Job Hunting Basics

Showing 45 articles

11 Free Career Aptitude Tests to Help Match You with a Fulfilling Job

By Venus Gentile, Monster Contributor

If you're entering the job market for the first time or considering a new direction, taking a career aptitude test is a smart way to explore your options and find a profession that suits you. These tests are invaluable because they cut through the noise and directly match your skills, interests, and personality with potential job roles. Plus, you c...

Here’s What You Need to Know About Building Relationships at Work

By Elana Gross, Monster contributor

If you work at least 40 hours a week, you likely spend more time with your colleagues than your friends and family, so focusing on building relationships at work is worthwhile. In fact, a Gallup survey found that people with close work friends are more successful. According to the survey, people with close pals at work have stronger customer and/or...

How to prioritize your job hunting follow ups

In an intense search for work, you (hopefully) run into a boatload of people. Many you’ll only encounter online, others face to face, and a handful turnout was vital to your hunt. The rest, less so. Since you’re stressed out and dog tired, which ones do you bother staying in touch with? Read these guidelines to help you decide. Choose well w...

Getting employed through a temp agency

By Neil MacIntosh, Monster staff

Not ready for a full-time gig and tired of hunting for temp jobs on your own? A temporary employment agency (often just called a temp agency)might be the place to turn. There’s a type of recruiting firm for people just like you. If you qualify, they’ll send you out on short-term assignments to their list of employers who need help. In some case...

Find Jobs Through Your School Alumni Network

Be glad you’re a grad! The doors have swung open to a lifetime of work (and continuous learning). There are also some harsh employment realities to grasp. One’s that it isn’t just what you know, but who you know. Alumni employment contacts are waiting for you to explore. As luck would have it, your school’s a buzzing hive of people to network. ...

The Pros and Cons of Contract Work

By Neil MacIntosh

There are many good reasons to seek out contract work as part of your job search. One of which is that more and more job offers in Canada are on a contract basis. This means that the position you are hired for states upfront that it will last for a fixed amount of time IE three months, six months, a year, etc. Most job seekers only focus on po...

How to deal when it seems like you're the last one to get a job

By Elana Lyn Gross

You’re happy for your friends who have new jobs—well, most of the time anyway—but you’re still a little freaked out that you don’t have any post-graduation plans yourself. It seems like your friends have all figured out what “the real world” entails and you’re just trying not to end up in your parents’ basement. Comparing yourself to others won’t ...

Fending Off Panic During A Long Job Search

Job-search stress anxiety is a very real thing. A job search that grinds on longer than expected (maybe much longer) can cause justified jitters. Hardest hit are the ego and bank account. As each one drains, it’s no wonder people get spooked. Fears of skills going stale and losing credibility mount. Keeping references upbeat gets harder. Desper...

Biggest threats to your job-search stamina

By Daniel Bortz

From poorly written job descriptions to complicated application processes to companies that don’t even get back to you to let you know they received your resume, there are a lot of potential obstacles ’you’ll need to overcome to find a job. If you thought this was going to be some kind of walk in the park, you’re not alone. “A lot of people underes...

How to avoid work-from-home job scams

For many people craving a more flexible work schedule, finding great online jobs from home is the dream, right? Even if you don’t get to work poolside with a margarita in hand, working from home lets you balance work and family, create your own office vibe, and achieve the kind of autonomy that can bring peace of mind. (Aka, no boss or co-workers b...

Some Harsh Realities Of Worklife For Students And Recent Grads

By Neil MacIntosh

School’s done! Hit the pavement and bury them books. Life is lit! No more summer gigs or unpaid internships. The feverish search for your first job is on. For many students and recent grads, it’s like entering a lion’s den. Less so if you’re exceptional (e.g. super smart or accomplished, have a desperately sought out degree, or are happy to work...

The Importance of Your Personal Brand

By Monster Contributor

By Cindy Schwartz If prompted, could you describe what makes you professionally unique? Are you conscious of what comprises your professional brand? Creating a brand is not only helpful to oneself but to talent seekers as well. Awareness and exploration of your distinct talents can help you to: Seek out growth opportunities, C...

Many Interviews. Zero Job Offers?

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz You’re getting lots of job interviews. Normally that’s a good thing. Except no one has offered to hire you yet. It’s exhausting to show up prepped and peppy every time. An ego can take only so many highs and lows. Employers are asking to meet you (“I’m valued in the marketplace!”) but are balking at taking you on (“I’ll never get...

Tips to Create an E-Portfolio

By Monster Contributor

By Karin Eldor Think e-portfolios are only for creative types? Think again. According to a Forbes article, 56% of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s e-portfolio than any other personal branding tool. However, only 7% of job seekers actually have one. That’s a huge missed opportunity! After all, your personal site serves as...

How to Apply (Should You?) for a Job With the Competition

By Monster Contributor

By Joe Issid It is a simple fact that most recruiters look for candidates who have relevant industry experience. As such, it is fairly easy to understand why corporate poaching is so common (and especially so for those within highly specialized domains). As a job seeker, looking at direct competitors is often the path of least resistance as...

