A career counsellor’s tips for summer-job seeking youth

Career counsellor shares her top tips on CTV Morning Live Edmonton for youth trying to enter the workforce.

According to Stats Canada, the unemployment rate for Albertans 15 to 24 years old is the highest in the country. Career counsellor and leadership coach Jeanet Lamoca shared with CTV Edmonton’s Kent Morrison her top tips for youth trying to enter the workforce.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Networking

First and foremost, rely less on your resume and more about making connections with people and introducing yourself personally. That’s what’s going to be a differentiator. There are a lot of people applying online, so you’re going up against a huge number of people. It does rely on keyword search and whether or not you have the experience and can get through the system.

Taking some initiative, showing up a little differently than your competitors, by going and knocking on doors. Start local. Go with the shops in the neighbourhood. Rely on your network, family and friends, have them talk you up to other people, and listen for opportunities.

Good Attitude

Have a good attitude. How you show up matters, and it’s memorable. If you’re showing up with a good attitude, with initiative, putting forth an effort and putting yourself forward, that’s going to be more memorable than the lack of experience. A lot of young people are worried that if they don’t have the experience, they can’t compete. This is a really important time to build experience. Employers know you’re young, you’re new, you may not have the experience yet, but showing up shows commitment, and a sense of responsibility.

Skills Building

It also is an opportunity for you to build team-working skills, communication skills, and these are foundational to the rest of your career. The way you start your job search and your approach to it matters now; it might be the first or second time doing it, but it’s not going to be the last time.

Play on your Interests

Focus on yourself. What do you like to do? Play on those interests or skills. If you like animals, perhaps it’s a pet store, perhaps it’s dog walking. If you like to be outdoors, maybe it’s cutting lawns and doing some landscaping. If you like kids, perhaps it’s going to a camp, or it’s babysitting. If you like organization, maybe it’s cleaning garages for your neighbours, or maybe it’s doing delivery. If you like cycling, I know there’s a provider who does delivery, and they have their people ride bikes to deliver their packages.

Resume Tools

In terms of the tools, there are tools online. You can create a simple and easy resume.

You can use different sites like Youth Canada, TalentEgg, Variety Village or Charity Village. Look for volunteer opportunities as well, because that’s an opportunity to build skills, and this is where you’re building a track record. Skills and reputation are going to help you to advance next year when you’re looking again, if you’re a 15 to 16 year old. But if you’re a young professional out of university, it’s also an opportunity to start building that reputation.

Get Started

Get known, get your references built up. Focus on yourself, then focus on the market and how to approach it. Be creative. Look for short term gigs, look to your neighbours, look to what’s close around you, and do it over and over and over again. It’s daunting, but it’s a process that takes time and perseverance really matters.