Tips for Finding a Summer Job

It's time for the scramble...everyone is worried about how they are going to make money over the summer break! Well, Career Services has a few tips and resources that you may find useful to give you an advantage in landing that great summer job!

Here are some great job search sites for on and off-campus jobs:

• CareerZone
• Brock Dining Services
• BUSU
• Brock Human Resources
• Faculty and Department websites

Here are some government job search websites:

• FSWEP
• Service Canada
• Experience Program (OPS-wide)
• Ontario Government Summer Student Hiring
• Summer Job programs
• City of St. Catharines
• City of Welland
• City of Niagara Falls
• City of Grimsby
• City of Hamilton

Summer Camps:

• All About Summer Camps
• Ontario Camps Association
• Our Kids go to Camp
• Online Summer Camp Directory

Additional Sites:

• Talent Egg
• Summer Jobs
• RAMP

You can also check out the Find a Job section of our website for more online job boards to help in your search. 

Tapping into the hidden job market is also an excellent strategy...you can use some of the business and community directories in our Occupational Research section to get the contact information and/or address of local businesses and organizations and then contact them even if they do not have not posted a job opening on a job board.

Final Tips:

• Start early - summer jobs are posted now!
• Have a plan - focus on what type of job you want and target your search
• Practice your interview skills and be confident in your ability to talk about your skills and achievements. Check out our blog post about interview preparation, or come into the Resource Centre for help!
• Update your resume and understand how to customize your resume and cover letter 
• Come see us for a free, drop-in review session!

Jami Coughler, Senior Career Assistant
4th Year Public Health [Honours]; BA: Sociology [Honours] '11

Get Involved at Brock with ExperienceBU!

Interested in getting involved and staying up to date with everything happening at Brock? ExperienceBU is your one-stop-shop for information regarding clubs, events, and news on campus. To start experiencing Brock University click HERE.

Having issues creating an account? The following video has been put together to help you easily sign into ExperienceBU and get started today!

Remember to take advantage of the many ways that YOU can get involved at Brock. Club involvement, for instance, is a fantastic way to network with like-minded students and is also something that can be included on your resume. University experience isn't just about school and work - so get involved today!

I hope you all had an amazing reading week. Best of luck on your midterms!

Ashley Paolozzi, Lead Career Assistant
4th Year History of Art (Honours)

Reading Week Hours

Happy Reading Week!!

Career Services will be closed Monday, February 17th and Tuesday, February 18th. We will also not be responding to any emails during this time.

We will resume regular operations on Wednesday, February 19th
(Regular hours: 9:00 - 4:30).

Enjoy your time off! See you next week!

Ashley Paolozzi, Lead Career Assistant
4th Year History of Art (Honours)

Interview Preparation

Interviews are scary for most people but the key to interview success is being well-prepared. Practice tools such as Interview Stream are great because they allow you to see over 3,000 sample interview questions, record yourself answering the questions, and the watch yourself to see how you did! You can also email your recorded video to us at career@brocku.ca for constructive feedback. For log-in help and additional resources, check out the Interview section of our Online Resource Centre (through CareerZone). We also have an extensive Interview Techniques binder in the Resource Centre which has information on preparing for the interview, what to expect during the interview, how to make a great first impression, and what should always be done after the interview! Here are a few more general tips for preparing for an interview:

• Know yourself: You increase your confidence when you know what you can contribute to the organization and what you want from the job   
• Identify your assets and qualities by making a list of your…
• Skills and Competencies 
• Knowledge 
• Values and Needs 
• Beliefs 
• Interests 
• Personal Characteristics 
• Hint: personality and career assessments, such as Career Cruising and Type Focus, can help! Access them for free through CareerZone 

• Know the organization and the job. Some suggestions for getting to know the company are as follows:
  • Study the organization’s website
  • Have an idea of how the company operates and how it views its employees
  • Check out recent annual reports and news releases
  • Become familiar with the vision and goals of the company so that you can make valuable connections to it during the interview
  • Review the job posting or find a description of the position on the company website
  • Talk to someone you know in a similar position/field
•  Know your accomplishments: Interviewers want to know about your track record for achieving results – they often use your past performance to predict your future success. Keep this in mind during your interview and take opportunities to demonstrate your accomplishments.
  • Creating a career portfolio can be a creative and efficient way of demonstrating your accomplishments and experiences to potential employers 
  • Hint: Career Services offers portfolio review sessions on a walk-in basis and also has various portfolio samples to browse through

 Practice makes perfect so remember...

• The interviewer wants to know how your skills, knowledge and experience match the needs of the position and also how well you communicate. Practicing what you're going to say and how you’re going to say it will help you communicate clearly and confidently.
• It's best not to memorize questions and answers. Instead, develop key points that you want the interviewer to know about you, based on your preparation. You can practice using these key points to respond to a variety of questions.
• It's also important for you to ask relevant questions during the interview. Make a list of three things you want to know about the position or the organization. Make sure you wouldn't be expected to know the answers to these questions from your research. It’s a good idea NOT to ask questions about salary, vacation or other benefits until after you receive a job offer. Our Resource Centre has various print resources that can help you come up with some great questions to ask!

