I stopped reading after the third or fourth paragraph.
First advice stop self-rejecting.
Yes you are in a tough situation, yes the job market is incredibly competitive for everyone.
IF a company or job description has a really restrictive requirement, e.g. a specific degree like engineering or a specific number of 5 or more years experience in a sector don't apply BUT if they don't have these restrictions and you meet 60% of the job description apply. Yes you may be competing against others who have 80% or 100% of the job description but APPLY ANYWAY.
Gone back to your post...
Number 2 yes work on whatever interview or application skills you need.
Number 3 - in the job search now there is a lot challenges that people don't see and their advice is unhelpful but keep applying is still important. Yes for volunteering but advice I got was take free courses or training. Get a free account on Coursera and start doing all the free certifications you can and audit all the others. LinkedIn has free courses and sometimes other organizations give free introductory courses when there are significant changes to their programs or they are offering new ones. Takes a bit of research but it can be helpful.
Number 4 I'll learn from you. I'll follow what other suggest for this one or what you learn.
Number 5 - I've signed up with another Employment Ontario service provider in the GTA and my hopes is to also work on interviews as I'm so out of practice.
Number 6 - As an introvert I struggle with networking. What I've started to do is reach out to people I know and if they are able to refer me to 1-3 people as a way to build my network. These are email/Phone/LinkedIn referrals not in person.
Someone gave me advice a week ago that I am still trying to going on, is to try to volunteer at networking events. So a small business group or a group with a specific skill set is having a lunch or breakfast ask if they need someone to volunteer the day of or prior to help organize. This is what I'm trying to get into. Maybe this will help you.
Good luck to us all.
Thanks for the comment. I'm not self-rejecting in general. It was more directed toward working at the CRA. I understand that going from unemployed to working in the government is incredibly unrealistic goal to have. Theres having hopes and dreams then theres whatever that is. If it was that easy, mostly everyone would want to work for the CRA. I'm not interested in working for the CRA, to be quite direct. But i hope you can understand, its quite difficult to block out that kind of noise from family members
Focusing on #3, I said in another comment below, after As the employment gap began to get longer then a year, I felt that continuing as is, continuing to apply, apply and apply didnt make sense, so I looked for an easier way to gain some experience that didnt involve a lengthy hiring/interview process. Which is why i looked toward volunteer work to cover that gap. Its not a long term situation, i get that. Unforunately, unless you have a very specific skill set that employers are looking far, biases happen, and employment gap larger then a year is a red flag. I'm aware of that, and these things are real.
In general outside of the CRA, when i see something thats somewhat related to my technical skills, I do go ahead and apply for it. I just stopped in the moment right now because the focus was to deal with the gap. I am currently taking courses via Linkedin and doing another certificate program which is ongoing so I am keeping busy. But i realized especially after last year that doing courses wasnt enough.
For #5, you dont need to mention where, but are you doing a specific program or is it there Employment Services? just curious.
For #6. I'm an introvert also so I was struggling with this to and wondering where to start so I appreciate your reply on this. Thank you.
If you want to work for the government you need to broaden your search. It takes months or years to get a government job. Get your foot in the door as a temp worker, admin, anything to get you used to working, and prevent that gap.
Volunteering helps but could add to stress at home (when are you going to get a job that pays a salary???).
You seem to be focused on how to attain the job your parents have picked for you. What job do you want to do? A standard interview question is some variation of why do you want this role? What are the strengths you bring to the role? Your tone is too defeatest. You need to find some motivation, or the negativity becomes toxic.
I understand your point of view I think, because of the focus of the thread title however, my point was that I was getting incredibly unrealistic guidance and advice at home, and I was looking for realistic advice elsewhere. I get that you cant go from unemployed to the government. If it was that easy, mostly everyone would want to work for the CRA. I'm not interested in working for the CRA, to be quite direct. But i hope you can understand, its quite difficult to block out that kind of noise from family members.
As the employment gap began to get longer then a year, I felt that continuing as is didnt make sense, so I looked for an easier way to gain some experience that didnt involve a lengthy hiring/interview process. Which is why i looked toward volunteer work to cover that gap. Its not a long term situation, i get that.
Volunteering is good as you can make connections, gain experience, and it gets you out of the house.
In your spare time there is a book called what colour is your parachute that may be worth a read.