"Would You Still Work Even If You Didn't Have To?"

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz In a recent global Monster poll people were asked, “Would you still work if you didn’t have to?” 60% answered yes, they’d want to stay employed. That figure is in line with what we know about actual behaviour of lottery winners and people who take early retirement. Turns out there’s much more to a job than salary and perks. Even so...

"How An Internship Set Me Up For Success!"

By Monster Contributor

By Fahd Pasha When I went up on stage to accept my college degree after five years of post-secondary education, I was hit by a whirlwind of memories – there were so many important milestones that took place over the course of those years. However, if I had to look back and pinpoint my proudest career moment to-date, it would have to be taking time...

Creative Career Tips for Creative People.

By Monster Contributor

If you plan to get a job in a creative field, by now you’ve assembled examples of your work. These may be graphic designs, writing samples, short videos and the like. Showcasing your labours in an online portfolio is crucial. That’s not to say that the bound book is obsolete. However most employers want the convenience of viewing a candidate’s o...

Tips for a Successful Job Shadowing Experience

By Monster Contributor

Job shadowing can be an excellent way to learn about a professional's day-to-day responsibilities and decide whether their career appeals to you. It can also provide valuable opportunities to network with professionals in your chosen field. You're likely to only job shadow for a day or just a few hours, so you must make the most of your time. Remem...

Avoid These 8 Fatal Mistakes with References

By Monster Contributor

Your job search is like a modern marketing campaign. Since you are the product, your advertising should include: a resume, cover letter, business card and of course, online presence. Employers will definitely take your advertising into account. But they know that this is you boasting about yourself. To balance this, they will also want to hear w...

Pros and Cons of Being an Inter-provincial Employee

By Monster Contributor

By Joe Issid Monster Contributing Writer According to Statistics Canada, about 3% of Canada's workforce are inter-provincial employees: workers who hold primary residence in one province/territory and work in another. On the surface, it may seem a bit odd to commute across provincial lines but it is a phenomenon that has been steadily growing over ...

5 Best Canadian Cities for Millennials

By Monster Contributor

By Joe Issid If you are graduating soon or are relatively new to the working world, you may find yourself trawling the internet for the next (possibly first) opportunity of your young career. As such, it stands to reason that you spend a good deal of time looking for a job that will require a good balance of salary and convenience. Let’s face it...

Would You Take a Job that Goes Against Your Ethics?

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz Monster Contributing Writer Your employer is featured in the news: exposed for violating child labour laws in Asia, or caught bilking investors of billions. The next day your friends tease you that you’re working for the devil. You can’t help but think about the ethical implications. Should you be working in a job that goes ag...

Predict future career challenges with a SWOT analysis

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz By Monster Contributing Writer Life moves quickly and it’s hard to plan ahead. Same for careers. Handling the daily grind can easily get you stuck in a rut. Who has time to anticipate the future? Problem is, if you don’t survey the bigger picture once in a while, you’ll constantly be reacting. Every problem that springs up will b...

20 Warning Signs During The Hiring Process

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz Monster Contributing Writer If an employer called you for phone interview two hours late, what would your opinion of that company be? Don’t jump to conclusions: the interviewer may have been unavoidably detained, or could be having a bad day. Their explanation will help determine your perceptions. Forming impressions of a possibl...

Canadian Women In The Workforce.

By Monster Contributor

By Aisha Newton Monster Contributing Writer Canadian Women have worked outside of home for quite some time now. Prior to the First World War, they solely took care of their households. World War I was one of the first times in history in which women went to work. With the men off fighting on the front lines, women filled the vacant positions. In ...

Is Moving To A Different Province In Your Plans?

By Monster Contributor

By Mark SwartzMonster Contributing Writer Every year, about 1% of Canada’s population moves from one province to another. That’s over 300,000 people annually. A portion of these “interprovincial migrants” move to look for, or start working at, a higher paying job. They may figure they’re better off earning more in one province than another. ...

Job Search Through Social Media? Netiquette First!

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz Monster Contributing Writer You’d think twice about friending your boss on Facebook. So why would you bombard hiring managers and recruiters you’ve never met, with requests to join their social media networks? This is one example of an Internet faux pas job seekers make. Another is asking for endorsements from people who aren’t ...

Why Does It Take So Long To Find A Job?

By Monster Contributor

By Joe Issid Monster Contributing Writer A former career counsellor once told me that the duration of a job search was directly proportionate to the desired yearly salary. He claimed that the average job search would last one month for every $10,000 in desired salary. To wit, a job that paid an annual salary of $50,000 would take, on average, 5 m...

The Appropriate Use Of Social Media

By Monster Contributor

By Joe Issid Monster Contributing Writer When looking for a job in today’s market, all seekers need to be aware of one crucial fact: any company that is seriously looking at your profile will Google you. Any hiring manager worth his/her salt will take a few minutes and perform a web search to see what information they can find about you. Not on...

