School's out for summer and you would probably like nothing more than to relax. It would be great to spend some time watching TV or hanging out with friends. Unfortunately, if you are like most students that's not an option -- summer means time to look for a job. Whether saving for school, a new car, or because their parents are making them get off their butts, students of all ages start hitting the pavement looking for decent summer employment.

Looking for a summer job is easy. However, finding one is not. The newspapers and Internet are full of job opportunities. You could easily spend all summer sorting through job listings without ever finding anything of interest. Think of it this way, if you live in Toronto you might pick up a copy of The Toronto Star to look for a job. The Star has over 1.9 million readers daily. Imagine that 5% of Toronto Star readers are unemployed, and like you, are searching the classifieds for a great job opportunity. That makes you one of 95,000 people using the Star to find work.

Your chances of finding a job you're interested in doing is poor and if you do your chances of getting that job are even worse.

The Internet is not much better. You may have some luck on the bigger sites like www.workopolis.com or the HRDC Job Bank (www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca) but you run into the same problem as with the newspaper. There are thousands and thousands of people looking through these sites daily. And although they have over 15,000 jobs posted most of them are not geared towards students.

So what other options are available? Before you decide where best to look there are a few steps you need to take to prepare yourself for finding a job. The first thing you need to have is a resume. Think of your resume as a marketing tool -- you have to sell yourself, promoting your abilities and skills. You want to show them that you are the best candidate for the position. This means the more work you're willing to put into your resume the better it will pay off. If you want some suggestions on resume writing you can check out www.damngood.com for samples, tips, and answers to some tough questions.

The second step is deciding what kind of job you want. Do you want to work in Hospitality, an office, Retail, or Recreation. Or maybe you would prefer to do manual labour. If you are having trouble figuring it out, try thinking about what your interests are. If you like working with people maybe you would enjoy sales or hospitality. If business is more your thing, try for a job in an office. Getting your foot in the door is a great way to network with people and learn more about the field you're interested in.

Okay so now you have your resume done and you know what you want to do. So where do you look? The third step to finding a summer job is research, which presents a number of options. Lets assume that you have tried the newspapers and the Internet without any luck. Despite the fact that the majority of job searchers use newspapers and the Internet, only 20 percent of the available jobs are advertised. That means that 80 percent are not. The best way to tap into this market is through research. Decide on an industry in which you would like to work. Research the company, get the name of a contact person, and a phone and fax number so you can send a resume and find out if there are any positions currently available. Phone numbers can be found in the Yellow Pages, the Internet or you can try the Canadian Career Directory, which lists 900 employers throughout Canada including the qualifications they look for, contact information, and whether or not they hire summer students.

If you are not quiet ready for cold calling or would like some help there are places that search out summer jobs for you. Human Resource Centres of Canada for Students (HRCC-S) set up in the last week of April and run until August. They house the Hire a Student program which provides summer jobs for students of all ages, one on one employment counseling, volunteer opportunities, information on government programs, and much more. For the location nearest you call 1-800-935-5555 or check out Human Resource Development Canada's web site at www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca.

If you are in the Toronto North Area why don't you drop into Youthinc. We are conveniently located directly on the Subway line at the North York Center Subway station. Youthinc is a partnership of JVS of Greater Toronto, The Toronto District School Board, The YMCA, and is funded by HRDC. We are open year round and as a result will have a head start on summer postings. We will have a large number of summer job posting in a variety of fields including office support, recreation, and technical position just to name a few. If you need help with your resume we have friendly knowledgeable staff available to assist. In addition, we house the Hire a Student program and offer free access to computers, a fax machine, and telephones.

For those who are just finishing school and looking for full-time employment Youthinc has both the Job Connect and One on One Youth Internship programs which assist youth 16-29 who are out of school and work obtain full-time employment.

So if you know what you want to do, and you have good resume then try and find a summer position that will allow you gather some experience. Keep in mind your summer job does not have to be directly related to your career aspirations. Many of the skills you acquire through a summer job can be transferred into other areas. Trying a variety of summer jobs will give you valuable experience and may even help you figure out what you want to do for a future career.

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