For years, it seemed you could get a job at the drop of a hat in Calgary. Those days are over. With the recession, the job market has contracted resulting in fewer jobs available.
Joblink, a website operated by the University of Calgary career services, saw a 10-20 per cent decrease in job postings over the last few months.
Career services director Voula Cocolakis said this year, students will have to look harder and probably search longer to get a job. She added that it is important for students to have up-to-date resumes and be well-prepared for interviews.
“Full-time opportunities, part-time, summer positions aren’t there like they were last year,” said Cocolakis. “Companies aren’t stopping to recruit, they’re not recruiting as many.”
Yubtong Zhang, a third-year chemistry student, isn’t looking for summer work because she feels her education is more important. She never used the career services website, but is concerned by the decline.
She worries that it might be hard for her to get work after she graduates if the economic situation doesn’t improve.
Cocolakis said students will have to be less selective in the jobs they apply to this year over previous years. She said that it’s not because there are no jobs, just that there are fewer jobs than previous years.
“They just have to be more competitive and it’ll just take a little longer to find the right job,” said Cocolakis.
Third-year nursing student Sukhud Penning was able to find a summer job through a program the Nursing Faculty runs with the Calgary Health Region. She said she isn’t worried about finding a job because there will always be a need for nurses.
One sign of hope for students using Career Services is that the Career and Job Expo on Feb. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is completely booked by companies.