The new Employment Services project undertaken by Valley East Today
is also designed to help people find jobs in the
Sudbury
area. Hollie Robitaille, shown in the photo on the
left, and Andrea Kennedy, on the right, are two Public Relations Students
from
Cambrian
College
who are helping
to develop the program under the direction of Robert Kirwan, Publisher of
Valley East Today.
“It is all very well and fine to help people prepare resumes and
learn how to use the computer and other resources to search out job
postings,” explained Kirwan. “But when over 85% of all job vacancies
are never formally posted, even the most skilled job hunting person will
have difficulty finding out about them.”
The Valley East Today Employment Services is designed to help match
employers and employees in two ways.
First, there is a separate section which will allow employers to
post current and/or upcoming vacancies so that people who are interested
may send in their resumes. This is the traditional method of finding work.
Secondly, and perhaps what could become the most
interesting section of the site, there is a place where people LOOKING for
work can post pertinent information about themselves for employers. Each
person looking for work will be allowed to tell employers a little bit
about their background and experience, as well as being able to tell what
they would prefer in terms of employment. When employers look through the
list of potential employees, they need only send off an email to the
prospect and request a resume or an interview.
“In order to uncover the jobs of the ‘Hidden Job Market’,
people must develop very extensive network skills. Unfortunately, many
young people, as well as a lot of the older job hunters, do not have the
kind of network that will help them discover the good jobs that are
hidden.” Kirwan went on. “When I speak to secondary school students
about their “Personal Career Plan”, many of them tell me that they
spend their time volunteering to do activities that are fun and enjoyable.
Most of them cannot identify any of the people they worked with or how the
time invested during the volunteer sessions will get them closer to their
career goals. They must expand their network of contacts in the right
areas in order to find the job that they want.”
In addition, Kirwan points out that it is crucial that anyone
looking for employment to make every effort to register with any and all service programs such as
the one being offered by the Department of Social Services and by Valley East
Today.
REGISTRATION IS EASY
You can register with the Valley East Today Employment Service over
the internet or by dropping by their office in the Hanmer Valley Shopping
Centre and filling out a registration form. Being on the list is no
guarantee that you will find a job, but it certainly won’t hurt.