Career Professionals of Canada News Feed
This article has been edited for a career practitioner audience. The original was published on Jobscan.co on February 26th, 2019. By Maureen McCann. Technology is constantly evolving and changing the way people search for work. Years ago, technology made it easy for job seekers to connect with employers via email, but with thousands of résumés being sent to human resources (HR) inboxes, HR departments quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Manually screening hundreds or thousands of résumés was neither cost-effective nor efficient. Enter Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). ATS automated the screening process, freeing humans from…
By Stephanie Clark. Since 2007, when I launched myself as a résumé writer, I have had a broad spectrum of clients. From entry level to senior executive, from every continent (except Antarctica, of course!), employed and unemployed. In this last category, several have landed at my virtual doorstep after being reorganized out by an employer for whom they had worked for most of their careers, sometimes as long as 25 years. After more than two decades with one employer, it’s almost predictable that these job seekers had worked their way…
By Stephanie Clark. Browsing through the Canada Career Month 2018 website led me to reflect on this year’s theme, “I Know I Can Because…” It is an optimistic phrase and so fitting for an event that focuses on the breadth and depth of skills found in our Canadian workforce. It seems to me that when we are young, we are encouraged to say, “yes I can.” But when we become adults, we are besieged by seemingly realistic reasons as to why we cannot. If we share our hopes and dreams, often…
By Stephanie Clark. Fear keeps job seekers stuck in a sort of shallow-breath, anxiety-ridden, deer-in-the-headlights stance throughout the job search. Writing the résumé has them biting their fingernails. Emailing the résumé has them hoping that it will travel safely through cyberspace. Answering a call to book an interview can make them bumble their way through the simple selection of a suitable day and time! The trepidation goes on – I don’t even want to get into pre-interview, interview, and post-interview angst. It’s crazy making! The reasons for all this anxiety…
Employment consultants typically support clients who are going through career transitions. They strive to provide these clients with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to perform a successful job search. For this to happen, clients need to be able to describe their value clearly and confidently, from the beginning to the end of the job search process. They do this through creating and articulating a Value Proposition. We have heard the term “value proposition” used in the corporate world to describe the differentiated brand and value that an organization offers to…
By Lori Jazvac. As the world of work evolves, many can expect to change jobs frequently. Loyalty to one employer, once a commonly held value, is now giving way to the gig economy, which requires a complete shift in mindset. Investopedia defines a gig economy as one in which “temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees.” How do your clients see the gig economy? The term gig economy often makes people uncomfortable. Many believe that it’s a negative thing,…