On volunteering

Volunteering is one of those win-win propositions that people often talk about. By donating your time to a worthwhile organization you can gain new skills, expand your network and gain some Canadian experience while the agency you volunteer at gets the benefit of your skills and experience for free. Win – win.
The above benefits are [...]

Idiom 10

A Raw Deal
Meaning: An unfair outcome
Example: Dennis got a raw deal when he was passed over for promotion.
All idioms

Camosun College — Business Options and Career Fair

Some of you may want to note that Camosun is hosting a career fair for students at the Interurban Campus on Thursday, March 5th. Look here for a summary of activities and here (pdf) for a list of guest speakers.

Demographics – the numbers don’t lie

Back in January I blogged about how Canada’s overall demographic picture was more important in terms of the labour market than current global economic woes.
Recessions come and go every decade or so. These current economic problems will eventually fade but our demographic picture endures. This is an important enough issue to review so keeping that [...]

Journeys

The last half of this Toronto Sun article chronicles the experiences of 19 immigrants as they found meaningful work. Theseshort summaries can provide inspiration and serve as a reminder that while foreign-trained professionals face more barriers than the average job seeker, there are many success stories.

Resume review

If you haven’t’ had a job interview in awhile and have been actively looking for work it may be time to take another look at your resume. I have found some articles that you can use as inspiration for giving your resume a make-over. As always you can ask Dan or myself for help if [...]

Smile

…employers are more likely to hire happy-looking people than unhappy-looking ones. That might sound shallow. But it’s human nature. Employers may be well aware of the reason for the glum faces. They may even sympathize. But they, like everyone, are attracted to positivity and repelled by negativity.
Which is why, when you’re looking for a job, [...]

Idiom 9

Keep a lid on
Meaning: To keep information private or confidential
Example: Let’s keep a lid on our expansion plans.
All idioms

Butchart Gardens job fair

Another tourism industry job fair has been announced. This one is with Butchart Gardens.
See this link (pdf) for details.

-129,000 jobs

StatsCanada is reporting the largest one month decline in jobs since the methodology for their labour force survey was changed in 1976.
There is not much to comment on as the chart tells you all you need to know about the January job picture.
The local picture is much brighter however as the unemployment rate for Victoria nudged up [...]