Job loss and Unemployment
If you have lost your job or are having difficulty finding work, here are some immediate resources that can help you make a plan:
- HOW TO SURVIVE A FINANCIAL EMERGENCY by New School of Finance was created specifically to help small businesses and sole proprietors through the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides helpful links, suggestions and tools to help make a three month emergency plan to navigate a financial crisis.
- SURVIVE AND THRIVE is a free practical guide that on how to deal with the financial stress and emotional shock of losing a job created by Chartered Professional Accountants Canada. It is largely geared towards employees, but provides some useful resources and advice that can apply to freelance artists.
- Find out if you are eligible for EI by heading to the Government of Canada website.
Accessing transitional support
You may need additional support to transition between projects, or to figure out if a career shift is right for you. The following organizations may be able to help:
NABS provides confidential and professional assistance to marketing and communications professionals to help them deal with their personal and professional issues via several programs; including a supportline, financial counselling, career coaching, and career strategy group meetings. Find out more on their website.
The AFC helps entertainment professionals when they are at their most vulnerable due to injury, illness, or other personal hardship through compassionate and confidential support. Industry professionals working in TV and film, music, theatre, and dance are eligible. The AFC has also created a Career Resilience Resource Hub to help artists find programs, services, and resources that are currently available for employment support, apprenticeships, career transition, side hustles & entrepreneurship, and job searching.
Finding employment in the arts
Here are some websites and platforms that are useful when looking for work as an artist in Canada:
- TAPA Industry Postings (Toronto)
- Bunz Theatre Zone (Facebook Group - GTA)
- Work in Culture (Ontario)
- BC Alliance for Arts and Culture Job Board (BC)
- BC Touring Council Job Board (BC)
- Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA) Job Board (Vancouver)
- Calgary Arts Development Careers & Hiring Board (Calgary)
- Equity E-Drive (Nationwide)
- PACT's Artsboard (Nationwide)
- The Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology Job Board (Nationwide)
- E-Boss Job Board (Nationwide)
- CreativeUsers Job List for accessible jobs in the arts (Nationwide)
- Culture Brew (Nationwide)
Many of the websites listed above have regular newsletters. We recommend subscribing to their newsletters so you can be up to date on job and workshop opportunties in your community.
Finding employment in related industries
Platforms for finding work outside the arts:
- CharityVillage is the top Canadian source for Canada non-profit news, non-profit jobs, non-profit funding, non-profit training, and more.
- Work In Non-Profits is committed to help build and strengthen Canada's non-profit sector by connecting non-profits across the country with job seekers.
- Charity Careers Canada can be searched by keyword, location, and category.
- Indeed Canada hails itself as the #1 job site in Canada
- Monster Canada is another job search platform that provides a free resume assessment and has a career advice section.
- Government of Canada Job Bank can be searched by location, salary, and field of study. Job seekers can also put in identifiers to find potential job matches.
Finding auditions
Check out our page on Posting and Finding Auditions!
Newsletters
Newsletters are not only great ways to find work, they can also be ways of keeping up-to-date on events in the community. We also recommend subscribing to the newsletters of companies you are interested in working with!
- Urban Worker
- Centre for Social Innovation
- East End Arts
- Creative City Newsletter (TAC)
- Intermission Magazine Newsletter
- Story Board (founded by the Canadian Media Guild and the Canadian Writers Group to create an online community for independent journalists and freelance creators from across Canada)
Other Tips and Tricks
- Like, follow and subscribe to newsletters of companies and organizations you're interested in working with. Chances are that when opportunities come up, they will post on their website or through their newsletter first
- Work In Culture has put together a click-through list of tips and tools to help you build your career as you are job searching, changing careers, or starting out as an emerging professional.
- Having a hard time negotiating for yourself? Jessica Hirsche created an invaluable Client Email Helper that generates email responses to help you say “no” to free and low-budget work and to help ask for more favorable contract terms before the start of a project. Try it out!