I'm Done School... Now What?

The end of the year in the life of a student happens twice — once at the end of the year, as it is for everybody else, and the second time half-way through, usually around June. It is the June end-of-the-year that really matters. This is when many students don a funny hat and pose for pictures, smiling with hope (and naivety?), clutching a brand-new diploma that often prepares for ... well, not a job, sadly. Not that the diploma and the degree are useless but the time when graduating equaled a job are long, long gone.

We’re not being pessimistic — just realistic. Look, you probably will get a job in your field eventually, but until you do, there are bills to pay and often student loans and you’ll probably try to do whatever you can to not move back with mom and dad. So, once the excitement of graduating dies down and once reality sets in, you probably will need to get a job quickly. The sort of job that won’t require you to go back to school, something that would be relatively easy to get while you keep looking for the job of your dreams. Here are our three picks for an in-the-meantime job:

Data entry
If you look on TorontoJobs.ca there are tons of data entry jobs. From entering sales data to entering addresses of clients into spreadsheets and dealing with discrepancies, this is the sort of work that’s probably never going to go out of style as long as there are institutions. Chances are you’ll be able to do it without too steep of a learning curve but if you’re not entirely sure about your skills matching the description, have a look at our You're More Than You Know: Discovering Transferrable Skills article to see what you can unearth from what you already have (actually, you can focus on transferrable skills every time you send out a resumé).

The best thing about this sort of job (besides the fact that it can be relatively easy to get) is that the learning curve is minimal — as long as you know your way around computers. The important thing is to pay attention (accuracy is key!) to the numbers or text you’re feeding into the database.

According to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), other tasks of a data entry clerk can involve:

• Completing work orders, noting site locations, delivery instructions, security information and delivery times
• Processing paperwork and checking incorrect data for mistakes and re-entering it
• Calling customers when information isn’t clear
• Processing invoices as well as calculating prices and amounts of bills

Administrative assistant
Administrative assistants work in various places — from small private companies to schools to hospitals and government agencies to dental offices. Some might work for an individual, for example, an independent artist, but the majority of jobs are found in offices. This is a great job if you have both data entry and people skills. People skills are probably the most important of the two as your job depends on, well, assisting people. You’ll definitely answer phones so a good phone manner is crucial — after all, you are the front person for the company you work for and your professionalism represents who you work for.

Your other duties might involve typing letters, reports and writing emails on behalf of your boss. You’ll probably have to manage and maintain office files and be in charge of receiving and distributing mail. You will probably also have to order office supplies. You might be required to take notes (minutes) during meetings. Your other duties might have less to do with paperwork but are just as important in making your office run smoothly — preparing coffee for meetings, ordering repairs of office equipment, maintaining kitchen and bathroom supplies. You might be expected to perform small repairs — such as fixing a paper jam in a printer — or running small errands, such as getting decorations for the office party.

HRSDC lists a few other skills that might be needed. Please note that some of the skills listed on the site would require special knowledge such as familiarity with codes and bylaws if working in a setting such as government or financial institutions. In other instances, administrative assistants might even be asked to do bookkeeping, write speeches or press releases — again, both tasks requiring special training. But other than that, here’s what else you might be asked to do:

• Proofread memos, newsletters and reports
• Complete weekly, monthly and annual reports for leaves, training and sales performance summaries
• Schedule appointments for executives
• Monitor budgets and track costs of supplies as well as check expense claims and purchase orders to ensure budgets are not exceeded
• Data entry (see above section)

Glancing at adminjobs.ca, it’s clear that there are a few different titles (executive assistant, receptionist, admin support) for this job and the duties vary slightly. In all of the jobs you will be required to be compatible with the team and — most importantly — the woman or man in charge of the operation.

Customer service representative
We’ve covered customer service representative a few times on poss.ca, most recently in our Numbers Game article (have a read!), but it’s a job that’s always worth revisiting. Mainly because almost anyone can work as a customer service rep — whether it’s in retail or in a bank. In this job you might work with people in-person or over the phone. In some instances you can also assist customers through email (web support, for example, when clients who are trying to set up a website have problems transferring domains). The gist of this job is providing support to people who are interested in the product of the company you work for. Let’s do a quick reminder so that you can see how (relatively) easy it would be to handle this job. Here are a few duties you should expect:

• Helping customers make purchases, resolving problems, handling returns and exchanges
• Conducting inventory and receiving merchandise
• Dealing with complaints from customers and assisting them with finding resolutions

The Client Service Representative Training Program on the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) site, provides the following description:

“You’ll put clients first by meeting, greeting and getting to know them – processing a variety of financial transactions and staying abreast of their emerging financial needs. You will also respond to customers by offering value-added advice, spotting opportunities and taking personal accountability for the resolution of their concerns. Part of this pivotal role will be to ensure personally that clients receive optimal service at levels that meet their individual financial needs, or to refer them to the appropriate sales individual or to alternate delivery channels.”

The best thing about in-the-meantime jobs is that they don’t have to be permanent and, most of the time, they will leave your schedule relatively open to look for jobs that you really want (all three jobs listed usually operate on a set schedule). On the other hand, you might find yourself enjoying the in-the-meantime job so much that you make the decision to stay in the company (and potentially work your way up!). Cast your net beyond the office setting — there are many other jobs you could do after graduating and as long as you truly want to work you should be able to keep your head above the water.

Article Written By: Jowita Bydlowska of www.poss.ca