Lost and Found's Guide to Post-Grad Employment

So apparently I am good at job hunting.

In early January I posted an article entitled ‘Happy New Fear’ that was supposed to reflect my anxiety on formulating some kind of post-graduate career plan amidst a plethora of under-employed former students. As it turns out, it was the same gut-wrenching apprehension of joblessness that motivated me to ruthlessly search for a position that suited me and my interests. Oh, and it paid off – with a full time position as Personal Support Worker with March of Dimes Canada.

But not without a steep learning curve and plenty of job hunting mistakes made in previous attempts, which begs the question: how could I not write a post about post-grad employment? Below: the five biggest lessons I’ve learned on my journey not being broke and homeless and sad after six years of post-secondary madness.

1)   Let Other People do the Work for You

It sounds silly, doesn’t it? I mean, if you could outsource your own job hunt, wouldn't you want to? Welcome to the real world, Watson….It exists.

 

It's elementary.....Ahem, job sourcing, dear Watson.

During my search for a life-after-university plan, I had two different employment agencies who knew my name, interests and field – one was a private head-hunting company and the other a temporary agency run through York University. Although I didn’t have to use them in the end, I was confident in their ability to find me a ‘fall back’ plan because I had personally introduced myself and had made sure they knew I was a dependable person.

But it doesn’t stop there – especially for recent graduates. Universities all have career centers with job boards, resume and cover letter workshops and sometimes even job counselling. Government agencies are also interested in getting young educated people into the workforce, that’s why they have placement agencies in many locations. Share the load and connect with these services – you may be surprised at the outcome.

2)   Shake some Hands

In the world of online everything, it can be so incredibly easy to hide behind your digital resume. Online application systems are now the primary input source for prospective employees, and while filing off dozens of resumes online may be an easier alternative, nothing beats doing it in person. Please, please believe me on this. My personal mantra during my last job hunt was to bypass as many online applications as possible and meet someone from the company – a secretary, HR rep, whoever – before showing them my resume. I am certain this is the main reason why I was offered my new position.

Doing this puts a face to the name and shows the employer just how serious you are about working for them. The effort of travelling to a place of business pays off quickly – as a networking tool and motivational technique that is sure to give you a strong leg up on your competition. 

3)   Meet People and Network the Hell Outta Them

We all hear about how important networking is and how it leads to so many jobs. While this is especially true today, I still don’t think graduates understand this. Networking should be a process started far before you enter the ‘real world’, and universities are teeming hotspots of opportunity because they naturally attract professionals from all different kinds of fields. If you don’t take advantage of this, you’re missing out on some great potential job openings.

But I’m not just advocating signing up for conferences or events. The fabric of the professional world has changed over the years, and the lead-in to jobs is getting more and more informal. My best piece of advice is this: view every new encounter as a possible networking opportunity, regardless of where you are or what you are doing. Friends, family, relatives, co-workers, peers – they’re all untapped opportunities to wiggle into a job of your dreams. It sounds ruthless, I know – but it works. The better you are at forming new connections, the greater your chances of working in your field.

4)   Learn from Rejection

This is a tough one, especially for us young adults – failure can be detrimental, but it is a necessary part of improving a skill like job hunting. If anything, know this: when it comes to the Canadian job search, you will always experience more failures than successes. I know it sucks to hear that a majority of your applications as a new grad will end up in a trash can with barely a skim, but it’s the rotten truth and the best thing we can do is learn from it. There are plenty of ways to do this, too.

If you’ve found yourself on the wrong end of an application group, ask why you weren’t selected for an interview or given the position. At this point, there’s really nothing to lose and many HR departments are happy to provide a little feedback. It shows that you are interested and helps you improve your next attempt. If there’s one hard lesson I’ve learned, it’s that no one can ever have the perfect resume/interview/cover letter. Bettering oneself in the job market is an infinite process – the more you learn about yourself, the easier it becomes. 

