Hamberities Finding Jobs: Resources and Tips to Help You Get started

Photo Credit: Times Chronicle

Are you a Hamber student who wants to start working? If you’re unsure or overwhelmed, no need to fret, because here are some tips and advice from the Hamber community.

The Hamber students interviewed for this article were able to find jobs in various places. They all were able to find a balance between work and school, and said that they learned from the experience. 

“I worked at the Richmond Night Market selling tickets. I saw it on Indeed and applied. It was a seasonal summer job so it ended in October,” said Ashley Orr (12). Summer jobs allow students to avoid the stress of both school and work at the same time.

Ayrton Fung (12), Ella Mazzucco (12), and Tamlyn Lum (12) all had connections that helped them find employment. “I work as a grocery store stocker for the produce department. I know the manager and he put in a good word with HR,” said Fung.

Lum works as a cashier at Nesters Market. “I heard about the job when one of my friends was working there. She persuaded me to apply because the work community was very friendly,” she explained.

Though working at a younger age can sometimes seem intimidating, these Hamber students had mostly positive experiences. 

“It was a good first job. It was fun and I gained new skills and made new friends. But sometimes the customers were rude so that wasn't fun to deal with,” said Orr. Her colleagues were all around the same age as her. “We all became friends. I even hung out with them outside of work.”

“There is no one in my store that’s the same age as me,” said Fung. “I think the closest ones are about 20 years old or in university.” However, Fung still found a welcoming community. “I think the dynamic is pretty good [...] at my workplace it seems like a family. You know, a bunch of older sisters and brothers,” he explained.

“I like the team I work with,” said Mazzucco, who also said her overall experience as a barista at Paragon Tea Room has been positive. “I am the youngest employee there [...] everyone else is at least a year or more older.”

Though she is working during the school year, Mazzucco is able to manage her time. “My classes are not too challenging at the moment,” she said.

Lum’s experience “has been very eventful”, and according to her, “talking to customers is very therapeutic.”  Lum has been working for around two years, and said she had no regrets working at a young age.

The students also shared other advice on how to find a job if you don’t have convenient connections. “Always check Indeed,” Fung advised, “it is one of the largest job search engines.” He also suggested “apply[ing] to as many things as you can,” explaining that “it will increase your chances of getting a job.” Mazzucco recommended that students should “put themselves out there as much as they can, and most of all, follow up with the business you hand your resumes to.”

Once you’ve found a job you’d like to apply for, working on a resume is the next important step. “Keep it to the point, and keep it to who you are,” said Fung. “Describing the strengths that are applicable to the job that you are applying [for] is probably the most important part.”

He noted that “some jobs may not care if you do not have that much experience [...] rather they care that you are the right person for the opening.” In his experience, employers generally prefer “somebody who is hardworking and eager to learn over somebody who has a lot of experience in the field.”

Work experience teacher Ms. E. James (Career Education) advised that when writing a resume, “it is better to say achievement statements rather than action statements. For example, an action statement would be [...] ‘I organized the rack of clothing,’ but it is important to say what you achieved. An achievement statement would be ‘I provided a clean and engaging store environment by neatly folding clothes.’ ”

“My advice is to seek out part-time opportunities that will help you find out what your strengths are in terms of your employability skills,” Ms. James said. 

“You want to dress in a way that matches the industry,” she said, referring to job interview etiquette. “For example, if it's hip fashion, you do not want to dress in a conservative way.”

She also recommended that before an interview, “You want to research the company, and even potential questions they might ask you. It only requires a few hours of research to see if a job is right for you.” To her, it “seems like that's a small portion of your time [in order to] figure out whether or not a job [...] fits you or not.”

Students mostly found minimum wage jobs. Orr said that her Night Market employment paid minimum wage, though it was “a sales job, so $30 bonus for 100 tickets and $60 for 150 tickets.” Mazzucco said her pay was “appropriate.” Fung said his pay was “Not enough to make a living in Vancouver, but for a part time job it’s okay, it’s pretty good.”