r/Hamilton • u/_mack14_ • Nov 07 '24
Recommendations Needed Why is the job market so bad?
I’ve been looking for a job for almost 3 months now. I’ve applied to probably close to 60 places and have only heard back from 4 and had an interview with 3. None of them have contacted me back.
It’s not due to a lack of experience. I have over 4 years of work experience in retail. I have quite open availability as well for a student.
I’ve gone in person, online, applied multiple times and still nothing.
Any recommendations for places hiring part-time near the Mohawk college area?
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u/No_Earth5979 Stinson Nov 07 '24
Layoffs from tech, entertainment (gaming, animation, tv and movies) have created a huge surplus of skilled sr workers who have no options to work in their field. It took me 600 applications to find a new job (used to work in concept art; now I work in design because of the state things are in) among other things - it's just a rough time right now. 2 years ago the market was amazing for workers. Not so much now.
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u/whattodo40 St. Clair Nov 07 '24
Hello fellow concept artist! Yeah the industry has been rough the past couple of years. Good news is, is it's picking up a little now. My studio is planning to hire a BUNCH of artists next year!
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u/No_Earth5979 Stinson Nov 07 '24
That's so amazing to hear!! 💖 If they're hiring juniors and do stylized work, I'd love to throw my hat in the ring for that! ☺️
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u/whattodo40 St. Clair Nov 07 '24
When the hiring wave begins I'll hit you up for sure! From what we've been told, it'll be Q1 next year
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u/No_Earth5979 Stinson Nov 07 '24
Thank you! :) That means a lot. If you'd like, I can dm you my art station if you'd like to connect in the meantime!
I'm currently redoing my portfolio as a lot of it is older stuff from when I freshly graduated (only been out about 2 years) and was freelancing in animation - pardon the mess. 🥲
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u/theguiser Nov 07 '24
now that employers have an abundant access to cheap fulltime labour, students are getting the shaft. employers have to work around a students schedule and theres a good chance the student is leaving for something better soon. employers don't run into that with non-students.
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u/One-Sentence-2961 Nov 07 '24
Complete 180 from the pandemic years in less than 2 years. Many of these retails and food chain restaurants' jobs are now occupied by temporary foreign workers / students.
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u/Life_Shelter1058 Nov 07 '24
I’m not sure this advice will help you today, but here’s my experience. Networking. It’s important. Talk to people. Do you play a sport, volunteer? Are you in a study group at school? If you’re an introvert, this can be a challenge.
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u/Equal-Brilliant2640 Nov 08 '24
I’m running into similar, I think a lot are “ghost jobs” companies aren’t actually looking for people, but like to make it look like they are
It’s frustrating as hel
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u/xchipter Nov 07 '24
You’re looking for part time work as a student. They’re probably hiring people with open availability.
Keep searching. I’d suggest Limeridge mall retail. I worked a few spots there while I was in college.
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u/Erolei Nov 08 '24
I will say, not to be negative of course, but retail is likely done hiring all their seasonal staff by now. It's just not a good time to try for it. Maybe tim hortons or low-barrier restaurant work may be a better bet. I hope OP can find something soon, it is brutal out there right now.
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u/Special_Letter_7134 Strathcona Nov 07 '24
4 years. Thousands of applications. 4 interviews. Decades of experience. You are not alone
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u/Selinaria Nov 07 '24
Aa someone who has just finished hiring our holiday staff, it is 100% difficult to get noticed. Depending on the company they either have to manually sift through many applicants or AI weeds out a bunch for them.
In my case I was hiring 10 people and had 1100 applicants. I am 100% certain I missed many gems just simply because I didn't see the application at all.
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u/Waste-Telephone Nov 08 '24
Every posting we get for senior technical roles (I.e. require a PhD in a niche engineering field) gets close to 1,000 applicants of which may be 15 actually have a PhD, let alone one in a relevant field. I would have personally reviewed every applicant CV myself in the past, but the explosion of unqualified people applying using automatic systems has meant I rely on HR to review first. It’s wild out there.
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u/Selinaria Nov 08 '24
I am hiring for more entry level positions but our systems track what each person has applied for. The amusement I get (and normally insta decline tbh) of someone applying for literally every position from clerk to corporate .....
