Career Professionals of Canada News Feed
By Adrienne Tom. Every year articles circulate on the topic of “the year’s most overused buzzwords,” cautioning us on the most widely used keywords in resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Yet not all buzzwords are bad. Think about it – most buzzwords are born from employers’ requirements and job postings. If a company is seeking someone who is “effective, driven, or innovative” and you avoid these words in your career communications, it can be risky. Despite the urge to market yourself uniquely, you have to remember that the majority of major organizations…
By Adrienne Tom. So you joined LinkedIn and started a profile – perfect – but then you went ahead and left your profile picture blank. Was this strategic or did you just not want to share it? Some people fear that adding a photo will cause scrutiny or discrimination that detracts from their content – which could happen – but in all honesty, by not including a photo this same judgement is being cast. LinkedIn profiles were designed to include a photo; not including one is going against the norm.…
By Adrienne Tom. There has been a lot of focus and discussion these past few months on Canadian employment issues, including the skills shortage / skills gap, new graduate job stress, and the temporary foreign workers program. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of hurdles for job seekers in our country and each challenge influences job search patterns. A report by Workopolis called ‘Time’ To Work has analyzed employment histories and employer resume-review patterns to compile a “chronology of Canadian career moves”. Some of the most noteworthy facts include: Job hopping…
The Canadian Human Rights Commission’s 2014 Report on Equality Rights of Women finds that employment inequality still exists for Women in Canada. Acting Chief Commissioner, David Langtry says, “When compared to adult men, Canadian women are earning less across most employment sectors.” In the report, he goes on to say, “Canadian women have made important gains on the road to equality over the years. But important gaps remain.” Compared to adult men in Canada: Canadian women earn less income in most employment sectors Canadian women are more likely to be unemployed This…
Statistics Canada just reported the results of a new study providing insight to the Cumulative Earnings of Postsecondary Graduates Over 20 Years. The report followed 15,000 graduates over two decades (1991 to 2010) to determine short- and long term income prospects. The early educational decisions of our youth affect their career development throughout their life. Decisions on pursuing post-secondary education or training in the trades have a significant impact on their earning potential. This report shows that post-secondary graduates tend to fare better in terms of labour force participation, unemployment, and earnings than those…
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap 2014 Report benchmarks gender gaps and ranks countries. Overall, the worldwide gender gap has closed by 4% since 2006. According to the report, “Canada experienced an overall improvement compared to 2006. Compared to 2013, the country saw a slight decrease on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Health and Survival sub-indexes, no change on the Education Attainment sub-index and an improvement on Political Empowerment sub-index, led mainly by more “women in ministerial positions” (from 7% to 25%).” Canada ranks 19 out of 142 countries. Here’s a snapshot of the…