Calgary - Where are all the GOOD entry level jobs?

[alltherage]

I just graduated from college recently (Marketing), and after hours and hours of souring job sites such as Monster, Workopolis, calgaryjobshop.ca etc, I can't seem to find much of anything in the way of a reputable company that wants entry level candidates! It's all sketchy "M1 Synergy" and "Vector Marketing" and other companies i've just never heard of. I'm getting frustrated.

The position I'm in right now (inside sales for a building product company) is just not very stimulating. Sure, I'm fairly busy, but the work i'm doing just doesn't seem to interest me. I'm a salesman in my core, i know that much- i need to interact with people, move around, communicate! I'm an extremely social person and I love presenting ideas and finding solutions. People seem think Calgary is busting at the seams with jobs! Are they all just labour and fast food jobs? Where are all the interesting, decent paying, entry level jobs?

I don't think it's my resume and cover letter... but if anyone wants to take a look at them PM me.

[Reggie Dunlop]

A Marketing grad having problems marketing himself?

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

A Marketing grad having problems marketing himself?

Haha, ironic isn't it? I think my cover letter and resume are pretty good, I just don't have very much experience.

[urban1]

Do you have any relevant job experience?

Did you do a co-op placement or internship? Summer jobs?

Has your school's career centre helped you? Job ads? Resume help? etc.

What industry are you looking at?

Most of those sights you posted arent great for entry level jobs unless its the mail room. Your school should be best able to help you. But answer some of the above questions and maybe give some more details and i might be able to offer better suggestions.

[FireFly]

Figure out where you WANT to work and apply there. That's how I got my job at the Flames.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by urban1

Do you have any relevant job experience?

I've worked in customer service and sales for a combined total of about 6 years.

Did you do a co-op placement or internship? Summer jobs?

No, no co-op or internship. I've had a job at Best Buy selling the whole time I was in school. It might sound small time, but I was wicked at selling.

Has your school's career centre helped you? Job ads? Resume help? etc.

I took a communications course that had strategies for effective resume and cover letter writing. I've also always had a natural knack for writing, English was one of my best subjects in school.

What industry are you looking at?

I like construction and real estate. New home sales, mainly. I also have a high interest in advertising.

Most of those sights you posted arent great for entry level jobs unless its the mail room. Your school should be best able to help you. But answer some of the above questions and maybe give some more details and i might be able to offer better suggestions.

There are some answers, I hope they are OK.

FireFly, you are a freak of nature for getting to work for the Flames. I WISH I could work for the organization.

[flylock shox]

Whatever you do, don't apply to Vector Marketing.

Unless, of course, you want to sell knives to your friends and family for a living.

And I think job applications are a numbers game. Send out 100 resume packages to places you're interested in working, you might get 20 interviews, of the 20 interviews you might get 5 call backs, and of the 5 call backs you might get 2 job offers. Just start talking to the HR folks at any company that appeals to you, find out where to address your application package, and fire the sucker off or, if you've got time, drop it off in person.

The only thing worse than having a job is looking for one.

Good luck with it.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I just graduated from college recently (Marketing), and after hours and hours of souring job sites such as Monster, Workopolis, calgaryjobshop.ca etc, I can't seem to find much of anything in the way of a reputable company that wants entry level candidates! It's all sketchy "M1 Synergy" and "Vector Marketing" and other companies i've just never heard of. I'm getting frustrated.

.

As someone else mentioned, you should find the companies you want to work for and target them specifically. Not all companies advertise available positions, and some might not know they want to hire a new person until a good resume crosses their desk. Also, there is a chance that a position comes up suddenly or may be coming up soon with one of those companies... you never know, but it would be good to be there first. In short, don't count on Workopolis and the likes to find the opportunities. Not only are they often just the tip, but you are going to be competing with everyone else who depends on those sources.

[Juventus3]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Whatever you do, don't apply to Vector Marketing.

Unless, of course, you want to sell knives to your friends and family for a living.

