Posts Tagged ‘career’

It’s unbelievable how two years can pass so quickly when you’re having fun. My first day as Laurie’s Mentoring Connections first hire doesn’t feel like it was two years ago, and the memories of each team member joining our team are still very fresh in my mind. Two years sounds like a long time when you have very passionate and excited coworkers who come to the office every single day with the same enthusiasm as their first day at work. [Continue]

If you like the idea of volunteering as a way to build your resume, be strategic when searching for the right volunteer position. Try asking yourself a few questions before starting... [Continue]

"As an FTN, you must be prepared to embrace the BC system, and to forgo some of what you are familiar with. One of the primary challenges is a lack of fluency in spoken English. This can cause a lot of miscommunication between professionals, clients and FTNs. While undergoing accreditation or training, try and get as much work experience as possible that allows you to practice and demonstrate your people and communication skills." [Continue]

I was reading "How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less" by Nicholas Boothman and learned of a study done at Harvard that I found extremely interesting and very applicable to both everyday life and to our networking and job searching. Consider the power of first impressions when you are networking: the people you meet are judging you after only a few seconds, so make sure you are giving a positive first impression. Here are a few suggestions offered by Boothman to help you... [Continue]

The safe thing to do would have been to stay in the same place for my whole life, and enjoy the familiarity of my surroundings. The decision to move away from home would certainly lead to huge changes in my life. But wasn’t it my dream to live a life of personal independence, in a free environment like Canada? Yes! However, dealing with the change has not been as easy as I first thought it would be... [Continue]

You have heard some of the ideas written here before. You may have even tried them. I want to take a look at it from another perspective. Using some of the ideas put forth in the Gladwell article, I would like to discuss the successful tactics of underdogs from other time periods, in other places and in different situations. [Continue]

If you’re looking for a professional job right now, chances are you spend a good part of your day dissecting your resume and cover letter, trying to make it perfect. I encourage you to put down the red pen for a moment, and follow me in a slightly different direction. Why not consider volunteering? The more time you spend in Vancouver, the more you’ll notice that career-focused volunteerism is on the rise, and is a growing way for job-seekers to leverage their free time and gain valuable industry experience. [Continue]

"New immigrants may be unfamiliar with BC building codes, by-laws and regulations, and construction knowledge specific to our Canadian climate. For example, it’s important to be familiar with woodframe construction, building envelope (exterior), waterproofing and thermal insulation." [Continue]

When I started to plan with Catherine a video campaign for our program, the only thing that seemed clear to us was that we wanted to give a voice and face to our mentors and mentees in our promotional materials. After two years collecting success stories from over 300 participants, we were convinced that some partnerships needed the spotlight. However, we weren’t sure if our mentees would agree to speak in front of a camera about the professional challenges they’ve been facing in Canada; we didn’t know if our mentors, Vancouver-based professionals, would agree to take their commitment with our program to a more serious level. [Continue]

Mentoring Connections is an ISSofBC community initiative that brings together Vancouver-based professionals (mentors) and talented immigrants (mentees) from the same professional area. The goal of our program is to ease the transition of skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce with the help of an experienced mentor. Volunteer mentors are not expected or required to find employment [Continue]