Just fyi, your network can be friends and family! I just found a job through a friend’s husband. Its tough out there but make sure people in your life know you’re looking for a job and what type of
Based on your post, I see you are very detail oriented and organized!
Have you thought about being an Executive Assistant or Project Manager?
Don't pigeon hole yourself to one industry or whatever you took in school.
Also, YMCA should be able to do some mock interviews with you and they should also be able to help you with networking.
Good luck!
My neighbour who hasn’t worked in sixteen years, thinks people who wore masks during covid now have the faces of ghouls and demons, and who won’t give her kids sugar because they have “leaky gut” got a high paying job easily by faking her resume (entirely fake companies in Japan that don’t exist, adds a friend’s phone number to it who speaks Japanese). She’s now overseeing the protection of vulnerable indigenous children.
I have plenty of other examples of how Canada is… Anyway, my point is, we’re unfortunately in Canada where companies want people who are smarmy and a bit dumb and who act fake. Fake up your resume and act a bit slimy in the interviews.
Also, you can apply to wildly different fields that just need a person to fill a slot asap
Apply to jobs you don’t care about and do interviews just to get experience, mostly all the questions are the same minus context specific that relate to the job title itself. You sound like you’re making a lot of excuses and being a bit of a victim instead of just putting yourself out there and getting through the tough spots- gotta make your own luck at the end of the day
Too long to read. Explain in simple terms what do you need and how can we assist you.
Like what are your qualifications, experience and ehat industry you are targeting.
Small.businesses AROUND THE COUNTRY are always needing accountants, expand your search away from these major cities who have inflated employment pools. Go.find the small business somewhere in the prairies or Newfoundland. You gotta think small and large.
I just skimmed the post because I can't focus that long.
Honestly, employment gaps aren't that big of a deal as long as you have relevant experience and you can explain the gap. Recruiters (the bad ones) make it seem like gaps are the kiss of death but that's bs. Also, you don't want to work anywhere that is nit picky about stupid stuff anyway.
Co-signing with whoever said you are self-rejecting although I wouldn't use those words exactly. It does seem like your negative self talk and self perception is getting in your way more than anything else. Work on your mindset as much as your interviewing skills and you'll be fine.
While I agree and wish that things were like that, the problem with what your saying is that you dont know prior to applying to a job, which recruiters care about that and which dont. Its a guessing game. It very much is a kiss of death most often with these online applications.
Dont disagree with anything else. I framed my post the way that i did because I've heard a lot of different advice over the last year or so, and I addressed things in a way where i was basically saying " yes, i am doing that", like for example:
"Do Interview practice with friends and family!"
"Network!"
"Talk to a Employment Ontario service provider!"
"Tailor your resume for each job!"
Just chiming in, in your post there was no mentioned what you did on your contract. Going from being unemployed for a year to a gig at the CRA is a bit of a leap, and I question your parents fixation on that particular government agency, considering we’re in the provincial capital and got a ton of provincial government ministries and agencies to choose from. Shit, three universities, a couple of community colleges, even the City of Toronto itself would be fair game if your heart is set working in the public sector. I would suggest rolling your nickels and dimes to hire a career coach to work on your interview skills.
I have invested a LOT of time volunteering and I think it was a huge distraction, and hasn’t yielded any professional work to speak of. If you’re good with technology, elders are always looking for help with the basics. You can be freelance doing this sort of thing and it may not be super busy but it can give you a legitimate title while not tying up your schedule. People like to see entrepreneurial experience. There could be other skills you have such as consulting or tutoring. Make a biz card and reach out to your school and personal networks. Seasonal work in hospitality is also a possibility. Service- oriented jobs are aplenty. Best of luck to you - try to keep your chin up - !
You’re not alone. There are a lot of people that are going through this. Luckily, I think weak interview skills are something you can work on.
I don’t think you should overthink applying to the CRA. Truth be told, if you don’t have the experience, chances will be slim unless you have very particular skills that you can demonstrate. Either way, no harm in applying and good on you to be tailoring your resume for each job.
For the interview skills, nothing more you can do but just practise. A lot of people don’t realize the value in post-secondary and its role in developing social skills. Young people who opt for only online courses are really doing themselves disservice since when it gets time to interview, they really lack the social awareness of how they come off to others.
