Career and Job Search Help Blog

TalentEgg: Online Recruitment for Students and New Graduates

 Transitioning from student to adult life can be quite stressful, but exciting too.Getting that dream job after you graduate may not be as easy as you thought it would be. Thats why its important to start planning for that dream job before you graduate.

Talentegg.ca is Canada's most popular job site and online resource for students and new graduates. It was created by Lauren Friese in 2008 after she realized how hard the transition was from school to work. Lauren went to grad school at the London School of economics after completing a BA in economics Queen's University. She found that the transition from school to work was a lot easier in London, due to all of the free career online resources. She based TalentEgg on the UK website Milkround after wondering why we didn't have anything like it in Canada. There was an article about TalentEgg last year in the Financial Post, Lauren said that England had a lot more online resources and job leads for:

“People with lots of education and not a lot of work experience who wanted that ‘first step’ into a career.”

This is how most students feel when they graduate - that they have all this education but no experience and most employers are looking for both experience and education. So, TalentEgg now provides meaningful Canadian summer jobs, internships, full time work, co-ops and entry level positions - perfect for students and graduates. There are thousands of jobs available daily and hundreds of active employers.TalentEgg actually has an Employer Directory which includes profiles of each company  such as:

• Proctor & Gamble
• Rexall
• Bell
• Freedom 55 Financial
• Suncor Energy
• Loblaw, and many more.

The site has a wealth of great information such as comprehensive career guides for many fields such as: accounting, aboriginal careers, Canadian armed forces, consulting, engineering, green jobs, healthcare and many more. There are also great videos on the site which cover a wide range of topics, here is a video about how continuing education can make you more employable

 

At North York Central Library, the business department will be hosting a program How to Hatch Your Career Through Networking with Cassandra Jowett who is the content manager for TalentEgg.

Cassandra Jowett, content manager from TalentEgg.ca will share how she hatched
her own career through networking while she was a student at Ryerson University,
and provide easy-to-use strategies that will help students and grads become
better networkers both online and in real life.

FREE. Call (416)395-5613 to register.

North York Central Library - Room 2/3

6:30 - 8:00pm

 

We hope to see you there! Its okay if you don't get a chancce to register and you can drop in as long as there is space available.

 

Restaurant Management Periodicals

By Ra

A pivotal position at any restaurant is that of a manager. Sometimes an owner acts as a restaurant’s general manager. Other times the manager is hired as an employee. Restaurant managers have a number of responsibilities in the day-to-day business of running a restaurant.

The Toronto Reference Library's Business, Science and Technology Department has many periodicals to help you get current and historical information about restaurant management. Here are some of the most useful titles to which we subscribe:

    

 

 

Other notable titles:

•   Cornell Hospitality Quarterly
• Restaurant Hospitality
• Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly
• Chain Leader: Winning The Chain Restaurant Game

 

It's That Time of Year Again! Revisiting Your Career Plans! (Part 2)

I've long since spent all my money on Christmas gifts. For months, I was beavering away at my Christmas list, buying, wrapping, writing, mailing. Now I'm looking at a new project - ME!

In a recent post, we visited the idea of taking a introspective look at your career. Jobsites such as Monster.ca also has a number of interesting career-related articles. One of them provides unique tips on how to refresh your career.

Here too are some books on the same topic:

     

Distractions at work? Learn how to stay focused

 

(http://www.businessinsider.com/fancy-hands-2012-8?op=1)

I read an excellent article in the Globe & Mail Why you won't finish reading this article at work

Did you know?

• That office workers are interrupted roughly every three minutes? And, once thrown off track, it can take 23 minutes for a worker to return to the original tasks, according to Standford  University Research.
• Reading and processing 100 email messages can occupy more than half a worker's day?
• Open plan offices meant to foster collaboration, subject workers to a non-stop stream of chitchat

Wall Street Journal

And then, bosses wonder why it is hard to get any work done. Maybe you feel like you have bad time management skills, or that you have problems concentrating or getting distracted. But, could it be partly the fault of your own company's modern workday set up? Modern day workers are struggling to get their real work done while they spend most of the day going through internal emails, attending meetings, interrupting themselves with social media urges, listening to co-worker's stories, working on collaborative projects, telling their own stories to coworkers etc. The "real work" which needs to be done often requires deep thinking, which is quite hard to acheive with little everyday, office distractions.

