What young people need to know about landing their first jobs

As thousands of Calgariansreinvent themselves in order to adopt to the recovering Alberta economy, a new generation of young job seekers are also entering the market in search of that elusivefirstjob.

Judy Aldousspoke to several employment experts Tuesday on Alberta at Noon, as well as callers and tweeters who all weighed in with advice for howfirst-time job seekers short on experience but long on enthusiasmcanland that all-important firstjob.

Thousands of young people attended the Calgary Youth Hiring Fair Tuesdayto get face time with over 80 different employers, all of whom have hung a Help Wanted sign for the upcoming summer season.

• Youth job fair draws thousands in Calgary
• Why young men are being left out of Alberta's economic recovery

According to City of Calgary's Youth Employment Centre community liaisonJennifer MacSween, that meansover 5,000 summer jobsup for grabs.

"Anything from trades to hospitality, non-profit, government logistics, retail [and]that's just to name a few," MacSween said. "There really should be something for everyone at the fair today."

Research hiring companies

One theme that emerged over and over again was quite simple: look interested.

"The big thing is you really want tomake sure you look well prepared andyou're standing above your competition," said MacSween.

"It's always great to researchthose companies [that are hiring for summer], get a sense of what they're looking for from their candidates andthen create a targeted resume based on that," she said.

Experience wanted

Of course, one thing every company or hiring manager looks for is experience, which is tricky for first-time job seekers but not impossible to obtain, said University of Alberta's manager of career education, Blessie Mathew.

"There's lots of ways to gain experience," Mathewsaid.

"Experience does not need to be paid. Experience simply helps you build skills, knowledgeand expertise in certain areas.

"Generally overall, employers do look at volunteer experience andother extracurricular experience as valuable experience but only if students are able to present themselves professionally, and understand andcommunicate what they have to offer from those experiences."

Professional presentation, online and off

The other determining factor that the determined first-time job seeker should always pay attention to is presentation both in person, and digitally.

"Practice beforehand," one listener tweeted. "Eye contact and a confident handshake."

A retail manager from Calgary who regularly hires young people for their first job called in withsome advice as well.

"Don't come in with your friends or your parents," she said. "When we see kids coming in with friends or parents, we think, oh, these people just want to hang out with their friends all the time, or they can't do anything on their own, and have to have their parents all the time."

Instead, she said, arrive solo and take an interest.

'Show a bit of your personality'

"Show a bit of your personality," she said. "Say hey, how are you guys doing today? My name is so-and-so and I'm really interested in having a job with your organization.

"Rather than kids who just come in and say, I'm looking for a job. It's kind oflike, OKare you just looking for job, or do you really want to work here with this business?"

Stash the phone

Another tweeter advised job seekers to keep your phone out of sight, in order to "give the appearance that you're 100 per centpresent, and eager to engage with potential employers."

That was confirmedby Mathew, but with a caveat.

"I would say that's good advice," she said, "becauseat job fairs, employers are often paying to attend, and are very motivated to meet and talk to people who are attending, so walking around with your cell phone out the entire time, or at least not putting it away when you are engaging with an employer probably isn't the best idea, becausemost of us want undivided attention when we are being spoken to or having a conversation.

"Again this ties into presenting yourself professionally," she said,"it's a first impression."

Scrub your social network

Just as critically is the way in which you present yourself digitally, through social media.

"It's so important for young people to know that employers are able to access their profiles quite readily and easily so it's important that you representyourself in the best light," MacSween said.

"Having appropriate pictures, appropriate posts because that information is of course public, and employers searching for you can find that information, so it's important to representyourself in a professional manner."

The art of the network

Everyone from experts to callers emphasized the significance of relying upon your network, or of reaching out to others as one of the best ways to find work.

"When we talk about networking, we automatically jump to this mental picture of being in a crowded room, shaking hands, talking to strangers which isn't exactly the entire picture of networking," said Mathew.

"What we know from decades of research is that networking is the Number 1 most successful job search method which is why we hear about it, all of the time.

"But what we instruct students to do is start with what we call warm contacts so people with whom you've had some kind of interaction [in the past] with.

"What we work with students on is starting to make a list of who those people might be becauseeach of those people that they currently have contact with has their own network of contacts.

"If a student is able to articulate what they're looking for," she added, "what they have to offer, what they're trying to achieve, those warm contacts are more able to effectively go out to their own network of contacts andconnect students to them."

Calgary: The Road AheadisCBCCalgary's special focus on our city as we build the city we want the city we need. It's the place for possibilities.A marketplace of ideas. Have an idea? Email usat:calgarytheroadahead@cbc.ca

With files from Alberta at Noon

More from the series:

• Q&A: Calgary can be 'a global innovation hub' says Terry Rock
• Podcast: The Making of a poll: how we're asking Albertanswhat matters to them most
• Opinion: Why it's almost impossible to have a rational conversation about pipelines