Job Boards 101: Where to Start
For when your degree teaches you everything except where to look for a job
There are so many different options for Arts students after they graduate. Like, sooo many. It’s exciting and inspiring, but can also be daunting and (at times) debilitatingly stressful. Job searching is stressful — even if you do know what you want to do, where does one start looking for a job? It feels like there are hundreds of job boards vying for our attention. It can be hard to know where to begin looking, but hopefully this list can help you get started.
For all University of Alberta students
1. CampusBRIDGE
http://campusbridge.ualberta.ca/
CampusBRIDGE is the U of A Career Center’s job posting board. Many of these organizations are specifically looking for U of A students so this is a great place to start looking. There are postings for every discipline, and include full-time, part-time and temporary work.
For students interested in the NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTOR
2. Idealist
Idealist is a nonprofit organization based out of New York specializing in nonprofit job/volunteer/internship positions. They also have 250 graduate-school fairs and a grad-school directory. Idealist has positions throughout the world and includes remote work.
3. Work In Non Profits
WorkInNonProfits.ca is working to build and strengthen Canada’s non-profit sector by connecting nonprofits across the country with job seekers and volunteers. This is a good job board for anyone looking to work in the NFP sector within Canada.
4. Careers for Community
Careers for Community is a small job board for Edmonton-based social impact jobs. Organizations who post here include: Boyle Street Community Services, Terra Centre, and Edmonton John Howard Society.
For students who want to work for the GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
5. Federal Post-Secondary Recruitment
Like the Federal Student Work Experience Program, students can apply to the federal job bank, where hiring managers from over 200 federal organizations will have access to their profiles, whenever they are hiring.
Job boards for CREATIVE/DESIGN grads
6. Behance
Behance is a social media platform owned by Adobe, where creatives can post their portfolios and network. Their job board hosts full-time positions, internships and freelance jobs and would be great for BDes students.
7. Alliance of Artists Communities
The Alliance of Artists Communities is an international association of artist residencies, and their job board includes jobs and internships in the residency field and other arts related jobs. This is a good board for students specializing in arts and cultural management, design, fine arts and performing arts.
In addition to the job boards above, check out this guide for lots of resources of interest to the members of artist communities.
For students looking to work INTERNATIONALLY
8. Overseas Jobs
OverseasJobs.com features overseas jobs and international employment opportunities for professionals, expatriates and adventure seekers. You can search by type or job or by country.
9. ReliefWeb
ReliefWeb is a humanitarian information service provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). They post announcements for jobs, consultancies, internships, and volunteer opportunities on behalf of organizations to help strengthen the response capacity of the humanitarian community. This board has lots of NGO and government positions, mostly internationally. ReliefWeb also a valuable resource for training programs.
For students looking to embrace the GIG ECONOMY
10. FlexJobs
FlexJobs posts remote, work from home, and flexible jobs, as well as part-time, non-permanent jobs.
This is also a great job site for anyone looking to freelance and either build or expand their client base.
Bonus — Professional Associations
Consider joining a professional association in your field. They often have career-specific job boards with postings not available to more general boards. Check out the Career Centre’s Publications and Reports page, which includes faculty-specific career resources and lists many of these associations.
Interested in getting more help with your career planning? Check out the University of Alberta Career Center! One-hour advising appointments are free until the end of April, and are available to all students (and alumni up to 8 months post-grad), so it’s a great time to further your career education and exploration.
Contact the Career Centre at yourcareercentre@ualberta.ca, or book an advising appointment here.
Author bio: Madisen Gee is in the final year of her Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in English, minor in Political Science, as well as certificates in International Learning, Sustainability, and Community Service-Learning, along with a Co-operative Education designation. Madisen is currently working with the U of A Career Centre as a Career Peer Educator.