The reality is that often managers push their employees to do more with less, especially with our multiplying screens (see picture above) and increased digital demands/distractions. Maybe you work with multiple screens, or have coworkers who do - it isn't as easy to multitask as you may think, I actually heard on the radio last week that people who believe they can multitask are actually the worst at it.  How does it make you feel? I know that when I'm multitasking, I feel flustered and need to write things down more often so I can remember them.

Some companies are experimenting with different ways to keep workers focused, some are trying to reduce the amount of internal emails while others try to reduce the number of projects workers do simultaneously. At Abbott Vascular , a health care company,vice president, Jamey Jacobs and productivity consultant, Daniel Markovitz realized that the majority of employees were using email to communicate the majority of their issues whether they were serious or mundane. Employees weren't really using the office telephone (I know I'm guilty of this, I think that it is faster to send an email rather than make a phone call), so they told employees to assess the importance of their messages, if it was urgent and complex - use the telephone, email was to be reserved for non-urgent messages. I know that if I did that with my work, it may make my life easier and my work more efficient. I think that emails have a tendency drag out an issue, and have a large potential for miscommunication. Whereas phone calls tend to me more direct and issues can be dealt with faster.

The company Atos, which is just outside of Paris, specializes in global IT services. After an internal study, they found that workers spent about 2 hours a day just managing their email inboxes. This company decided to completely get rid of internal emails. Now, workers can use email to communicate with external customers but they now use an internal social network to communicate with colleagues. 

The reality is that there will always be distractions at work, and they will probably increase as we venture deeper into the digital age. We should also remember that distractions and working under pressure aren't all bad. A little bit of pressure and urgency can actually motivate you to accomplish tasks faster, but it does increase your stress levels.

Check out these books about productivity at work:

                                   

                                                (also available as an ebook)


   

Have a happy, healthy and productive day at work!

 

 

 

 

 

Careers in NGOs

By Ra

There's always a lot of talk about the merits of working for a for-profit organization; but, what about non-profits? “A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a not-for-profit, voluntary citizens’ group, which is organized on a local, national or international level to address issues in support of the public good. Task-oriented and made up of people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizens’ concerns to Governments, monitor policy and program implementation, and encourage participation of civil society stakeholders at the community level.” (Trinity Western University)

If you are interested in working in the non-profit sector – for an NGO or an international organization like UNICEF, have a look at these sites that advertise jobs and provide additional information.

1. NGO Careers: Provides information gleaned from interviews with people currently working in ngo's. Also lists jobsites, internship sites and links to international ngo's.
2. Career in NGOs/Civil Society Organizations: Links to many international and domestic organizations that are seeking either volunteers or full term employmees. Also provides information on the work environment.
3. NGO Recruitment: With two decades' experience in recruiting staff for this sector, this company is a specialist recruitment company. They recruit executive staff for local and international clients.

Books:

   

To further explore our collection of books on NGOs and Nonprofit sector, use our catalogue. 

Online Job Searching Organizers

If I ever have to look for a job outside of the organization, I would certainly check out a couple of online job searching organizers. There are a number of them that look pretty interesting - may be useful for those who are considering searching for a new job and want to keep tabs on the jobs for which they applied. After all, there could be a long time lapse between the time you applied for a certain job and the day they call to invite you in for an interview and you don't want to mistaken one company for another!

FreshTransition is an online tool that allows users to organize all aspects of their job search. Job seekers can track their completed job applications and schedule interviews and other job search events. It's free for job seekers and available at a small cost to employers.

GetHired.com provides job seekers with updates on the status of each application that they have submitted. Applicants are alerted when an employer has shown interest in their profile, and can track their progress in the hiring process until a position is closed.

 

 

GigCart is a job application system that allows job seekers to keep track of and organize jobs they are applying for or want to apply to. Users can conveniently manage jobs in a central location adding more as you progress in the job search.

Pinterest makes it easy for people to keep track of their online favorites by pinning them to boards. Huntsy.com provides a similar tool for job seekers to keep track of job postings and to find connections at companies listing jobs. Huntsy.com helps job seekers organize their job searches, utilize their social networks to find job search help, and manage job application deadlines.

JobMango.com is a free online job search organization tool that job seekers can use to track the positions for which they apply.

Manage your career with CareerTracker feature, upload self-introduction videos and store and manage virtual resumes with CareerScribe.

So you want to get into House Flipping? Come and Learn!

