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Tips & Training

Resources to support clients navigating long-term unemployment

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Long-term unemployment is defined as 27 weeks or longer off of work by Statistics Canada. Jobseekers who have been unemployed for an extended period of time may face additional challenges when trying to re-enter the workforce. This listicle shares guides, videos and articles for career counsellors who are looking to help their long-term unemployed clients find work.  

A Guide to Recruiting and Hiring the Long-Term Unemployed: A Handbook for Employers (Deloitte) [Handbook] 

This handbook is intended for employers and “aims to help you understand how hiring the long-term unemployed can benefit your organization while enhancing your organization’s talent acquisition strategy.” The handbook provides recommendations and tools to guide hiring changes.  

Candidates Positioning Long-Term Unemployment [Video] 

Career strategists Loren Greiff, Sonal Bahl and Lee Andrese share recommendations on how to navigate long-term unemployment and provide strategies to get hired. 

Career Work in Action: Discussions and Activities for Professionals – Unemployed Long Term (CERIC)

This Action Plan, based on the Guiding Principles of Career Development, offers starter questions, practical interventions and fun exercises to apply with clients who have been unemployed long term.

How are we helping the long-term unemployed? (Career Professionals of Canada) [Article] 

This article includes a tip sheet for those who are long-term unemployed. Some of the tips include breaking down the job search process into achievable steps, joining a networking group and maintaining perseverance in the face of rejection.  

How to get back to work after a career break (TedTalk) [Video] 

Career re-entry expert Carol Fishman Cohen shares her own experience re-entering the workforce after 11 years of unemployment and speaks to how employers are changing how they engage with return-to-work jobseekers. 

How to Help Jobseekers Tackle Job Search Depression (Career Professionals of Canada) [Article] 

This article gives tips to career professionals on how to help clients who are experiencing job-search-related depression.  

Interview with Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP on Long-Term Unemployment [Interview] 

Psychotherapist and career coach Mary Pender Greene offers her insights and advice on how social workers, psychologists, and career counsellors can help clients who are experiencing long-term unemployment. She says “the most important thing is to help their clients recognize that unemployment can happen to anyone, and to address their sense of failure and embarrassment.” Pender Greene also advises career counsellors help clients review their resume, discuss their professional interests and goals, and develop a self-care plan. 

Interview with Dr. Carl Van Horn and Maria Heidkamp on Long-Term Unemployment [Interview] 

Employment, workforce and HR issues expert Dr. Carl Van Horn shares how social workers can help long-term unemployed jobseekers. Some of the strategies include managing life transitions, coping with stress AND anxiety, and helping their client “regard job searches as a marathon, with multiple starts and transitions, rather than as a sprint,” among other strategies.  

iRelaunch Return to Work Conference [Conference] 

This conference, taking place fully online, is for professionals seeking to return to the workforce after an extended career break and connects them with employers interested in recruiting them.  

New Guide, New Destinations: A Handbook For Job Seekers To Navigate Out Of Long-Term Unemployment (Deloitte) [Handbook] 

This handbook by Deloitte was created to address the unique challenges facing the long-term unemployed. It looks at the U.S. job market but the tips, suggestions and advice are applicable to the Canadian context.  

What are the most effective ways to help long-term unemployed clients find work? (LinkedIn) [Article] 

Career professionals can help their long-term unemployed clients through the six steps laid out in this LinkedIn article, which include assessing a client’s situation, helping them update their resume, and supporting their transition once they do land a job, which can include helping them manage stress and anxiety in a new environment.  

Samar Ismail Author
Samar Ismail is an occasional teacher in Ontario. With a background in journalism, she continues to freelance as a writer, editor and researcher.
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Samar Ismail Author
Samar Ismail is an occasional teacher in Ontario. With a background in journalism, she continues to freelance as a writer, editor and researcher.
follow me
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