For this week’s top story, we’re looking at the job market and the unique ways Gen Alpha and Gen Z can get a job and earn income.

It’s a brutal job market out there. If you’re a teen or young adult, here’s how to improve the chances of landing your dream job.

By Srivindhya Kolluru 

Look around a school campus or park, and you’ll see revived polka dots, old-school digital cameras, and the capri pants that dominated the 2000s. The only difference? It’s not the Y2K era: teens are bumping to Sabrina Carpenter, not Britney Spears. A key difference in the eras: today’s bleak economic reality, characterized by a rising cost-of-living crisis and political tensions. Gen Alpha’s teens and Gen Z’s 20-somethings are bearing the brunt of a brutal job market, thanks in part to the spread of AI that threatens to eliminate entry-level roles, especially in tech (the industry we were promised would make us rich). 

The summer job market also took a hit this year. Statistics Canada reported that the unemployment rate for young people jumped from 13.5% last summer to 14.2% this June for Canadians aged 15 to 24. For teens, a summer job provides more than cash—it provides them with valuable experience, knowledge and connections that can help them grow personally and professionally. 

A summer job “is still important, not only for your mental health, but to keep active and learn new skills,” says Timothy Lang, CEO of Youth Employment Services, an organization that helps 15,000 Canadian youth annually with counselling, training and job placement.

Practise learning and improving transferable skills

It can feel frustrating to spend years earning a college or university education, only to not be able to land a job in your chosen field. As a result, Lang says recent post-secondary graduates are working part-time roles in dog walking, landscaping, retail and hospitality. Still, these jobs will teach you valuable skills, such as effective communication and conflict resolution, which you can transfer to many other roles.

Some of these temporary roles might also redirect you to a different career path that you hadn’t previously considered, such as owning your own business, working in sales—or heck, even crisis management. Getting from a part-time job-for-now to a first job on your career path is all about showing potential employers what you’ve learned and how you’ve developed that will make you an asset to a company.

The dream job? TikTok influencer 

Today’s kids and teens are the first generation to grow up entirely in a world of digital technology and connectivity, so it’s not all that surprising that a lack of traditional jobs is forcing some of them to turn to their phones to kickstart their careers—or even bring in extra cash. Following in the footsteps of OG TikTok superstars like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae, teens are  vlogging their lives and niche interests on TikTok.

Brand deals and affiliate programs can help you make money by showing your day-to-day to the world. The amount each creator makes depends on their audience size, reach and engagement, but there can be cash on the table: some influencers have reported earning $3,000 per video. That’s the top of the industry, of course. But even if you don’t plan to make a career out of social media, showcasing your interests and skills online can serve as a branding exercise for future job opportunities. 

Gen Z is ditching the typical career ladder in favour of flexibility 

Young adults in Canada are gradually turning away from a dream of the traditional 9-to-5 (bye-bye corner-office goals) and toward a portfolio career (hello permanent WFH)—combining revenue streams from freelance projects, consulting gigs and other side hustles to earn a consistent income. 

Already, about a third of working Canadians have side hustles in addition to their day jobs. Right after I graduated from university, I leaned on connections in the journalism industry to land stories, which helped me gradually build a portfolio that showcased my skills. Millennials popularized the side hustle, but an explosion of online courses and bundles has lowered the barrier to entry to monetize your existing skills and hobbies into profitable businesses. 

A personal brand can supplement your resume  

While some career experts say you don’t need a personal brand to land a role, it could be what helps you advance to the next interview stage over someone else—especially in today’s finicky job market. Personal branding is a long-term play that can help you build credibility in your field. 

Use your uniqueness, personal values and expertise—even if you have very little professional experience under your belt—to share insights from your industry. Personal branding isn’t a new concept, but young adults are putting a spin on it by expanding their brands from LinkedIn to social media channels like Instagram and TikTok, and even Substack.

Landing a job is mostly a numbers game, says Lang, acknowledging that the uncertainty can be mentally taxing. “The old adage is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” says Lang. “In the face of adversity, stay positive as much as possible, and do whatever you can to keep that positivity.” 

Srivindhya (Vindhya) Kolluru is a Toronto-based journalist who writes about business and personal finance.

Read more from this issue of The Get:

1. True or false: “Saving for a big purchase is always better than getting a loan”
2. MVP: Blue Jays announcer Dan Shulman captures the moment
3. Should I help out with my parent’s finances?
4. How the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement affects Canadians

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