Find out more about yourself and how you fit into the
labour market
I find when discussing job
search with people – “What kind of work are you looking for?” they generally
respond to the question by listing industries they are familiar with such as
retail, food service or helping people. The vagueness of the response is
something we reflect back to the client by asking “Well, what skills do you
have?” or “Why do you want to do that type of work?”
This questioning focuses
their thoughts to build a self-awareness to help with decision making when
looking for work. I also include questions surrounding what the people know
about those industries and what jobs they have found that match their target
industry.
I believe in the efficiency of
a self-aware job search that is based on labour market research. However,
introducing this idea is not a one-step plan. I gradually introduce each component
and explain their value to the overall process.
Below is a list of all the
steps someone can complete to accelerate their job search; a one week challenge
to build self-awareness, labour market knowledge and apply it to job search.
Monday –
Complete some online self-awareness assessments (questions regarding learning
style, skills, and interests.) The results will provide a list of careers you match
up with.
Tuesday - Determine
all the main skills of the careers highlighted by the assessments to confirm
you have the necessary skills for the career.
Wednesday – Based
on the previous results, look at the careers listed and research them on labour
market information sites: jobbank.gc.ca; tcu.gov.on.ca to build a better
understanding of the wages, outlook and details of each career.
Thursday – Review
your resume to see if you have included the pertinent skills on the resume that
reflect your ability to the job and make sure you list what the employer is
looking for from your background.
Friday – Expand
your job search based on the results of your self-awareness exercise into areas
that you may not have previously considered especially if you match the
requirements of that field or job.
