Eric Snow figures that, come the end of March, he'll have a summer job all lined up.
It's a pretty cocky attitude in the midst of an economy that has seen belt-tightening and layoffs. And it comes amid predictions of another summer that may match last year's, when the student jobless rate hit a dismal 19.2 per cent, the second-highest figure since comparable data began being compiled in 1977, according to Statistics Canada.
So why is Mr. Snow feeling so confident?
The 23-year-old student, wrapping up the first of a two-year masters in public administration program at Dalhousie University in Halifax, has been pounding the pavement for the past two months.
And he's flogging what he believes is his secret weapon: a résumé packed with volunteer and part-time jobs directly connected to his studies. He figures that makes him a prize catch for his summer-job target: a public-sector employer on the lookout for students armed with related experience.
The summer job hunt is on, and for students aiming to find work that will connect to their career path, employment and workplace experts say Mr. Snow's strategy is on the mark.
Not only did he make an early start - by the last week of February, he'd sent out more than a dozen résumés, with more ready to go - but he's long been preparing himself to impress potential employers.
During the past six months, he held a volunteer position as vice-president of the Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students. He has also had a paying job working for the university's school of public administration. Earlier in his university career, he volunteered with several other on- and off-campus groups.
He believes all that experience will stand him in good stead against the tide of other students he'll be competing against for this summer, and when he eventually searches for a full-time position, likely as a policy analyst. "Having practical experience... and being able to relate it to the job can help you set yourself apart from the flood of other applicants," Mr. Snow says.
Practical experience will help, says Anna Montesano, branch manager for the Vancouver office of staffing firm Robert Half International, who predicts this summer's student unemployment rate may match last year's. "By second or third year, students should be looking for jobs in the industry they want to work in."
There are many tactics students can take to get noticed, career experts say.
One key is to increase your visibility - and the Internet and social networking sites are ideal vehicles, says Lauren Friese, founder of Toronto-based TalentEgg.ca.
She says students need to "show off" when looking for jobs. One way: set up a personal website that includes on-line portfolios of work, articles that demonstrate expertise, and testimonials.
Blogging is another way to display what you've got to offer, especially if you keep up regular postings on topics that relate to the career you're focusing on, Ms. Friese suggests.
Students can drive employers to their websites or blogs in several ways, from setting up links on their electronic résumés, cover letters or e-mail signatures to making mention of them in Twitter posts, she says. Employers scouring the Web as part of their own recruitment efforts could well stumble upon your work, especially if it's in their industry, she adds.
"At the beginning of your career, you have no track record, so how is the HR department supposed to know you are good at something or what you have done to stand out? You need a novel way to show why you rock," she says.
Another little-used but valuable job-hunting tool to use on Facebook is to run targeted ads, says executive recruiter David Perry, managing partner of Perry-Martel International Inc. in Ottawa and the author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0.
