Career Advice

[steve9981]

....

[CaramonLS]

Grad degree in what exactly?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Grad degree in what exactly?

Analyst eh?

I had no idea the porn industry was struggling

[northcrunk]

Unfortunatly it is more difficult to get a job with a graduate degree than without one.

[burn_this_city]

Love that he logged off without answering any questions, I'd say persistence might be an issue.

[steve9981]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Grad degree in what exactly?

...

[burn_this_city]

I'm surprised you can't leverage your previous experience. I can understand your engineering buddy because frankly EITs know jack all fresh out of school. The market is a bit tight, maybe broaden your horizons until the job you want becomes available down the road.

[darklord700]

Delted.

[steve9981]

..

[calf]

Get out there and start networking and make connections. Find events that you can go to by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Calgary Economic Development, etc and try to meet as many people as possible.

Volunteering with a charity is also a great way to meet various people in different industries, positions, companies,etc - and a lot of people at charities have great corporate connections too.

[bubbsy]

have you thought about branching into different industries (not sure if you are in O&G, but maybe into high finance/banking industries)?

I have friends from an econ background who are all working on bay st here in toronto though.

[northcrunk]

If all else fails you can always become a prof with a masters degree. It will be very difficult to get any entry level position with a graduate degree as the salary they would have to pay you would be too much considering they could get someone with similar experience (or possibly more experience but less schooling) for cheaper.

Start making connections and applying with recruiters. The more of them you know the more chance you will have to get a position. I get probably 6-8 calls a month from recruiters looking to try and get me to move. Not sure about your industry but in O&G it helps to be a corporated contractor.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by calf

Get out there and start networking and make connections. Find events that you can go to by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Calgary Economic Development, etc and try to meet as many people as possible.

Volunteering with a charity is also a great way to meet various people in different industries, positions, companies,etc - and a lot of people at charities have great corporate connections too.

When I was fresh out of school and no job prospects in my field where I wanted to live I volunteered at a non-profit. I was noticed and offered a job after a few months. That job was my stepping stone to get experience needed to get into the company I've been with for 8 years and I've been able to grow within the company. It all started with volunteering and through that opportunity I created connections that I still hold to this day. Should I decide to move on, there is a good chance that I can call upon those connections to align myself with a new job.

[Huntingwhale]

Become man prostitute

[fredr123]

These days, the best jobs don't seem to be posted on Monster.ca or Calgarypuckjobshop.com (long fake name, dubious results). Those that are seem to be entry level gigs that are probably not what you are looking for.

To echo what others have said, you need to get out there and network. Meet people. Make connections. Real connections (not just LinkedIn connections). Volunteer. Work in the community. Find companies or organizations that you really want to work for and try to meet up with the people there. Ask to meet for coffee or lunch to discuss the industry and your profession. Show an interest in the company and their work. People like seeing initiative like that.

If all you do is send in resumes and respond to want ads, you're doing yourself a huge disservice.

[AcGold]

I'm right there too, graduating geophysics now and there's nothing unless you are the top 4% of the class.

Every company wants people with minimum 6-8 years experience. Probably going to have to head up to Fort Mac or intern/volunteer and get a second job, seems like you have to get your foot in the door then work your way in through the back a lot of the time.

[Ace]

There's no reason why you have to list your graduate degree on your resume. If you think it's hurting you, take it off. When you interview if it comes up naturally you can just tell the employer that you wanted the employer to know that your serious about working your way up, and recognize that you need some relevant experience.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Become man prostitute

I read this in the voice of Nikolai from Six Feet Under.

[calf]

I hired for an entry level accounting position last year, and we had about 250 applications come in, each one looking similar to the last. Exactly one person dropped off their application in person and asked to speak to me* about the position a little more when they came in.

Guess who we hired?

They had a little less experience than the other applicants, but had the education to go with the drive, initiative and motivation, and demonstrated it to us, instead of it being another empty platitude on a form letter.

Everyone hears about these tips on ways to make yourself stand out...and the reason people stand out when they follow them is because no one does it.

* I will say, the stars aligned and she caught me at a time when I had the time to do this - Don't expect those hiring to always make time at a moment's notice.

[1stLand]

Become a Realtor or a mortgage broker.
Or a car salesman.

I have two university degrees. I couldn't get a fancy desk job that I wanted.
So I put my ego aside and went into a career that required no post secondary education and now I love what I do.

If you love what u do, the money will follow.

More education isn't always the answer