Blogs

CANADIAN BIOTECHOLOGY LABOUR DAY 2024 The Canadian biotech industry is growing and employment figures are expected to grow the most in the bio-health sector and the bio-industrial sector. Indeed, respectively, these two branches of biotech have an expected job growth …

HOW TO CREATE A MILLION DOLLAR RESUME (Part 1) We have been in the executive recruitment business for over 30 years and have seen a plethora of resume. Before going into detail about creating a million dollar resume, let’s review …

May Day Around the World Spring rites have been celebrated around the world for over 2000 years, and most countries have blended this May time of rebirth and dancing around the Maypole with a time to consider workers’ rights. Worldwide, …

Do You Offer Your Employees a Long Enough Vacation Package? How much vacation time are you offering prospective employees? 10 days? 14 days? How about a month? Vacation Days in North America vs EU / UK: • “On average, Canadian …

Got a work-issued cell phone? Many employees need to use cell phones over the course of their work, and their company might decide to provide a company-issued device to support them. We did an online search about using work-issued cell …

The concept of the “heir” and the “spare” is usually associated with the British monarchy, where the eldest child of the reigning monarch is known as the heir to the throne, and the second born is known as the spare. …

Ideas we’ve gathered for our readers about why people job hop, how your company can recognize possible value in seeming job hoppers, and how to limit hopping away from your company. In May of 2022, the Financial Post reported that …

Secret to Closing the Gap Between Management and Remote Staff A recent conversation – “Is this job 100% remote?” “No it isn’t” “In that case I am not interested.” I have never heard that question and response from a candidate …

Salary Transparency: Consider Getting Ahead of the Curve Are you aware of the new “pay transparency” trend? Consider: • The Ontario Pay Transparency Act, 2018, though delayed “to a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor”,“ will …

“Ghosting is on the rise… 83% of employers have been ghosted by a candidate – some even after the point of hire!”. Ghosting, in the talent search universe, refers to “candidates who suddenly stop replying to emails, don’t show up …

March 2020 seems like eons ago – suddenly workplaces became ghost towns as doors were mandated shut. People lucky enough to keep their jobs began the endless, daily virtual journey to work. This new way of work and communication took …

Yes, FRAMES, not blue light glasses (lenses), another craze. As people in lockdown spend more time staring at laptops and other digital screens, they’re ordering more blue light glasses, despite a lack of conclusive evidence that the glasses actually reduce …

It is only natural for us to want to separate our work persona from our social, family, friend, school self. Our kids, pets, vacations, hobbies, relationships should be another world away from our place of employment, or potential place of …

During this coronavirus pandemic, social distancing has mostly been mandated across the globe. Even before this new era, in order to save on initial interviewing expenses, many hiring managers or HR managers were conducting initial and even follow-up interviews using …

You do often hear the joke “Chief Bottle Washer” as someone’s self-designated job title. Maybe they do do some of that, just pitching in in the coffee room, no doubt. Still, they may in fact be the most helpful team …

On May 15 I wrote an article on “Cool Jobs for Seniors” but omitted a job that the Wall Street Journal brought to my attention. According to the WSJ if you are over 60 and you know a computer language …

Many people are overqualified for their jobs. They may have higher education than the position they are in demands, they may have held higher positions previously , they may have many more years of experience than their company required when …

Have you ever wondered how work started in the first place? Work evolved slowly from the division of labour in primitive hunter-gatherer tribes to medieval farming systems through the industrial revolution, the movement into cities, and the real organization of …

Women should celebrate being women – buy a fun new outfit, go out and toast their age-old mystique and whatever powers and talents men have always known or feared that females possess. Or go see Wonder Woman!! They can still …

Carly Fiorina gave the 2001 commencement address at Stanford University. The most valuable class she took when she attended Stanford was not in Economics or Psychology. It was a graduate seminar in “Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Political Philosophies of the …

The main purpose of a resume is to generate an interview but a few intermediate steps occur between the time you complete and send the resume. One of the most important things you can do is have the resume proof …

“The winter solstice, also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year” (Wikipedia). “This is because the tilt of the Earth’s axis is least aligned …

Dr. Molly Shoichet has recently been appointed Ontario’s FIRST Chief Scientist. She holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and is University Professor of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering at the …

One of the difficult questions facing HR department heads is whether it is better to build up a strong internal recruiting department or leave the headhunting side to a third party. A lot of this depends on the size of …

Whichever side of the divide you are on – either hiring or applying for a position, cultural fit is something that comes into play, and that you have experienced. Cultural fit is the likelihood that a job candidate will be …

What does this mean? Hiring a recruiter on an exclusive basis means just this – you choose one recruiting firm for your assignment and this firm, normally within a reasonable time-frame, has the mandate to find your number 1 choice …

What is the big deal? Brown leather and black leather are … leather! Why the concern? Dressing for success has always been a purposeful, meaningful, activity. So when it comes to what shoes men should wear to an interview: Some …

Retirement involves change. And change is never comfortable. We remember how many times we wanted to exercise more, eat healthier, and lose those nagging few pounds that make us unhappy. And we try to forget how few times we succeeded …

You have been working for Company A for a number of years – along the way, you may have had a promotion or two or three, with more responsibility and the ability to provide more input. Co-workers have come and …

You wake up in the morning feeling sluggish. You drag yourself to the gym with that lethargic feeling, thinking that a good workout will get the neurons moving. But it’s still a struggle. You get to work and you are …

The term CRISPR – Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats – refers to the unique organization of short (partially palindromic) repeated DNA sequences found in the genomes of bacteria and other microorganisms. These sequences form a crucial component of their …

Is it illegal to have a romantic relationship with someone in the workplace in Canada? The real answer is “No”. Discrimination on the basis of family status is illegal, but of course your date is not (at least not yet) …