5)   Be Stubborn and Stick With It!

Stubbornness gets a bad rap these days. It shouldn’t when it comes to job searches, because the more we get our name on peoples desks, the more we increase our opportunities for employment. Job hunting can be incredibly de-motivating, but don’t let a few turned heads drag you down. Remember – this is your future and you shouldn’t stop until you’re truly happy with it. It pays to be resilient, so build your tolerance to the negative parts and you’ll surely succeed. It takes time and effort to land employment in the 21^st century and patience is a virtue.

Good luck grads of ’13!

Confessions of a Tree Planter: An Interview with Adam Turpin

It’s that time of year again. No, not the annual spring barbeque where Uncle Larry dips into the mimosas and takes off his shirt to go Sasquatch hunting. I’m talking about planting season. Tree planting, to be precise. All around Canada people are digging out their mini shovels from the basement and heading off into the bush for weeks of painful labour, supplying our fair country with oxygen (and wood, and pulp, and paper….as I understand it) at pennies a tree.

But those pennies can add up. Just ask veteran tree planter and Toronto native Adam Turpin as he begins his umpteenth season, now foremaning his own team set to tromp around in northern Alberta’s wilderness in early May. You may think you know, but you have no idea. Enjoy: an interview with a man who is intimately connected our wooden giants.

Tell us about yourself. Who is Adam Turpin, in a nutshell?

Who wouldn't want a piece of this? Honestly?

I’ll try to make the nutshell as small as possible; I find it’s difficult to describe myself when I really sit down and think about it. I can start by saying I’m a soon-to-be York graduate who studied Kinesiology. I’m 25, and love long walks on the beach. Oops, wrong questionnaire. 

Seriously though, I’m a tree planter. This upcoming summer will be my fifth year doing it, and I’ll do my best to give you the most accurate picture of what it is we do.

What initially interested you in planting and why the hell would anyone want to do this?

It’s been so long that it’s hard to tease out the particular reason why I chose to go. An acquaintance of mine at the time, (a friend now) had gone and I was briefly told about it, and it sparked an interest. She spoke of the nature, the money, the drunken debauchery. It all seemed too unreal to believe so I had to try it for myself.

 

Paradise for planters, hell for pretty much everyone else.

I had previously done a mix of indoor and outdoor work, and I much preferred being outdoors. You’ve got to deal with the elements, but it’s more real…and planting most definitely has shown me the elements! Bugs, rain, snow, heat, mud - it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to give it a go, given the difficulty level. But that’s the beauty of the job. It really shows you what you’re capable of by the end of a season.

Planters will give you different reasons for their motivation, but it’s a known fact that employers want people who are motivated by making money. Planting can be a very lucrative seasonal job for the student (if you’re willing to work hard at it), so I think that’s a big reason why people start (and continue).

I understand that a very specific culture exists around planters and what they do. Can you lend a little insight into what this is and how you fit into it?

That’s a great question. 95% of people I talk to about planting either know absolutely nothing about it, or they’ve got a friend who talked their ear off about it because they went themselves. We certainly like to talk about our job.

From time to time, I hear about our stereotype though, that is, we’re all just a bunch of tree-hugging, pot-smoking hippies in the bush. While some planters may fit this description, others are your everyday Joes (and Jills). You wouldn’t be able to pick out a planter from a crowd just based on looks.  I wouldn’t call myself a hippie, but there are certainly aspects that we have all drawn from that subculture, such as having the utmost respect for your fellow person and knowing when to work hard and when to play hard. I can’t speak for all tree planters, but that is what I have seen. I can tell you we most certainly aren’t lazy!

What does it take to be a (successful) planter? Would I make the cut?

No.

Adam and his team en route to a site in Northern Ontario

Ha, just kidding. I’m fairly certain you’d be successful at it, but that doesn’t mean I think most people would. It’s a very difficult job, although I think most are capable of it if they really put their minds to it. You look at the people you know and think “Hmmm, I wonder if you could last an entire season.” I guess it’s impossible to tell, unless they actually try it.

