Whether you're looking for full-time, part-time, summer or internship positions—reaching out to employers is a great way to learn about opportunities. Two effective ways to do this are via informational interviews or attending employer recruitment activities at the Career Centre.

One of the best ways to learn about a field, organization or a specific occupation, is by conducting an informational interview. Connect with an individual who is doing the job you're interested in or who works for an organization you'd like to learn more about, ask questions and hear information directly from the source.

Check out our informational interviewing tip sheet and networking tip sheet for more insights and information.

Employer Recruitment Sessions are a great way to learn about a particular company and connect with employers who can answer your questions about their organization’s culture, career opportunities, what skills and experience they’re seeking and how you can apply.

Career Fairs enable you to meet a range of employers and learn more about their employment opportunities. A career fair is a professional event and it's important that you make a positive first impression if you hope to attract the attention of a potential employer.

For more on how to dress, prepare and resources for career fairs click this link.

More and more employers are "screening" potential candidates via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter — and almost 1/3 indicated that they eliminated a candidate from the competition based on their social media presence. 

• Create a professional online profile 
  • Consider setting up a LinkedIn profile. While Facebook is primarily a social tool, LinkedIn was specifically developed to help you build and maintain a network of professionals in your field, and to aid employers in finding you. 
• Understand — and use — your privacy settings! 
  • This doesn't mean you shouldn't post personal information (including your party pictures) online; it just means you need to be aware of the potential for recruitment — or disaster — based on your online information. You need to ensure your privacy settings are working for you, and you need to manage your online presence so you attract the kind of attention you want from potential employers. 
• Think about your privacy settings 
  • Since most people are familiar with social networks, it's important to have a solid understanding of your privacy settings and what is appropriate to communicate to potential employers…and what's not. Obviously, your growing professional network having access to your spring break photos is not only unnecessary, it may even damage your reputation now and in the future — so make sure you know who has access to what! 

• How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search: a helpful list of tips for better utilizing social media in your job search.
• Online Marketing: Employers Using Social Media to Screen and Recruit: learn about the increase in employers’ use of social media for recruitment.
• Using Social Media to Find Top Recruits: This brief article offers valuable insight for job seekers about how employers use social media to recruit good quality candidates—and filter out the bad ones! 
• Social Media Dos and Don’ts during a Job Search: A list of ten important do’s and don’ts about using social media for job searching
• Social Networking in Plain English: This brief video provides an overview of social networking and why it’s important. 
• Job Search and Networking Strategies
• How to Effectively Use LinkedIn