The place to
start is usually with an entry-level job. When you're new to the world
of work, the jobs available are often in retail sales and the food industry.
But just like life doesn't always follow a straight path, entry-level
jobs can lead to very different, and interesting, destinations. The key
is knowing which entry-level jobs open what doors.
Adam Kavanagh,
21, from Surrey, BC, had no idea that getting work as a ball boy at Vancouver's
Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) amusement park when he was 14 would lead
to a career in human resources. "I thought games would be fun,"
Adam says. He didn't realize his job would consist of blowing up balloons
and hanging them on hooks. He had nobody to talk to and had to stand behind
a wall all day, blocked from the fun of the fair. "That," he
says, "was definitely entry level." The PNE has made significant
changes to the games department over the years to make it a better experience
for workers, and their efforts have paid off. After seven seasons at the
PNE, returning every summer for seasonal employment, Adam has moved from
the games department to human resources, where he's doing the hiring.
He's got some advice for other youth currently working in entry-level
jobs: "Stick with it. Employers aren't going to keep you at
the bottom for long and if you don't feel it going anywhere, go somewhere
else."
Although they've
never met, Amanda Nichol from Vancouver, BC, has followed Adam's advice.
From working at Happy Planet Foods, where she sorted apples, to her job
at Choices, an organic food market where she stocked shelves, Amanda, 23,
has jumped from job to job trying to find momentum and meaning. She hasn't
found either yet. She's currently enrolled in an employment program
to explore career options and learn job search skills. After working various
entry-level jobs, mainly in customer service, Amanda is sick of dealing
with the public and is looking for alternatives. "In customer service
you have to shut yourself off emotionally and, for lack of a better word,
become a zombie," she says. Then there's the fact that having
a global conscience makes it difficult for her to find work matching her
world view. "I can't just mindlessly sell products to people,"
Amanda says. "I believe there are bigger problems in the world than
getting the proper type of khakis."
Retail isn't
for everybody. Food industry jobs and retail sales usually get a bad rap
for the long hours, low pay and potential abuse from customers, but there
is the possibility of movement from within. Shauna Sorge started as a sales
associate with Gap, the clothing retailer, in Grade 11 and worked part time
while going to high school and college. After five years, Shauna, now 21,
is a manager in training at a Gap store in Kelowna, BC. Shauna says she
wouldn't be happy working behind the scenes and finds her work satisfying
and exciting. "Retail sales challenge you to use your communication
skills," she says, adding that if her feet don't hurt at the
end of the day, she knows she hasn't done enough.
The
First Job/Entry-level Wage, also known as the $6 training wage, was introduced
by the BC Liberal Government in 2001. The reduced hourly wage, currently
$2 less than regular minimum wage, applies to people entering the workforce
for the first time and was designed to reduce youth unemployment by encouraging
employers to hire inexperienced workers. Not all employers pay the training
wage but if you work for one that does, you should know the following:
For your first 500 hours of paid work, you get $6/hour.
You can accumulate 500 hours with one employer exclusively, or with a
handful of different employers.
Once you've completed 500 hours in the workforce, no matter who you've worked for, you're entitled to
the regular minimum wage of $8/hour. Provide your employer with documented
proof of your 500 hours worked and request the regular minimum wage. If
you have any trouble, contact the Employment Standards Branch right away.
Some employers keep track of your hours, but legally it's up to
you to keep track.
For your own protection, keep proof of your 500 hours by hanging
on to your pay stubs. At the end of a job, your employer is required
to give you a Record of Employment (ROE), which shows how long you
worked and how much you earned. Demand and keep these.
For more information about the training wage, including contact information
for the Employment Standards Branch, go to: www.labour.gov.bc.ca/first-job
Working hard
is nothing new to Edwin Raudales. Edwin, 21, lives in Nelson, BC, but he's
originally from Honduras. He arrived in Canada when he was 15. His first
job was in his early teens, in a shoe factory making synthetic soles for
little girls' shoes, followed by a job selling bananas that required
him to get up at one in the morning. Now he's working part time as
a courtesy clerk at Safeway and as a janitor at the Nelson and District
Youth Centre. Most of the jobs he's done have involved customer service.
At Safeway, he says there's the rare customer who tells him how to
bag their food. "You have to keep quiet and eat anything they say...
I try to put a happy face on a bad day," he says. Sometimes it's
easier to put on a happy face when you know where you're headed, have
a route planned and are on your way. Edwin knows his jobs as janitor and
courtesy clerk are points on his path toward a career in nursing. So far,
his journey has led him from Honduras to here and that's a long way.
"Here in Canada you have a lot of opportunities," Edwin says.
"You can move on and look for something better until you find the
perfect placement."