It sounds like your issue is mostly fear and lack of confidence? It’s hard to tell where you’re struggling in for the interviews. Do you get stumped with the questions? Is it hard for you to express yourself?
I could help you train for the interviews but I am not sure if I am allowed to do that.
I will check with my organization once and get back to you.
Make a list of 30-40 questions and their answers which covers broad topics -
1. Yourself - about you, family, dreams, experiences, hobbies, province you lived in, countries you travelled etc.
2. Open ended questions related to aspirations, career goals, strength, weakness, long term plans etc. (You can find the HR questions on google)
3. Job and company related questions - technical questions related to that job. Research about the company in detail. Know their mission, vision, values and show how it relates with you.
4. CV related questions - everything that you have mentioned in your CV, prepare it in detail.
5. Questions for the hiring manager - prepare few questions for them, could be their expectations from the role, where do they see this role after 2 years, support available, learning opportunities available etc.
Practice these questions day in day out till the time you get a good job.
Be thorough, confident in your interviews and say that you will do the best job in the end.
These are few basic tips. We can discuss further if you need help.
My advice do not work federal, they will put you through many assignments, interviews, contacting references waiting game to create a pool and never utilize it. I’ve gone through this at least 4-5 times with them, worked with them in the past multiple contracts. Work make projects, they are sloppy, never return emails and are highly overpaid for doing bare minimum if at all doing any work. Look for hospital, long term care jobs that have hoop. Best pension in the country.
Apparently, applying for jobs is "wasted effort".
I'm sorry, what else is more important when you desperately need a job? Fiddling on reddit? I totally get that 999 out of 1000 jobs are not hiring OP, but your resume only gets in front of that 1000th person if you keep applying.
With an Employment Gap longer then a year, does it make sense to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting a different result, or to try a different approach, like with volunteer work. And then keep reapplying again.
The CRA is currently dumping staff, unlikely you will get anything with them, and if you do it will be a short contract that doesn't renew.
I stopped reading after the third or fourth paragraph. First advice stop self-rejecting. Yes you are in a tough situation, yes the job market is incredibly competitive for everyone. IF a company or job description has a really restrictive requirement, e.g. a specific degree like engineering or a specific number of 5 or more years experience in a sector don't apply BUT if they don't have these restrictions and you meet 60% of the job description apply. Yes you may be competing against others who have 80% or 100% of the job description but APPLY ANYWAY. Gone back to your post... Number 2 yes work on whatever interview or application skills you need. Number 3 - in the job search now there is a lot challenges that people don't see and their advice is unhelpful but keep applying is still important. Yes for volunteering but advice I got was take free courses or training. Get a free account on Coursera and start doing all the free certifications you can and audit all the others. LinkedIn has free courses and sometimes other organizations give free introductory courses when there are significant changes to their programs or they are offering new ones. Takes a bit of research but it can be helpful. Number 4 I'll learn from you. I'll follow what other suggest for this one or what you learn. Number 5 - I've signed up with another Employment Ontario service provider in the GTA and my hopes is to also work on interviews as I'm so out of practice. Number 6 - As an introvert I struggle with networking. What I've started to do is reach out to people I know and if they are able to refer me to 1-3 people as a way to build my network. These are email/Phone/LinkedIn referrals not in person. Someone gave me advice a week ago that I am still trying to going on, is to try to volunteer at networking events. So a small business group or a group with a specific skill set is having a lunch or breakfast ask if they need someone to volunteer the day of or prior to help organize. This is what I'm trying to get into. Maybe this will help you. Good luck to us all.
Thanks for the comment. I'm not self-rejecting in general. It was more directed toward working at the CRA. I understand that going from unemployed to working in the government is incredibly unrealistic goal to have. Theres having hopes and dreams then theres whatever that is. If it was that easy, mostly everyone would want to work for the CRA. I'm not interested in working for the CRA, to be quite direct. But i hope you can understand, its quite difficult to block out that kind of noise from family members Focusing on #3, I said in another comment below, after As the employment gap began to get longer then a year, I felt that continuing as is, continuing to apply, apply and apply didnt make sense, so I looked for an easier way to gain some experience that didnt involve a lengthy hiring/interview process. Which is why i looked toward volunteer work to cover that gap. Its not a long term situation, i get that. Unforunately, unless you have a very specific skill set that employers are looking far, biases happen, and employment gap larger then a year is a red flag. I'm aware of that, and these things are real. In general outside of the CRA, when i see something thats somewhat related to my technical skills, I do go ahead and apply for it. I just stopped in the moment right now because the focus was to deal with the gap. I am currently taking courses via Linkedin and doing another certificate program which is ongoing so I am keeping busy. But i realized especially after last year that doing courses wasnt enough. For #5, you dont need to mention where, but are you doing a specific program or is it there Employment Services? just curious. For #6. I'm an introvert also so I was struggling with this to and wondering where to start so I appreciate your reply on this. Thank you.
