Oct 27, 2016
Pattie Lovett-Reid: Why many Canadians want a new career and how to find one
Is the employment grass always greener?
For many Canadian workers, it does appear the grass is always greener at somebody else’s job. Three quarters of working Canadians say they are currently satisfied with their current careers overall, while almost two-thirds say they’re still interested in making a significant career change – pushing for a promotion, a new employer or even a new career entirely, according to an Angus Reid Institute poll released Thursday.
These are just a few of the poll's findings, which surveyed more than 4,500 Canadians adults, including more than 2,500 workers. The survey suggests we are a pretty contented workforce, but one that still sees significant room for improvement in its employment situation. The desire for better circumstances may be a product of past experiences: Most Canadians say they’ve made a significant career change before, and those who have overwhelmingly say they’re glad they did it.
The question then becomes: How do you go about finding a new job? According to the Shepa Learning Centre, it is all about networking. If you are using LinkedIn as part of your job search, for example, you should know that DMR Linked Stats says that 94 per cent of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates. And, the average number of connections that recruiters have on LinkedIn is 616, so that might give you an idea of what recruiters think is a reasonable size of a LinkedIn network.
If you don’t have 616 connections, start to boost your presence by inviting one person per day and then be active, share updates and join groups.
And one final thought – avoid words like “responsible and creative” in the description of yourself. DMR says they are overused – which means you may need to be more creative – so to speak.
We all know the grass isn’t always greener but you will never know for sure if you don’t export. Network, network and network some more.