A successful planter is always going to have to draw from two components. The first is the physical requirement. It’s physically demanding work. You often eat up to 6000 Calories a day and drink up to 10 litres of water when it gets hot. The terrain can be arduous, and don’t forget that we’re carrying up to 50+ pounds of trees on us at once. And of course, you’ve got to bend over every seven or eight feet to put a tree in the ground. Needless to say, if you have any prior injury, this job will aggravate it. And if you don’t, well, your body will still hate you in more ways than you can imagine.

Of course, physical labour isn’t the whole thing; there’s still a huge mental component to the job as well. Doing this job is tough, but doing it while there’s a cloud of blackflies in your face and boots that are full of water is in a whole other category. Sometimes it can be hard to keep your sanity. Actually, the truth is, you lose that about two weeks in. I swear, every year I give in faster and faster, that’s called ‘bush crazy’.  I think it makes the whole experience a little easier to get through.

Storytime. Give us your best anecdote of being in the bush while planting.          

This is probably the most difficult question to answer, because I can give you a plethora of stories, given enough time.

 

Some plots are only accessed by helicopter - you have to be
air lifted in and out every day! 

Last season, while dropping off garbage at the dump, another foreman and I were surrounded by about five black bears. It was terrifying at first, but they were pretty tame and only wanted our garbage. It was exhilarating haha. Another favourite quip about tree planting is the ridiculous outfits we pick up at the thrift shop. I’ve seen planters in Santa costumes, banana suits, tu-tus, jogging suits, dresses, fur coats… you name it, we’ve seen it. I almost don’t think it would be quite the same experience without all the silliness that happens.

Is there life after planting for you, or will you just perpetually shove things into the dirt until you die or fall ill?

 

Go forth, Adam! Plant those bitches!

That’s a good question, and I’ve been asked it before. It really depends on my plans in the future. If I go back to school then I’ll be planting for a couple more years, but I hate making long term life decisions. It’s very possible, but I wouldn’t want to limit myself from doing anything else, even if I do love the job so much.

Cool. Thanks for the interview!

Thank you!

Under One Tent: The PARC Night Market

It’s late Monday morning and I’m sauntering across Queen Street West in the heart of Parkdale, attempting to shake off a post-St.Patty’s hangover. Coffee in hand, I make my way into the familiarity of the main floor of the Parkdale Activity-Recreation Centre – usually the beating heart of street life in these parts, but not today. Today there’s an eerie absence of hubbub, a vacancy where life normally presents itself in ordered chaos.

I climb the wooden staircase to the second floor to the tune of a thousand creaks as the worn wooden floor absorbs my weight and I make my way into the ‘Healing Room’, where behind closed doors I hear the hum of hungry sewing machines and the quiet tattering of voices. Through mounds of cloth, waves electricity permeate the door and glide through my body. I smile and turn the knob: this is it. Production week.

Alice - a production team favourite - and her puppet

Fast forward five days and although most of my week has been ‘business as usual’ I find myself anxiously anticipating its end. Stepping off the Landsdowne bus on Friday afternoon I am, unlike my past weary half-drunk self, excitedly rushing across the street and back to 1499 Queen West where I run into Michael Burtt, Director of Making Room Community Arts and the ringleader for the evening. Michael has had no problem taking me under his wing over the past seven months, integrating me into his program and consequently exposing me to a world far beyond the sidewalk life of Parkdale. Though everyone is in a caffeine fueled turbo charge, Michael seems to have met his own personal apex of pre-event frantic as he quickly delegates set up procedures and I, now completely high off of the shared craze, quickly go to work preparing the drop-in centre for a spectacle like no other: the PARC Night Market.