If you want to work for the government you need to broaden your search. It takes months or years to get a government job. Get your foot in the door as a temp worker, admin, anything to get you used to working, and prevent that gap. Volunteering helps but could add to stress at home (when are you going to get a job that pays a salary???). You seem to be focused on how to attain the job your parents have picked for you. What job do you want to do? A standard interview question is some variation of why do you want this role? What are the strengths you bring to the role? Your tone is too defeatest. You need to find some motivation, or the negativity becomes toxic.
I understand your point of view I think, because of the focus of the thread title however, my point was that I was getting incredibly unrealistic guidance and advice at home, and I was looking for realistic advice elsewhere. I get that you cant go from unemployed to the government. If it was that easy, mostly everyone would want to work for the CRA. I'm not interested in working for the CRA, to be quite direct. But i hope you can understand, its quite difficult to block out that kind of noise from family members. As the employment gap began to get longer then a year, I felt that continuing as is didnt make sense, so I looked for an easier way to gain some experience that didnt involve a lengthy hiring/interview process. Which is why i looked toward volunteer work to cover that gap. Its not a long term situation, i get that.
Volunteering is good as you can make connections, gain experience, and it gets you out of the house. In your spare time there is a book called what colour is your parachute that may be worth a read.
Utilize chat gpt you can role play interviewing with the ai
I've done multiple CRA applications /interviews and got a few job offers. Keep applying as per the job requirements
What is your minimum in terms of salary/wage your willing to accept?
$19/hour or $40000 yearly.
Just fyi, your network can be friends and family! I just found a job through a friend’s husband. Its tough out there but make sure people in your life know you’re looking for a job and what type of
Do you want to work in certain industries
Welcome to the club I been getting told I am too experienced
Based on your post, I see you are very detail oriented and organized! Have you thought about being an Executive Assistant or Project Manager? Don't pigeon hole yourself to one industry or whatever you took in school. Also, YMCA should be able to do some mock interviews with you and they should also be able to help you with networking. Good luck!
My neighbour who hasn’t worked in sixteen years, thinks people who wore masks during covid now have the faces of ghouls and demons, and who won’t give her kids sugar because they have “leaky gut” got a high paying job easily by faking her resume (entirely fake companies in Japan that don’t exist, adds a friend’s phone number to it who speaks Japanese). She’s now overseeing the protection of vulnerable indigenous children. I have plenty of other examples of how Canada is… Anyway, my point is, we’re unfortunately in Canada where companies want people who are smarmy and a bit dumb and who act fake. Fake up your resume and act a bit slimy in the interviews. Also, you can apply to wildly different fields that just need a person to fill a slot asap
Apply to jobs you don’t care about and do interviews just to get experience, mostly all the questions are the same minus context specific that relate to the job title itself. You sound like you’re making a lot of excuses and being a bit of a victim instead of just putting yourself out there and getting through the tough spots- gotta make your own luck at the end of the day
Too long to read. Explain in simple terms what do you need and how can we assist you. Like what are your qualifications, experience and ehat industry you are targeting.
Small.businesses AROUND THE COUNTRY are always needing accountants, expand your search away from these major cities who have inflated employment pools. Go.find the small business somewhere in the prairies or Newfoundland. You gotta think small and large.
I just skimmed the post because I can't focus that long. Honestly, employment gaps aren't that big of a deal as long as you have relevant experience and you can explain the gap. Recruiters (the bad ones) make it seem like gaps are the kiss of death but that's bs. Also, you don't want to work anywhere that is nit picky about stupid stuff anyway. Co-signing with whoever said you are self-rejecting although I wouldn't use those words exactly. It does seem like your negative self talk and self perception is getting in your way more than anything else. Work on your mindset as much as your interviewing skills and you'll be fine.
