Welcome to career & job search help at Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library provides a wide variety of print and online resources and offers all sorts of programs to support job seekers like you. All 99 branches offer free access to email, high speed internet computers and office software applications such as word processing.

Here's more help! This job search blog aims to alert Toronto job hunters to helpful websites, books and online resources as well as programs and job fairs, community services and more.

Job hunting has changed over the past few years. It may have been awhile since the last time you were looking for a new job. Or maybe it is is your first job. Some sources say that today, 80 per cent of jobs are not advertised, making the hidden job market one of your biggest obstacles. Newspapers or job advertising sites are not your only source of potential employers.

So how do you do it then? Find employers, not jobs!

This means finding employers that hire people with your job skills. You can use print business directories (Scott's, for example), online resources and specialized trade magazines (available in print at some branches and online from home) to create a list of possible employers. Toronto Public Library gives you free access to all these resources.

A great print resource is Contact Toronto published by the Toronto Board of Trade. Find those all-important contact names for public and private companies. Available at many branches in TPL.

You can also use some websites to find companies who hire people in your occupation. Service Canada's site on the labour market lists employers who have hired your occupation in the past.

For more help researching companies and industries, see the Virtual Reference Library for company directories, company information and industries.

Have you had success cracking the "hidden" job market? Tell us what worked for you...? Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.

Be sure to watch this space for more information on the hidden job market, on creating your own job, interview techniques, your legal rights as a job hunter, employment insurance (EI) and other financial help for those out of work, and more.