What comes to mind when you think of a night market? Abundance of tasty culinary delights? Eccentric figures selling you clothes and jewellery? The feel of a busy evening market is its own euphoric sensation: smells, sights and sounds blend into one and you are locked in a transcendent space where magic becomes life. Aiding in the transformation of PARC space into a night market didn’t taint this experience for me; only heightened my awareness of what it really was. 

The incredible musical photo boxes.

And so, by 7pm sharp, we had successfully transformed PARC space into something out of a whimsically drawn picture book or ancient tale of gypsy dance and carnival characters. We were complete with a memory canning station, live band, fortune booth, embroidery table, clay puppets, hand-crafted jewellery, painted canvasses, and – the project I had the most impact on – the creation of kaleidoscope picture boxes complete with a victrola-esque music pipe. The ceiling was decorated in rags and lanterns. In the middle sat our canoe – built in a previous PARC lifetime and a vessel for memories.

Over 200 community members and PARC staff participated in the Night Market, crowding the spaces in between exhibits and moving to the rhythm of the live music. At the end of the night and after striking (production language for 'cleaning up the giant mess we just made'), five staff remained in a bar across the street – some still in costume – staring into our beers with permanent smiles etched across tired faces. PARC – Sand in Water – had finally culminated, but in the most appropriate way possible. From across the table, Michael breaks the silence: ‘what do you think we’ll do next year?’

I'm a RoMANtic

I like romance.

There, I said it. I am a man, and I enjoy a good love story more than I would normally like to admit in any social situation. I also refuse to believe that I am an anomaly. We males have too many ways in which to mask this, standing behind a social norm that would be as inaccurate as when sloths mistake their arm for a branch and fall to their deaths. It’s time to rise – a collective of man-romantics.

I was recently involuntarily subjected to read Anne Michaels’ Fugitive Pieces for a class this semester, and, while the book is a beautifully stylized natural history marvel, I’m pretty sure my favourite parts were the subtle injections of romance. Now, I’ve tried this before: with nothing left to read and yearning for some literature, I forced myself to take on a Nora Roberts book entitled The Three Fates last summer. Despite being a so called ‘romance novel’, I wasn’t aroused in the least. I thought my story-book romance days were over.

But Micheals does something completely different and much more to my liking. Her version of a romance isn’t some smutty, overly-detailed repetitive patriarchal half-porn, but a classic in descriptive beauty (without all the graphic parts). I so appreciated her ability to describe the essence of a character though another character, allowing for her poetic writing style to bleed elegantly across each page. Romance wasn’t the centerpiece but a component part of a larger story, told through the eyes of a fictional post-World War Two first generation immigrant to Canada who struggled with identity, mental health and forming a healthy love interest. It was beauty at its finest.

So why do I feel like the only man on the interwebs to support the creative talent of romance media everywhere? Just buck-up and admit it: we’re all suckers for a good love story, and there isn’t anything wrong with this. So all you self-identified males who front an emotionless manly-man guise can start acting like real dudes with hearts and feelings and mushy stuff. After all, feelings are called feelings because we often can’t control them.

So let’s foster the feelings of males everywhere, and put the MAN back in roMANtic.  

*Looking for a little romantic inspiration? Buy Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces here.

An All-Canadian Road Trip Playlist

When you think Canadian Road trip, what’s your soundtrack? There are the obvious picks from home-grown greats like The Hip, Rush, Neil Young, perhaps a little Morissette for good measure…Indeed, when it comes to tunes that pair well with tarmac, Canada certainly isn’t shorthanded. Now, I’ve already written about Canada’s top ten road trips, so I could make up a road trip playlist that includes every big hit from famous bands that emerged in the North like some thoughtless pedestrian blogger. Or, of course, I could instead create a different mix of Canadian bands/songs that are equally as deserving of your car stereo (but more unexpectedly so).

Yeah, I’ll do with the latter.

Stars: Take Me to the Riot

We’ll start with the well-known Canadian pop-rock collective Stars and their enegetic single Take Me to the Riot. This diverse music machine from Toronto and Montreal will soon have you chanting ‘take me to the beer store!’ or ‘take me to the in-laws! (but sedate me first!)’ or ‘take me…..just take me anywhere goddamnit!’. Turn it up or get out.

