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Tag: student jobs

  • Summer Job Hunting (French version available)

    Summer Job Hunting (French version available)

    If you’re a student (and especially if you’re going through midterms or summatives), you’re likely looking forward to the break the warmer months will bring. However, summer vacation is also a great opportunity for work experience – not only to make some money, but also to gain valuable connections and references for future employment. If you’re interested in both of those things, spots fill up fast, so it’s never too early to start your summer job hunt.

    Here’s a step-by-step process on how to find a summer job.

    1) Figure out what you want.

    What kind of position are you looking for? Moreover, what kind of position are you eligible for? Consider both your past qualifications and what field you’d potentially like to get into. It might be difficult to get a summer job that’s directly related to your career goals, but if you do find one, it’s one more thing to put on your resume. (For example, if you’re thinking about a career in medicine, it might be a good idea to check out receptionist or data entry positions at a clinic.)

    2) Revisit your resume.

    If you’ve been busy with schoolwork, it may have been a while since you dug up that old resume, so make sure all of your qualifications are up to date. If you’re planning on applying to multiple jobs (which is what you should be doing!), you should create different versions depending on the position you’re looking for. Cover letters are usually helpful, but not all employers require them; check that out on a case-by-case basis.

    3) Do your research.

    Keeping in mind Step 1 (what you want) and Step 2 (what you have to offer), check out the jobs that would be realistically available to you. If you don’t have a lot of experience, you may not be able to aim too high, but it never hurts to ask whether there are positions available for less experienced candidates (or, specifically, for students). Some good resources for job hunting are Talentegg, Workopolis, Service Canada or even Kijiji, as long as you do a background check on the employer.

    4) Apply en masse.

    Unfortunately, not every employer you contact will call you back (wouldn’t that be nice!). Don’t be afraid to apply for too many positions—in fact, apply to as many things as you can or as you are eligible for. This is going to take a lot of work, but put effort into writing emails, tweaking your resume, and following up for various positions. The worst thing that could happen is that you don’t get the job. Don’t get discouraged: you just have to keep at it until you’re rewarded.

    5) Land an interview.

    With hard work and a little bit of luck, you’ll hopefully be called in for an interview. Be your charming, professional, and qualified self, and you’ll have a summer job in no time. Best of luck!

  • Age and Work

    Age and Work

    How old do you have to be to work? The ages vary, but in Ontario the legal age of employment is 14 years. For students in particular, there are certain laws and procedures employers are provided by the Employment Standards Act (ESA) that they must follow, and it’s essential that you as a young employee know them as well.

    In Ontario, it is mandatory that employers only schedule working hours  for students after school hours, on weekends and on statutory holidays where permitted. This ensures students stay in school and have an appropriate amount to time to study. Unless a student has been excused from school, only then they may work during school hours.

    Depending on your age, your work place options may be limited. From age 14 you may be employed in an office, arena or store; age 15, factories and repair shops; and age 16, construction and logging.

    It is also important to note that the student minimum wage is $10.30 an hour while it is $11.00 an hour for any non-student worker.

    Set by the ESA, it is you right to refuse, question and know about any hazards or unsafe practices in the your workplace. You have the right to refuse any type of work you feel is unsafe.

    Always be aware of your surroundings and report any conditions you feel may be unsafe. Ensure you have been properly trained and know the facts to be safe.

  • Students and Summer Jobs

    Students and Summer Jobs

    Summer is coming soon, and you might be thinking about family trips, days at the beach and long shopping trips to the mall. For some people, summer is a time to relax and to spend time with family and friends. For others, however, it can be a time to find a job and to earn money for university or for special trips or other projects. After school ends for the year, thousands of students go out looking for work at the many places that offer summer jobs. Have you started job-hunting yet?

    If you are like many other students, you might already have had a paying job. Maybe you have delivered flyers or mowed someone’s lawn to earn a bit of money for yourself. However, working at a summer job is a bit different. Many summer jobs become available in offices, stores and restaurants when the regular employees go on holidays. Sometimes employers might also take the opportunity to hire students to complete special projects that take too much time for the regular employees to finish. In other cases, the work might also be something that happens only in spring or summer, such as gardening or selling plants. All kinds of jobs become available when the weather warms up.

    Working for pay in a summer job is very different from doing chores at home. Most provinces have rules about the minimum age that people have to reach before they can get most types of jobs. New workers also need to get a social insurance number (SIN), which is a government number that allows people to work in Canada. Whenever workers start new jobs, they have to give this number to their employers. Once you have your SIN, you can start the process of looking for work.

    When you actually start looking for a job, the first place to go might be a local student employment office. Online job banks for student are also useful. However, many jobs are never officially listed in any job centre or database. Instead, many employers fill jobs through personal contacts. By talking to people about your need for work, you might be able to get access to this hidden job market.

    Finding a job that suits you is another factor in looking for a summer job. It doesn’t need to be something that you want to do for the rest of your life or even the next few years. However, it should be work that you are able to do, even if you need to learn a lot on the job. If you find a job that you can do well, you have a good chance of being hired again the next year.  You might also learn some skills that you will need to know for the future.

    Looking for a summer job is an important step in the process of becoming an adult. It’s never too early to start thinking about what you want to learn from the experience of earning money during the holidays.