Career services
Preparing for Work
Thomas Edison said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Although finding a job can feel like genius, and sometimes it is all about luck, most often it is simply through hard work and preparation.
Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation, while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.
Eliyahu Goldratt
Once you have decided what kind of job you want, you need to focus on work search documents, like a resume or portfolio, that will have employers wanting to meet you. Then, it is all about acing that interview and preparing your references.
A lot goes into preparing for work, including creating resumes and cover letters that get you noticed, maintaining a professional portfolio, demo reel or show reel that helps showcase your skills and experience, and understanding the psychology of interviews.
Although this can take effort, preparing for work is not as difficult as you may think. Most employers clearly communicate what they are looking for, making it relatively easy to showcase how your skills and experience are a good fit for available positions. Cover letters – yes these are still important! – provide a glimpse into your personality and values. Acing the interview is all in the preparation… here, practice can ensure you approach each interview with confidence, and the ability to sell yourself.
This section of the Toronto Film School Career Portal offers resources and strategies and outlines the services we provide to help students prepare for their job search.
Purpose of Cover Letters
Cover letters provide an opportunity to demonstrate how you fit with a specific job, have a passion for the industry, and can share your excitement and enthusiasm for the role.
Interviews - What Employers want to Know
There are three fundamental factors at the root of every question the employer asks: Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Do you want to do the job?
Common Interview Questions, Motives and Strategies
Behavioural Interview Questions
These questions focus on the interviewee providing a real example of something that happened in the past, because past behaviour is a predictor of future behaviour.
Interview Stages, Styles and Formats
This is your chance to shine and ensure the employer understands why you are the best candidate for the job. Make sure to prepare with effort and diligence
References
Making the Most of Your Online Job Search
Online job boards can be an important part of a job search, especially in the digital world.
Saying Thanks After an Interview
A thank-you email is a positive, non-intrusive way to stay on an employer’s radar.
Webinars
Employers spend 5 seconds looking at your resume the first time; recruiters care more about cover letters now than before the pandemic; and once you have a tentative job offer, reference checks can make or break whether it materializes. In this webinar, you’ll learn a step-by-step approach to laser target your written promotional materials, using powerful language that maximizes your chances of getting screened in. This includes selecting a resume style that sells you best, writing cover letters that show your personality and job fit, and choosing references who support you and know you best.
On average, it takes 10 job interviews to lead to an offer. When you have a great interview, feel excited about the possibilities, and imagine yourself in the job – only to discover that they hired someone else – it can be devastating. It’s important to think about not just your experience as a candidate, but also understand what employers are up against. In this webinar, we examine why employers ask certain questions. If you understand their motives, this will help you develop meaningful answers. You’ll learn about the 3 stages of interviewing, interview formats, and how to handle difficult questions and illegal ones. Plus, you’ll learn how set up mock interviews to practice and get feedback from a Career Advisor.
We often think of a designer, actor, or other Creative when these words come up – a designer’s portfolio includes a range of samples of their projects; an actor’s demo reel contains clips of onscreen performances. In the same way that a designer or an actor would create a folder or link with samples of their best work in order to sell themselves, any job seeker – whether in a creative field or not – can create a collection of pieces of work relevant to their job target, in an effort to add something distinctive to the overall sales pitch. This webinar covers a variety of different artifacts that can be included in portfolios and demo reels, plus multiple ways to showcase your samples.
In pursuing a degree or diploma, at Yorkville University or Toronto Film School, you are likely embarking on a new career or seeking to progress in your field. But what can you do about the timeless dilemma of needing experience to get a job, but having very little or none in your chosen profession? No matter your age, you have already lived an interesting life, with many experiences across multiple contexts. These experiences have provided an opportunity to use many of your natural gifts, in addition to cultivating new skills, and all of this has value to employers. However, it can take effort to ensure employers recognize all that you bring, even if your specific experience may be lacking. Creating a resume which focuses on your relevant skills and associated accomplishments, can help employers see how you can help with the problems they need to solve. Learn how to showcase your talents in a targeted way to start getting yourself put into the “yes” pile when applying for work.