Entrepreneurship is booming right now in Ontario, there are all sorts of paths which people choose, including real estate investments. People have been investing into properties in order to make a profit for a very long time. Now people are taking it further and completely overhauling broken homes, renovating them, re-selling them and making a nice profit! There are so many shows about house flipping like Flip That House, Flip This House, Flipping Out, Property Ladder etc. The problem is most of the shows are American and in Canada the rules are a little different. I enjoy watching them and dreaming of flipping a house myself too!

 

Come join us Next Monday for our last program in our Small Business Series From Renos to Riches: The Canadian Real Estate Guide:

Join Ian Szabo, expert house flipper, and author of the only Canadian title in the field of investing in renovations - From Renos to Riches: The Canadian Real Estate Investor's Guide to Practical and Profitable Renovations. He will discuss how to assess the scope of a renovation project and make wise renovation investments for maximum returns. Learn how to attract and keep tenants, improve cash flow, keep maintenance to a minimum, and how to really flip a house!

 

Hope to see you there!

 

 

How do I Prepare for that Job Interview?

My cover letter caught their attention; my resume was great. Now I have an interview! How do I prepare? I don't want to blow it!

Some things to consider:

Be prepared. Research the company ahead of time--that can give you an edge in answering their questions and also a heads up in knowing what questions to ask them. They will be impressed, knowing you were interested enough in working for them that you took the time to learn about them.

Dress to impress--appropriately to get the job you are applying for. A construction worker, artist, entertainer, business consultant, engineer, architect, actor, health care worker, accountant, teacher all have different skills and job requirements. The first impression can set the tone for the interview.

Appear confident and self-assured. This will inspire confidence in your abilities. I once made the mistake of appearing too confident and too relaxed. We all enjoyed the interview and laughed a lot, but I didn't get the job. Remember, they are not your friends, but potential employers. Even if applying for a job working for a friend, they want to know you are sincere.

Bring several copies of your resume with you. The interviewers will probably have a copy with them and may refer to it. I suggest several copies in case there are more than one interviewer and they don't each have a copy--but YOU are prepared.

BE ON TIME! Make sure you know how to get there and give yourself plenty of time. You never know what may happen on the way to the interview--you may take a wrong turn, run into traffic or delays on the TTC.

Do some practice interviews beforehand, with a friend acting as the employer. If possible, tape these. Then you can see how well you do or where you need improvement.

The library has some books, audiobooks and e-books that may help you--and with a lot more ideas than I have given you. And don't forget the library's Find Your Way to Job & Career Help. There you will find lists of databases, books, and websites to help you be successful in getting the job you want.

Check out some of these:

             

                 

                        

 

Careers in Healthcare

When you think of careers in the healthcare field, what comes to mind immediately are nurses and doctors; but, there are so many other careers that you and I might not think of immediately. For instance, in the hearing health field, you can study to become a Hearing Instrument Practitioner. They provide services such as hearing assessment using an audiometer (or other methods)  to identify hearing issues and select, prepare, alter, adapt, verify, sell and distribute hearing instruments. Audiologists - they provide assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and preventive measures. In the medical imaging diagnostics field, you can become a radiologist. This physician specializes in interpreting the results of imaging exams; some are known as interventional radiologists. They are responsible for the delivery of image-guided procedures and therapies.

According to Statistics Canada, health care and social assistance added 20,000 workers in June of this year. This industry's employment level was virtually unchanged from 12 months earlier.

To find out more about these and other healthcare careers, check out our Career Cruising Database. And don't forget our books!

Job Search - Market Yourself

You are in the Career and Job Search Help blog, but have you checked out the Job and Career Help pages on the Toronto Public Library's website?

It is broken down into sections -- Job & Career Help; Market Yourself; Job Searching; Career Training; Success -- each full of helpful tools, links, online sources, books, and many other resources to help you in your job search.

In the Market Yourself section, for example, there is a listing of New Job Interviewing titles now available in the library. You can place your cursor over the picture of the book you want, click on it, and be taken right to the library's catalogue where you can place a hold on it.

Below that there is a listing of current blogs, such as this one, but related to resumes and cover letters, in other words, "marketing yourself." 

In the column on the right, there is first a listing of Online Tools. Through the library's website and with your library card and pin number, you have free access to online versions of Scott's Business Directories Online, Business Writing, Financial Post (FP) Advisor, and Associations Canada from anywhere in the world.

Below the Online Tools, there are some Recommended Websites and links such as Cold calling: a time-tested method of job-hunting and a Guide to Interviewing Resources from quintcareers.com, The interview game: illegal questions from careerlinkbc.com, and The Riley Guide: Prepare your resume for email and online posting from rileyguide.com.