Career Musings

Daisy Wright (third from right), a Brampton businesswoman, was recognized with the 2011 Alumni of Distinction award from Conestoga College.

Wright, the founder and chief career strategist at The Wright Career Solution, a career transition firm that helps individuals find jobs and an author, was among eight Conestoga College alumni honoured.

The award is the college’s highest recognition of outstanding graduates who have achieved great success in their careers and made significant contribution to society.

Read full Press Release here:  Brampton Woman Honoured

This coming Thursday, November 24, is the US Thanksgiving, and the Black Friday TV ads are already reaching me from across the border. After all, I am just a mere 90 minutes away from Buffalo. But, because of the prevalence of these ads, a debate has begun between my brain and my pocket. Should I head across the border on Friday? Right now, I don’t know which one will win the debate by the end of the week.

OK, so what does this have to do with my topic? Well, it’s so easy to get wrapped up into the commercial aspect of the Holiday; so much that we forget the real reason for the season. It’s all about gratitude – being thankful for what we have; being appreciative for family, friends and coworkers, and being open to share.  And talking about coworkers, when last have you thanked one of them for ‘just being there’?

According to Jon Gordon, author of the Energy Bus, “the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don’t feel appreciated. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation could make all the difference.”  Can you imagine that a simple ‘thank you’ could determine whether a co-worker stays or leaves? Yes, two small, but very powerful words could make a difference.

Wherever you are today, whether or not you are celebrating the official US Thanksgiving, find a co-worker and tell him or her how much you appreciate them. It could make their day, and yours too!

To your success,

PS: Every Monday, I take off my career coaching and resume writing hat and write a ‘Monday Rx’ post to stave off the Monday blues from which some of us suffer. Why not add your email address in the box on the top right of this page to receive each post? And, while you are at it, ask a friend or coworker to add their email address as well. I appreciate that. Thank You!

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada today, and I am using this space to reflect on some things for which I am thankful. I begin with three quotes taken from my recent newsletter followed by my short list:

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say “thank you?”  ~William A. Ward

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”  ~ Anonymous

Here’s my short gratitude list created on-the-fly, and in no particular order of importance:

• I am thankful to call Canada my home for 22+ years, and for the challenges and opportunities that have contributed to my personal and professional growth.

• I am thankful for Jamaica, land of my birth, and the values that have shaped and prepared me for a wider world.

• I am grateful for my family and friends and the love and support they give so freely.

• I am thankful for my clients who keep my business going and for the referrals they send my way.

• I am thankful for my professional colleagues from all over the world who I learn from each day through social media, webinars and teleconferences.

• I am thankful for the 16 career professionals who contributed their expertise to the second edition of my book.

• I am thankful for my church and my Christian beliefs that keep me grounded.

And in classic Steve Jobs style, “…and one more thing:

• I am thankful to you for reading this post. May you find many things to be thankful for today?

To your success,

If you are reading Monday Rx for the first time, welcome! Since many of us suffer from the ‘Monday Morning Blues’, I use this space on Mondays to send out positive picker-upper messages or other useful information to help us start the week right.

Today’s message is a simple one from Og Mandino’s “The Greatest Salesman in the World”.

1.    Today I begin a new life
2.    I will greet this day with love in my heart
3.    I will persist until I succeed
4.    I am nature’s greatest miracle
5.    I will live this day as if it is my last
6.    Today I will be master of my emotions
7.    I will laugh at the world
8.    Today I will multiply my value a hundred fold
9.    I will act now
10.    Today I will pray for guidance

Select any line that resonates with you and make it your mantra for today.

To your success,

Daisy

The 10^th Anniversary of September 11, brought back so many memories, and while it’s human nature for us to focus on the sadness of the event, today, let’s reflect on the positive aspects of people helping people during that crisis. In such a spirit, and just one day after the anniversary, is there something you could do to help someone, probably a co-worker? By doing so, you will take your mind off the Monday morning blues and focus it on someone else.

Could you be a mentor? Have you had the benefit of a mentor? If you have, you know it doesn’t have to be a long drawn-out process. Mentoring is as easy as having coffee once a week and asking, “How is it going?” It could be an offer to assist someone struggling with their workload, or with an issue that’s in the realm of your expertise. It could be as easy as offering career advice. According to @BoardMtrcs on Twitter, “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” It’s as simple as that!

A survey by CERIC (Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling) states that “While mentoring is more common with people in management, professional and executive ranks, few individuals at the lower level have had a mentor, and among those who have, most value the relationship for the career advice and encouragement they received.”

Do you see a window of opportunity here?  Can you be a mentor to someone who does not fall within the ranks of those mentioned in the CERIC survey? Can you give them the feeling that they are important even though they are not an executive or a manager?

Don’t think you have what it takes to be a mentor? Find another way today, to help out a co-worker!

To your success,

Are you someone who believes that networking doesn’t work for you? If you do, then you may have the wrong concept about the process. It is not schmoozing or ‘brown-nosing’, it’s not about handing out business cards, and it’s not about asking for a job. Networking is about building relationships. Getting to know people who can offer you assistance and who you can also help, and…there are many people out there just waiting to be asked for help.

