Local post-secondary students hoping to land summer jobs are seeing fewer opportunities than ever, say employment specialists at Calgary institutions.
The faltering economy has seen what was once a glut of job postings drastically narrow, forcing employment-hungry students to vie for a limited pool of opportunities with more competition.
Lise Stransky, a career advisor at the University of Calgary, said the number of job postings per week has dropped from about 500 a year ago to between 300 and 400, a reflection of the economic times.
“We’re definitely seeing a drop in job postings,” she said.
“There are still jobs, just fewer of them so students have to be creative and persevere.”
Mount Royal College is seeing a similar trend, said Patsy Valenzuela, supervisor of career education and employment development.
“Last year in January and March we’d be seeing 50 jobs posted every day and now that’s dropped to 20 or 30,” she said.
“Over the past few years there were a lot of job vacancies but now we’re back to a more balanced model both for students and employers that are trying to find the right match.”
SAIT and Bow Valley College say they are also seeing fewer postings than in previous years.
Employment advisers are telling worried students to craft resumes to individual employers, focus on unique skills and network outside of the usual online job boards.
