Job Search Strategies with Susan Chesa

On March 15th, 2023, The Alberta Mentorship Program held an online Community Champions Mentorship Circle on Job Search Strategies and the Importance of Networking with expert and guest Susan Chesa.

Susan Chesa is an engineer who previously worked in renewable energy in Kenya and the oil and gas sector in Canada. She has also worked as a career advisor, supporting newcomers in engineering and other technical professions with the Bredin Centre for Learning in Edmonton. Currently, Susan works as a talent acquisition specialist at Bunge, supporting operations in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. As someone who has worn all the hats, including being a newcomer to Canada herself, Susan has extensive knowledge to share with us on this important topic.

Answers have been abridged for length. Watch the video below for Susan’s full responses!

Tell us about your background and how you went from engineer to career advisor to talent acquisition specialist.

I have a very nonlinear career path. I have a background in electrical engineering and moved to Canada 10 years ago. As a newcomer, I struggled to find Canadian work experience in my industry, so I was fortunate, after a few months, to land a job at Shaw Communications. I worked there for around three months and, through networking, found a role as a junior engineer at Rotaflow Controls. At Rotaflow, I supported Suncor, and I did that for around two years before taking maternity leave. When I was ready to go back to work, the oil and gas prices crashed, and the opportunities in that industry became very competitive because more people were in the job market looking for work. I looked for a couple of months but was not successful. At Rotaflow, I had not built a strong network of people in the industry that I could leverage, so I searched but was unsuccessful.

Fortunately, through networking again, I landed a position. But not in engineering, in non-profits! I started as a career and employment coach at the Bredin Centre for Learning. I kept thinking, do I keep looking for an engineering role, or do I check out this one? I might learn new things, meet new people and see where my career takes me. So I accepted that role supporting newcomers with a background in engineering, architecture, and geoscience. I supported them in their job search, professional development, and certification and license application.

I realized during that time I enjoy working with people. At some point, I wanted to work on the employer side. I decided to work on my resume, leveraging the transferable skills I gained at Bredin to look for a role in recruitment. I worked on my resume and applied for a position at Agilus Work Solutions, where I landed a position as a recruitment consultant focusing on engineering and technical roles. After that, I felt that instead of supporting many companies, I wanted to be an in-house recruiter and a talent acquisition specialist. I leveraged the skills I gained at Agilus and the skills I gained at Bredin to apply for a role at Bunge, and that’s how I found myself as a talent acquisition specialist.

I'm not in engineering anymore, but I still wanted to be connected to my field. While working at Rotaflow, I applied and became a certified engineering technologist with The Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta. So I still have my certification, keep it active, and currently, I'm a board member. I believe in networking, and I still believe in keeping in touch with my industry.

What is a job search strategy, and why do we need one?

A job search strategy is a plan and a technique you will follow to land a desired role. Having a strategy is important, or it will be a frustrating process. On average, someone who is unemployed will spend 20-30 hours per week on their job search, and someone who is employed will spend 8-10 hours per week, so if that’s the amount of time you’re spending – it’s better to have a plan than to apply for every position you see. At some point, we have all experienced the frustration of applying and not getting feedback from employers, so have a plan to stay more efficient.

What are the parts of a job strategy?

The first step is doing a self-analysis to discover your:

Core values
Strengths
Weaknesses

The people who do well at their roles are the ones who enjoy what they do, so it’s best to apply for a role in a field you’re interested in. An example of how core values might affect your search: if you value community, a remote or individual-focused position might not fit your personality. Instead, look for a role where you’re engaging with people. If you value freedom, schedule flexibility might be important. If you value innovation, look for an industry or role where the company is constantly evolving.

The next step is to list all the positions that match your values, skills, and experience. This is important because companies might have different names for similar roles, and you don’t want to miss any potential opportunities. So if you have an HR background and enjoy working with people, list all the different HR roles such as HR administrator, compensation specialist, etc.

Lastly, list all of the different industries and companies within those industries you’re targeting. Get a list of around 20-30 companies and work toward making a strong application.

What do you think makes a good resume?

A resume is a document that tells employers what they need to know about you to figure out if you can do the job. If your resume doesn’t tell the employer you can do the job, they won’t consider you. Say you’re applying for a role in supply chain, but your experience is in accounting, and your resume is full of accounting keywords. The hiring manager will think you are not the best person for that role.

Your resume must be well structured. A functional resume will highlight your key skills, experience, qualifications, and achievements. A chronological resume will move through your career to show patterns and consistency. Choosing a format comes down to what you’re targeting.

If you’re looking to move to a different industry and don’t yet have the experience to leverage, you can use a functional format to highlight your transferable skills. Group your skills and then put a summary under each group explaining how that skill transfers to this new industry. For example, when I was moving from engineering to HR, I highlighted my skills in customer service and my interpersonal skills.

