Current Students and Alumni

A self-assessment of your skills is the first step in the process of finding the right job. It provides the foundation for your campaign, preparing you for the process of “selling yourself”. Your resume is the first thing a recruiter will read about you when selecting a potential employee. In order to accomplish this goal you must begin the process with a self-assessment. You must reflect back on your life, describing your education, training, skills, achievements, and experience, documenting these in detail. Your self-assessment is virtually a download of what you have learned and accomplished. Your ultimate goal is to show a prospective employer the knowledge, skills and abilities you have acquired and present them in your resume, proving that you are a "good fit" to meet their job requirements.

Research is a very important aspect of the job searching. You must determine what companies you would like to work for. You must also examine what types of jobs are available, by looking at various Job Titles. In addition you must look at job descriptions in detail to determine exactly what the requirements of the job are.

Check the Company Website

Most companies have a website. The main page of a company's website will give you an overall idea of the image they want to project. The company will often include their mission statement or purpose, their values, and their goals. Ideally, you should share their values, which is an important factor in working for the company. Their website will also describe related business functions or activities. In addition, and internal job postings can usually be found on a company's website.

Use the Library

Scott's, Fraser’s and Vernon Directories and many other resources are available in the Career section of the library at Mohawk College and in other libraries across the country. These directories list companies in the field you are pursuing and provide good information about them. Details can be found on what they actually do and their line of business, the number of employees, names of individuals who represent the organization and many other company specific details. Reference books are invaluable resources when researching companies.

• Your resume is a formal document which highlights knowledge, skills, abilities, training, personal achievements, education, and experience.
• The resume is the first opportunity an employer gets to see you. Make a great 1st impression.
• It’s an in-depth look at what you know, what you can do, and what you have to offer to a potential employer. Be proud to present and advertise your well explained accomplishments.

• Your cover letter is the first document that an employer will read about you.
• Always submit a cover letter. Take the time to compose an impressive letter that will professionally introduce your resume to the prospective employer and make them want to read on and learn more about you. Make a great 1st impression.

References support the claims you make in your cover letter and resume. If you say that you have "excellent keyboarding skills" you should have a reference who can attest to that statement because they have seen you keyboarding quickly and accurately. If you say that you have "strong presentation skills" you need to have someone who has observed your presentations and agrees that your skills are strong.

It is usual to have 3 references in your application package. Listing more than five references is probably too many. There are 2 kinds of references: professional references (to do with work and skills) and character references (to do with who you are and your personal qualities.)

Who Can I Ask to be a Reference?

Ideally, you would have 3 professional references. If you have little or no work experience, try to have at least 2 professional references and 1 character reference. Think about volunteer experiences, or teams or groups you belong to, in addition to any work experiences. Depending on the skills required by the job you are applying for, you can ask supervisors, co-workers, teachers, coaches, clients or customers - anyone you've done any work for. It’s a good idea to give your reference a copy of your resume.

When asking someone if they will provide a reference for you, consider being specific about what you think they can say about you. For example, say to a teacher, "you've seen me do a number of class presentations. Do you think you could act as a reference to answer questions about my presentation skills?" Some "bosses" don't actually see you doing your job. While they might be the Manager or the President of the company, if they can't answer questions about how you do your job, they won't make a good reference. If someone has been your direct supervisor at your part-time job for the last two and a half years and has actually observed you doing your job, that person can probably answer a lot of questions about your work habits, your communication skills, your knowledge of policy and procedure, your accuracy level, and so on.

Be sure to talk with your references to find out their contact information, the most convenient way to contact them, and the best times. Give them a copy of your resume and talk with them about the skills and abilities you have that they would feel comfortable discussing with a potential employer. If they are difficult to contact, perhaps they will write a Letter of Reference for you instead. If you are sending out "broadcast" letters and resumes to several companies at one time, your references should be aware of that. Also, if you are including your references with your resume, check to see that your references are okay with that. Remember, you are giving personal information about other people to strangers, and not everyone is comfortable with that.

Reference Letters

Remember to ask for a reference letter from current employers, customers, supervisors or co-workers. Once you leave a job, you may lose contact with those people, or the company may close or move away. You can forward copies of reference letters with your resume IF the letter's content is applicable to the job you are applying for.

Developing and maintaining a professional portfolio is an effective marketing tool you can use in addition to your resume. Anyone in any field can develop a portfolio to assist in presenting achievements and accomplishments when applying for a position, attending interviews, or using during a performance review session. This is an excellent tool to maintain, collect and protect your career-related documents in an organized and professional manner.

What is a Portfolio?

A Portfolio is a portable collection of documents that describe, support and highlight your achievements, qualifications, and skills. By having a portfolio, it demonstrates your professionalism, your planning and organizational skills, and gives you the opportunity to provide proof with supporting documents and examples of past successes and knowledge. It is organized in binder format where pages can easily be added and removed. The most common size is an 8 ½ x 11 inch binder, which is easiest to carry and present your documents.

The interview is your only chance to make a favourable personal impression with the employer. You have already made a favourable written impression with your resume and now you have been selected to come in and meet with them in person.

Basic Interview Tips

1. Arrive 15 minutes early. Plan ahead & allow lots of time for traffic, finding the address, a parking place, the correct office in the building. Better yet, check out the location the day before to discover these details.
2. Dress appropriately. This is a formal business meeting. Dress for the meeting, not how you think people might dress to do the job. If you want the job, dress conservatively in business attire, focusing on a professional and tidy appearance.
3. Take a folder containing pen, paper, 4 or 5 copies of resume, 4 or 5 copies of References page. It's a good idea to have questions written down beforehand, and it is okay to jot down notes during the interview. If appropriate, take examples of relevant work. (See Portfolio information.)
4. Know something about the company before you get there. Look them up on the web, in Scott's Business Directory, or even the telephone book to have at least some information about their business, service, products, market area, size, competition, etc.
5. Shake hands with the interviewer(s) and maintain eye contact throughout the interview. This is not always comfortable with strangers, but keep your head up, and look at the interviewer(s) while answering questions.
6. Be prepared to answer questions about yourself. This isn't as easy as you might think. You know everything there is to know about your education and experience, but have you practiced answering questions in a coherent and positive way? You will be asked questions that might lead to a negative sounding answer. Don't dwell on the negative, but practice turning any answer into a positive by telling what you learned from... or the skill you developed through... or the understanding you acquired from... a certain experience. Everything in your resume is material for questions. Practice saying the answers out loud so the words are ready and the answer is smooth. Think about the skills required for the job, and think of at least 2 examples of how you have used those skills in real life. This way, you will be prepared for any question.

LinkedIn is a social network that acts as your online business card and is used for professional purposes.

Individuals use LinkedIn for networking, connecting, and job searching, and companies use LinkedIn for recruiting and providing company information to prospective employees.

LinkedIn members can search for jobs, join groups, research companies, and interact with members of their network.

Visit LinkedIn to get connected today!

Mohawk offers two FREE career assessment tools that can help find the best fit for your personality type. Take a quick quiz to find careers best suited to you

Visit the CareerReady portal to search for jobs!