Can You Reapply After Rejecting A Job Offer?

By Mark Swartz, Monster contributor

There's an old quote credited to Groucho Marx: "I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member." It's a whimsical reminder to those who'd reapply to a company after rejecting their job offer. Yet there are people who go back and do just that. Tamlin Obisha and Jared Wellstone are two such job seekers. For Tamlin, it was the...

How To Network On Social Media

By Monster Contributor

By Karin Eldor Monster Contributing Writer All hail the power of networking! I’ve always learned that it’s a key factor when it comes to landing a job and career growth. And in today’s digital age, networking takes on whole new meaning – one where your social media profile serves as your virtual business card and your social network offers up a w...

Career Advice For Recent Grads

By Monster Contributor

By Karin Eldor Monster Contributing Writer Congratulations! After hours of classes and all that studying, you finally earned your degree. Cue panic mode: now what? It seems that no matter how well you fared academically, it can still be intimidating to pound the pavement and find a job – and a job that you love, no less. So, recent grads, here a...

6 Reasons They Didn't Call You Back

By Monster Contributor

In the best of times responding to a job listing can feel like sending your resume out to sea in a bottle. But at least you received a call or an email acknowledgement. Now, with the volume of applicants higher than ever, you're more likely to hear nothing. If there is a resounding silence from your queries, keep looking and networking. But you can...

How to Find Great Contacts for Your Professional Network

By Monster Contributor

By Charles Purdy A large, diverse, and engaged professional network is an important part of a job search. And part of maintaining a professional network means adding to it on a regular basis. Don't wait until you need a favor or are desperate to get your resume in front of a hiring manager! Right now, valuable contacts are on the perimeter of...

Online Professional Networking for Beginners

By Monster Contributor

By Charles Purdy Even though you may have plenty of Facebook friends or spend a healthy amount of time on Twitter, you may not think that you can (or should) do "professional networking" online. Perhaps you think of networking as something that only executives or salespeople do at big conventions. Maybe you want to keep your online life and y...

How To Send a Formal Email For a Job

Have you ever sent an email like this one in response to a job posting? To: employer@job-postings_company1.ca Subject: re: Job Application Dear employer, Look at my resume and cover letter. It’ll tell you all about me. I really want this job. What’s wrong with this message as it’s currently written? The substance of the above ema...

Do a Reference Check on Yourself!

By Monster Contributor

By Mark Swartz Monster Senior Contributing Writer Before you launch your job search, consider doing a background check on yourself ahead of an employer doing so. Get hold of your credit report, academic records and driving abstract. Search your own name out on Google.com to see if there are any references to you. The goal is to make sure that ther...

Starter Jobs: How to Find Your First Full-Time Gig

By Neil MacIntosh

Getting that first "real" job – also known as an entry-level position – can be tougher than blocking lame advertisements on your Facebook page. To find employment that you like and which pays a reasonable wage, you'll need to create an action plan for yourself. You can break down your plan into three manageable stages: deciding what kind of wor...

Preparing Your References

By Monster Contributor

By the Monster Career Coach You interviewed like a pro and now the employer is keen to make you a job offer. But first, they’ve asked you to produce a list of references they can contact in order to find out a little more about you. Have you prepped your references well in advance so that they’re ready to speak on your behalf? Timing Is Crucia...

The Post-Networking Sample Letter

By Monster Contributor

By the Monster Career Coach Networking is an excellent way of expanding your circle of contacts. The people you meet during your networking activities may know of work opportunities or have career insights that help move you forward. New contacts who take the time to meet with you or speak to you by phone tend to be busy, especially if they are...

Securing Letters of Reference

By Monster Contributor

By the Monster Career Coach When looking for a new job, it is important to make sure that you have your references lined up. Generally a potential employer will ask to contact your references once they have interviewed you and are just about ready to present you with a job offer. Once that moment arrives, you can try to make the process ...

Use a "Transitional" Business Card

By Monster Contributor

By the Monster Career Coach As a job seeker you need to present a professional image at all times. This includes the business card that you hand people when you are out networking and interviewing. If you are currently in transition (that is, between employment) you will need a card that quickly and simply tells people who you are. It need n...

Are All These Skills Required?

By Monster Contributor

by Allan Hoffman Monster Tech Jobs Expert A job posting lists these skills: J2EE, EJB, JSP, XML, WebSphere, Oracle, UML, HTML, servlets and a minimum GPA of 3.0. You meet them all, aside from the one for UML. But does the company really expect to find a candidate with this laundry list of skills? Should you apply, or keep looking? Technology execut...

How to Spot a Legitimate Work From Home Job

By John Rossheim

Who wouldn't want to work from home on a part-time basis and earn thousands of dollars a month? It's an offer millions of people can't or don't refuse. Unfortunately, some of these folks eventually regret having done business with a so-called work-at-home employer. "It's hard to distinguish legitimate work-at-home programs from people who are just...