calgaryjobshop.ca - Opinions?

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by 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.

I have my information available on Monster, and I haven't had any calls from insurance companies. I have received a few calls as a result of posting it. Most of the positions were actually somewhat relevant to me.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by Sliver

At McDonald's, maybe.

Really? I found cold calling worked great. When I got laid off in 2009, I cold called three places and got three interviews, of which 2 ended up with job offers. Mind you I went with neither at the end, since I also called up an ex-boss of mine who landed me a job within a week heh.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Really? I found cold calling worked great. When I got laid off in 2009, I cold called three places and got three interviews, of which 2 ended up with job offers. Mind you I went with neither at the end, since I also called up an ex-boss of mine who landed me a job within a week heh.

Really? Wow, that's pretty cool. I guess the last time I was looking for a job was in 2000, fresh out of university with no experience. Now with a decade under my belt I guess I would have more to offer so it wouldn't hurt. I stand corrected...carry on.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Really? Wow, that's pretty cool. I guess the last time I was looking for a job was in 2000, fresh out of university with no experience. Now with a decade under my belt I guess I would have more to offer so it wouldn't hurt. I stand corrected...carry on.

I think only certain types of people can succeed at the cold call though. It might not go so well with a new grad. But for me, I was able to yammer on and on about my project experience. Probably helps that I'm pretty good at talking out of my ass too

[Vansmack]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

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.

I thought it was a strange concept but apparently it can actually work. I submitted a fairly standard resume/cover letter/references for my job, but I had met some headhunters who were really trying to promote these new school applications.

Thanks for the response!

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Young-Sneezy

heeeaawwlll naw

Business major, minor in Economics.

pet peeve but don't you have a Bachelor of commerce or Management and you majored in Economics?

[Temporary_User]

I'm having similar results as you are young-sneezy. I figure it can't really hurt to have your resume posted, so I do have it up on a few sites; I put it up with the knowledge that the most I would get out of it are scams.
I've heard (never verified for myself) that Monster and such job boards get their revenue from companies having to pay to post and hire through their service. I don't see many companies willing to take a chance and pay extra to hire a new grad with zero professional experience.

The job board that I have predominantly using is indeed.ca
It is sort of like kayak, but instead of vacations it is for jobs in that it scours all of the other job boards and even actual companies websites.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by return to the red

pet peeve but don't you have a Bachelor of commerce or Management and you majored in Economics?

+1

You dont get a Business degree... thats like saying my Economics degree is an Arts degree...

You got a Bcomm, what was your major? Accounting? Marketing? Managment?

regardless, look at the job postings online, if you are looking at Petroleum, most of the large/intermediate companies have postings on their websites, if you are looking for junior companies... good luck, most dont want to hire new grads because they want to hit the ground running. Work at an intermediate or Large company and then work your way down.

Ill say one thing, you kind of screwed yourself by waiting so long, you should have been applying and calling people in december, youll have to compete with summer students now which blows.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

+1

You dont get a Business degree... thats like saying my Economics degree is an Arts degree...

Sure you do. There are BA (Business Admin) degrees offered at MRU and SAIT. Not really sure what the difference is between that and a BComm though.

And isn't Economics a Bachelor of Arts degree? It's a social science right? At least, that was what it was back when I graduated from UofC (2004).

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Sure you do. There are BA (Business Admin) degrees offered at MRU and SAIT. Not really sure what the difference is between that and a BComm though.

And isn't Economics a Bachelor of Arts degree? It's a social science right? At least, that was what it was back when I graduated from UofC (2004).

Yea econ is a BA, im just saying. If i just put Arts Degree on my resume that could mean anything, from Economics to Sociology to History.

OP, do you plan on doing any designations? MBA/CA/CMA?

[Deegee]

+ 1 to cold calling

I managed to move away from being a convenience store bum for 6 years into a job I actually enjoy from cold calling without any work experience or school to support my cause.

[CaramonLS]

Put your email address up instead of your phone number. Most recruiters / sourcing people don't have time to cold call people and "convince" you to work for them.

...In fact, not a lot of recruiters I know of use the passive search feature anyways.

Make sure you use job scraping sites - indeed.ca, simplyhired.ca, eluta.ca - at least 50% of positions aren't posted to job boards, but rather to company websites, which then get scraped by the job aggregators.

[Young-Sneezy]

thanks for the responses guys..

yeah, i have found that places like indeed are way better than workopolis...its a learning curve forsure when you are applying for a real persons job, not a summer job where you are going to be there for 3 months..

and no, i have a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring is Management, and i have a minor in Economics.

[Cscutch]

I don't know how well this site works but it was on someone facbook post... I did a few quick searches and it brought up lots of results, mostly linking to companies websites.

indeed.com

[CaramonLS]

Oh, and as an employer, I like Calgaryjobshop - for certain positions (mainly entry level), because I have to post a lot of positions, and as an employer, it is pretty cheap (unlimited posting packages for the win).

I get tons of resumes from it for what I need.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Oh, and as an employer, I like Calgaryjobshop - for certain positions (mainly entry level), because I have to post a lot of positions, and as an employer, it is pretty cheap (unlimited posting packages for the win).

I get tons of resumes from it for what I need.

Calgaryjobshop is definitely more for entry level positions than anything else.

My advice:

1) Cold calling gets mixed results depending on the size of the company. Some companies are large and have specific instructions not to forward any outside calls (I'm looking at you Suncor). Small to intermediate size companies are good cold calling candidates because you can often find a name to contact.

2) Be persistent. Submit an application then phone/email the HR department (or whoever) to confirm they got it. You might get an impromptu interview out of it.

3) Don't go for a new age resume, but rather focus on creating a crisp and clear document that people can easily scan. Remember that your application probably has to get through someone who doesn't know your skills/background. I've heard stories of 18-20 year old co-op HR students weeding out the first round of resumes for more senior positions. Think about that.

4) Always follow up any correspondence with a thank you note or email. It keeps you fresh in their minds.

5) Make some business cards and always have them with you. You never know when you'll run into someone that might be able to help you out.

6) Your network is probably pretty junior right now, but keep in contact with all your colleagues. Find out where their working, how they got their jobs and if they can help you out. Nobody finds a good job on their own anymore. It takes a network.

Edit: For job search engines, indeed.ca is probably the best, followed by eluta.ca and workopolis.

[Rathji]

I remember in a Soci class I was taking, they showed that overall you have the lest chance from getting a job by looking online, due to the massive numbers of people that apply.

[TylerSVT]

For reference i cold called and applied to about 70 summer positions this year and so far only had 2 interviews. I got the job on one of them but shows how hard it might be to find a full time position doing something you like.

[CaptainCrunch]

I've always had the greatest success by using recruiting companies.

And doing my own searches and submissions.

CalgaryJobShops is a posting palace for entry to lower level positions and insurance MLM companies.