Senior year is ridden with anxiety. One of the best/most stressful/exciting/liberating/scary times of your life is coming to an end… and it’s around this time that questions become unbearable.
What happens now? What are you going to do with your life? Are I you going to find a job????
Of course, no one has all the answers to these questions…. BUT thanks to career counsellor extraordinaire Jenn Baytor, we’ve got the answers to some of the most pressing ones!
We asked: How long should I expect to spend looking for a job?
Jenn says: According to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESCD), finding a job takes on average six months. However, the dream job isn’t going to come right away, finding a job is a full time job and it takes time and hard work.
THE SURVIVAL JOB
For most people, six months unemployed isn’t feasible. Some people are lucky and have financial and other supports while they are job-hunting, but often this isn’t the case. There is rent, and car payments and other bills. In that case, Jenn recommends getting what she calls the survival job.
The survival job is a temporary job. It is meant to pay the bills and keep you afloat while looking for the “real job” or the career job. Ideally, this job would be part time, leaving time to dedicate to job-hunt but the number of hours depends entirely on what is needed for your particular financial situation.
We asked: Is the survival job good for keeping parents at bay?
Jenn says: Once students graduate they often find that a lot of the financial support they had while in school starts to be cut back. Parents are unlikely to continue the amount of financial support students had while in school, often because they are unable to. The survival job therefore helps to lessen the financial pressure on everyone, and ease stress on all sides. It is important, however, that parents are made aware that the survival job is a temporary solution, and that you are continuing to put the time in looking for a “real” job
TRAVELLING
Post-grad seems like one of the only times taking off for an extended trip is feasible. Yet, there’s often a lack of money available to do so, and pressure to begin “adulting”. We asked what the harm was in taking off rather than hitting the ground running.
Jenn says: Traveling really comes down to personal choice, and there are a ton of ways to go about doing it. One of the ways past students have dealt with the issue of lacking money is by working while traveling, doing things like teaching English. However, some students choose to work for a few years and do it. The fact is it really depends on how important travelling is to you, and how you go about it is a very personal choice.
APPLYING FOR JOBS
We asked: What is the best time to apply for jobs?
Jenn says: Ideally, students would begin networking in their second or third years, going to events put on by Student Success Center, or events like Student 2 Business networking conferences which are held a few times a year and begin making connections. For seniors, this would be particularly important to do in second semester as April/May is a primary hiring season for a lot of companies.
We asked: I want to take the summer off as a breather, but my parents are nervous that if I wait, I’m less likely to find work come September because a lot of people will be doing the same, is this true?
Jenn says: Other than April/May, September is a big hiring time for a lot of companies so there really isn’t any harm in waiting. Additionally, you have to consider that finding jobs you want to apply for, and the application process will take time, so there’s no trouble with taking a breath and beginning to apply later in the summer for September.
We asked: Is there a good geographic location to apply for Jobs?
Jenn says: Again, this really depends on the person. There isn’t one magic city where all the jobs are. It depends a lot on what you want to do, and where you want to be. For example, if your family is based in Toronto or the GTA, the desire to be close to them or far is going to influence where you want to work.
The reality though is that there is work everywhere, it’s just a matter of putting the time in and making the necessary connections to find it.
NETWORKING
We asked: A lot of the networking events at Western are with London- based companies… does that mean if I don’t want to work in London, I shouldn’t bother networking here?
Jenn says: Absolutely not. When you make a connection with someone, even if they aren’t in the area you want to be, they might have someone is their network in your desired area, or know a company in your area that is hiring where you would be a good fit. The key is building relationships and making connections, so that if something comes up, someone is able to refer you for a position or vice versa.
We asked: Speaking of networking, how do I even begin?
Jenn says: A lot of students have networks already through their parents, or friends that they haven’t necessarily built themselves. However, for those students it is still beneficial to build a network themselves, and for students without existing networks it is necessary to do so. This isn’t as hard or as scary as people think. It’s just a matter of making genuine connections. This can be done through networking events, or even through deepening connections you already have. For example, professors can be a great resource, and creating relationships with professors can be a great way to network.
RESOURCES FOR WESTERN STUDENTS
We asked: What resources are available for Western Students in finding a job?
Jenn says: Western graduates have access to the Student Success Center and all the services it provides for a year after graduating. More information about these services can be found on the website http://success.uwo.ca/careers/find_jobs/index.html.
However, we understand that after graduating a lot of students leave London to return home, and for those students we offer some of these services via skype or phone.
Note: Answers have been summarized for brevity