If you are struggling to find a job, you’re not alone. Even with a university degree, years of experience, and some drive. One Hamilton man CHCH News spoke with has had no luck yet.
Abood Alfadhli, 24, has now taken to social media for help and came up with a unique way of standing out to potential employers.
“I made a shirt that has my actual resume.”
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Alfadhli is going a step further to stand out in the job market, “I wanna do something different, I want to go to job fairs with this, I want to go to conferences, festivals with this.”
His t-shirt resume idea came about after his experience hunting for a job.
He graduated from McMaster University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering last year and says he has been applying non-stop.
“I’ve submitted my resume to Indeed, Linkedin, specific job sites, over 400 applications, I’m submitting cover letters, tailoring my resume, but almost hearing no reply.”
And he’s not alone, “I’ve spoken to similar friends that graduated with me, they had co-ops in famous companies like AMD, Tesla and Qualcomm. I don’t even have comparable experience compared to these guys and they can’t even find a job.”
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Alfadhli took to TikTok to express his frustration and ask for advice. His two videos gained traction with some commenters feeling his pain.
Last week Statistics Canada said Canada’s unemployment rate ticked up 6.2 per cent in May, despite adding 27,000 jobs.
The economy added 62,000 part-time jobs in the month, while full-time employment declined by 36,000.
Professor of labour studies at Brock University Larry Savage says good jobs, like ones that are full-time with benefits, stability, and fair pay are harder to come by in this economy.
“The job market is very uneven. For some companies that have coveted jobs you will see long, long lists of applicants, but for other jobs, the lists are much shorter, it really depends on the sector and the employer, and how good the job is,” Savage said.
Savage says the job search relies heavily on standing out above the rest. “There is some luck involved in job search. Networking, who you know, those things matter.”
Alfadhli says he’ll continue searching hoping his way of standing out will eventually pay off.
“I will go to the maximum extents to impress them, and get a job. Basically, go above and beyond for any company.”
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