So a HUGE part of moving to a new city is being able to afford to live in that city ie: working. I’ve already established that moving sucks and is full of costly expenses. So I’m bringing my A-game to K-town when it comes to the job hunt! I have two things working in my favour: A: I have a fancy university degree & B: I have interesting real work experience.
Turns out… those things aren’t really all that amazing in a city that boasts engineers, scientists, MBA’s, computer programmers, there’s probably a team of astronauts hanging out somewhere. And there are all those professors, masters students, undergraduates yearning for any piece of work they can get their hands on.
And these job postings I’m looking at are so specified: marketing jobs mention the “ABCs”, what IS that? Fundraising jobs have their own software you should have 2-3 years of experience with. Video coordinators need to know how to edit, sound record, operate all kinds of camera, write, direct, produce, manage schedules and coordinate (and probably for some minimal pay). WHO are these people? How is anyone supposed to transition to a new field that is relatively similar to a different one, except for these extremely specified qualifications…doesn’t anyone invest in training their hires anymore!? Am I just really unqualified for life, how is it I have worked for years without gaining any of this knowledge!?
Anyway, I wanted to post a collective of helpful websites to search for new jobs in KW. I focus on communication and media jobs as it lines up with my experience and there seems to be a lot going on.
Media Job Search Canada: a lot of Waterloo tech companies look for programmers on here. yay me.
Eluta: they have an awesome Twitter feed @eluta_ca
Kitchener Jobs (Workopolis): Also great Twitter feed @kitchener_jobs
Waterloo Tech Jobs: this is a great site + Twitter @waterlootechjob, collecting all of the info from the other resources and focusing on tech and media
Another great trick is to research companies that you want to work for and then keep checking their sites for job postings that fit your interests more, instead of trying to fit into whats available right now.
I’m also really taking my time, I don’t want to have a month to find work, I want to take months to find the right fit that’s in line with my career. It also has given me insight and time to take some classes and volunteer to gain experiences outside my work environment so I’m not grasping at straws when I need employment.
We will see how this plan goes. I believe working hard means for something results in the achievement of that thing… but I’ve also had luck on my side so far.
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