Job Seeker ToolkitHow to Showcase Your Skills to Join Toronto Tech

2

Preparing for a Job in the TechEcosystem

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Technical skills and power skills(previously known as soft skills) areequally important to employers whenhiring. However, it is a unique comb-ination of power skills that make a staremployee. Showcasing your power skillsis key for breaking into the tech ecosys-tem, pivoting, or advancing in your ca-reer.

The most desired power skills are:

Job seekers in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and South Western Ontario(SWO), this toolkit is for you. You are the present and future of tech. We need you tohelp us win as a region.

In today’s ecosystem, simply participating in rudimentary tasks is no longer sufficient,employers are looking for individuals who can jump on a moving train, and quicklyintegrate both power skills and tech skills required for the global marketplace.

Communication skills are foundationalto all five. Job seekers must be able torespond quickly to changes, work withothers to get things done, and take ini-tiative. One of the most important skillsjob seekers must develop is beingadaptable. This power skill is very impor-tant for tech employers especially duringuncertain economic times.

We found that employers hire through acombination of networking events, ca-reer fairs, LinkedIn, referrals, and onlinejob boards. There doesn’t appear to beconsistent hiring or retention strategiestaking into account diversity, inclusion,and belonging (DIBs). Employers sur-veyed believe tech is getting more di-verse in ethnicity and gender. However,the majority of those surveyed reportedthat their workplaces are predominantlymale, Caucasian, Canadian citizens andyoung (between 30-45 years old). Thisfinding tells us there is more work to do.

1Hewitt, Aon. “To attract candidates with hot skills, should tech. companies create specialized job titles?” March, 2017.

1

3

2Olawoye, L., Pogue, M., Sück, D., & Uppal, G. “Talent Fuels Tech,” Accessed February 2020. Retrieved from MaRS Discovery District

We must hire a diverse range of employ-ees with ethnic and gender diversity inmind, along with all other critical traits.We heard agreement among employersthat there is a tension between hiringquickly and hiring for diversity. Thisspeaks to the importance of job seekersbeing on the radar of employers as muchas possible. Tech moves quickly. Beingready and already connected to theecosystem will benefit job seekers most.To thrive in tech, it's more important thanever to use your social system, educa-tional institutions, and other jobs to buildyour network.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

GET CONNECTED

In order to jump when an opportunityarises, job seekers must be well con-nected to the tech ecosystem. Beingseen requires connecting to the networkas much as possible. Going to tech re-lated events, following relevant individu-als on social media, and networking reg-ularly is essential to attract new opportu-nities. You also have to put yourself inplaces you might not normally go.

Mentorship is a key part of your careerjourney. We recommend finding some-one with a minimum of 5+ years of expe-rience in your area of focus. They will

know some nuances within the sectorand their company, and be able tointroduce you to others in theecosystem.

Find someone you want to be mentoredby, engage them, and be intentionalabout reaching out to connect on adeeper level. A formal “ask” for mentor-ship is not crucial, but be intentionalabout building the relationship.

However, there is also a challenge herefor job seekers because of the make-upof tech. Employers surveyed reportedtheir tech workplaces as predominantlymale, Caucasian, and Canadian-born.Yet, the majority of tech job seekers aremembers of visible minorities and bornoutside of Canada. Many job seekersmay not have well-connected networksespecially those currently hiring fortech. This means that both stakeholdershave to work hard to diversify theirnetworks. Job seekers have to work toidentify those in recruitment roles in techand get on their radar. Employers haveto ensure they are hiring from diversetalent pools.

STEP ONESTEP ONE2

4

ENHANCE YOUR POWERSKILLS

The most common ways employers as-sess power skills in recruiting are throughbehavioural questions, reading bodylanguage, case study assessment, orprojects. Job seekers must be activelydeveloping these power skills and beready to showcase them in the recruitingprocess.

How to build or enhance your powerskills:

• Take on challenging projects at workor school

• Volunteer outside of work or school

• Join a club

• Find a mentor to help debrief yourlearnings on a monthly basis

• Reflect on your life experiences andwhere these skills were used

• Take on work-integrated learning op-portunities

Make a record of these experiences anduse them as narratives you use within theworkplace or in interviews to demon-strate power skills.

Now that these core skills are under-stood and identified, job seekers canseek training and experiences to build

them. Once acquired, put these skillsfront and centre in cover letters and re-sumes so employers can quickly identifytheir presence.

USE ALL CHANNELS TOAPPLY FOR JOBS

Employers use a variety of channelswhen hiring including personal net-works, online job boards, LinkedIn, andreferrals. Given this, job seekers mustconnect to all channels when seeking ajob in tech.

For those without a strong existing net-work, try to find a mentor who is con-nected to the ecosystem. Use your post-secondary connections where possibleand continue going to networkingevents (online and in-person). Ask for in-troductions regularly. When you go tonetworking events, build a relationshipwith few rather than many.

Job seekers should let their networkknow they are looking for a new careerstep. Ask for your warm networks tomake introductions for you by going onthe LinkedIn page of your current

3Petrone, Paul. “The skills companies need most in 2019 andhow to learn them,” LinkedIn, January 2019. Retrieved fromhttps://learning.linkedin.com/blog/top-skills/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2019--and-how-to-learn-them

STEP THREESTEP THREE

STEP TWOSTEP TWO

3

5

connection and see who you want themtointroduce you to.

What to do when you want to attract op-portunities:

• Have lots of coffee meetings andlearn more about what your contactdoes

• Do not ask them if they are hiring orknow who is hiring; get to knowthem

• Listen more, so you can ask relevantquestions

• Talk about your own experience incontext of their work/network

• Let your contact know that youwould welcome a referral

• Ask for 2-3 people they think youshould connect with

You are your best salesperson, but youhave to put in the work.

HELP EMPLOYERSIMPLEMENT DIB’s

Retaining diverse employees is an “ev-erybody thing”. It’s not just somethingHR departments should be tasked with.To do this well, employers will need to“understand the experiences and senti-ments of current and past employees.”Job seekers and current employees arecrucial to implementing DIBs. Employerswill be looking to you to answer ques-tions and provide insight.

Your engagement in the process is es-sential. Employers may ask questionslike:

• What do you need to do your bestwork?

• How can we support your family andexternal obligations?

• What changes would you make toany of our current policies?

• How can we support your family andexternal obligations?

To support the process, reflect on yourneeds before and during employment.This way you are ready to communicatewithin your workplace when the timecomes. If the opportunity arises to leador be a part of an employee resourcegroup, go for it.

STEP FOURSTEP FOUR

4Feminuity & Move the Dial. “Inclusion, intention and investment.: A Playbook for retaining women in tech,” accessed March 2020

4

5

6

DO YOUR RESEARCHFollow tech trends, read relevant reports, andfollow companies you admire on social media tolearn what is important to them.

Job seekers have a hard time navigating the complextech industry. Here we’ve compiled some key resourcesso you can network, integrate, and learn.

Required Reading Networking Events

Most in Demand Skills(LinkedIn) TechTO

Understanding Power Skills Collision

I, Human: The digital andsoft skills driving Canada’s

labour marketElevate

Talent Fuels Tech TO Tech Career Fair

Tech for All Toronto Tech Summit 2020

The intangible shift:Changing gears to compete

in the new economy

BFUTR - Black Professionalsin Tech Network Global

Summit

Skill Development