“I don’t want all this $%@#@#%, I just want a job”

job search can be stressful

Have you ever sought help with your job search and found the whole process endlessly frustrating? Have you ever been advised to attend more workshops, even after you’ve just completed an entire series of them? Or have you spent hours getting resume guidance, only to have the next person who sees it recommend several changes?

The following tips can help you get the most effective help from your local Employment Resource professionals:

1. Find a consultant or employment counsellor with whom you feel comfortable and then stick with that person. The job search methods in which they are trained are a ‘process’, and have been proven effective when followed step by step. Hopping from centre to centre and speaking with different staff every time is likely to set you spinning in circles. 

2. Know what you want. Nobody can help you to get “any job”. Your counsellor can recommend excellent tools and workshops that will help you to set your goals. A clear job goal which would motivate and fulfill you drives the whole process; without it, your search will quickly run out of steam. 

3. Expect it to be hard work. Nobody has a job in their pocket to give you; to get a job you must find it, compete for it, and win it. Track stars have coaches, but they still must do all the running for themselves. You have a counsellor, and maybe a job developer; like coaches, their role is to advise you. You will have to “do the running” for yourself. (And if you follow the advice you get, you might find the running will go easier). 

4. Communicate with your counsellor. If something isn’t working for you, let your counsellor or job developer know right away. They can help you diagnose why something might not be working, or offer alternative approaches. The system can work for you, but only if you keep in touch!

The keys to a successful collaboration with experts, in any field, are open and frank communication, and a willingness to accept and follow advice. Find someone you feel you can trust. It will go a long way.

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