, the creator of Shape Collage photo software, who turned his personal need into a business: "I wanted to share my photos with my friends and family and didn't want to subject them to flipping through hundreds of images." Or what about Gary Fung, who saw an opportunity and launched Ping!, a popular iPhone application, to address the lack of instant messaging capabilities amongst iPhone users.

Great ideas can appear in a flash. If you've got the pluck and persistence to latch onto one and nurture it into existence, who knows what could happen? You may end up doing it your way after all.

Veronica

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