Hey Rosetta!: Seeds

Newfies: people born for road trips and road trip tunes. This example is no different. The eclectic rockers from St.John’s have created yet another piece we can enjoy cranked loud behind the wheel. This song was actually written about being on the road. How the hell can you ask for anything more perfect?

Land of Talk: Quarry Hymns

You need to vary your roadtrip playlist. While the above two selections say ‘DRIVE, motherfucker, DRIVE!’ this one in particular be all like ‘drive, but relax yourself. Be the car. Breathe it in. Flow with the road. Eat a fruit salad. Pee in the cornfield.’ Allow lead singer Elizabeth Powell to sooth that travellin’ bug and transcend into a world of open air and ridiculously expensive gas stations in the middle of nowhere. This is a hymn for the road-weary.

The Strumbellas – I Ain’t Tryin’ to Die

We’re in need some serious country infusion here, but not the ‘I shot my horse in the leg’ kind of country music. Nay – only the indie country delivered by six-piece folk band The Strumbellas. Nothing really makes more sense on a roadtrip than some good ol’ foot stompin’ yee-haws and a “Hallelujah” for freedom. Tis a toast to the road; just not when we’re driving.

*The Strumbellas are so awesomely indie I couldn’t find a video of this song. Instead, here’s a link to the Soundcloud version of I Ain’t Tryin to Die.

Great Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine

An ode to Canadian landscape, tastefully likening it to a sexy ass woman. That’s what you get with Great Lake Swimmers – polite, articulate…but master seducers nonetheless. Originally from the small town of Wainfleet, Ontario, the Swimmers continue to crank out melodic folk rock that was built for the travelling person.

The Arcade Fire: Keep the Car Running

Ah, another under-celebrated Canadian great: The Arcade Fire. Other than producing songs that are just epic, the Fire continue to embrace their astonishing creative scope by producing music that fits all kinds of descriptions and categories. It goes with the territory when you have a million different musicians in one band who are all riding on a neverending rainbow of innovation. This time around, you’ll want keep your car (and its stereo) running. Loudly.

Tokyo Police Club: Favourite Food

Road trips are perfect opportunities to take a trip down memory lane, and Tokyo Police Club offers you a perfect mental vehicle. This group of youngsters from Newmarket have grown recent notoriety for their fast-pased, post punk style with catchy riffs and light-hearted lyrics. “Favourite Food”, originally released on their  first LP entitled Champ, is a departure from the aforementioned formula, but a perfect piece for the road.

The Weakerthans: One Great City!

Road trips are for seeing the unseen and escaping life in the smog dome. Winnipeg natives The Weakerthans are all too accustomed to the daily routine, perfectly summarizing life in the city with their working-class antithesis One Great City!. Insert ‘Winnipeg’ with your home town, hop in a car and let the Weakerthans sail you out of the concrete jungle and into open air. 

Breakfast in Tweed

My hypothetical online dating profile wouldn’t have an exhaustive list of interests: biking, traveling, writing and…..breakfast. I. Love. Breakfast.

Noms. Breakfast in Tweed: Vegetarian Style.

I mean, how can you not? Sunday mornings were meant for greasy, delicious and hearty foods. In breakfast we find the answers to life’s most important questions: what’s a high-energy solution for starting the day off awesomely? Breakfast. What’s the best remedy to shake off last night’s drinks? Breakfast. How do I avoid an awkward morning with what’s-her-name I just woke up beside? Walk of shame, then breakfast. How can you ask for anything better?

So when I was given the opportunity to eat at one of Southern Ontario’s best breakfast joints while en route to Ottawa last weekend to see family, the answer was easy. We would deviate from the monotony of Highway 401 and head northeast from Belleville, stopping just before the road meets highway 7 in the small town of Tweed, Ontario. While this tiny collection of farmers, small businesses and local restaurants is a typical rural settlement full of quaintness and familiarity, tucked in the main drag is a breakfast joint that rivals the best: The Gateway. 

