Canada may be on track for an economic recession. So what does that mean for us?

Well, gas is super cheap, and it looks like it’s only getting cheaper. Retail stores are promoting big sales to keep spending money. And if you’re looking to buy a car, you can probably get a pretty good deal.

This might sound like really great news, but it’s not so good for those who work for a living — or those like us who will eventually be working for a living.

I’m in my final year at Ryerson. Come April 2009, I’ll be graduating smack-dab in the middle of a period of economic downturn, at a time when 100,000 jobs across the country will have likely been lost.

Global Insight, a forecasting firm, predicts this figure for the next few months. But for me, there’s no need to look that far ahead. I’ve already lost my job. In January, I was hired for a part-time position in the online department at The Canadian Press. A few weeks ago I was let go. The reason I was given for my dismissal was that there’s “not enough work” — there were too many part-timers, and they were trying to cut hours.

So now I’m job hunting again.

A great start to the winter season. It might be really tough for those of us who are graduating next year. We’ll all be freshly equipped to take on the real world, full of eagerness and excitement. All dressed up with nowhere to go.

The predictions suggest the economic downturn will lift in 2010, but until then, we can use the economic slump to our advantage.

As graduates, we’re young and less experienced than more senior employees, but we’re also a lot cheaper. Companies might want to take advantage of that. However, with increasing competition for jobs, we’ll have to be versatile. Be open to internships. Sure, they don’t pay for a while, but if your bosses like you, they’ll probably hire you.

Expand your job search to other parts of the province, or even the country. The more limitations, the less successful your job hunt will be. Take advantage of what you can while you’re still in school. Go to career fairs and make connections with potential employers. It’s not always what you know but who you know, so make sure you meet people in the industry in which you’re looking to work.

Finally, if you lose a job, don’t fret. There are always opportunities opening up, but no job will come to you. Keep your eyes open and be persistent.