Searching for a job can be frustrating. What many jobseekers may not realize is that it can also be challenging for employers.
Imagine investing weeks in screening resumés, conducting interviews, and onboarding a new employee. Within months, you find that the job isn’t working out because of skill gaps, personal challenges, or both.
This means starting the hiring process again.
So, when career advisors help a jobseeker choose a career path, they are also thinking about employers who are hiring in that field.
When they advise a job seeker about training opportunities to fill resumé gaps, they’re also thinking about the gaps in that employer’s workforce.
When they help clients draft their resumés and prepare for an interview, they’re hoping the client and the employer will be a good fit for each other.
Read more about the role of career advisors in the Career Development Professional profile on alis.ca. Visit Alberta Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration to learn about Alberta’s network of 18 Workforce Consultants (WFCs), whose job is to help employers and workers to work together on building a strong labour force.
Career advisors must understand employer needs
One way career advisors can help employers is by understanding their industries, exploring both labour market and workforce trends, and reviewing the broader employment outlook. These sources provide important background to help advisors understand what employers need.
Another way career advisors can help employers is by exploring occupational profiles on OCCinfo to see the more than 550 occupations currently in demand in Alberta. These profiles share information about:
Job duties
Worker interests (that might make them a good match for a job)
Working conditions (indoors or outside, office hours or shiftwork)
Abilities (critical thinking and physical fitness)
Traits and skills (communication skills and a sense of responsibility)
Educational requirements (Red Seal tradesperson or university graduate)
Certifications, diplomas, or degrees needed (where applicable)
Employment and advancement
Wage and salary expectations (at entry level and beyond)
Related high school subjects and areas of post-secondary study
Additional sources of information about a career in this field
With this information, advisors can look for jobs that might fit well with a client’s personality, skill set, experience, and salary expectations. Helping clients find the right employer also helps employers find the right worker.
Helping job seekers see where they fit helps employers too
Take, for example, the oil and gas industry. A field production operator uses equipment that screens impurities from the product. Duties include monitoring the separation process, overseeing safety, and preparing resources for pipelines and markets.
Using this occupational profile, a career advisor can guide a client to review the following list of skills, qualifications, and traits. This helps them to decide if the role is a good fit:
They have a valid driver’s licence
They have a high school diploma
They work well with others
They like a combination of outdoor and indoor work
They’re safety conscious and open to taking safety certifications
They have good attention to detail
They’re comfortable working with machinery, including computerized equipment
They’re comfortable supervising and training others
If they satisfy these requirements, the client should decide if the pay offered is what they’re looking for and what their chances for advancement are in this position.
Advisors can ensure that clients choose work that’s a good fit, have taken the training they need, prepared themselves for a career in their field, and sought work where employers are hiring. This, in turn, provides immeasurable help to employers.
How client-focused wage and salary data helps employers
Career advisors can help employers by directing them to use the 2023 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey. Employers need to know if they’re getting too few applicants because their base pay is low compared to competitors. They need to know if that pay is so high that it attracts applicants who have inflated their skills and may not be a good fit.
When career advisors network with different employers, they look for placements that work for both clients and employers. For example, a corporate communications manager in Alberta might earn up to $125,000 per year, while a similar job in the not-for-profit sector might earn $74,000 per year or less. Someone early in their career might enjoy the money and the fast-paced corporate job. However, a single parent might happily trade a lower salary for better work-life balance. This kind of matchmaking serves employers as much as it does clients.
Helping clients negotiate helps employers too
Career advisors often coach clients on negotiating salary. Let’s say a client is seeking work as an accommodation service manager. The Wage and Salary Survey tells them that, as of 2026, the average hourly wage is $32.12, and the average annual salary is $66,492.00. Knowing if an employer’s offer compares well with competitors is invaluable to job seekers.
Employers can use this information too. If a good candidate with little experience asks for top dollar, salary information gives the employer a strong negotiating point. They can say they’re willing to recognize the applicant’s potential by offering more than the usual starting salary, but they will have to work their way up the earnings ladder. There are many situations in which it benefits employers to have the same wage and salary information as applicants.
Benchmark job postings using real‑time labour market data
There was a time when jobseekers were encouraged to send a resumé to every job that looked a little bit like something they might be able to do. But when 500 applicants apply for every job, this approach shows lack of courtesy for employers. Serious applicants do all they can to ensure they’re at least minimally qualified for the jobs they apply for.
The Alberta Job Postings tool on alis can help with this by allowing clients to filter jobs by keyword, region, education, experience, and more. Candidates do not even see jobs that require more formal education than they have. This means they are less likely to waste their time, and the employer’s, by applying for a job that’s beyond their reach.
Employers can also benefit from job postings to tell them who else is competing for the same talent. When employers know they have competition, they might be more likely to offer better pay and benefits rather than risk losing the perfect candidate. This has obvious benefits for the jobseeker but also saves the employer’s time and money.
Help clients align their skills with employer expectations
Resumés and cover letters are a mainstay of job seeking. But they’re only effective if they’re well-crafted and clearly targeted to employer expectations. Consider this task list:
Implement new administrative procedures
Delegate work to office support staff
Establish work priorities and ensure procedures are followed and deadlines are met
Carry out administrative activities
Co-ordinate and plan for office services such as travel, accommodation, and parking, supplies and forms, equipment maintenance and security services
Help to prepare operating budget and maintain inventory and budgetary controls
Perform data entry
Oversee and co-ordinate office administrative procedures
Oversee payroll administration
A career advisor can show clients how to pick out repeated words and synonyms (such as administer, delegate, and co-ordinate) and use them to isolate keywords. This will help them identify themes (such as organizational skills and responsibility) in what the employer is looking for. Clients can then highlight those skills in their resumé and cover letter, using the keywords to help applicant tracking systems (ATS) find them.
As a career advisor, advise clients to use generative AI carefully. Encourage them to draft resumés and cover letters that show them as unique, skilled individuals with initiative and ambition. Suggest they use AI only to review their work for errors in grammar, syntax, and spelling.
Guide clients to prepare for interviews using Traits & Skills data from occupational profiles on OCCinfo. For example, common traits for marketing managers include creativity, strong project management skills, and persuasive communication. Career advisors can help clients focus on times they’ve shown these qualities at work. Clients can then direct employers to portfolios supporting their claims.