Some job seekers who had their education or early career interrupted as a result of refugee circumstances have little formal work experience. The job search process can be particularly discouraging for them, with many job postings requiring potential applicants to have at least a few years of professional experience under their belts. 

If this is a challenge that you’re currently facing – whether it’s because you’re a recent graduate, changing careers, or entering the workforce for the first time – know that you’re not alone. Many job seekers find themselves in this position and, while it can be frustrating, the truth is that experience is important, but employers also hire for potential. In this post, we cover how to highlight the skills you’ve gained in other ways, how to stand out where you apply, and how to continue building your network and knowledge. 

Thanks to a generous $50,000 grant from the KPMG Foundation, TalentLift is making resources like this accessible to youth living as refugees, helping them put their best foot forward and pursue meaningful careers. We recently welcomed Gloria Oluwadiya, a Human Resources professional with KPMG, as a guest speaker at a virtual event, to share her expertise on job searching in the Canadian context. We’re grateful to share some of her insights here. 

See a general guide to networking as a tool in your job search here.

Reframing your experience and highlighting your skills

One of the biggest mistakes that job seekers early in their career make is assuming that if their work was unpaid, it doesn’t count as experience. Whether it’s through volunteering, extracurricular activities, or unpaid work like an internship or caring for a family member, you have likely developed important skills that are transferable to the professional realm. 

Take the time to list every ‘unofficial’ role you’ve had. For each role, think through at least one skill you learned through the experience that can be brought into a professional setting. Maybe you’ve managed peers, overseen budgets, or coordinated events; these are all valuable skills that potential employers should know about. Make sure to not only mention these abilities in your CV and cover letter but to demonstrate their relevance to the roles you’re applying for. If the job description lists leadership skills as an asset, for example, use your cover letter to explain how your previous experiences have enabled you to develop these skills and how you can use them in the position you’re applying for. 

If you can’t think of unofficial roles you’ve had … are you sure? Think about looking after an elderly family member, caring for children, or running a household. Think about community service that you might do without recognizing it as volunteerism, like activities at your place of worship, or your kids’ school, or in your neighbourhood. Think of leadership roles you’ve had on sports teams. Or organizing you’ve done around advocacy or activism for a cause. There are so many ways to build knowledge and skills, and to showcase what you can do and care about.

Building a portfolio

Alongside a CV and cover letter, it can also be useful in some industries to build a portfolio to showcase your practical abilities. If you’re applying for a position in communications or marketing, you can collect a few strong writing or visual samples. For industries that require the use of specific softwares and programs, such as design, engineering or tech, consider creating example projects that you can share with hiring teams. When applying for positions in data analysis, you can create a report using public datasets, like those made available by federal governments. Photos of completed projects and craftsmanship can be valuable in the trades.

A digital portfolio is something tangible to point to if a potential employer asks you about past experience. 

Strengthening your application

Once you’ve developed a strong base CV and cover letter (see how to do this here), remember that it can be helpful to create versions of both tailored to the role you’re applying for.

It’s also important to consider that large companies are increasingly using CV scanning software (known as an Applicant Tracking System or ATS) to narrow the pool of applicants that hiring teams actually review themselves. You can strengthen your chances of making it through this initial scan in a few ways:

• Mirror the language used in the job description. For example, if a job description lists “client relationship management” as a required skill, use that specific wording instead of writing “provided excellent customer service.”
• Keep your CV design simple and use standard headings (i.e. Work experience, Skills, etc.) to ensure that your CV can be read by the software.
• If during your education or studies, you completed coursework or projects relevant to the role, list this in your education section. 
• Use a standard format for your CV, such as a Word or PDF document.

While these are helpful tips to keep in mind, don’t get stuck on optimization. Aim for a balance between a CV that’s optimized to get past screening software and a CV that makes sense to the humans who will be reviewing it next – importantly, it has to genuinely reflect you.

What else can I do?

You’ve perfected your CV and cover letter, you’ve built a portfolio, you’ve looked through job boards and applied to positions, but you haven’t obtained a job offer yet. Here are a few next steps to consider:

• Do not limit your search to large companies. While larger companies may be more visible and easier to find, they also receive high volumes of applications from job seekers. Smaller employers are often more willing to train someone with potential, even if they don’t have formal experience. It’s also more likely that their hiring teams will review job applications directly, instead of using screening software.
• Try to find the professional contact information of the hiring manager responsible for the position you’re applying for. This is not always possible, but you may be able to find this information by looking through a company’s website (particularly if they have a page highlighting their staff members). On some job boards, such as LinkedIn, a job posting may be linked to the profile of the hiring manager or another member of the hiring team. If you can find them, reach out to them to let them know that you’re interested in the position and provide them with your CV directly. 
• Use LinkedIn to find and network with people who currently hold, or have previously held, the kinds of roles you’re interested in. Once you’ve connected with them a little bit, you can ask them for an informational interview to learn about their career trajectory and how they got started in their field.
• While you’re looking through job postings in the professional area you’re interested in, make a note of the specific skills that employers consistently look for in a strong candidate. Perhaps a particular software keeps coming up, or a specific certification is required by a majority of employers. If this is the case, it’s a good idea to explore this further. Is this a skill you can acquire on your own, perhaps through a free online course? (You can access the Coursera suite on the talent platform; simply log into your TalentLift account and navigate into the ‘Opportunities’ tab to do so.) Is there a local institution that offers relevant training or an internship you can apply for to start building your knowledge in this area? 

Keep going and be persistent!

Navigating the job search process is a challenge, particularly when you don’t have professional experience to draw on, but it’s not impossible. Remember that you usually have more skills than you give yourself credit for, whether or not they come from formal work experience, and that these skills are valuable to employers in Canada and beyond. With some thought and effort, you can translate your experiences and skills into a language that employers can understand. 

We believe in you, and the right employer will too.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. 

Interested in a career at KPMG Canada? Check out their open roles here.