The best format, in my opinion, is a combination of chronological and functional.

Ensure your resume is easy to read and has a simple design. Different companies use different application systems. If your resume has a complicated design, it might not pass through their system, and the recruiter might not be able to view it.

Lastly, when applying for a role, customize your resume to ensure you incorporate keywords for that role and its requirements. For example, if a role requires you to be competent in specific software, highlight that on your resume. If the role is supervisory, highlight your leadership experience. Customizing your resume will help tell the employer you are the best person for that role.

What information do you include in a resume to contextualize your experience and highlight skills?

First, look at the job description for the role you are applying for. What are the skills required, and what are the nice-to-haves? Also, look at the roles and responsibilities for that job description and ensure you are hitting those points.

Even though you have a lot of experience, simplifying your resume is important. I have noticed that people who have a Ph.D. highlight their thesis and what they worked on, and sometimes there is so much content that, as a recruiter, in a couple of seconds, I am not able to tell if you can do the job or not. So simplify your resume.

Keep it to two pages. You can extend it to three pages if you want, but ensure you hit those points and include the required experience. The first two-thirds of your resume is the most important part. Sometimes, a recruiter will not go to the last page to confirm if you’re a good candidate. So, in the first two-thirds, include your contact information and a summary highlighting your skills and experience, and you can have a section that lists your core competencies. For example, if you are in IT, list the software you are competent in within the top two-thirds of your resume.

What are the other things you need to work on to be successful in getting a job?

Work on your interviewing skills. You can have a good resume. But if you don't have good interviewing skills, then you won’t land the role you want. Many online resources, including YouTube influencers, focus on helping people pass interviews.

The first thing in preparing for an interview is learning about the company you’re interviewing with. For example, for me, I work for Bunge, and Bunge is a global company, a huge company, but not a lot of people know about it in Alberta and Canada. So when I interview a candidate that has done their research, they know what facilities we have in Canada, I get impressed.

Read through and understand the job description to know the requirements and expectations.

Practice interview questions and learn how to answer them. There is information online about how to answer each interview question using the STAR technique.

Situation: where you give context and paint a picture of the situation
Task: describe your responsibility in that situation
Action: explain the exact steps you took to resolve that situation
Result: what happened? What was the result of that situation?

Another thing you can do is a practice or mock interview. If you are starting with any organizations that support newcomers, I would recommend asking your career counsellor if they can conduct a mock interview. If you do not have a career counsellor, you can do a mock interview with a friend or a family member to help you prepare.

Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer. That shows that you have done the research.

Make sure you are professional, dressed appropriately, keep time, and try your best not to reschedule your interview because that shows you are not serious.

Why is networking important? How did it play a role in your job search?

What is networking? Networking is building connections with professionals and building valued relationships with people.

Networking played a big role in my own career. As I mentioned earlier, my first role in engineering in Canada I got through networking. My role at Bredin Centre I also got it through networking. So networking is important because you get access. You learn about opportunities in the hidden job market. It also helps to boost your confidence. Through networking, you learn about new career pathways. With a good network, you can also check your career path in advance by looking at how others in your industry have moved through their careers.

What advice would you give someone new to networking?

I would say the best way to start building a network is to change your perspective on networking. I believe networking is not about getting but giving, Have this perspective of adding value to people's lives. If you add value to someone, it's easier for them to advocate for you. So by looking at ways you can help people add value to their lives, big or small, you can build strong networks.

Start networking where you are – in your current workplace. You never know where these people will move and how you will need them in the future.

Be nice to your neighbour. At your kid's school, network with the parents. In your community groups. In your religious groups. Have that mindset of adding value, and you'll build a strong network. Don't be afraid of putting yourself out there, and be yourself.

Other ways to build a network:

Attend industry events such as mixers, webinars, etc.
Become a member of local industry organizations. If you’re in a regulated field, join an association or regulatory body.
If you are working toward a certification, most regulatory bodies will offer memberships to students or individuals still in training.
You can also network online. There are different groups for professionals on LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
Reach out to individuals in your industry privately.
Try a non-profit organization that works with newcomers, like the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC). Newcomers you meet today, in a couple of years, might be project managers in another industry!

Network with anyone and everyone you can meet! Keep the perspective that everyone you meet can add value to your life.

Watch the full video to hear Susan answer additional questions from attendees. Thank you, Susan!

Further reading:

The Alberta Mentorship program is sponsored by the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC).

The Alberta Mentorship Program appreciates the funding from the Government of Alberta through Labour and Immigration Workforce Strategies. Our program is here to provide information and support to help organizations start mentorship programs.