If you\u2019re tired of the long, tedious, competitive process of applying to large companies, why not try tapping the \u201chidden job market\u201d of SMEs? While the opportunities are sometimes under the radar, the rewards can be great.<\/p>\n
Many students are unaware of how many SMEs are out there\u2014and similarly, SMEs face difficulties with recruiting. Because they have less brand recognition and fewer resources dedicated to hiring, SMEs reach students in different ways than larger organizations.<\/p>\n
Most SMEs recruit students through university and college job boards, says Karen Fast, manager of the career centre at Humber College.<\/p>\n
At campus recruitment events, the smaller companies don\u2019t get as high a turnout as the large ones. \u201cSometimes it can be challenging for them to draw attendance out of an information session. It comes down to students just don\u2019t know what they have to offer, and it can be a competitive marketplace for employers,\u201d says Ian Ingles, manager of employer services at Ryerson University\u2019s Career Development and Employment Centre. Thus it\u2019s much easier and more cost-effective for SMEs to post through job boards.<\/p>\n
But students can seek out SMEs themselves to ask about job opportunities as well\u2014sometimes the positions aren\u2019t advertised at all. \u201cYou may have to do a little more digging to find [SMEs],\u201d Ingles says. One way to find them is through the business directories available in your campus career centre. \u201cYou can search for organizations based on industry codes and get a listing of companies, and even do those searches geographically as well,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s a good way to uncover a lot of small and medium-sized organizations that don\u2019t have well-known brands out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve found a company that interests you, it\u2019s time to apply. You\u2019ll find the process of applying to SMEs is a lot more personal than applying to large companies. Instead of filling out lengthy online questionnaires and completing several interviews with various managers in the company, the application process is shorter and more direct.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get a personal email address to send it to, rather than \u2018Info@\u2019 or \u2018Recruiting@.\u2019 And there\u2019s usually a phone number, so give them a call and chat with them,\u201d Fast says. \u201cAlso, your chance of having your resum\u00e9 actually seen by the employer is way higher, like 80 to 90 percent higher. So you want to make sure that your resum\u00e9 is in amazing shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always important to tailor your resum\u00e9 to the company you\u2019re applying for, but even more so for SMEs. \u201cOne comment those employers have made to me is that a generic resum\u00e9 won\u2019t work. You have to customize and target your resum\u00e9 to their company and industry,\u201d Fast says. \u201cThey want not only technical skills, but also that personal fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast says that SMEs are less likely to use social media to recruit\u2014they tend to stick with email or fax. However, if a small company is using social media, she says they are likely using LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
Though campus recruitment events are a popular way to find out about jobs, they\u2019re not an effective way to find SMEs, Fast and Ingles say. SMEs often only have a handful of positions to hire for, and don\u2019t have the resources to send an employee to represent them at these events. However, they can be seen at other job fairs. Daniel Levesque, president of the National Job Fair & Training Expo, says there are always SMEs at his fair, and if you speak with them there you will get a much more personal experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften… the president is at the show recruiting. So if you talk to the president, you cannot talk to anyone higher than that to get a job,\u201d Levesque says. He also says that you can actually get hired and start working at an SME much sooner than with large organizations. \u201cYou don\u2019t have a lot of levels between the first step of the hiring process to the last step for hiring,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say 90 percent of students go for the large companies, the companies with a popular name,\u201d Fast says. \u201cBecause 98 percent of all companies are SMEs, why would you continue to think about large companies, when if you go to the smaller companies your chance of employment is much higher?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingles also says that the competition for SME jobs is less steep, and students will find lots of opportunities that aren\u2019t attracting tons of applicants if they do a little digging. Plus, the benefits that come from working at an SME make the hunt worth it. \u201cThere are some unique advantages. In a lot of cases you get a more varied type of position in terms of a wider range of duties and responsibilities,\u201d he says.
\nFast agrees: \u201cThey get to build their skills and make themselves more marketable. As a new graduate, I think that is one of the best things that they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan Adams is a Carleton University journalism graduate.<\/p>\n
For more information, please visit: careers.humber.ca, ryerson.ca\/career, thenationaljobfair.com, careeroptionsmagazine.com<\/p>\n
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