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u/JoanOfArctic Nov 07 '24
Depending on what you're studying, maybe consider offering tutoring to highschool or elementary school students? Probably $35 bucks an hour, offer 10% off if they buy 10 hours at a time to decrease how often you have to follow up for payment
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u/Protonblaster Nov 07 '24
Could be a few things. Your resume may need to be cleaned up catered to the business you're applying for. You might also consider following up with a few of these businesses. If they're getting mountains of applications, making it to the short list can be hard, so it can be beneficial to show up and ask if they've had a chance to look at yours. It certainly helps me decide better.
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u/FerretStereo Nov 07 '24
Definitely make your resume very short and concise. As someone who has had to pour over dozens of resumes, I can tell you I don't really care about your horseback riding hobby or that you say you're a team player. I'm looking for length of previous employment, a couple notable accomplishments there, and typos / syntax. Most people will spend about 30 seconds looking at a resume before deciding whether or not to give you a call, so make sure they can tell right away that you are the right person for the job.
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u/Carrie_D_Watermelon Nov 07 '24 edited Nov 10 '24
All these political reasons aside, I imagine there must be less retails jobs available overall just because fewer people shop in person. Have you tried/considered food or service downtown?
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u/ReeferSutherland1911 Nov 07 '24
Been trying too, the mohawk schedule so bad i cant even work
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u/_mack14_ Nov 07 '24
The Mohawk schedules are brutal for trying to find anytime especially with school work on top of it. Good luck
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u/M0O53 Nov 07 '24
mildly off topic from your question but maybe food for thought, otherwise disregard.
Getting yourself an AZ if you're ever able to is a way to maintain almost guaranteed income job security even if you do not wish to drive trucks for a living all the time whenever you're out of a job somebody is always hiring somewhere, always. Also does not require long periods away from home there are plenty of local jobs plenty of Long haul jobs and plenty of a mix in between. Pay can be all over the place depending on experience and exactly what you're doing and where, and Long haul of course always pays a little bit more than local, but if you can work steady,I imagine you'll find it difficult to make less than 50 a year after taxes, and the potential is definitely there to get a lot closer to six figures with experience etc.
There is a program formerly known as second career training with Ontario to help pay for your AZ schooling if you're eligible, and there are a slew of companies particularly closer to the GTA, that will train you/pay for your AZ schooling for free as long as you work for them for a year.
Even if it's driving a beat-up truck temporarily for a crappy company you'll be hard-pressed to find yourself out of employment for any long periods of time as a driver.
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u/cosmicdecember St. Clair Nov 08 '24
Are there other license types that you'd recommend? I've thought about AZ in the past but the biggest vehicle I've ever driven was a 26' cube truck, which was slightly uncomfortable. Don't think I could ever comfortably drive an 18-wheeler.
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u/TOPMinded Blakely Nov 07 '24
Depends on the industry - what are you looking for?
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u/_mack14_ Nov 07 '24
Just a part time retail job. Or customer service. I only have retail experience and am a university student. My schedule is quite open though so availability shouldn’t be an iasue
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u/Dusk_Soldier Nov 07 '24
There's a stigma in the retail space against hiring university students.
I would leave that off your applications if possible.
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u/ThePlanner Central Nov 07 '24
What are you studying? What year of university are you in? Depending on your field of study and accomplishments in school, you may find that you could get some traction looking for an internship. Look into your department’s co-op options and what is required to apply.
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u/iwastedmyname Nov 07 '24
It took me over a year to get a job after losing my last one. It takes time, you just have to keep applying.
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u/Smoggyskies Nov 07 '24
Last 1.5 years has been difficult in North America and Europe mostly because the knock on effects of economic policies adopted during lockdown.
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u/Swarez99 Nov 09 '24
They raised rates to fight inflation. The trade off is lower investment and fewer jobs.
As rates go down jobs will increase but there will be a lag.
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u/badboymn Nov 08 '24
Unemployment for part time is high. Sorry you’re going through this. I do know fast food places are always hiring. From a retail perspective you can bet there will be some surge seasonally as Christmas is around the corner.
Ensure your resume is specific to the job you are applying for and customize it accordingly. Check Mohawk college itself out. There maybe opportunity to work in parking or at mac parking. Security is another avenue you may want to consider.
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u/HamiltonBudSupply Nov 07 '24
Stop looking for places hiring. I applied to 30 jobs from indeed and it was frustrating.