 Here are some additional pointers:

• Get ready: Make sure your interview attire is neat, tidy and appropriate for the type of position and employer you are interviewing with. Bring a nice portfolio with copies of your resume. Include a pen and paper for note taking.

• Be on time: On time means five to ten minutes early. If need be, take some time to drive to the interview location ahead of time so you know exactly where you are going and how long it will take to get there.

• Stay calm: During the job interview try to relax and stay as calm as possible. Take a moment to regroup. Listen to the entire question before you answer and pay attention - you will be embarrassed if you forget the question!

• Show what you know: Try to relate what you know about the company when answering questions.  When discussing your career accomplishments, match them to what the company is looking for.

• *The follow-up: After the interview, be sure to follow-up with a thank you note that emphasizes two or three reasons why you’re the ideal candidate for the position.

• In the event that you are not chosen for the position, don’t be afraid to contact the interviewer to ask for some feedback on how you can improve your interview skills for next time!

 Best of luck!

Jami Coughler, Senior Career Assistant
4th Year Public Health [Honours]; BA: Sociology [Honours] '11

Start your on campus job search now!

 

Are you interested in working on campus during your studies to gain some valuable experience and extra cash? If your answer is yes, then start your search NOW!

Employers on campus begin their hiring process for fall of the following school year very early and although some positions are still available in the fall, many opportunities may already be filled.

Where do I start?

Career Zone is Brock’s online job board which hosts a variety of on campus (and off campus) jobs. Make sure to check if positions require Experience Works. This is specialized funding for certain jobs and an Experience Works funded job requires that you apply and qualify for Experience Works in order to be considered for the position. For more information on Experience Works please visit: http://www.brocku.ca/career-services/students-alumni/experience-works.

 
Not all on-campus jobs are posted on Career Zone, so make sure to also check out these sources:

Brock University Student’s Union (B.U.S.U.) (busu.net)

Brock Dining Services (brocku.ca/dining-services/employment)

Recreation Services (brocku.ca/recreation-services/student-employment)

Student Life and Community Experience (brocku.ca/student-life-community-experience)

If you are particularly interested in applying somewhere on campus and cannot find a job posting on any of these sites, try visiting the location in person. It doesn’t hurt to drop off a resume!

_______________________________

Nella Paris
Sr. Career Assistant
4th Year Psychology Major (Honours)

Common Job Search Sites

 More and more employers are advertising their jobs through job search sites which is good news for job seekers. Many job sites are becoming more intuitive and can actually save you time. For example: www.indeed.ca remembers your search and the next time you use the site it will let you know how many new jobs have been posted under your search criteria. No more browsing around to find the good stuff. Get straight to the honey!

www.jobbank.gc.ca is a government job site that allows you to search by region, employment area, full time/ part time and length of employment. the site is easy to navigate, and dates of posts are clearly listed to help you know when jobs were posted and when they will be taken down. Application information is listed in the bottom of each post.

www.eluta.ca is an excellent site for new grads. It is the official job search engine for Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Once you search for jobs, the menu on the left hand side allows you to  pick and choose which options you would like to see and which you would like to limit.

These are just a few of the job search sites we have listed on our job search sites handout in Career Services. Stop by to grab a copy and check them out!

Becky
Sr. Career Assistant

Review Services: How We Can Help You!

Happy February!

Today's blog post is a friendly reminder of the services we have available for the Brock University community for both undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni and university staff.

Reviews Include:

• Resumes
• Cover Letters
• Curriculum Vitaes
• Letter of Intents/Personal Statements
• Portfolios

We require that you bring a hard copy of your documents into our office. We are unable to provide evaluations on the computer - this includes on your personal laptop. Without a printed copy we will be unable to do the evaluation. No exceptions. It is also helpful if you bring in a copy of the job posting for the position you are applying to. If you are applying for graduate school and you want us to review your letter of intent/personal statement we require the information that the university is asking you to discuss in order to ensure you are receiving the best service possible.

If you are unable to travel to the main Brock campus we welcome emailed resume evaluations (career@brocku.ca). However, if you are able to come into the Resource Centre we recommend that you meet with us in person.

Career Services a drop in service so no appointment is required to meet with us. If you are currently in the process of developing a resume and you do not have a working copy we still encourage that you come and meet with us so that we can assist you with getting started.

Reviews take between 10-15 minutes and we require that you are present for the duration of the review. We are located in the Learning Commons in the library beside the Reception desk. Our hours are 9:00-4:30 from Monday to Friday. Hour changes will occur for both Reading Week and the summer and we will update you with these changes as soon as we are aware of them.

Ashley Paolozzi, Lead Career Assistant
4th Year History of Art (Honours)