Show Me, Don't Tell Me

Frances Cole Jones, author of "How to Wow"  As you may know, the first rule of writing good fiction is, "Show me, don't tell me." The idea being that you can't say a character is resilient, thoughtful, or brave you need to show the reader that he or she are these things. Somehow this idea has not translated into our other writing, particularly in the context of applying for jobs. For example, how many of us have seen cover letters in which a candidate describes him or herself as "a real go getter," only to have that résumé collecting dust on our desk three weeks later -- three weeks during which that "go-getter" of a candidate didn't pick up the phone? How else might a go-getter distinguish him or herself from the pack? Well, recently I walked out of Grand Central Station to find two young people dressed in business suits standing on the sidewalk handing out copies of their résumés. What were their stated objectives? Entry-level jobs in financeand marketing. Their qualifications? The usual for people just starting out: captain of the swim team, internship at local retail store, a summer at the local copy shop. In addition to hard copies of their résumé, however, they had also blown each up to a poster-board size and created video résumés and posted them on YouTube -- the URL for these was at the top of their CVs. Seeing these actions told me more than any video: they were creative, gutsy, and self-confident. You can bet that if I had been at a financial or marketing firm with -- or without -- an opening, they would have been hired on the spot. They brought being a "go-getter" to life. Another gap in candidates' descriptions of themselves is often revealed via a technique I recently heard HR professionals are using to weed out those who are truly committed to working for a particular firm, from those who are not: what they do is stop the interview halfway through and says "I just don't think you're the right fit for us" -- regardless of the candidate's experience. One of the HR professionals with whom I spoke says it's amazing how many people actually say, "I actually didn't think so either, but I just thought I'd come in ... " Um ... how not to wow. How do I recommend you handle this situation, should you encounter it? First, make sure you don't look down, lean back ... reveal your discomfort through your body in any way. Smile. Inhale. Speak on an exhalation. Say, "I understand how you may think that, given my lack of experience with X/my checkered past/how long I've been freelancing, but I think you've underestimated how committed I am to working for your firm. If I may, I'll take you through my thinking one more time." A response that, both physically and verbally, should reassure the most hardboiled of HR professionals. Another misstep I heard about was the story of a candidate who touted his laser focus/unparalleled dedication throughout his lunch interview, only to take out his PDA and begin returning calls as his host paid the check. My guess is that he was either uncomfortable with sitting in silence, or wished to convey his busyness or importance. What I can tell you is that his choice backfired -- instead causing the HR director to move him from the top slot to the bottom of the list. Albert Schweitzer, the famed theologian, philosopher and physician said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." Nowhere is this truer than in a job interview scenario -- where what isn't said is often far more important than what is.

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Americans looking for job in Canada.

Next month, consultations regarding Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program will be taking place in Calgary. Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has noted that one of the primary goals of these consultations is to make the process more efficient so that Temporary Foreign Workers can be brought to Canada quicker.

This announcement comes amidst reports that Alberta will soon be facing a labour shortage of more than 100,000 workers over the next ten years and will need to rely upon Temporary Foreign Workers to fill gaps in the labour supply. Minister Kenney has suggested that Alberta and Canada should focus on hiring more Americans as unemployment rates in the U.S. continue to rise and more American workers become available. Certain Americans may qualify to work temporarily in Canada through the NAFTA program, however the number of work visas issued in that program are currently about 5,000 a year, a problem which Minister Kenney has acknowledged.

It is not only Americans that the Canadian government would like to recruit. Due to the weakening U.S. economy, many Temporary Foreign Workers in the U.S. on temporary work visas (H-1B visas for example) may find that their visas will not be renewed as U.S. companies lay off more workers. This can be good news for Canadian employers and potential immigrants as Canadian employers have long favoured immigrants with North American work experience and training because they are able to easily integrate into the Canadian workforce.

The typical occupations held by H-1B workers include engineers, I.T. personnel, accountants, doctors, nurses, and business managers, which are all occupations that are in high demand in Canada. Foreign workers with experience in these fields have more opportunities available to them, for both temporary work in Canada or for Canadian Permanent Residency.

These occupations are also highly sought after by Canadian immigration programs such as theFederal Skilled Worker Program and Quebec Skilled Worker Program. Applicants may qualify for either program without having a job offer from a Canadian employer and can apply for Canadian Permanent Residency while they are still living in the U.S.

Canada has also made it easier for Temporary Foreign Workers who have gained Canadian work experience to apply for Canadian Permanent Residency. Immigration programs such as theCanadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Programs offer applicants with as little as one to two years of Canadian work experience a chance for Permanent Residency. This is one reason why many choose to work temporarily in Canada rather than the U.S. as it is very hard to convert an H-1B visa to a U.S. green card (U.S. permanent resident card).

