calgaryjobshop.ca - Opinions?

[Young-Sneezy]

I am currently in my last semester of university, graduating in May (aww yeee) and like most soon to be graduates, I have been doing the resume thing, sending applications out everywhere imaginable and trying to land a job. I listen to The Fan all the time and the "Calgary Job Shop.ca long name amazing results" popped into my head...So i poked around a little bit...wasnt really anything amazing, but i decided to post my resume (after takin my references off, dont worry i wasnt posting anyones numbers except my own haha) and figured, hey, cant hurt...right?

Wrong.

I have gotten WAY too many calls from insurance companies, cold calling me asking to set up an interview out of the blue! The first time it happened the lady rambled off some name...something like ALTLIFE insurance... I had just applied for a job with Alta Link, so naturally i got pretty jacked when she spewed these letters in my face in a jumble of mess getting me a bit excited...i wrote down all the info not really processing it right away, but asked at the end of our call "so, what was the name of this firm again? ive applied to a lot of jobs..." to which she replied.. "oh...American Insurance Broker" (something like that...)

Great. a job peddling life insurance after 5 years of University...no thank you. I looked into the company and all i found was postings saying it was a scam, tier scam that, etc etc etc

*note: if you happen to work in insurance, i am NOT saying that working in the insurance industry is scammy...just these folk...*

Just got another call today from "American Income Life" ( www.ailife.com ) and this girl honestly was not letting me leave the phone without an interview...from jump, i said no, im not really interested in the insurance industry...im trying to be polite to these people, i realize they probably know they are scamming, im not going to be an ass for no reason... she keeps going...and going... and going...

I was just walking to the washroom at school when this happened, so i go back to my laptop while shes yammering off some info about something proceed to google this company...Third result on google:
http://www.calgarytalk.com/bbs/view_...303&forum_id=2

At this point i say again that i am not interested in this sort of position... she asks why.. and i literally had to say "Im reading some information online that doesnt make this position sound very appealing with your firm..."

Finally i got rid of her.. anyone else have this sort of situation occurring? My resume clearly states i have a degree, im not a two-bit moron that wants to work in scuzzy industrial calgary peddling insurance...

ps. calgaryjobshop.ca no longer has my resume... haha

discuss.

[burn_this_city]

Long name, amazing results.

[WhiteTiger]

I have never posted my resume with them, but back when I was looking, I did look through the ads they had up from employers. Never found any job I got, but I did find a few I applied to.

For them, I'd usually look at the details of the ad, look at who to contact, go check out the company's website, and email the person who wanted resumes through there.

[Young-Sneezy]

i've been pretty exclusive to the u of c and mru job banks.. some workopolis here... and random downtown firms websites... was never really impressed with calgary job shop from the beginning.

[Lego Man]

Research, target your potential employers, and apply through there own websites or apply in person. Fool Proof really.

Just think about it - If you were hiring would you look on Calgaryjobshop for employees? Only if you are really desperate.

[ken0042]

I used it to find my current job- not sure if I would want to post my resume there or not.

It's one thing to look for jobs there; another to have employers go looking for resumes.

[Young-Sneezy]

I agree, and i guess i should note again.. I do actually seek out jobs haha..not just post my resume on a website, kick back, and wait for the offers.

[HalifaxDrunk]

Originally Posted by Young-Sneezy

I am currently in my last semester of university, graduating in May (aww yeee)

English Major?

[TylerSVT]

Cold calling IMO works the best. Find a company you want to work for and cold call them.

What is your degree in?

[Young-Sneezy]

Originally Posted by HalifaxDrunk

English Major?

heeeaawwlll naw

Business major, minor in Economics.

[Yasa]

I took business for a year. All I learned is that the only thing business students do is drink and hate on accountants.

[Jbo]

As a semi-recent grad (2007) in managment /w a minor in Finance, I can offer the advice of what I went through:

1) Persistence is key
2) Always follow-up
3) Do not show graduate cockiness or act like you know more then you do

Many people I know (Myself included at the time) seem to think that we should graduate and settle into our nice comfy jobs at 60-70K a year. The reality is that in the first year or two you can usually expect to land a junior-role..a good place to learn, grow and develop.

