I walked in said god I need a job!! right place right time!

Body Pump?

That's better

Perhaps the OP can try that. Like I said going into the employer and speaking to them helps a lot. I had to do this in NZ and OZ.

Yeah - Pump & Combat!! Goodlife fitness is FINALLY coming west!!

You know something, I'm starting to smell goat, or is it coming from under the bridge????

INdeed !!

It may have been the strange leer or the hysterics that got me the bakery job!! or the pleading on my knees - or maybe just that they needed staff!!

Come on girls stop acting like a 5-year old. Keep to the topic of the thread. Either give some constructive feedback to the OP or go somewhere else!

No - I really was practically hysterical - really needed to get out of house or would have been on next plane home!! luckily I met the IGA owner walking my dog when I was having a sad moment - she needed staff and could see I needed work!!

is that what they call networking?

Definitely right time right place. Unfortunately the OP has a kid so it shard for her to be at the right place. The way applying for jobs in Canada is similar in NZ where you have to actually meet or call the employers before applying. Its like a double interview.

Unfort for me there are no urban planning jobs around at the mo - I know - I scan regularly . .

Carrie, am so glad you have this job. No going home missy *wags finger*

Myself, every job I've got in Van I've got through word of mouth. Still had to interview, but actually finding the work was through friends. The first job I got I actually got through friends I made on the interwebz in Van before I moved.

Right now I'm looking for work in Sept and through another mum at my kid's swimming class, I've found a possibility, a company that is expanding and looking for new people. Totally random but as we'd hit it off anyway, and she's going back to work, I was like "hey, I want to work with you".

HTH.

Have you tried working at the kids school - volunteer - then add to resume = working at XXX School - this then gets you references and a track record.

Also try the organisation that you girls do after school - Community Centres here always need help - again track record. Friend signed up to help a charity and at the end of the event the director hired her to work in their company. No officail paperwork but had demostrated the admin skill in the charity.

YES !! Next time I suggest walking your dog near the urban planning offices

Job hunting seems to be very tough right now. Lots of applicants are chasing fewer jobs in my area.

Networking gets mentioned a lot but can have limitations when jobs are hard to come by. OH is currently active in a local seminar group in which 50% of attendees are new-to-Canada jobhunters trying to "network" and another 25% are local jobhunters doing the same thing, though some of the latter already have jobs or contracts. That said, networking can really help you when you have a contract who either has recruited for positions you're applying for or is working for the organisation you have an interview with. In the first category people can look over your resume before you submit it to help to refine and target the skills required with some authority (regarding what they would look for) and provide you with concrete feedback. In the second category you can get help on interview format and corporate culture.

Regarding dumbing down, you may just have think about it if you don't just get lucky. When I was applying for jobs I made many applications for positions for which I was well (i.e. over) qualified and did not get a sniff of interest. The first factor that works against you is that the hirer thinks you'll get bored and leave when something better comes along (doesn't everybody!! I just need to earn some cash to pay the rent and out food on the table) and is difficult to overcome without lying/dumbing down the resume. I was overqualified for my first Canadian job but I got lucky. This is how the second luck factor comes in. You need somebody in charge of the hiring who sees the advantages in getting more than they were expecting. This is down to pure luck (that's certainly how I got lucky). Remember, "B"s hire "C"s. This may be management training mumbo-jumbo but there is more than a grain of truth in it. Sadly there are plenty of "B"s out there who feel threatened by "better" applicants and fewer people who want to hire somebody to engage with, learn from and mentor. You have to find an "A" to hire an "A".

If the economy is bad in your area, don't waste time applying for jobs you are definitely not qualified for. You won't get past screening. If you are marginal, give it a go but definitely target your resume for each application so the person doing the first pass yes/no required skills/experience scan can see clearly that you meet the minimum requirements. The person doing the first screen might have allocated about a minute to review each application package if they are on the receiving end of 100+ applications. I know somebody who got a job with the bare minimum of required experience and qualifications even in the current market so don't give up.

The advice about getting your child into part-time child care was also a great one if you can afford it. It will give you some peace to focus on finding a job. I generally spent 30-50 hours preparing for each interview (2.5/3 success rate - got 3 offers but one was for a different position than I interviewed for). That does not include application preparation time.

Try not to take things personally and keep your spirits up by coming up with alternative plans. Good luck.