@AIQ This room has been unfrozen. You can find the link from previous posts on this or your room overview on your chat profile. (Kaz and Old_Lamplighter are still on the access list.)

- "start from the bottom" is also antiquated advice in my view, it works for some but this type of career is obsolete. Maybe in small towns in rural areas you still have these 1 company in your career things.

Apply for entry level works in the field you're pursuing. If you're after a finance job you don't start as a clerk or bank teller. A rare few people might get to make that transition after years, many won't.

Generally speaking you pursue an education that prepares you for the field you'd like to enter and qualifies you for entry level roles in that field. You try to augment your profile with relevant work / project experience where possible to help you stand out.

If you're in a highly competitive field you need those extra qualifications and/or a stellar cover letter to make the cut. And you need to be prepared for a ton of rejections and a long job search.

There are no magic shortcuts except perhaps a personal connection but if you had those you'd know it. You can't create one where none exist.

Check the site, there might be advice on how to find jobs in a competitive field.

@Lilienthal Yes, that is why I wanted to ask him if this was a good idea, because I wasn't sure it is ... but he was like damn dude you asking now 100s have already done that ... :/ Like I don't want to walk in and bother someone ... a lot of managers don't like things like that ...

@AIQ I have to agree with Lilienthal - other than some exceptions such as retail/hospitality jobs in smaller operations cold walk-ins are generally a waste of everyone's time. And "start from the bottom" has, for most careers at least changed to be a more nuanced "start from entry level" where entry level is the "lowest" role in the department/team doing the sort of work your looking to get into

@AIQ honestly this guy sounds embarassingly out touch IMO

@motosubatsu He kept telling me "You have no experience in customer service. Why not go get a part time job in star bucks?" even though I told him I would like to do economics and research related jobs in banks ...

@AIQ was he speaking to you from the 1950s?

I think the time was too short for me to explain to him where in a bank I would like to work in. I mentioned investment banking, mortgages, interest rates, etc. But he said "To be a mortgage advisor you need to be able to make connections and talk to people" ... I fear that he didn't get I was talking about analytics

like doing backend research ...

then after advising me to go meet the branch manager ... he said hey [AIQ] this 15 mins is the most useful and important 15 mins since you came to Canada in 2016 ...

Given how things are ... getting jobs in economics and research is very difficult now ... I have research experience and relevant jobs ... but not too many jobs out there ...

yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head - he probably thought you wanted to be a customer-facing advisor (such as mortgage or loans advisor) and decided to slather a healthy dose of condescension on top of it

@motosubatsu The sad part is ... I had to say "Yes, you are right, it definitely is" about the "best 15 min" line ... I was screaming inside in paid, shouting "not even close Mr., not even close" ...

@motosubatsu Thanks for taking a look and sorry if this kind of stuff is a mood killer

@AIQ not at all, happy to help

@AIQ Since others have already given their advice, and good advice, I'll chime in on what can help you. You're relatively new to the country, so you have few people in your network (comparatively) . Start talking to people, network with people. Don't ask for jobs, or job leads, but ask for help. By that, I don't mean, "I'm looking for a job, can you help me find one", but talk to people EXACTLY like you've made your case here.

You want to ask people what you need to do to find a job in your field. You want to mention that you want to do XYZ, but don't know where to look. Talk to LITERALLY EVERYONE.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY

This is how you cold-call without cold calling. It takes longer but it is far FAR more successful.

Depending on the field and/or economic state, anywhere from 60 - 85% of all jobs come through networking. Tap into those numbers and you at least double your chances.

> was he speaking to you from the 1950s?

Hah, my thoughts exactly. The person you spoke to sounds like a tool @AIQ. I wouldn't put much value in their statements.

Generally speaking be wary of job search advice from: people who are selling something, people who haven't job searched in a decade, anyone in a university program or office.

Very high odds of leaving with outdated or outright malicious advice. Showing up in person, sending a resume by post, doing the same but with fancy stationary, gifts, ...