Whether you’re looking for temporary work in Canada or you want to move to Canada permanently, your American work experience can be the key to getting you into Canada.

Source: http://www.cicnews.com/2011/09/canadian-job-american-work-experience-key-091083.html

Are you currently working in the United States on an H-1B visa? Are you an American citizen or Permanent resident looking for jobs abroad? Complete a free Canadian immigration assessment form to find out if you qualify for Canadian permanent residency.

Helping immigrant workers fit in

MARLENE HABIB

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Sep. 29, 2011 5:57PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 6:16AM EDT

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Aileen Raquel knows all too well how tough it can be for an immigrant worker to adjust in Canada and why employers need to take their struggles seriously, especially as the country prepares for a projected influx of immigrant talent over the next 20 years.

Ms. Raquel, a social worker in her homeland of the Philippines, moved to Canada in 2003 because she was told it had the best jobs and benefits. Instead, she found herself working at a factory and in the fast-food business. “I had seven years of social work experience and I sent out countless résumés but did not receive a single response,” recalled Ms. Raquel, 37.

Ms. Raquel, whose success story is highlighted in a travelling photo exhibit by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), and other foreign-born workers have benefited from many groundbreaking programs to help newcomers overcome barriers in the Canadian workplace, such as language and cultural issues.

After three years of living below the poverty line, she turned to a bridging program at Toronto’s Ryerson University for guidance. With the help of a mentor and mock interviews with real employers, her self-confidence grew. In 2006, she landed a permanent job with her current employer, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

Such initiatives will be even more important in the years to come. A recent Statistics Canada report suggests that, by 2031, one in three workers could be foreign-born, up from about one in five in 2006. Such a dramatic change in the labour force will make it even more important for employers to help immigrant workers adapt.

Government efforts such as the Canadian Immigration Integration Program help workers get jobs that recognize their experience and education. But helping them adjust on the job remains a “huge issue,” said Joan Atlin of TRIEC, which works with companies, governments and other organizations to help employers address diversity issues.

“While one challenge is to make the right connections between talent and companies, the other is to integrate them into the workplace quickly, and a lot of employers don’t think about how those differences play into the workplace,” said Ms. Atlin, the not-for-profit group’s director of programs.

One common myth is that immigrants must have Canadian work experience to be effective employees, experts say.

“It’s a misconception that Canadian experience is absolutely required, and we’ve done a good job to show the way we hire people has evolved,” said Matt Petersen, director of diversity strategies at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM-T73.550.941.29%) in Toronto. That involved changing the thought processes of company hiring managers, he said.

Navigating the interview process can trip up newcomers, as Ms. Raquel discovered. That’s why companies such as CIBC and discount brokerage Questrade Inc. conduct “behavioural-based” job interviews, so that cultural differences and the applicants’ lack of Canadian work experience don’t undercut their changes of being hired.

Zuleika Sgro, human resources recruiter at Questrade in Toronto, said the brokerage develops its own programs and also turns to other organizations to help meet foreign-born workers’ needs.

“There is so much paperwork – all these policies and procedures, payroll, all these government offices – the challenges can be as simple as getting a SIN [social insurance number] card,” noted Ms. Sgro, whose company also has offices in Montreal, Vancouver and Armenia.

She said Questrade has used several TRIEC programs, including workshops on the “unwritten rules of Canadian workplace culture,” such as how to behave in a business meeting, as well as a mentoring partnership that links skilled immigrants with established Canadian professionals.

Questrade’s own programs include team-building activities for new employees and managers to learn from each other; a buddy system where managers are linked with workers to provide guidance on a range of issues in their work and personal lives; and language skills development.

At CIBC, recruiting and retaining skilled foreign-born workers has been a priority because “the landscape of our country is changing rapidly,” Mr. Petersen said, noting that growth at CIBC branches in cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto is often fuelled by immigrants. “We need to ensure we have employees who understand the experience of our customers.”

As well as being involved in immigrant mentoring or sponsorship programs, CIBC has developed a “diversity toolkit” that educates managers on how to meet the needs of a diverse workplace. The toolkit covers everything from the hiring process, to meeting special dietary restrictions and requirements at work, and holiday observances.

“The focus is on creating an environment where people feel they can bring their whole self to work,” Mr. Petersen said.

As for Ms. Raquel, her advice to employers is simple: “Open your doors to internationally trained professionals. We know your clients’ culture and speak their language. That's our advantage.”

______

BEYOND ‘TAXI DRIVER SYNDROME’

Professor Jeffrey Reitz, director of ethnic and immigration studies at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, says concerns surrounding foreign-born workers are slowly moving from whether they are underemployed – what he calls “the taxi driver syndrome” – to how they can adapt in the workplace.

