How to Look for Summer Work Engineering Science Felicity Morgan, M.Ed. March 10, 2005

Workshop Goals To develop a targeted action plan for your summer work search. Determine your goals Review effective job search methods Discuss résumés and cover letters Provide an overview of Career Centre services

What type of work do I want? Identify your needs: Experience Financial Time and Flexibility Location: Local, another city, international Skills Development Personal Interest

Job Search Methods Passive  Newspapers  Career Centre  Government programs  Websites  Agencies Active  Network  Family, friends, professors, former employers  Professional associations  Cold calls

How do I find it? Government Programs/Internships Job Postings - Career Centre Network Research

Government Programs/Internships FSWEP Ontario Government Summer Student Hiring Summer Company (Ontario website above) See Summer Work Search tipsheet for more

Career Centre Summer Employment Listings Only U of T students and recent grads Basic/Advanced search screen Delisted positions

Geographical Search The National Job Bank Canada WorkInfonet Workopoliscampus (formerly CampusWorklink) Employer Directories Network

How Employers Hire 5. Ads / postings Unsolicited resumes Screened applicants: Agencies, Search firm Networking contacts/offers proof From within The way a typical job- hunter likes to hunt for a job (starts here) The way a typical employer prefers to fill vacancies (starts here) Source: Bolles, What Color Is Your Parachute

Networking – What is it? Develop layers of contacts 6 degrees removed from information you want

Who Do You Know? YOU ClassmateTeammateFriendsNeighbourTeacherFamily Company Insider Your New Boss Colleague Friend’s Friend

Once You have the Contacts… Who you are, why you are contacting him or her Your specific, relevant skills and or experiences “Hi Mr. Brown, my name is… and I am calling to inquire about summer positions with your firm. Do you have a few minutes to speak with me? I have previous experience in a manufacturing setting, working on the product line…″

Research - Industry Specific Delisted jobs Network Employer Directories Professional Associations Job Fairs Faculty/Department notices

Places on Campus to Look for Work University of Toronto Libraries Food Services Athletic Centre Hart House Second Cup Departmental offices, Student Services offices

Going Abroad Start early (i.e. one year in advance) Link with a specific program such as IASTE, AISEC, SWAP For more information see Going Abroad tipsheet and the International Student Centre

Prepare Your Résumé Purpose: to get the interview Know what you have to offer employer Tailor it to field: RELEVANT and concrete Content and format are both important: Keep It Simple

Your Skills Come From….. Part-time Work Volunteer Work Academic Work Extra Curricular Summer Work

Résumé Formats Chronological Modified Chronological Functional/Skills

Résumé Components Contact info Education Awards and Achievements Technical/computer skills Project work

Résumé Components – Part 2 Experience; paid and unpaid Extracurricular activities Interests References Optional: objective, skills summary

Résumé Fine-Tuning Use action words Focus on results/impact Quantify examples Maximum 2 pages; 1 page is often sufficient Quality of paper Font size

and Electronic Résumé be specific in the subject header Options: use plain text in body, send via attachment, use PDF file Create a signature file Check regularly All the same rules apply

Web Forms Cut and paste résumé into text boxes Answer questions on specific skills, qualifications, levels of experience or achievements Treat like interview questions; don’t assume they will make the leap for you

Scannable Résumés Simple presentation: no fancy fonts, graphics, lines, coloured paper etc. Use key words to describe your experiences; see job description Left justify Avoid punctuation Use spacing

Résumé Checklist  Does your résumé look appealing?  Does it highlight your relevant skills, abilities and experiences?  Are there any grammatical mistakes, typos or misused words?  Have you had it critiqued by other people?

Cover Letters Focus on the top 2-3 relevant skills Clear, specific and concise Make link: your skills and employer needs Include what you know about the employer No typos, run on sentences, grammar mistakes Have it critiqued by someone else

The Interview Review your résumé, your relevant skills and experience Prepare concrete, relevant examples: STAR Research employer and the job Practice Smile!

Other Career Centre Services to Help You Career Resource Library Career Centre Workshops Résumé Clinic Practice Interviews Career Talk

Action Plan  Identify priorities  Check government programs and web postings regularly  Develop my network and work on intro speech  Have my résumé critiqued  Practice interview questions

Best of Luck College St