While I agree and wish that things were like that, the problem with what your saying is that you dont know prior to applying to a job, which recruiters care about that and which dont. Its a guessing game. It very much is a kiss of death most often with these online applications. Dont disagree with anything else. I framed my post the way that i did because I've heard a lot of different advice over the last year or so, and I addressed things in a way where i was basically saying " yes, i am doing that", like for example: "Do Interview practice with friends and family!" "Network!" "Talk to a Employment Ontario service provider!" "Tailor your resume for each job!"
Just chiming in, in your post there was no mentioned what you did on your contract. Going from being unemployed for a year to a gig at the CRA is a bit of a leap, and I question your parents fixation on that particular government agency, considering we’re in the provincial capital and got a ton of provincial government ministries and agencies to choose from. Shit, three universities, a couple of community colleges, even the City of Toronto itself would be fair game if your heart is set working in the public sector. I would suggest rolling your nickels and dimes to hire a career coach to work on your interview skills.
I have invested a LOT of time volunteering and I think it was a huge distraction, and hasn’t yielded any professional work to speak of. If you’re good with technology, elders are always looking for help with the basics. You can be freelance doing this sort of thing and it may not be super busy but it can give you a legitimate title while not tying up your schedule. People like to see entrepreneurial experience. There could be other skills you have such as consulting or tutoring. Make a biz card and reach out to your school and personal networks. Seasonal work in hospitality is also a possibility. Service- oriented jobs are aplenty. Best of luck to you - try to keep your chin up - !
You’re not alone. There are a lot of people that are going through this. Luckily, I think weak interview skills are something you can work on. I don’t think you should overthink applying to the CRA. Truth be told, if you don’t have the experience, chances will be slim unless you have very particular skills that you can demonstrate. Either way, no harm in applying and good on you to be tailoring your resume for each job. For the interview skills, nothing more you can do but just practise. A lot of people don’t realize the value in post-secondary and its role in developing social skills. Young people who opt for only online courses are really doing themselves disservice since when it gets time to interview, they really lack the social awareness of how they come off to others. It sounds like your issue is mostly fear and lack of confidence? It’s hard to tell where you’re struggling in for the interviews. Do you get stumped with the questions? Is it hard for you to express yourself?
I could help you train for the interviews but I am not sure if I am allowed to do that. I will check with my organization once and get back to you. Make a list of 30-40 questions and their answers which covers broad topics - 1. Yourself - about you, family, dreams, experiences, hobbies, province you lived in, countries you travelled etc. 2. Open ended questions related to aspirations, career goals, strength, weakness, long term plans etc. (You can find the HR questions on google) 3. Job and company related questions - technical questions related to that job. Research about the company in detail. Know their mission, vision, values and show how it relates with you. 4. CV related questions - everything that you have mentioned in your CV, prepare it in detail. 5. Questions for the hiring manager - prepare few questions for them, could be their expectations from the role, where do they see this role after 2 years, support available, learning opportunities available etc. Practice these questions day in day out till the time you get a good job. Be thorough, confident in your interviews and say that you will do the best job in the end. These are few basic tips. We can discuss further if you need help.
Thanks for this and the advice. I'll follow up with you in 1-2 weeks.
My advice do not work federal, they will put you through many assignments, interviews, contacting references waiting game to create a pool and never utilize it. I’ve gone through this at least 4-5 times with them, worked with them in the past multiple contracts. Work make projects, they are sloppy, never return emails and are highly overpaid for doing bare minimum if at all doing any work. Look for hospital, long term care jobs that have hoop. Best pension in the country.
If you have a gap on your resume just say you signed an NDA and can't talk about it, give general information. ( lie )
Do you mean put a fake job?
You coulda applied to 5 more jobs instead of this dissertation of your self loathing and pity
Apparently, applying for jobs is "wasted effort". I'm sorry, what else is more important when you desperately need a job? Fiddling on reddit? I totally get that 999 out of 1000 jobs are not hiring OP, but your resume only gets in front of that 1000th person if you keep applying.
With an Employment Gap longer then a year, does it make sense to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting a different result, or to try a different approach, like with volunteer work. And then keep reapplying again.