News & Events

YWCA Saskatoon’s Employment and Learning Centre remains closed for in-person programs in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.  We will continue to provide remote services via email, telephone and social media (Facebook).

We believe it is important to maintain your job search momentum. As such the Employment and Learning Centre will offer you daily job search advice and support that you can complete from home.

Today’s post is another post in the series….

Make a Career Plan: Learn how to take charge of your life and career by studying the importance and benefits of creating a Career Plan.  A career plan will help prepare you to take the necessary steps to make your career goals happen and to look for ways to improve your job skills.

Take a Skills Assessment: Take a skills assessment to help you find job options that match your skills, interests, and values.  Skills assessments help you learn about yourself, make better career and education decisions, present yourself better to employees, interview better, become a better employee and gain confidence.  You will be happier if you choose a career that matches your unique skills, your interests, and values.

Establish your Short- and Long-term Goals: When you have completed your skills assessment, establish your short- and long-term goals. Your short-term goal may be to find a job in which you are currently qualified and can succeed today. Your long-term goals should be established by documenting what skills, knowledge, and experience you need to gain to move forward in your career path.

Create your Resume and Cover Letter: Document your job objective, achievements, and education using a Resume Questionnaire. Once you have your experience outlined on paper, you will be ready to make a digital copy. Analyze different resumes and cover letter formats and create your resume and cover letter using Microsoft Word or other word processing programs. You will also need to know how to save your resume in different formats such as .pdf and .txt in preparation for uploading. You will also need to know how to quickly modify your resume and cover letter for different job skills. You can also use an employment service organization to help you create your resume and cover letters, such as the YWCA Saskatoon Employment and Learning Centre.

Learn Interview Techniques: Preparing for the interview is an important part of your job search. Learn how to dress like a professional and demonstrate the behaviors that employers are looking for at the interview. Also, the key to a great interview is to review and practice answers to tough interview questions and also be prepared to carry out phone interviews/screenings. Lastly, learn what questions to ask and not ask of the hiring manager during your interview.

Participate in a Mock Interview: One of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to participate in a mock interview. Most job search classes or job centers such as at the YWCA Saskatoon Employment and Learning Centre may offer this service or you can practice with your family and friends. The mock interview gives you the opportunity to demonstrate preparation for the interview including exhibiting proper business attire, using concise and articulate language and demonstrating positive and confident body language.

Make Contact and Follow-Up: Following up after the job interview is an important part of the job search process. Effectively contact and follow-up with employers by sending a thank-you note and following up with a phone call.

Continue your Job Search: Motivate yourself by sending out at least 2 letters and emails each day in response to job postings to the contacts you identify within target companies.

Your Employment and Learning staff are working remotely through email or over the telephone   Should you have any questions about job interviews, job interview questions, how to prepare or how to answer those difficult questions, feel free to contact any of your Employment and Learning staff for support.  You can reach us at:

• (306) 986-2873 [Telephone]
• empserv@ywcasaskatoon.com [Email].

Stay motivated; stay healthy as you achieve your employment goals.

 

You can view the full original article by OfficeSkills.org, at: https://officeskills.org/job-search-skills.html