Charity Village® Research: Job seekers and NPOs, prepare thyselves! A look at the changing nature of finding work in the new economy

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Job seekers and NPOs, prepare thyselves! A look at the changing nature of finding work in the new economy
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf
December 18, 2008

As the economy continues to languish in turmoil, Canadians across all work sectors wonder what the future holds in store for them, particularly with regard to their jobs. As the auto and manufacturing sectors - among others - shed jobs in an effort to rationalize budgets, the ranks of the unemployed swell. First to see many of these new, jobless people are charities and nonprofits.
Ontario may well be the hardest hit of the provinces, as it's the primary home to the two markets mentioned above. And Toronto's ACCES Employment Services - a nonprofit that seeks to pair more than 15,000 skilled job seekers with employers every year - is on the frontline, witnessing the fallout from this new economy.
Manjeet Dhiman, director of services for ACCES, spoke to CharityVillage about what job seekers should be doing at this time to help themselves become more marketable in this day and age, and how the economy is necessitating an internal shift in her organization's methodology.
CharityVillage: How has your organization been adapting to the ongoing market downturn?

Manjeet Dhiman: We have had to adapt our services. Before [this year] we had dealt primarily with unemployed individuals. But recently we've started working with individuals who are about to be laid off. That's one of our greatest changes...and it's happening in larger numbers. In one of our locations, we're now working with Chrysler and the Steelworkers; these are people who will shortly be laid off. So we want to equip them with job search skills before they get out there and also get them thinking about other career options and looking at retraining. That's also been a shift in our work, because I think when the economy's good, unemployed people can look at moving into another position that's still in their field. But with the economic climate the way it is, those people don't have the option of staying in their field and finding work similar to what they'd done before because the whole sector has changed or shifted. These people must now seriously start looking at a new career.
CV: If you could quantify that last statement, what percentage of job seekers being seen by ACCES are now in this situation versus what you dealt with a year ago?
MD: I don't have numbers to support it, but anecdotally I would say the number has tripled.
CV: What do you tell these new job seekers about how they can make themselves more marketable after a layoff from a sector crash?
MD: They should look at what other options they have where their skills are transferable. We also advise doing some research in other occupations where there is a higher demand in terms of employment opportunities, and figuring out what their skill gaps are if they were to move into that new career. Then they need to explore what training options are out there: which schools or institutions are available to help them gain those skills. That's what we're helping clients work through.
CV: Internally, are ACCES employees being consulted about what to expect this coming year?
MD: We have different factors affecting the whole employment services sector...not all of which have to do specifically with the economic situation. There are a lot of changes happening due to federal programs being transferred to the provinces and [Ontario] is going through this transformation of the employment services program. On top of that, I think the government realizes that as they're going through this transformation, there are the economic changes that are impacting [the government's final] decisions. We're waiting to see how programs and services are going to shift so that we are helping more people in a greater variety of circumstances, whereas previously [ACCES] programs were really specialized on specific groups of individuals. What it means for us is that we'll have to broaden our experience in working with individuals with different backgrounds and circumstances.
For example, we were previously working with new Canadians looking for employment, and we will continue to do that. But I think that maybe the proportions are going to change where we'll work with Canadians being laid off, as well as newcomers. So another big internal shift is looking at training and development for our staff around different issues that impact how they counsel clients. Career planning, which we previously hadn't done a lot of, because newcomers came in knowing exactly what types of jobs they were looking for...now we're faced with more clients who aren't sure what kind of jobs they should be looking for. So we're actually acquiring more career decision-making tools and training our staff how to implement them.
CV: What kind of new feedback are you getting from job seekers that differs from what you've traditionally heard?
MD: People are getting more nervous because they're hearing the media and it's [negatively] impacting their perception of their chances of gainful employment prospects
CV: How are you helping them stay positive through this crisis?
MD: Again, although we're hearing about layoffs in certain sectors and industries, there are still businesses where they are continuing to hire. We have to look at those opportunities. One of the things we have to be aware of is that when it's an economy like this, and the [job] market is that much more competitive, then all the things we've always taught clients become that much more important, such as: have a really strong resume with no mistakes in it, have a powerful job interview...because when employers really need people and they're not finding them, they become more flexible because they need skilled workers. When it's more competitive, job seekers have to make sure they're doing their job search appropriately.
CV: What are the dos and don'ts for job seekers, particularly in this market climate?
MD: With resumes, be very professional. Don't put a lot of personal information on there. Make the information relevant. Talk more about your achievements and accomplishments, as opposed to just the duties you had. Highlight your experience and what you've done as opposed to what the company does. And, of course, make sure your resume is well laid-out...and that the technical terminology is relevant and appropriate.
Around the job interview process, some of the dos and don'ts include: dressing and looking professional, demonstrating the right attitude, and 'soft skills'.
[Writer's note: "Soft skills" as defined by Wikipedia, are "the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, ability with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark each of us in varying degrees. Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job."]
Employers are looking for good communication. Provide lots of good examples of your skills in the interview. Be able to give specific examples of how you've demonstrated your skills and don't assume the employer knows what you mean.
CV: One question that job seekers often fear in the interview is being asked to explain any significant work gaps in their careers. How do you address that?
MD: It depends on every individual. If there's a personal reason for the gap or other situation, the job seeker should really try to address that period in the cover letter...particularly if it was a period being used to explore career options or while they were in skills training. This will ensure there's an explanation for employers.
CV: Any last words of advice for people who now find themselves out of work, looking for new jobs and/or looking to continue in a chosen field?
MD: Just the same strategies (as noted above) we've always taught, except that in a competitive market such as this, realize that these strategies are that much more important. People need to understand that employers will now have a much bigger pool of candidates to choose from so they are going to look at the top candidates. Those candidates will be chosen not just for their resumes, but also based around the soft skills and attitudes. Employers really look for those things in all fields.
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.