More and more people are working from home – either for themselves, or for an employer who is happy with having them ‘telecommute’. If you are employed by an organization within driving range, you may be expected to appear at …

So you finally have the great boss/job you were looking for. But that guy/gal in the next cubicle or office or down the hall – it could be a loud voice, rude or off-colour remarks, warming up food with pungent …

Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtime). Actual hours and rates may vary from province to province in Canada, but it seems …

1. Lack of continuity 2. Contractors expect freer rein in what they do as they are the subject matter experts 3. Your permanent employees may find comings and goings of contractors disruptive – People they have just formed working relationships …

So you have been off work for a few months, either due to the labour market, or the labour (maternity) market, or because you had worked for 10 or 15 years, or more, and seriously wanted a break, or due …

With over 7 billion people out there, certainly there is someone who can fill the position you are hiring for. Of course they do not all live in North America, or the UK, etc. but when you put out the …

1) Specialized knowledge and expertise 2) No long term commitment 3) Load balancing 4) External unbiased perspective 5) Financial People have two kinds of families; work families and home families. And if it’s a family business the two families are …

Once upon a time, in a society far far away, rules were rules. Men worked in traditional male roles, such as construction, mining, medicine, accounting, management, executive roles, school principalships, science, mathematics, actuarial, and so on (https://ca.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-male-dominated-industries_3.html). In fact, in …

1. Do you need a job this summer? “The Ontario government — and its partners — offer many programs to help students find summer jobs. You need to apply for most programs. In some cases, the government can connect you …

Someone I interviewed once told me he was writing a blog on this subject. He said he was not happy and motivated at his workplace, and was writing this so that his boss could read it and shape up!!! All …

According to Statistics Canada, people born between 1993 and 2011 fall into this group, which represents 22% of the Canadian and 25% of the US population respectively. Other groups, e.g. in Australia, assign a similar but slightly narrower range – …

How to Annoy your Recruiter One situation that occurs for example is as follows: A recruiter asks the candidate whether they have applied to a specific company and they say “no they haven’t”. In good faith, the recruiter submits the …

An important factor to remember about an interview is that it is a two-way street. Certainly the hiring manager wants to ascertain if you are the right person for the position, based on countless factors such as knowledge, experience, team …

Who makes up the all-digital generation? Lately I was in a restaurant – at the next table, a mere child, no more than 2, was playing with a cell phone, thumbs flying, obviously entrenched in some age-appropriate game or other. …

In this age of LinkedIn profiles and personal photos, one may well ask if a traditional resume is on the endangered species list. The answer is “No” – but it can no longer be the only source of information out …

Most of us have a pretty good idea of the history of the telephone but if you don’t, just Google it. With rotary phones, when it rang you answered it and if no-one was there it kept ringing until it …

According to Wikipedia, “online advertising, also called online marketing or internet advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social media …

If you are confused about the constant references to “The Internet of Things”, IoT, rest assured that you are not alone. An excellent introduction is an article by Bonnie Cha (https://recode.net/2015/01/15/a-beginners-guide-to-understanding-the-internet-of-things/). Bonnie quotes colleague Walt Mossburg’s succinct definition: “The broad …

How do you deal with the fact that you suddenly have a boss who is younger than you are? Why did this happen? What should you do? The cold, hard fact is that the workplace is now a meritocracy – …

In November, 2014 Mr. Poloz who is the Bank of Canada’s Governor told a Toronto audience that “Adult children stuck in their parents’ basements because they can’t find adequate employment should take unpaid work to bolster their resumes as they …

A letter of reference is one in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person in question in terms of that individual’s ability to perform a particular task or function. It is somewhat general in nature …

The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard) is the first of its kind in the world. As Canadians, we should be very proud of this. “Launched in January 2013, it has already …

1. Make sure you figure out the real reason you want to do this – a passion for a field you never thought of in college, something you have always wanted to do, a new tech field that didn’t exist …

Recently Google allowed people who access “Street View” to go back up to 7 years on selected streets so you could see for example how the new Freedom Tower evolved or how the Olympic Stadium in Rio came together. It …

Remember that the purpose of the telephone interview is to get an invitation for a face to face interview – Here are a few tips on achieving success: 1. Receive the call in a private place if possible, allotting enough …

It is well known that Edward Snowden was recently interviewed by Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News Week of May 26, 2014). Apart from the logistics queries as to why his asylum in Russia, it was interesting that Snowden reported that …

There are a multitude of issues facing small companies the first of which is cash flow which includes such mundane but essential items such meeting payroll (which is really part of money management). The question is what is the second …

If you are confused about what Bitcoin is/ bitcoins are, you are not alone. What they are not is a way of converting all your heavy pocket change into a little digital card by depositing coins into a corner machine …

Employee turnover has a surprisingly high cost, yet very little is being done to contain and/or reduce this expense – something which can significantly increase corporate profits. Assumptions: • Turnover in general in Canadian corporations is ~ 7% • Turnover …

5) Financial – Benefits like life insurance, stock options, pension or portion of CPP/QPP or EI are not paid to independent Contractors allowing a company to have a stable cost base and better budget control 4) Flexible – Variable work …

What are contract and temporary workers? Temp workers are short term employees often used to fill short term staffing needs – e.g. holidays, sickness, whereas contract workers are often strategically required specialists, often running special projects or assignments. Recently due …

If a stranger came up to you and asked for your phone number, address, email address, birthday, credit card numbers, SINs, or SSNs, passwords, and similar information on all of your family and friends, you would be horrified, tempted to …

Generally the birth of the internet is regarded as 1993, when Mosaic, the original web browser, was released. [Of course Sir Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, is best known as the inventor of the world wide web, …