In June 2016, CultureLink launched the Youth Online Employment Strategy (YOES).  Funded by the City of Toronto in partnership with the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy, this exciting new employment initiative teaches youth how to creatively market themselves online, build a professional digital profile and expand their professional networks, because let’s face it, technology has changed the way we do almost everything including the ways in which we look and apply for jobs.

Gone are the days of looking for jobs in newspapers or printing out your resume and dropping it off at a potential employer. Job searching has moved online. More and more employers only posting jobs online and accepting online applications.  Employers and recruiters are also going online to find out more about potential employees – with 80% Googling a potential candidates and 92% using social media to vet candidates at some point throughout the hiring process.

Leveraging young people’s creativity and tech-savviness YOES helps youth tell their story beyond the bullets of their traditional resume. Youth in this program will learn how to create innovative new media based resumes, like info-graphic and video resumes, to showcase their strengths and skills.  They also learn how to build a compelling professional digital profile, the do’s and don’ts of networking online, be connect with HR, Marketing and Communication mentors and much more. To find out more about YOES and upcoming workshops, please contact Asal at aafshar@culturelink.ca or 416-588-6288×211.