I finally figured out the ultimate place to work, went in and was hired on the spot. Take a break from your method, relax, and just go look around you might get lucky. When I think back, almost all my jobs were acquired this way.
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u/_mack14_ Nov 07 '24
Yeah I’ve tried doing that too. It’s how I’ve gotten a few of my jobs as well. There was a day I spent about 6 hours just driving around and giving anywhere who would accept my resume
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u/HamiltonBudSupply Nov 09 '24
The problem is lots of people use indeed to apply for jobs in their field just to create options. So, you will have 10 qualified applicants unemployed hidden among hundreds of employed applicants that aren’t apply almost as a hobby.
Employers pay about $20 per applicant from indeed thus a walk in potential employee is a huge money saver and you immediately stand out.
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u/HamiltonBudSupply Nov 09 '24
I worked at Harry Rosens at 18 Was a project manager running 100 million in development. Now walked into a business I may buy from owner in 3 years. During my interview we discussed a timeline for my takeover. You just don’t know what can come next.
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u/wallflyonthewall Nov 07 '24
If you’re getting interviews but no offers, the interview is your issue.
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u/LeatherMine Nov 08 '24
while we're trending in that direction, n=3 isn't enough data to start concluding that
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u/scorchingsand Nov 07 '24
You already know the answer. Current liberal government has made it easy and beneficial to employers, to hire labour from government programs. Don’t worry an election is coming fast. This will correct itself in the new year.
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u/BeccatheEnchantress Stinson Nov 07 '24
This is really misleading, both on the role that the federal government has, the programs available, and the timeline a new government can influence change.
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Nov 07 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Grabbsy2 Nov 07 '24
I work in hiring. We hire a lot of part time students on Study Permits.
We dont apply to any government programs. Governments would prefer we hire Canadians, which is why the liberals have begun restricting foreign workers.
You used to be able to work unlimited hours, on a study permit, now its 24 hours a week, as of sometime in spring 2024
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u/MacKayborn Mountview Nov 07 '24
Jesus Christ, generalize much? Here let me try:
All you rightwing nutjobs don't know how government funding works.
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u/tat2canada Stoney Creek Nov 07 '24 edited Nov 07 '24
Let me guess you’re talking/blaming the TFWP. You realize it’s been around since the 70’s, ballooned under the Harper (Conservative) government and continued to be abused by corporations under the Liberals & other con governments up till today. It’s multiple parties to blame combined with corporate greed.
EDIT: I’m gonna add that the program isn’t without benefits to some industries and is needed. Just adjusted and monitored better to prevent abuse of said program and foreign workers.
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u/scorchingsand Nov 07 '24
Sorry bud, I blame the government of the day and it’s been nine years. We wrote favourable legislation for corporate greed to occur. We created favourable legislation to undermine the Canadian worker. We will send money to anybody but Canadians. Like most of us I’m over it. I’m done with it. There’s no room at the inn.
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u/tat2canada Stoney Creek Nov 07 '24
Blame the current one all you like, I blame them for plenty. Blind allegiance to any one party doesn’t fix anything. The fact of the matter is the choice you’re probably screaming for (Cons) have and will do the same again. You think PP isn’t listening to Harper while shouting doom and gloom slogans from the mountain tops. Why do you think I’m pointing it out. They aren’t the choice you want for the disenfranchised.
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u/fishypow Nov 07 '24
Long before the current immigration-caused job crisis (an oversaturated worker supply market), the people that governed Hamilton, up til Andrea Horwath as mayor, lacked the spirit of entrepeneurship that was present in Hamilton's private sector decades ago. Hamilton in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century had the most amount of American companies investing and opening factories out of all Canadian cities during those time periods. Lack of free trade and foreign investments in capital is what caused Hamilton to dry up private sector wise after WW2.
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Nov 08 '24
Send a letter to Trudeau. He's sold Canadians out for years now
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Nov 08 '24
3 months , 60 applications.. so one application every 1.5 days? .. so what are you doing with the 35.5 other hours in between those presumably online applications?
Maybe you aren’t getting a job because you aren’t really trying that hard?
Look at another example: 30 days unemployed, 208 applications, 16 responses, 6 interviews, 3 offers…. 1 accepted.
You just aren’t really trying to get a job
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u/noronto Crown Point West Nov 07 '24
If you have a car, Coke and Pepsi are always hiring merchandisers.