Amidst rising unemployment rates, students should play to their strengths
By Cameron Sauder, September 23 2025—
Unemployment rates are rising in the city of Calgary, but students may have a better chance of securing a job by knowing and honing in on their unique strengths.
It’s not a great time to be a young person.
Whether it’s the repercussions of COVID-19’s social dissolution, the aftereffects of Donald Trump’s ridiculous trade war, the rapidly shifting trends in the technological sector, the surge of people moving out west for new opportunities or a combination of all that and more, youth unemployment is on the rise.
Recent numbers point to a surge in Albertan unemployment, with 17,000 jobs disappearing in July owing to a leap in the rate of unemployment to 7.8 per cent from 6.8 per cent in June — a jump which Global News reporter Ken MacGillivray says was “by far the worst in the country.”
Even worse for students are numbers that show how youth far and away represent the bulk of those unemployed, with the Government of Alberta website reporting that in April 2025, people aged 15 to 24 accounted for 17.2 per cent of all unemployed people in Alberta. Now, this may be owing to the fact that not all young people are actively seeking employment — whether they’re still dependent on their parents, receiving funding from school, etc. However, it is a disconcerting number nonetheless.
Meanwhile, as Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP) reports on tax cuts saving individuals $750 a year — which they say “is what affordability looks like” — the Alberta New Democratic Party has been condemning the party for being “bad for Albertans desperately trying to find a job” and putting the province in a situation where “Albertans are paying more, getting less, and still being left with a government that can’t balance the books.”
It’s a little bleak, to say the least, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hopeless.
There may be less and less standard modes of employment for young people, but we are nothing if not resilient. Indeed, finding a job may be less about sending your resume to every possible listing you find on Indeed and more about discovering your unique strengths and applying them to the workplace.
My partner is a great example of this.
An educator by trade, she struggled to find work until realizing that she had something which gave her a leg-up on other candidates: a second language. When she applied her ability to speak both English and French fluently to her job hunt, researched specific workplaces where she would best fit in and queried outside of traditional job boards, she found that workplaces were more eager to respond to her messages.
And the hard work paid off: she quickly found a position where she brought something unique and valuable to the table.
Now, not everyone can fluently speak a second language, but everyone has unique and specific skills owing to their unique and specific life experiences.
Perhaps you used to run a book club, and thus might bring valuable leadership skills to a nonprofit organization that runs professional workshops. Perhaps you were particularly good at yard work chores as a kid, and thus might be the perfect candidate to run a community garden or do upkeep work at the zoo.
The possibilities are endless, but they are specific to you.
Researching specific opportunities which you would be perfect for and physically reaching out to employers in those specific fields are far more likely to yield results. Indeed, some numbers suggest that the “hidden job market” — consisting of positions not available to the public eye — could account for anywhere between “50 and 70 per cent of all positions.”
And if you can’t think of anything, another crucial skill that you might have forgotten is that of “student,” which comes with its own unique traits and supports. The University of Calgary is not only an employment hub within itself — being the site of countless student jobs — but a place to nurture your employability skills. The Centre for Career & Personal Development alone provides valuable workshops, advisement opportunities and more for students who might be struggling to find work.
Unemployment can feel desperately isolating, but if you’re going through it, know that you’re not alone. Others are struggling just the same as you, and there are people and programs around to help you get through it.
Just remember that no matter how tough the going gets, no matter how many rejections you receive, you are an individual with unique strengths and skills.
Your life experiences have built you to be the person you are today: a person with unique abilities, even if they seem mundane to you. They might be the very same abilities that get you into your forever job.
This article is a part of our Opinions section and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gauntlet editorial board.