research | Career Musings

Want to Find the Best Places to Work in Canada?

May 2, 2016 by Daisy

One of the critical elements of an effective job search is to conduct research. Every job seeker has repeatedly heard such advice. However, many have limited their job search to job boards and company websites. Those resources are quite useful, but if you are not gaining any traction with them, you might want to take your search up a notch.

If you would like to find the best places in Canada to work, the Top 100 Canadian employers, or the best jobs in Canada, then they have all been curated here. These resources, listed below, will help you tap into the hidden job market, find opportunities and get hired faster. Make sure to bookmark the links so you will have them at your finger tips:

Best Places to Work in Canada (2016)

Great Place to Work, “Is an HR Consulting firm, conducting the world’s largest workplace survey with over 11 million employees world wide”, according to its Senior Vice President Nancy Fonseca.

Since 2005, the Canadian affiliate has been recognizing Canadian companies based on how their employees have been able to build high-quality relationships characterized by trust, pride and camaraderie. Robert Levering, Co-Founder, of Great Place to Work, states that, “A great place to work is one in which you TRUST the people you work for, have PRIDE in what you do, and ENJOY the people you work with.”

The company’s website states that, “Trust is the defining principle of great workplaces — created through management’s credibility, the respect with which employees feel they are treated, and the extent to which employees expect to be treated fairly. The degree of pride and levels of authentic connection and camaraderie employees feel with one are additional essential components.”

They recently released their list of Best Workplaces for 2016, including the best workplaces for women. Awards were made in the following categories:

8 Best Small Workplaces in Canada with 25 – 49 employees working in Canada.
50 Best Workplaces in Canada for Women
50 Best Medium Workplaces in Canada with 50 – 999 employees working in Canada.
50 Best Large and Multinational Workplaces in Canada with more than 1000 employees working in Canada or worldwide.

The full list can be found here: 2016 Best Workplaces in Canada.

Canada’s Top 100 Employers

Canada’s Top 100 Employers is produced by Mediacorp Canada. It determines Canada’s Top 100 Employers using eight criteria: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. Their list of top Employers for 2016 can be found here: Canada’s Top 100 Employers

Canadian Business Magazine’s Top Jobs for 2016

Canadian Business has also ranked the Best Jobs in Canada in 2016, based on salaries, qualifications, and employment prospects. This allows job seekers and career changers to explore some of the fields with the highest pay and greatest potential. While they have their top 100 picks, they have also narrowed the list to the top 25 Jobs for 2016.

If you are looking for the jobs with the biggest salaries, fields showing strong demand for talent, or fields where there’s lots of opportunity, consult the following:

Top 25 Jobs for 2016

Top 100 Jobs in Canada for 2016

In addition, the Magazine has also published its second annual ranking of Canada’s Best Employers uncovering “the companies where people can’t wait to get to work.” In partnership with AON Best Employers, they gathered information on:

How they (employers) get every employee to innovate
How they hang on to their best employees
How small companies provide big perks
How they thrive in the face of crisis

Top 100 Best Employers

Statistics Canada (Canadian Labour Market Information)

Canadian Labour Market Information is a resource produced by Statistics Canada, and which includes labour market activities of the Canadian population. This is broken down into: how many people are employed or unemployed; the unemployment rate; which industries or occupations people work in; the hours they work; commuting patterns; wage and non-wage benefits; job training; labour mobility; work absences; unionization; unpaid work; and other topics.

Labour Market Information is a grossly underutilized career development tool, and any job seeker or career changer who would like to get up to speed on current trends in the Canadian labour market should have this resource in their job search toolkit. Canadian Labour Market Information

If you are a job seeker or career changer, or someone who is serious about your career development; if you are tired of scouring job boards and company websites; if your resume is getting lost in applicant tracking systems, it’s time to change your strategy. Each organization mentioned above has their own criteria for arriving at their top employers or top jobs. There could be overlaps, but these are comprehensive resources that will help you start your research, tap into the hidden job market and shorten your job search.

Do you have any other resources to recommend? Share it with us.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: best jobs in canada, Canadian labour market information, canadian top 100 employers, Job Search, research

Why You Should Network to Get Work

August 28, 2013 by Daisy Leave a Comment

Networking guru, Donna Messer, is known for saying that one has to ‘network to get work’. It doesn’t matter how often you hear this; it doesn’t matter how often you discount it, networking to get work is a fact.

Too often people say “Networking doesn’t work for me…I am too shy to network…people might think I am forcing myself on them.” Some of these comments may be true, but let’s GOI – Get Over It. Don’t allow such crippling thoughts to prevent you from getting the job or promotion you really want, or deserve.

