Jobrapido

Jobrapido is a registry for jobs that has a worldwide reputation. It operates in over 58 countries and is actively used by Albertans. The reason Jobapido is so successful is that it collects all of the data and jobs from other job registries (such as Kijiji, Workopolis, Best Canada Jobs, and many more) and compiles it on one website. It organizes the jobs into a comprehensive format that matches your needs. Using this centralized job search site alleviates the need to do multiple searches on different job registries.

How to use

Simply typing a job title into the “what?” section or expand the “Most popular jobs” for some quick searches. Try using Alberta as the location instead of just Edmonton (there may be some jobs just a little outside of Edmonton and you don’t want to miss those).

Once you hit the “find jobs button, it will even ask you if you want emails sent to you notifying you of any new jobs that match your current search.

By clicking on a job of interest, it brings you to the original page in which the job post stems (such as Kijiji or the company’s page itself).

You can also take advantage of their FaceBook and Linkedin page.

Self Initiating Strategy

An uncommon practice that many students have probably not thought of is a self initiated strategy. What does this mean?

A self initiated strategy is one where a student finds a job related to their field (ex. IT position) and convinces the employer to become a co-op employer. If you have a job or found a potential job but they are not a co-op employer, it is not too late to have the company register as one (but you have to act soon, latest to apply for the 2013 year is around May 27)! Many students do not understand the process that employers go through in order to become a co-op employer. Surprisingly, it is probably not as difficult as it seems.

How Employers become Co-op Employers

To become a co-operative employer, the employer applies through “Symplicity” https://nait-csm.symplicity.com/. They are to set up an account indicating the industry the company works in, organization name, contact information, and an optional description of the company. Other information is also required but the process is user friendly and does not take long for the employer.

How to Convince an Organization to become a Co-op Employer

NAIT Co-op Education Program has a comprehensive brochure about the benefits of becoming a co-op employer (don’t forget that the organization does benefit as well!). Read the brochure and become familiar with it so you can explain the benefits to the employer. Printing a copy of the brochure and giving it to the employer directly will also increase your chances. 

*If you cannot print off the brochure or the image does not show up appropriately, email me at brandonlieu1@gmail.com 

Tips: explain that it is a relatively simple process and does not take much time to become a co-op employer

It is your future, take the first step to initiate what you want!

Using Kijiji to Your Advantage

When you think about Kijiji, you probably think about buying or selling something, however Kijiji can be much more functional than that if you know how to utilize it. Kijiji is a network that allows almost anyone to post online classified advertisements. This includes employers posting co-op jobs and also allows students to post their resumes. It may not seem like a very reliable method to find a job but numerous people have been successful using Kijiji and it is free to use.

Searching for a Job

Searching for a job on Kijiji is fairly straightforward. The search bar allows you to focus on a specific area and if you are unsure of what to put you can simply use to category “jobs” or not type in a category at all.

*NOTE: the top right area contains “My Location” it is important that you indicate the location you wish to hold a co-op position or else it will not return relevant results

Here’s a helpful TIP: use Google to search for a job title or field you would like to find a co-op job in with the added word “Kijiji” at the end. This allows you to broaden your search since Google is quite effective at targeting your preferences. Google helps translate your wording into what you wanted to find. For example, if you are interested in finding an Information Technology (IT) position, you could type in “Information technology Kijiji”. See what you find!

Posting a Resume

To post a resume requires you to sign up with Kijiji but the process is quick and the sign-up information is confidential. Even though you provide your email (and can choose to provide a phone number as well) when you sign up, the personal information is not given out when your advertisement is posted. If an employer is interested in hiring you, they will provide their email, name (optional), and a message indicating their interest. You will then receive an email from the person. Up to this point, your information remains anonymous, other than what you have directly posted in your advertisement. Finally, you can choose to email the employer if you feel inclined to do so.

How to post a resume on Kijiji

1.   After signing up,  click on the “Post Ad FREE” link near the top right corner

2.   Under the heading “Resume”, choose a category that you would like to find a job in

(you can choose “other” to post a specific category)

3.   Follow the instructions provided to post your resume

What should I include in the resume I post on Kijiji?

There are many ways you can approach this but it is usually helpful to post:

•         Qualifications related to your field of interest
•         Highlights and experiences
•         Some background information (try not to give too much detail that you expose your identity)
•         Why you would be a good employee (this might just be some of your traits you want to highlight)
•         Add the statement “FULL RESUME AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST”(this way you do not have to publicly post personal information on Kijiji)

Good luck students!

Jobkin as a Job Registry

“Jobkin.ca is a joint project of the U of A Students' Union, the NAIT Students' Association, and the MacEwan College Students' Association” as quote by Jobkin. It is a job registry specifically targeted to help post-secondary students find jobs. Developed by students, it allows employers to primarily look for post-secondary students, which means they are looking for you! This greatly increases the chance of finding co-op jobs. The registry is very simple to use but allows you to narrow in on your specific preference.

If you are interested in an IT job, you can choose that under “sector”. Pay rate, work hour, and many other features lets you customize your search. For most postings, the employer will directly state the wage information so you don’t have to ponder about how much you will be getting paid. Another advantage of Jobkin is that you do not need to make an account to look for job postings!

To summarize, here are some key benefits of using Jobkin to search for your job:

1. Has wage information
2. Versatile search criteria
3. Widely used by employers targeting post-secondary students
4. Don’t need to sign up to look for jobs

How Can I Get Involved?

Whether you are a student that has found a co-op job or are still looking for opportunities, you can help expand this blog by commenting. Help other students out by posting comments on this post about:

1. What you have tried to do to find a co-op job

2. Which organizations you have contacted

3. How it worked out, tips for contacting those organizations

4. Other relevant information.

 It may seem counterintuitive to be helping others look for a job if you haven’t found one yourself but remember, the more you comment, the more this blog gets exposed, the larger the network of people commenting. This means that others will start posting about their experiences that will help you in the long run! Maybe a job just wasn’t right for you but could be what others are looking for.

For students that do have a co-op job/internship, we know that you are the type of people that want to help out your fellow schoolmates. Comment on tips you have that got you the job.

I will provide some of my personal experiences with job search such as how I got involved in FACTSnet, a non-profit organization that builds networks to promote good relations between other meaningful organizations. If you want to stay anonymous (or have any other questions) feel free to email me at brandonlieu1@gmail.com and I would be glad to post it anonymously.

About this blog

This blog is a network created by FACTSnet in order to assist NAIT students find co-op opportunities.

NAIT has recently started using a new centralized employment service software, "Symplicity". This new software will hopefully increase the chances that students and employers will find a suitable match since both groups are required to create a personal profile before they can search for jobs or post jobs.

Of course, there is still an inherent difficulty in searching for a job. As a FACTSnet Summer Coordinator for Community Networks, I will be posting various online resources for job searching along with tips on how to utilize them for maximum benefit. I will also find various ways to connect students to employers through other means apart from online resources. Two NAIT students will also be posting about their experiences. This includes what they have tried to do to find a co-op job, which organizations they have contacted, how it worked out, tips for contacting those organizations, and other relevant information. This way students will be more informed about what are good approaches to searching for jobs and things to consider that might interfere with their chances of finding a job.

Stay tuned to find out how you can find that co-op job you were looking for!