Part 1
Steve: This morning, I'm meeting with Fraser, who is a relative recently graduate, I think, of a local university, and we are going to talk about his experience in the job market, and perhaps some advice I can give him insofar as the forest industry is concerned. Let me first ask you, Fraser, what is your background? What did you study at university?
Fraser: I took a degree in geography, arts, four-year program, University of Calgary. I got into geography simply because I was interested in the profs, and it's such a wide discipline, in terms of study. I mean, you can study everything from the environment, to urban planning, to forestry and economics, so.
Steve: Did you always have in mind that you would like to work in business? Was geography/business sort of your goal?
Fraser: I've always had an interest in business. My father has been in business, you know, for the last thirty years. When I was younger, I was partial to the environment, working out-of-doors, and being in nature, but as you grow older, you tend to-the environment gets a little harsh, and then you want to move inside. So that's what I'm looking for now, maybe a job that has a combination of both. We'll see. Steve: So that made you look at the forest industry. What sorts of things have you been doing? First of all, when did you graduate, and what has been your job hunting strategy?
Fraser: I graduated this past April, 2004, and I went to visit my girlfriend in Maui for three weeks, and that turned into four months. I didn't have a legal job there, but now I'm back here, and I started my search in more the traditional-type search-job sites, newspapers. I'm independent, maybe to a fault, and so I wanted to sort of look for the job myself. You know, the competition's just fierce when it comes to those jobs that are advertised in the papers or on the job sites. A thousand people have seen them, maybe thirty thousand. So I've sort of gone away from that and tried to do the networking as much as possible. Steve: When you say job sites, you mean the websites that advertise jobs?
Fraser: Yeah, stuff like Workopolis.com, Job Shark, Monster, all the main ones that you'll generally see around. They're pretty easy to find. Even the not-so-publicized ones, they're virtually all the same, and they'll spit out a bunch of jobs. You may think you're the perfect candidate, but you won't even hear back from them. So it's a frustrating method. I mean, I have had interviews through going through those sites. They've been sort of few and far between. Generally, it's tough to get a read on companies. Even-you know, they may still have a website, but if you don't know anything prior about the company, you might go and it may sound like the greatest job or the greatest company in the world, and then you go down there and you can be disappointed. Steve: Now, when you do apply for a job, I guess you send in your standard covering letter and resume. Is there anything in particular you try to do?
Fraser: I try to specialize the cover letter. The resume generally stays the same. The cover letter-you know, if it's an outdoor position maybe I'm applying for, I can sort of talk about that, my history involved in the outdoors. But, you know, if it's a sales position, and you want to talk about how you can relate with customers and experience-wise, you have that in that field. But, yeah, you just want to specialize the cover letters, I think.
Steve: What, in your experience, where you have had interviews, what sorts of things are the interviewers normally looking for? What sorts of questions do they ask?
Fraser: The interviews can vary. I mean, they can be situational interviews, they can be sort of your standard "How did you deal with a problem in your last job?" or, you know, "Did you enjoy working with your last boss?" or "What are your greatest faults?" "What are your greatest strengths?" You can get simple questions like that. If it's a career-wise job, you'll probably do three interviews, at least. I find the first interview generally seems to be "get to know you," and if they like you, and you sort of have a good first impression, then you get into that second interview, where it's more of a situational. They talk about the company, you learn a few more things about them, they learn a few more traits about you. If you make it through that, then you get into that third interview, which is generally sort of down to the final five people, maybe. Then you sort of really have to sell yourself.
Steve: How do you sell yourself? What, do you try and toot your own horn? How do you strike that balance between seeming to be honest, and at the same time, not-I mean, if they ask you what your faults are, you don't want to tell them too much. Fraser: You've got to keep your attitude-you've got to be positive when you sell yourself. You've got to talk about your good traits. You can't come off as being cocky though, either, or arrogant. You have to sell yourself, be enthusiastic, and make it look like you really want to work with the organization that you're applying to. I've sort of learned that the hard way, maybe. In my first few interviews-my first two interviews, actually-I didn't sell myself. I wasn't maybe as keen as I could have been, and sort of that gets you out of the comfort zone sometimes. You know, you really got to [pounds fist] pound that fist on the table, "I love to work here. This could be the greatest job for me. I will be a valuable asset to your company."