It is said that between 65-80% of opportunities – job or business – are found through networking. Networking opens the doors to the hidden job market, but most job seekers use it the wrong way. They believe networking is all about asking for a job, and so they irritate people by telling them, on first meeting, how long they have been unemployed and can they help them find a job. They miss out on the relationship-building piece.

Author Job & Success Expert Harvey McKay said, “If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met in my lifetime, I’d have to say it’s the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.” 

What are your networking plans today? Make an effort to contact someone you have always wanted to meet and start the relationship-building process.  Nurture that relationship and see what happens!

If you are stuck in a career or networking rut, pop into our CareerTips2Go Cafe, and let’s talk!

Several of my clients are professional immigrants, aka Internationally Educated Professionals. While they are trying to navigate and understand the job search maze, they are either not working or they are working in survival jobs. Invariably, these jobs are not related to their professions, and some prefer not to mention such jobs on their resumes. Those who haven’t yet found a job face the same challenge – how to account for their time away from the job market.

In a recent survey, a group of Canadian HR professionals and hiring managers were asked “How should candidates address gaps in their employment history?” Nearly thirty-six percent (35.9%) said they should include a statement in the ‘work experience’ section and twenty-three percent (23.4%) indicated that they should give an explanation in a cover letter. Sixteen percent (15.6%) said that candidates should explain (in a chronological resume) where the gap occurred, or they should fill the gap with professional development. From this statistic, it is safe to conclude that 75% of respondents want you to account for the gap.

While keeping the hiring managers’ preferences in mind, here are some additional ways to compensate for, or explain gaps in your employment:

1. Prepare to tell stories about what you have learned in the survival job without focusing on the title
2. Register with employment agencies to get some short-term assignments, or look for freelance projects
3. Use the functional resume format to emphasize notable skills and accomplishments gained from a number of jobs
4. Arrange practice interview sessions with a family member or friend and make sure you are prepared to answer the ‘gap’ question
5. Reflect on some activities you have been involved in and see if you can link those activities to the company’s business strategy
6. Remind yourself that unpaid work is ‘experience’
7. Attend industry-related seminars, engage in professional development activities or gain an additional certification

Employers understand that there are various reasons why someone may have gaps in his or her employment history. Just be honest about it, and always steer the conversation back to the value benefits they would derive from having you on board.

In a survey conducted by The Wright Career Solution in 2010, 65.6 percent of hiring managers and recruiters use social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) to look for candidates, yet in another survey by the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC), almost half (46%), of Canadians report that they do not use, nor are they interested in using social media to advance their career goals. What a disconnect!

Get a copy of The Wright Career Solution’s report here: Survey Results of Canadian Hiring Managers and CERIC’s at  Public Perception of Career Development and the Workplace.

Feel free to add your thoughts here

On August 17, I was privileged to share the podium with The Hon. Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Dr. Yamil Alonso, Program Coordinator for the Skills Without Borders project at the Brampton Board of Trade.

The event was an outreach to employers sponsored by COSTI Immigrant Services and the Brampton Board of Trade and titled The Business Case for Diversity: Hiring and Retaining Internationally Educated Individuals. Read a summary of my presentation in the latest issue of Career Highlights ezine, then click this link to go to the photo gallery.

Last week I was sourced by Globe and Mail columnist, Wallace Immen, for his article on Job Hoppers Need to Look Before They Leap. Some recruiters or hiring managers will toss a resume if they notice too many short term jobs; others will be realistic and look for contributions made or value added in these positions. Although there’s a stigma attached to those who ‘job hop’, job hopping has its pros and cons.

Pros

• It is not frowned upon as it was in the past, given the upheavals in the economy and the rippling effects on the job market.
• It broadens one’s skill-set and makes the individual more marketable.
• It allows the person to work in different environments and bring different perspectives of how things are done in other companies.
• It gives the individual a wider network of people to tap into when seeking other job opportunities.

Cons

• Because of the cost involved, employers are not going to spend time and money to hire someone they suspect will only be with them for a short time.
• The potential employee could be seen as a bad decision-maker, a bad fit, or uncommitted, if he or she  is unable to give an explanation for the short tenure of these jobs.

It’s unfortunate that a lot of focus is placed on job seekers, because the reality is that more employers are hiring people on short-term contracts, which then contributes to higher incidences of job hopping. This common practice also breeds disloyalty as the employee develops this ‘one foot in, one foot out‘ mentality, because they know they can be laid off at any time without notice.

It is time that recruiters and hiring managers take a different approach to job hopping based on these realities and, instead, look for what each individual has accomplished during these short job stints. Job hoppers, on the other hand, who have a high performance record should ensure their resumes reflect the significant contributions they made at these different jobs. This will certainly help to divert attention from the number of jobs, to the accomplishments. Another strategy, though loathed by recruiters, is to use a functional resume format.

One thing that’s often overlooked is that job hopping is a choice for some individuals who consider themselves ‘free agents’ and who enjoy the flexibility to work from project to project then move on. What are your thoughts?