And I think job applications are a numbers game. Send out 100 resume packages to places you're interested in working, you might get 20 interviews, of the 20 interviews you might get 5 call backs, and of the 5 call backs you might get 2 job offers. Just start talking to the HR folks at any company that appeals to you, find out where to address your application package, and fire the sucker off or, if you've got time, drop it off in person.

The only thing worse than having a job is looking for one.

Good luck with it.

Haha no kidding, went to an interview with them. I was naive enough to actually be excited for the opportunity. I got up and walked out five minutes after the group interview started. Sure looked like sharp knives though.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Hire yourself!

Seriously, having a few irons in the fire of your own doing changes your perspective.

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

Haha no kidding, went to an interview with them. I was naive enough to actually be excited for the opportunity. I got up and walked out five minutes after the group interview started. Sure looked like sharp knives though.

Funny thing is, everybody I sold those damned knives to still uses them to this day, and doesn't regret spending the money on them. In fact, I've never bought knives: I've used my demo kit since I got it. But it sure seems scammy. If your product is so good, why the hell don't you open a store?

Vector really targets students and summer workers too - I used to work for the Herald, and Vector always had at least 1 of their 4-5 ad repertoire running in the Classifieds every day. They must go through about 300 employees a year in Calgary alone.

[calf]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I just graduated from college recently (Marketing), and after hours and hours of souring job sites such as Monster, Workopolis, calgaryjobshop.ca etc, I can't seem to find much of anything in the way of a reputable company that wants entry level candidates! It's all sketchy "M1 Synergy" and "Vector Marketing" and other companies i've just never heard of. I'm getting frustrated.

The position I'm in right now (inside sales for a building product company) is just not very stimulating. Sure, I'm fairly busy, but the work i'm doing just doesn't seem to interest me. I'm a salesman in my core, i know that much- i need to interact with people, move around, communicate! I'm an extremely social person and I love presenting ideas and finding solutions. People seem think Calgary is busting at the seams with jobs! Are they all just labour and fast food jobs? Where are all the interesting, decent paying, entry level jobs?

I don't think it's my resume and cover letter... but if anyone wants to take a look at them PM me.

From my perspective, entry level jobs, like the one you have now, are there to get you experience so that you can move into your dream job later on. Give it time, get some solid experience where you can, then move on once you have the experience your ideal company wants. Calgary is notorious for not having good marketing jobs out there...most marketing majors I know ended up doing accounting/finance type jobs.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I like construction and real estate. New home sales, mainly. I also have a high interest in advertising.
(

I work for a Real Estate Marketing company. We market and sell pre-sale developements for developers who don't do their own. Sounds right up your alley, but we're based out of Vancouver.

Condo marketing/sales is a big and very interesting industry. I'd recommend picking up local conda mags and applying to the various development and marketing companies.
Most of this industry hires from within the industry, so if you get your foot in the door moving around to position that you'd really like is quite doable.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Figure out where you WANT to work and apply there. That's how I got my job at the Flames.

Firefly is right. When you figure out where you want to work, use that salemanship you learned at SAIT and sell them on how you would be an asset to that organization.

[alltherage]

That's some great advice, guys. I think some of the things I've gotta take away are:

• Be patient where I'm at, gain the experience, and keep my eyes open.
• Think about where I want to work, and apply there.
• Apply often, and to many places at one time.
• Apply in person if possible, these job sites are saturated in crappy jobs and thousands of candidates.

[Ozy_Flame]

The best way to do it is follow Firefly's example. Forget applying on the internet, that rarely works unless it's with the government or something. Go up to the companies you want to work for, explain your qualities to the HR manager, and DEMAND a position from them. In Calgary's job market, I've seen friends do it all the time, and it works.

Best to meet them face-to-face.

