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Job Searching Resources

1.    Introduction

2.    Other sources of information
    2.a  SFU Health, Counselling, and Career Centre: Career Services
    2.b. Beedie Career Management Centre (SFU Business)
    2.c. Vancouver Public Library (VPL) - Business Division

3.   Discovering the self:  Career planning and development

4.   Exploring the world of work: Information about professions and occupations

5.   The targeted job search: Information about job hunting and companies
    5.a. Searching our catalogue
    5.b. General job-hunting resources in journals, magazines and newspapers
    5.c. Background information on specific companies
    5.d. Directories of companies both in Canada and abroad

1.  Introduction

This guide is organized using the Career Development Model used by SFU's Career Centre.  That is, it moves from resources used to explore aptitudes and plan career paths at the personal level, to resources used to explore the nature and future of particular jobs and occupational fields, and then to the resources targeted toward getting a specific job.

Note that this guide focuses on the job-hunting resources available here at the SFU Library.  For other resources at SFU, in Vancouver, and on the web, check out the "Other sources of information" section below.  Also consult the Job Searching Resources guide made by the librarians in SFU's Fraser Library (Surrey).

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2. Other sources of information

2.a. SFU Career Services, MBC 0300

Career Services
Location: 0300 Maggie Benston Centre (south side of Convocation Mall, across from the WAC Bennett Library)
Tel: 778.782.3106
Fax: 778.782.5926
Career Services offers a range of services for SFU students and recent graduates. Explore your career options and enhance your work search skills with one-on-one career advising, workshops, events, walk-in sessions, individual consultations and on-line services. Drop by MBC 0300 for personal assistance from career advisors, counsellors or peer educators. They also offer a variety of self-help career resources, including videos, books, pamphlets and career software for career planning and exploration and work search.

2.b. Beedie Career Management Centre (SFU Business)

SFU's Beedie Career Management Centre, available to all business students and alumni, provides resources and training to help students search for career employment. Students and alumni can access support in resume and cover letter writing, interview strategies, networking and business etiquette.
At the BBA level, the Centre utilizes the university's workopoliscampus service for job postings. Students can take advantage of career-related workshops specific to their industry or functional concentrations, on campus recruitment events, company information sessions, and BBA career advice.
At the graduate level, the Centre provides career education, professional development programs and career advising experts that address the needs of MBA students, and an MBA Job Board that identifies career opportunities for these graduate students.
Check the SFU Business Career Management Centre website for a schedule of upcoming events, workshops, job postings and to set up a career advising appointment.

2.c. Vancouver Public Library (VPL) - Business & Economics Division

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3. Discovering the self:  Career planning and development

Try the following terms in the Subject section of the Catalogue.  Note that these same terms can be used in other library catalogues (such as Vancouver Public Library and Burnaby Public Library) as well.

Career education Self-evaluation
Career changes Vocational guidance
Career development  
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4. Exploring the world of work: Information about professions and occupations

For books that tell you about employment prospects and the skills and qualifications which are necessary in specific occupations, try the following terms in the Subject section of the Catalogue:

Occupations, Professions, or search for the name of an occupation or profession followed by "vocational guidance." 
For example, Engineering -- Vocational guidance or Tourism -- Vocational guidance

A few resources you might want to start with:

The career directory Belzberg Reference, 
Bennett Reference 
Surrey Reference 
HF 5382.5 C3 C36 2007 
Job futures: an occupational outlook (Canadian government)
The latest edition is available online and is now part of the
Working in Canada site.		 Belzberg Reference, 
Bennett Reference 
HF 5382.5 C2 J6
Occupational Outlook Handbook (US government)
The latest edition is online.		 Bennett Reference,
Belzberg Reference
HD 8051 A62
Work futures, British Columbia occupational outlooks  (BC government)
The latest edition is available online via the Library's catalogue. 		 Belzberg Reference, 
Bennett Reference 
HF 5382.5 C2 J622
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5. The targeted job search: Information about job-hunting and companies

5.a.  Searching our catalogue

Try the following terms in the Subject section of the Catalogue.  Note that these same terms can be used in other library catalogues as well.

Applications for positions Job hunting
Cover letters Résumés (Employment)
Employment interviewing  

We have an increasing number of online resume/interview guide books: scan your search results for books that have [electronic resource] at the end of the title to find such books. Here are a few examples of the online books available for SFU researchers:

5.b. General job-hunting resources in journals, magazines and newspapers

Try these databases to start:

CBCA Complete
CBCA provides comprehensive coverage of Canadian topics, including business, politics and news events.
Canadian Newsstand 
Full text of many major Canadian newspapers (including the Vancouver Sun and Province and the Globe & Mail). Also includes many smaller BC city papers such as the Burnaby Now.
Business Source Complete
Full text for thousands of business journals and magazines in all business areas. Includes many popular business magazines from both the US and Canada such as Canadian Business and Fortune.

Academic Search Premier
Indexes/abstracts articles from more than 3,200 journals and provides full text for more than 1,000 journals. Covers a broad range of disciplines, including political science, public administration, language and literature, communications, business administration, biological and medical sciences, computer sciences, education and history. Offers full text for more than 150 Canadian publications, including Canadian business and Maclean's. 

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5.c. Background information on specific companies

Before you go for your interview, check the Library for information about the company. Look at the SFU Library guide Company Information which mentions many sources of information. Also check out the SFU Library guide to Industry Surveys. Some good sources for company information to get you started:

The Business in Vancouver book of lists.
Available in the reference collections of the Belzberg and Surrey Libraries, and at the Help Desk in the Bennett Library: HF 5073 V3 B8

Some magazines regularly publish lists of "best companies to work for" as well as lists of largest companies in various sectors. Such lists can often be found by searching indexes like CBCA and Business Source Complete. Here are a few samples:

  • BC Business: their Best Companies to Work For in B.C. feature article generally appears in the December issue each year. See the print issues BC Business in the library for the full articles. Also see their site for some of the articles from recent lists: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
  • Canadian Business: Canada's Favourite Companies: 2012
  • Fortune: Best Companies to Work For: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 editions
  • Maclean's" Canada's Top 100/50 Employers: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 editions
  • Other useful "company list" sites via Price's List of Lists
CBCA Complete
CBCA provides comprehensive coverage of Canadian topics, including business, politics and news events. One key local resource to watch for: CBCA indexes the articles in Business in Vancouver (BIV). It doesn't, however, provide the fulltext of BIV articles, but the SFU Library has BIV in print on the 6th floor of the Bennett Library.
Canadian Newsstand 
Full text of many major Canadian newspapers (including the Vancouver Sun and Province, and the Globe & Mail). Also includes many of BC's smaller city papers such as the Burnaby Now.
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5.d.  Directories of companies both in Canada and abroad

SFU Library has a number of company directories to help you construct your own targeted employer lists. Contacting companies directly to ask about potential opportunities can lead to jobs that are not posted on traditional job boards or in classified listings. As many as 75% of all jobs are unadvertised, making the hidden job market one of the most elusive ways of finding work, but potentially one of the best ways.

Try the following terms in the Subject section of the Catalogue.  Note that these same terms can be used in other library catalogues as well.

Job hunting AND Directories Summer employment AND Directories
Canadians – Employment – Foreign countries International agencies – Directories
Employment in foreign countries  

Career Services offers assistance with international job searches, including other North American countries and overseas. Contact them for more information or to schedule a consultation.

Service Canada also has information on jobs and training, including advice on accessing the hidden job market in Canada and how to conduct an information interview.

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Owned by: Mark Bodnar
Last Modified: 2013-01-28