My early morning culinary adventure began as I stepped from the snow-covered sidewalks of Victoria Street on a Friday and into the interior warmth of the Gateway Family Restaurant. While I’d like to imagine that I fit in well with the locals, I’m also pretty sure my polished leather Clarks and flannel print scarf beamed an obvious ‘city folk’ label the minute every other patron acknowledged my presence. “Never mind”, I told myself, “we’re here to get our breakfast on”. And getting our breakfast on we did. Three eggs, multiple cheeses, two slides of toast and a pile of fried potatoes later, I was as satisfied as I could have been after demolishing everything on my plate.

Though the food was exceptional, the enjoyment of a meal at the Gateway doesn’t end there. What I appreciated most about the experience was how unapologetically normal this place was. The flashiness of breakfast spots in the city is all but alive at the Gateway. Instead, wood paneled dividers and cheaply framed photos create an ambiance of plainness that refuses complication. Everything is straightforward and real. No bullshit. A breakfast that fills your hunger and expectations without the fireworks show. I liked this place immediately. 

So next time you’re driving route 36 towards Ottawa, be sure to stop in the small town of Tweed for a breakfast you’ll not soon forget. We recommend the Gateway special. 

Taking the INSIDE OUT at the MABELLEarts mid-winter Parade

It’s approaching Saturday night, mid-February, and a classic Canadian snowstorm has fastened its frozen-hellish grip on Toronto. Through the windows of a westbound subway pulling out of Kennedy Station I can see the early brew of rough weather through the twilight of a cloudless setting sun. Tonight I am traversing the Bloor line and back – in its entirety – to bare witness to the MABELLEarts third annual inside/outside mid-winter parade. Also, I have been commandeered to help out; just exactly how I am unsure of at this point.

Mabelle Park in summer.

The high-rise, high-density neighbourhood of Mabelle Park, located a five minute walk Northwest of Islington Station, mirrors countless other subsidized housing projects instigated by the Toronto Housing Corporation (THC) in the 1960’s and 70’s throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Characterized by high rates of crime and living conditions close to squalor, places like Mabelle Park would generally be on a list of locations to avoid on a Saturday night. But not this Saturday night.

When a community becomes segregated from vital resources and falls into poverty, its members are either forced to live their lives hand-to-mouth or relocate (an option that is also off the table for many due to strict economic pressures). At Mabelle Park, a third solution was created after its residents became too fed up with political ignorance and social marginalization: build a new community foundation, based on inclusivity and self-expression, to allow for an outlet to ‘make art, tell stories and creatively transform the place that is Mabelle’. In 2007, MABELLEarts was founded under the name ‘Pigeon Creek Collective’ to give that voice back to the people living in the area.

Drummers warm up before the parade.

MABELLEarts has since unashamedly proclaimed their place as a vibrant community arts group in Toronto, holding several events each year and programming weekly with both Mabelle residents and community artists from around Toronto. On this particular night of inclement weather, we flooded onto the stoops and front doors of Mabelle Park and took the inside outside, marching along snowy sidewalks with a drum ensemble around an outdoor living room and jars of preserved memories. At the end we all enjoyed hot food and cider made by MABELLEarts members. Because our group at PARC joins in the process of transforming space and transforming lives, they were there too. It was a night for celebrating amidst the whiteness.

For MABELLEarts and PARC members, these are the things that make them feel a part of a community. The motivation to construct and plan a night of this capacity becomes the dedication of individuals who may have never before been involved in something of this scale. The passion behind everything is unobtrusively present. The lives of people right in front of you, hanging in a bed strewn under a tree or radiating around a desk lamp set in the snow. You are caught in the moments of someone else’s life bleeding into your own. It is as close to pure magic as possible.