Young leading exodus from lacklustre Canadian labour market

TAVIA GRANT

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

An eight-month stretch of meagre job creation is driving more Canadians out of the labour force, especially the young.

The country’s jobless rate fell two notches to 7.4 per cent in February, but that was because fewer people were looking for work, rather than any pickup in the labour market, Statistics Canada said Friday. The country’s labour participation rate has ebbed to its lowest level in a decade.

Young people are leading the exodus. Their jobless rate hit 14.7 per cent last month – its highest level since October, 2010 – amid five straight months of employment declines. Poor prospects mean almost 200,000 of them have left the labour force since the recession began. The youth participation rate has tumbled to a 16-month low and is approaching 1995 levels.

“This is a really significant issue,” said Francis Fong, an economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank who wrote a paper this week predicting the youth jobs market will remain tough for years to come.

That’s in part because older workers are staying on the job. Many are delaying retirement – for both voluntary and involuntary reasons – which means fewer new jobs are opening up. Of those that do, young people must now compete with more experienced workers.

“This generation of younger workers are our future labour force … and they are facing some pretty unique pressures that other generations didn’t have to go through,” Mr. Fong said.

He said the economic consequences will include muted consumer spending among the young, heavy debt loads and delayed home buying.

Among the university crowd, the mood is one of a deep sense of frustration, said Sara Taddio, a musician who is studying public relations at McGill University. She said her job applications have gone unacknowledged.

“I’m 22, I have the technical tools and enough drive and ambition – I just want to get my life started,” she said, adding that most employers are opting for more-experienced candidates.

Canada’s economy shed 2,800 jobs in February, the second month in a row of little change. The public sector dropped 13,400 positions, and is expected to fall further this year. Private-sector employment slipped by 1,700, while self-employment – often seen as lower-paying positions – rose by 12,300.

It wasn’t just young people who left the work force; other demographic groups exited the labour market as well. Canada’s participation rate fell to 66.5 per cent last month, the lowest since April, 2002.

The slide “is a sign of serious disengagement from the formal economy,” said Jim Stanford, economist at the Canadian Auto Workers.

Statscan’s broadest measure of unemployment is the so-called R8, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time who would rather have a full-time job; that measure stood at is 11.4 per cent in February, a slight improvement from 11.7 per cent a year earlier.

The federal budget on March 29 is expected to show cost cutting and possible public-service layoffs as part of its plan to trim the deficit.

Job creation remains a focus, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters in Toronto on Friday. “We will not keep our eye off the ball and there will be a lot of measures in the budget to create jobs and to get us on a long-term, sustainable track.”

That may not be easy. Private sector employers may rethink their hiring spree of the first half of 2011, and instead focus on boosting productivity, while public sector employment – a key source of growth in recent years – will decline outright, predicts Scotia Capital economist Derek Holt.

The pace of job creation this year will be half the rate of 2011, at 11,000 jobs or less a month, he believes.

With files from reporter Kelly Grant in Toronto.

Why can’t I get Canadian companies to take my U.S. experience seriously?

EILEEN CHADNICK

Globe and Mail Update

The question

I was relocated to Canada from the U.S. by the consultant firm I worked for. The project fell through and I was out of a job but I decided to stay in Canada (Toronto) to look for a new job at a Canadian bank. Even after I had obtained permanent residency status I was told I would have to take “several steps down the corporate ladder” because I had little Canadian experience. I had 10 years of banking experience in the U.S. and an MBA. I’ve sat in the HR offices of some of the Big Five banks and I am led to wonder how can someone get past that view that experience outside of Canada isn’t relevant here? How can you convince a corporation to look at you seriously even though your lengthy experience isn’t from Canada? Can you get past that or do you have to accept that you have to start near the bottom again?

The answer

I hear your frustration and I am sure you have a lot of worthy skills and experience from your lengthy experience in the U.S. However, while an MBA and 10 years of experience is impressive, what will matter most is what you achieved, learned, and contributed within that experience and how that is relevant to the Canadian market.

Keep in mind, there is nothing generic about banking. One size doesn’t fit all. The finance sector is a vast industry. For instance, a career in banking might encompass roles within retail banking, lending, investment management, tax and estate planning, wealth management, private banking, global banking, merchant banking, card services – and so much more. Deep experience in one area may or may not be transferrable to another area. As well, in any of these areas the Canadian market can differ greatly from the U.S from a regulatory, business, operations and marketing perspective.

To be taken seriously, your “pitch” (résumé, interviews) has to immediately convey that you have enough of the relevant experience and leadership attributes to be considered for a senior role. If the 10-year U.S. experience isn’t enough to break through to employers, what would a more compelling narrative look like? I encourage you rethink your approach (your résumé and profile; and to whom and how are pitching your candidacy). Your pitch may need to be more focused and tailored to the opportunities you are seeking.

Here are some questions to ask yourself that will help you reflect and further refine your job search with more focus.

• Sectors: What sectors within the banking and finance industry do I bring the most experience and how closely aligned is my experience with the Canadian market? What would I need to do and learn to close that gap if I want to work in any particular finance sector in the Canadian market?

• Roles: What kinds of roles best suit my strengths, aspirations, experience? Am I qualified to pursue a banking career that involves responsibility in marketing, operations, sales, project management or other areas?

• Strengths: When I consider my accomplishments and my “best moments” in my career, what are the strengths and attributes that really showed up? How can I tailor my search to find roles and environments that best match my strengths, and to what extent am I communicating these strengths and traits in my résumé and interview conversations?

• Values and approach: What values inform my preferred approach at work? Am I known to be a collaborator? Relationship builder? Innovator? People developer? Or do I prefer to fly solo? In what environments do I most thrive – entrepreneurial or corporate?

• Expand the search: Where else can I explore career opportunities beyond the banks? While the banks are an excellent avenue to explore – what other organizations may offer appropriate career opportunities? Explore alternatives such as credit unions, financial planning firms, investment companies, and mutual fund companies. Depending on your skills and interest, you may even think out of the box and consider service agencies to the financial sector, such as marketing or consulting firms.

• Network: Who can I talk to within the industry to learn more? How can I ramp up my networking so that I can engage in conversations with the right people to learn more about the industry and potential opportunities?

• Flexibility: How badly do I need to ensure my first job in Canada is a senior level role? What value might there be in accepting a less senior role in an organization that fits with my aspirations and provides a foot in the door?

Put it all together and invest the effort: After engaging in the above reflections, you should be in a better position to refresh your résumé and present your value proposition more meaningfully.

There’s no way around it – job seeking calls for a lot of effort. Regardless of one’s experience, every job seeker must fine-tune their personal marketing; develop a meaningful networking plan; research and tailor their search to appropriate opportunities; think inside and outside the box; and hone interview skills.

Don’t give up. But do take yourself and the job search effort more seriously so that you can be taken more seriously as well.

Eileen Chadnick is a career coach and principal of Big Cheese Coaching in Toronto.