It’s an issue that affects, or will affect, nearly every Canadian employer, he says, given that immigrants from areas such as Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico are in demand in a wide range of industries.

“Canada is kind of an exceptional country when it comes to immigrants – it is taking more immigrants in than other industrial countries per capita,” Prof. Reitz notes. Canada admits about 250,000 immigrants a year, in large part to offset the falling birth rate and the retirement of baby boomers.

Special to The Globe and Mail

WORKING IN CANADA, WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE?

Posted by Guest Writer on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

1

A recent poll indicated that Canada is second only to the USA as the country most people in the world would like to live in, if they could. Opportunity was listed as the main reason for the draw.  Interestingly more and more Americans are now looking to come to Canada as the American economy worsens and unemployment continues to rise south of the border. In fact, after Filipinos, Americans are the second largest group of temporary workers in Canada.

As Immigration Canada has tightened up many of their residency programs, the option of coming to Canada on a skilled work permit is the option that many would-be immigrants are considering.

In order to get a temporary skilled work permit the applicant usually must have a job offer first. This job offer needs to go through the process of being issued with a Labour Market Opinion (LMO), whereby the employer needs to demonstrate to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) that they have attempted to recruit a Canadian for the position but have been unable to do so. After all, Canadians looking for work need to be given priority over foreigners. Americans may also have the possibility of coming in under NAFTA, but must still have a job offer and meet eligibility requirements.

Rather than just filling in a form, the employer needs to explain and prove what recruitment efforts have been done to justify bringing in a foreign worker. If it is a union position then the union must also provide approval. If licensing is required then the foreign worker may need to get their Canadian licence before being able to proceed, which can hinder and delay the process. The employer also needs to demonstrate that the foreign worker will be paid according to current labour market requirements for the area in question. On top of all of this, new regulationsstipulate that if an employer is paying someone to help with the preparation and submission of LMO then that person must be an authorised lawyer, paralegal or regulated immigration consultant.

If HRSDC are satisfied that an employer has truly been unable to find a Canadian for the position then a positive LMO is issued and the foreign worker can apply for an employer-specific work permit at the relevant Canadian visa office, or even at the Port of Entry, depending on their circumstances.

The good news is that “Canada’s labour market has more than fully recovered from the loss experienced in the downturn,” said Ian Wright, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada. “As of August, Canada had 164,000 more people employed than during the pre-recession peak and so far this year, employment gains have been concentrated in full-time jobs.”

There is talk now of relaxing the LMO requirements as the demand for foreign workers in Canada starts to grow again. The current maximum of a one year LMO will hopefully also be extended, making it less stressful for both the employer and the employee. The employee will usually aim to submit a permanent residency application after their arrival and will usually need about 18 months for this to be finalised. Applications for permanent residency will usually be submitted in the Federal Skilled Worker category, or upon nomination from the province. Canadian Experience Class is also an option when the worker has been working in Canada in a skilled occupation for two years.

So where should the foreign worker focus their job search?

Every particular occupation has a different set of supply and demand factors. However,to look at the overall labour market, Saskatchewan leads the way in terms of economic growth, with Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador following closely behind. Manitoba is projected to improve its economic standing, while Ontario, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island fall slightly below the national average. Quebec continues to show mixed results and is positioned with the remaining Atlantic provinces at the back of the pack.

Source: http://www.muchmormagazine.com/2011/09/working-in-canada-outlook-for-the-future/

Trade PEI spuds for Cuban MDs, candidate says

Richard FootSpecial to the Star

How many Cuban doctors would a shipload of potatoes buy?

That’s a question Prince Edward Island voters are being asked to consider in the final week of their provincial election campaign.

Jason MacGregor, a candidate for the fledgling Island Party of P.E.I., says the province could solve its chronic doctor shortage by trading its famous potatoes for Cuban physicians.

P.E.I. has long been plagued by doctor shortages, particularly in rural areas such as Souris-Elmira, where MacGregor lives.

“We used to have an emergency room, but that’s closed,” MacGregor said in an interview Wednesday. “We now have a clinic only open two to three days a week.”

In his district of 3,200 people, there are only two doctors, he said.

Cuba’s communist government has for years dispatched thousands of doctors and medics abroad in return for hard currency, or oil. MacGregor, a recent university graduate who majored in international development, says a similar deal could be negotiated with P.E.I. spuds.

“Potatoes offer a nutrient they don’t grow in their own country, and on P.E.I. a lot of our farmers have excess potatoes each year, and a lot of these are plowed back into the fields.

“So instead of all those potatoes going to waste, we could export them in return for doctors.”

A call to the Cuban embassy in Ottawa wasn’t answered Wednesday, but MacGregor says if a trade deal like this could be worked out with P.E.I., there’s no reason other provinces couldn’t trade their own goods for Cuban medical expertise.