You may be telling yourself that you have a great resume and cover letter, but not much is happening. Well, by themselves, they won’t get you the opportunity you are looking for. You need to find creative ways to use these documents to reach your target company. It takes hard work, and lots of it! Thomas Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.” Do not miss your opportunity because you are thinking networking is hard work. I can guarantee you, if done properly, your networking efforts will pay off. Just don’t expect overnight success!

Some years ago, I was listening to a group of recruiters on a teleseminar. One was a senior executive recruiter from Microsoft. He told the story of a young man who had been trying to get a job with the company for two years. His resume was just not getting to the right people. You bet it was probably drowning in the sea of thousands of other resumes.

This young man discovered that the company had several blogs, and began to offer comments and contribute his opinions on topics that fell within his area of expertise. One of the company’s recruiters began paying attention to his comments and posts, and realized he knew his stuff. Not very long after he was contacted, and within 10 days of that contact he was offered his dream job with Microsoft. This may have been several years ago, but the process still works. You have to ditch the idea that networking doesn’t work, and devise strategies on how you are going to make it work for you.

Two weeks ago, one of my clients saw a position with one of his target companies and remembered I knew one of the senior HR executives, so he sent me an email to ask if I was still in touch with her. I hadn’t been for a long time, so I googled her name and realized she had moved out of that role. However, while doing the search, I found an article with the name of another recruiter in the company. I passed it to the client and suggested that he do a little bit of footwork and find out how email addresses at the company are structured. Soon after, he responded:

“Thanks for the article. I had a friend who previously worked at [Company] so I was able to copy that format (firstname.lastname@company.ca) and send a message through to the lady from the article. She said she had switched positions but would forward my message to a finance recruiter. Hopefully that will help speed things along.”

That’s networking and research all wrapped in one. Somewhere out there, there is an employer who needs what you have to offer. But you need to know how to get on their radar. You can do this by tapping into your network or the network of others. Networking is Not a Dirty Word. It’s called Relationship Building.

Does the thought of networking send shivers down your spine? Don’t try doing it alone. Ask for help.

Filed Under: Job Search, Resumes Tagged With: cover letter, Google+, Job Search, Microsoft, network, networking, promotion, recruiter, research, resume, work

Monday Rx: Change Your Job Search Strategy If…

September 25, 2011 by Daisy Leave a Comment

You have often heard the saying, “If you always do what you have always done, you will continue getting what you have always gotten”, or something close. If that sounds like you and your job search or your career, then you may want to reconsider your strategy, regardless of your status or what stage of the job search game you are at.

Consider this story:

A Mom wrote me on September 8, and said, “My daughter has taken a year off before going to college and she desperately needs a job. She has been job hunting, but her lack of experience is a real hindrance. She is now very discouraged. Could you spare some time to talk to her on the phone in the next few days?”

On September 10, I contacted the young lady – all of 17 years old – and asked her to explain to me what she had been doing. After our initial conversation, I suggested she did things differently. Since she had never worked before, I gave her a research assignment to visit several locations in her area – Tim Hortons, McDonalds, Starbucks, Canadian Tire, among others. She was to observe the surroundings, how the employees behaved, how they treated customers and generally be alert for other things that were taking place. She was also to make notes of her observations. In addition, she should write down comments that people frequently made about her – her punctuality, reliability, leadership skills, etc. Lastly, she should create a list of some of her own qualities.

With the information from her research, we created a one page hybrid of a cover letter and résumé and I asked her to customize each to fit the companies she was targeting. She was to write what she observed on her visits, what was going well and how she could add value as their next employee. Remember, she had little to go on in the first place.

On September 15, she responded by saying: “This is incredibly helpful! I’ve been applying to places all week so tomorrow I will follow up with all the companies to which I applied. I will keep you updated on how that goes.”

What a difference in her mood in five days! On September 23, she wrote: “Hi Mrs. Wright, I just want to say thank you for all your advice and help. I really appreciate it. I received my first job yesterday – full time hostess at Red Lobster. I’m ecstatic!”

Entry-level students are not my usual clientele, but I deviated from the norm with this young lady. What I found is that a change of strategy works, whether one is an entry-level job seeker or a more seasoned professional, but it requires commitment and perseverance. Who would’ve imagined that in a such a tough job market, a 17 year-old who had never previously worked could change her job search strategy and find success within 13 days?

How about you? Is your job search strategy working for you, or is it time to go back to the drawing board and tweak it a bit? Contact me if you need some assistance!

Image source: Google