[Cowboy89]

I think Calgary's misleading when it comes to in the true sense of the word 'marketing' jobs ie. Sales, advertising etc. Calgary has plenty of retail/industrial sales jobs, just don't expect to make what you think entry level people in the oil patch make. Interesting enough oil and gas marketing generally don't hire 'marketing' graduates but more rather 'finance' graduates because oil and gas marketing is all about pricing and logistics and not creative advertising campaigns or sales efforts. There are some advertising firms in town but I'd imagine they wouldn't be hiring new grads en masse.

I would recommend looking up all the large employers in town and going to their websites and applying generally to their databases (or specifically should they have a job you're interested in). Often Human Resources departments scan resumes and cover letters for key words and skills with the use of database tools to match up potential candidates with job needing to be filled. Workopolis, Calgary Job shop, and Monster, are the last places reputable firms post jobs because usually they get enough people applying to their websites directly to form a decent applicant pool.

Hope this might help

[CaptainCrunch]

There is a misnomer about the Calgary Job market, especially when it comes to sales roles. Most organizations don't want to take chances with inexperienced Business Development Managers. They want someone with a proven track record in sales, with proven results and a pre-built tool kit of contacts.

Trust me, I've been in sales and sales management for 20 years and for the most part there's a certain expectation when it comes to hiring new people into sales, they want you to be revenue positive in as short of a time as possible.

When I went through my layoff at the start of the summer, I decided to take some time off and didn't send out one resume, but I posted my resume on Monster.com just to guage interest. I received about 20 interview requests in the first week, and 10 a week afterwards because I have a proven track record, and I have major contacts in the field, and for the most part, I can leverage my networks pretty well, and I have a good technical background to go with my sales experience.

There are tons of openings out there for experience, companies will make openings if your proven, but you need to establish your track record.

Honestly, my advice to you is backwards. I would find a smaller company with a unique product base, don't expect a huge salary, expect a good commission plan, and make yourself an expert in the product before you go in to talk to them, in other words, make them feel like your excited about what they do, and that you can sell what they have. Then go about establishing yourself in your market place, become a name and you will get snatched up eventually.

Just my 2 cents.

[J pold]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Whatever you do, don't apply to Vector Marketing.

Unless, of course, you want to sell knives to your friends and family for a living.

Ha ha I remember reading that add and going for an interview about 3 years ago, sat down and realized they where about selling knives, at first I thought it was a joke than I realized they where serious

[urban1]

Id disagree with a lot of what youve taken away.

-You need to determine what type of industry you want to work in first. Even if you say oil&gas, what specific subsector do you want to work in?

-Then you need to determine what companies are in that sector. Do some research and determine which companies you want to work for - whether it be because of their compensation and benefits or opportunities or whatever.

-Try to make some contact at the companies on your list. Ask everyone you know if they know anyone at those companies. Aunts, uncles, neighbours, etc. You never know where you might get a contact from.

-Try to find out what the company looks for in ideal employees. Then try to figure out how you match what they need and what they want.

-IMO, you are better off applying at a small number of companies (5 to 10) but with a very targetted approach. Rather than applying at 25, 50 or more. Sending out tons of resumes for tons of jobs is an old approach that isnt recommended today. Youll get calls for jobs you dont want or arent qualified for and are wasting their time and yours. And with such an unfocused approach you might not get a call for a job you want and are qualified for because theyll just pass over your generalized application.

-Applying in person... I dunno... this works for retail maybe.... but i cant see it being effective anywhere else. People are busy and if you show up, the first person you will talk to is the receptionist. She wont help you at all especially if its a big company. She wont know who to call or what to do. shell tell you that you can drop off your resume and thats it.

- the internet is a great way to apply. if a company says they want you to apply in a particular way, follow their instructions.

Send out a million resumes if you dont know what you want but its not the best approach.

Originally Posted by alltherage

That's some great advice, guys. I think some of the things I've gotta take away are:

• Be patient where I'm at, gain the experience, and keep my eyes open.
• Think about where I want to work, and apply there.
• Apply often, and to many places at one time.
• Apply in person if possible, these job sites are saturated in crappy jobs and thousands of candidates.