The doctor shortage has been a hot political potato on the island for years, and helped vault Liberal Premier Robert Ghiz into power in 2007.

Four years ago the province had the lowest ratio of doctors in the country — 150 for every 100,000 people. Ghiz vowed at the time to bring in enough doctors to provide a family physician for every Islander.

“Write that one down, because I expect to be held accountable for that commitment,” he said, before winning the 2007 election.

Four years later the shortage remains, with more than 6,000 Islanders on a provincial waiting list for a family physician. In 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, P.E.I. had 165 doctors for every 100,000 people, still the lowest number in Canada.

Despite his unfilled promise, Ghiz — the son of former Trudeau-era premier Joe Ghiz — is widely expected to be re-elected on Monday. His government held 24 of 27 seats in the legislature before the campaign.

An opinion poll on Sept. 6 showed the Ghiz Liberals with 59 per cent support among decided voters, compared to 31 per cent for the Progressive Conservatives, led by Olive Crane.

The Ghiz government, however, has been buffeted during the campaign by accusations of corruption surrounding a federal-provincial immigration scheme, in which provinces sponsored wealthy immigrants to Canada in return for the immigrants investing money in local businesses.

The program has long been accused of mismanagement, and the Charlottetown government has never explained where roughly $400 million — paid by thousands of mostly Hong Kong immigrants — ended up between 2008 and 2009.

Last week the campaign was rocked by allegations made by three former provincial civil servants, that Canadian public officials had received cash bribes under the program.

An earlier investigation by P.E.I.’s auditor general found that companies with Liberal government connections had received some of the investor money. The RCMP is now reviewing whether to formally investigate the bribery allegations.

Ghiz, accused by Crane of having his family members benefit from the program, has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the accusations as “dirty politics.”

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Is it time to reassess your job search plan?

Telltale signs that your search tactics need a makeover Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder It's easy to get frustrated with your job search, especially if you've been searching for a while. But not making headway can mean that you need to reassess your approach. Not sure if your job seeking process needs a makeover? Here are eight telltale signs that it's time to rethink your job search approach. You're not hearing back from employers If you've spent months applying and aren't hearing back from employers, it's time to reassess. Most likely, you're not tailoring your résumé and cover letters enough to warrant a response, explains Heather Huhman, founder of Come Recommended, a career consultancy. Also, check for other errors, such as spelling, in your documents. You're landing interviews but no offers Not getting an offer means your interviewing techniques could be out of date. Do your due diligence to find out what interviewing skills you're lacking. "Identify your weaknesses during interviews and improve upon them," Huhman says. "Do this by practicing interview questions with a friend or family member, attending mock interview sessions at a career center or videotaping yourself answering questions." You're reaching too high While it's always recommended to go for your dream job, those dreams must be realistic. Applying for jobs "without the necessary qualifications" can be a waste of time, unless you're willing to take time and build that experience, Huhman explains. You're focusing on job roles not companies Instead of conducting a broad search based on function, tailor your search to specific firms where you'd really like to work. "Focusing on five to ten specific companies of interest in your desired location allows for a much more focused job search," Huhman says. You're depressed A job search is never fun, but if you find yourself getting sadder each day, it's a sign that you need a new approach, says Dawn Rasmussen, founder of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. "If you start to feel down, try volunteering in industry organizations to help increase your visibility, make yourself a known entity, and help build skills during a job search," she adds. You're unaware of your web presence If you've never paid attention to how your name appears online, it's time to start. "Nearly every HR professional now will check Google and Facebook to research potential candidate," Huhman says. Complete your LinkedIn profile, check privacy settings for Facebook and Twitter and make sure any other online forums you've involved in are appropriate for a professional audience. You're not circling back with contacts Whether it's a thank-you note after the interview or a simple email to check in with someone in your network, it's important to keep an open channel of communication with those who've been helping you with your search. "No one wants to feel used, so disregarding new contacts after the initial contact is a huge problem that many people don't realize is killing their job search," Rasmussen says. Your network is not helpful Just because you're spending your time talking to contacts, doesn't mean these are people that can actually be useful in your search. Instead, reassess your network and find contacts that are a match for the industry and position you're trying to pursue -- even if it means approaching well-regarded experts. "Swallow your fear and pursue meaningful connections with contacts relevant to your area," Rasmussen says. You're ready to take any job available Even if you're desperate, announcing that you're looking for any paying job can actually hurt your chances. Take time to figure out the specifics of your job search and ask for assistance based on these requirements. Even those closest to you who would really like to help feel lost without any direction, Rasmussen explains. "Many job seekers fail to understand this basic rule of asking for help: Specifics get you farther in terms of assistance from your network than vague generalities," she says. Alina Dizik researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter