At Career Services, we know students balance a lot, every day. Whether it’s looking for work or volunteer experience to match your program, or finding the part-time job that supports you through your studies, we’ve got you covered with practical, relevant resources.

Finding the job

There are tons of great job search websites you can access free of charge. Some sites have a resume upload feature while others are best for job post browsing and applying through direct links. Consider signing up for job posting alerts and keeping track of job posting qualifications, required skills, and salary ranges — this information will help guide your choice of major, course selection, and decision making process when it comes time to launch your career.

MSVU Career Services Resume and Cover Letter Handbook

McGill University cover letter and resume guide

Action verbs to use in your cover letter and resume (PDF)

Sites with local and national job postings

Career Beacon
Based in Atlantic Canada, this website hosts professional-level jobs in Atlantic Canada and beyond. Browse and apply for jobs online from thousands of different employers. Upload multiple resumes and cover letters to suit your application.

Career Connects
Browse career opportunities through Career Connects, a platform hosted by MSVU. Opportunities with MSVU or associated partners.

Charity Village
The biggest Canadian non-profit resource for job opportunities with non-profit and charitable organizations. There are also volunteer positions, events, charitable opportunities, and online courses.

Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP)
Federal job opportunities for full-time students during the academic year and through the summer months. Offers a range of opportunities for all students, including students who self-identify as belonging to a diverse group or having a disability.

Government of Nova Scotia Jobs
Create a free account and explore a wide range of positions with the Government of Nova Scotia. Sign up to receive alerts on the latest jobs related to your program, including entry level jobs. This site also allows for applications via LinkedIn.

Graduate to Opportunity
GTO is a Nova Scotian program designed to help recent graduates achieve a career by providing incentives to NS workplaces.

*NOTE* Available job postings are listed near the bottom of the page under “Downloads” in a PDF called “GTO Job Catalogue.” This is an active and cycling list of available jobs.

JobAware
Only available in app format on iOS devices. Search for jobs from your iPhone or iPad. JobAware lets you track jobs and filter various career categories.

Job Bank
Browse for Canadian government careers, build your resume, and sign up for the built in Job Match feature in the Canadian Job Bank website. The Canadian Job Bank allows you to search for jobs through an intricate filtering system. You can also sign up for email alerts when new opportunities pop up. Download the free mobile app for iOS or Android

Jobpostings
A resource for students and recent graduates. Search for jobs by city, currently hiring companies, or industry. Jobpostings also provides resources as interview tips, resume, cover letter, and infographics!

(See below for link to Jobpostings Magazine)

Kijiji
Search for jobs on Kijiji by selecting “Jobs” in the category field, right of the search bar. Specify your location or desired destination of work and browse jobs from a range of categories.

LinkedIn
Create your free professional online profile to network and connect with a huge community of career professionals looking to hire or develop working relationships.

Nova Scotia Jobs
This website hosts a variety of entry-level and professional jobs in Nova Scotia. Browse for jobs by job category and Nova Scotian regions. Plenty of potential positions in categories such as finance, accounting, information technology, etc.

Tourism Talent
Powered by the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council and the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia health institutions

Find medical and non-medical positions by creating a profile, uploading your resume, and applying for postings. Please note links to IWK and NSHA lead to different job posting databases. There are also more specific opportunities for Physicians, IWK Staff, and NSHA found at Join the Team.

IWK Health Centre

Nova Scotia Health Authority

Universities and College institutions

Apply directly through these Nova Scotian post-secondary institutions. Each institution hosts a range of jobs from full-time, part-time, and student positions. Please note that student positions may be listed separately from the career postings. Available staff and faculty positions range from entry-level to experienced.

Dalhousie University

Mount Saint Vincent University

Nova Scotia Community College

Saint Mary’s University

Université Sainte-Anne

University of King’s College

Job sites that collect and display postings from other sites

Find local or nationwide jobs through these widely used job hunting websites. You can make an account and upload your resume and cover letter through these websites, although the application process will often differ depending on the employer. Overlap in job postings often happens between these sites.

Adzuna

Glassdoor

Indeed

Monster

SimplyHired

Workopolis

WOWjobs

Focused job posting sites

Eluta
For new graduates: the job search engine of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project

Job Applications Canada
Specialized in retail, restaurant, grocery store, bank, and hotel industries: this site contains links to online applications and printable application forms for many of the largest employers in Canada.

Job Postings Magazine
This site focuses on job postings for students studying at post-secondary institutions across Canada.

Ready Willing & Able
Connect to a community that seeks to build an inclusive work force. Job opportunities for job seekers or post-secondary students with disabilities. RWA also offers resources for employers to become engaged with the RWA community.

Talent Egg
Browse student jobs, internships and summer positions from various listed companies looking to hire students or recent graduates. Talent Egg also provides resources for training in specific fields to help boost your resume as well as career guides and advice.

Job search sites specific to other provinces

Jobboom (Based in Quebec)
Quebec’s largest job searching site and includes training opportunities for future job prospects. Displays jobs for 16 major industry types. Also includes resources for improving your resume/CV and preparing for an interview.

Jobillico (Based in Quebec)
Even though Jobillico is based in Quebec, this site also provides opportunities in Ontario. Includes a separate search option for student jobs.

Canada Summer Jobs

Jobs for Canadians and permanent residents aged 15 to 30 years old. Usually opens in April.

Clean Foundation

Internships in ecology, sustainability (for students in any program). Two-week application late February/March. Open to domestic and international students.

Nova Scotia Student Summer Skill Incentive

Great variety of summer jobs across the province. Usually opens in April. Open to domestic and international students.

Parks Canada Jobs

Parks Canada sites across Canada for Canadians and permanent residents aged 15 to30 years. Usually opens in February.

Tips for managing anxiety during a job interview (PDF)

Nailing the online interview (webinar)

Practice interview questions (PDF)

Fusion
A volunteer-led, non-profit organization that empowers young leaders to improve communities in Halifax area communities

Halifax Chamber of Commerce
Ongoing networking and professional development workshops hosted by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce

Employment rights in Nova Scotia
Resources to help better understand employers’ responsibilities and your rights as an employee under the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education and the Labour Standards legislation.

Transition to employment for university graduates with disabilities
A 75-page guide developed at Mount Allison University in 2016 to help post-secondary students with disabilities navigate the world of employment. The guide covers job searching, applying and interviewing, disclosing, legal rights and obligations, and employment support resources.

ADaPT Atlantic
Advanced Digital and Professional Training (ADaPT) is a skills development and work placement program delivered through Saint Mary’s University that bridges the employment gap for final semester students and post-secondary graduates. Get 70+ hours of workshop training in HTML coding, Microsoft Office, SEO, Data Analytics, Adobe Suite and more.

Canada’s Best Diversity Employers
The results from an annual ‘best of’ competition that recognizes employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. The award acknowledges diversity initiatives, including programs for employees,  from five groups: women; members of visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Indigenous peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/transsexual (LGBT) peoples.

Canada’s Top Employers for Young People
An annual editorial competition organized by the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. Editors from the project evaluate employers based on the programs they have to attract and retain younger workers. Programs include benefits such as tuition assistance and the availability of co-op or work-study programs; mentorship and training programs, including benefits such as bonuses paid when employees complete certain courses or professional designations; and employer’s career management programs, including initiatives that assist younger workers advance faster in the organization. Editors also look at the average age of employees at each employer to better understand the composition and profile of their workforce.

Graduate to Opportunity
A wage subsidy program from the Government of Nova Scotia designed to help retain new undergraduates in Nova Scotia.

Halifax Connector Program
The Connector Program helps new immigrants and recent graduates grow their professional network in Halifax, putting them directly in touch with Connectors—business owners and operators, managers, civil servants and community leaders—who work in the same field.

Innovate to Opportunity
Innovate to Opportunity (ITO) is helping well-educated graduates start their careers in Nova Scotia while helping businesses become more innovative and export-oriented. The program provides an incentive to hire recent masters and PhD grads for jobs that are focused on research and innovation that will help businesses begin, prepare for, or expand exports.

The Career Directory
Editors at the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project review thousands of employers each year to determine the academic qualifications they actively seek in young job-seekers. The result is a resource that helps students and new graduates find jobs that make the most of their university degree or college diploma. Search the directory by degree, diploma, or field of study and filter by Canadian cities.

Canadian Industry Statistics/North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Statistics Canada manages the Canadian Industry Statistics and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), the latter developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Use this resource to better understand the context of industries in Canada.

CanLearn Program Search
Get detailed profiles, requirements, application and admission information for programs of study at Canadian CEGEPs, colleges and universities.

Explore Careers Nova Scotia
Find job prospects, wages, education, training paths, and demographic profiles for occupations in Nova Scotia.

Job Bank Quizzes
Career quizzes and tests can help you choose, change or develop your career. You can use them as a starting point in your journey to get to know yourself better and explore the wide range of career opportunities available to you.

National Occupational Classification
We use the 2021 National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to classify jobs (occupations). Jobs are grouped into training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER) categories based on the type of job duties and work a person does. Use this resource to drill down from one of the broad occupational categories to its associated unit groups and access the profile page of a unit group.

Trend Analysis – Explore the Market
Learn more about an occupation you are interested in: wages, outlooks, education, skills needed and so much more.

OpportuNext
OpportuNext can help you identify and research career paths that closely match an existing skillset. In one free and easy search, you get information and insights that can kickstart a successful career transition.

Making the most of your volunteer experience

Canadian employers seriously consider transferable skills (also called employability skills or portable skills) when students apply for work. Transferable skills are qualities and knowledge that can be applied from one paid or unpaid position to another, like communicating, problem solving, and adapting.

Login to Career Connects and go to the Co-curricular section to see a list of popular volunteer activities Mount students engage in. Use this pre-approved list or any other volunteer experience to develop your online Co-curricular Record: the official record of your volunteer experience, society involvement, professional development outside of the classroom, or varsity sports team membership.

Volunteer Nova Scotia and Volunteer Halifax list a range of volunteer opportunities, including volunteer-from-home options.

Why developing your online Co-curricular Record helps in the long run

As your volunteer involvement grows, remember to login to Career Connects to have your participation counted as part of your Co-curricular Record. What makes this different than listing volunteer experience on your resume? The Mount validates the extra curricular experience you earned — along with the competencies you earned — on a digital or printed Co-curricular Record certificate you can use to apply for jobs or forward during interviews.