I found that job boards in general are pretty bad for grads. Most of the positions available on those are either very specific or very broad. As a new grad, you have a very specific skillset (ie none)...you have shown you are able to be taught, but you have no experience to offer.

Focus on areas you would like to be in or companies you think may be a fit. Talk to any friends/relatives/alumni that have followed the route you want to go. Once you have an idea, focus on those companies and send out a good resume/cover letter/follow up call.

It can be a tough market for a grad. Make sure you stand out above the many others that are graduating and also applying at this time.

And finally, for the love of god make a good resume. You would be amazed how bad our generation is at it.

Good luck!

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Cold calling IMO works the best. Find a company you want to work for and cold call them.

What is your degree in?

At McDonald's, maybe.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

And finally, for the love of god make a good resume. You would be amazed how bad our generation is at it.

I would say that 80% of the resumes I get sent to me are very very poor for people with advanced college/university educations. Bad grammar, misspelling, too much information, not enough information, weird emphases, and/or inappropriate for the industry.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

As a semi-recent grad (2007) in managment /w a minor in Finance, I can offer the advice of what I went through:

1) Persistence is key
2) Always follow-up
3) Do not show graduate cockiness or act like you know more then you do

Many people I know (Myself included at the time) seem to think that we should graduate and settle into our nice comfy jobs at 60-70K a year. The reality is that in the first year or two you can usually expect to land a junior-role..a good place to learn, grow and develop.

I found that job boards in general are pretty bad for grads. Most of the positions available on those are either very specific or very broad. As a new grad, you have a very specific skillset (ie none)...you have shown you are able to be taught, but you have no experience to offer.

Focus on areas you would like to be in or companies you think may be a fit. Talk to any friends/relatives/alumni that have followed the route you want to go. Once you have an idea, focus on those companies and send out a good resume/cover letter/follow up call.

It can be a tough market for a grad. Make sure you stand out above the many others that are graduating and also applying at this time.

And finally, for the love of god make a good resume. You would be amazed how bad our generation is at it.

Good luck!

This.

And most post-secondary institutions have some sort of career centre with services available to both students and grads. Take advantage of it. In addition to their job boards you can often get help with your resume, cover letter, interview skills, and job search strategies.

[Jbo]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I would say that 80% of the resumes I get sent to me are very very poor for people with advanced college/university educations. Bad grammar, misspelling, too much information, not enough information, weird emphases, and/or inappropriate for the industry.

I had a friend forward me his resume in the chance I could get him a referal.

He spent half the resume talking about seeing the "forest through the trees" and some other weird crap.

I never even forwarded it on.

[Vansmack]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I would say that 80% of the resumes I get sent to me are very very poor for people with advanced college/university educations. Bad grammar, misspelling, too much information, not enough information, weird emphases, and/or inappropriate for the industry.

Has anyone sent you a new-aged resume? I've heard of people submitting video resume's and things of the such.

Once I finished university I knew what type of company I wanted to work for, so I simply compiled a list of every engineering consulting company I could find and applied to every single one of them. Luckily for me, the one I wanted was the first to contact me.

[jeremywilhelm]

I had this happen on monster.ca. I was working as a GP operator making alot of money, but the job is boring. So I threw up my resume for fun. All I got were these ridiculous insurance calls. They didn't get the point. I eventually said "#### off buddy, I am making 10 times more than you are offering a month, stop calling me"


It never stopped till I changed my number.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Vansmack

Has anyone sent you a new-aged resume? I've heard of people submitting video resume's and things of the such.

Once I finished university I knew what type of company I wanted to work for, so I simply compiled a list of every engineering consulting company I could find and applied to every single one of them. Luckily for me, the one I wanted was the first to contact me.

That reminds me I put together a Flash CD resume for a job I applied for 11 years ago and got the job but now that I'm on the other side I haven't received any videos or anything like that, and I'm even in architecture/design so that would actually be welcome. I do get a lot of .doc and .docx. Anything other than a PDF for a document style gets immediate negatives.

[arloiginla]

Just had the same thing happen to me. Problem was I was half asleep so I didn't quite catch the name of the company, but it had Alberta and Life in it somewhere so I'm guessing this was it.

What was the lady's name that called you? Mine was Sarula.