Career Advice

Posted by Paym Bergson

This week's article hasn't even scratched the surface of the many possibilities within the Health industry, and I will probably continue with this theme in the next few weeks. As our population ages, the need for Health Centres and qualified staff grows significantly. We all know about the doctor and nurse shortages. However, not everyone wants to BE a nurse or doctor, but still wants to work in this caring environment.

So, future articles will touch on pharmacy opportunities, more hospital jobs, and other Health professionals such as Chiropody (stay tuned to find out what that is!)

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Copyright July 22, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

Even though I normally promote Temp Agencies as a viable work stream, it is disconcerting to read about unscrupulous agencies as in this week's article. What disturbs me most though, is that potential employees actually feel compelled to sign these one-sided contracts. What is so wrong with going to another agency? If the practice is not as prevalent as the industry would like us to believe, then potential employees would have alternatives - and the "bad" agencies would disappear or have to clean up their act due to lack of employees.

So what's wrong with this picture?

First, potential employees have to realize they do have rights, and not all Temp Agencies are alike. DO NOT sign any contract - you can always think about it, and check elsewhere. If most of the agencies in your area seem to be this dishonest, try one in another area. Or see if you can change your lifestyle and accept night work at a company. Many companies need full time workers in all areas for a night shift - this is not just stocking shelves, but with 24 hour promised service, many companies are implementing the midnight shift for office work.

Second - employers need to see employees as real people, not pegs to fit holes. If everything must be legislated to get this idea across, so be it. While it is never good for the economy to have one side more powerful than the other, at least unions forced big business to look at working conditions for employees and not just profits.

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Copyright July 9, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

It's Canada's B'day today (July 1), and I started wondering what I would do at that age to keep myself in shape, both mentally and physically. Canada has evolved as others do, but in a different way. We strive to accomodate ALL people's beliefs and traditions, and sometimes we do that too much. In the end though, it has been worth it overall.

If I was Canada, I'd tell people that to live and thrive you need to keep your mind active. Keep learning, keep going to school. Learn from those younger than you; learn from those older than you. Don't let experience get in the way of HAVING experience.

Keep your body active too! Walk, skip, hop, dance - just have fun while moving your body. It's the only one you'll have, so respect it, but enjoy it. Whatever shape you're in - admire it, accept it, and live in it to the fullest.

Make sure you have friends - BE a friend. Don't let negative people influence you - get rid of them in your inner circle, and only deal with those who are negative as little as possible.

And if you do nothing else today - smile! Not only is it catching and infectious, it makes you kinda smile inside as well. Even if you don't really feel like it in the first place. I make an effort to smile especially when I am down. I find others all of a sudden are smiling at me - and that makes me smile even more, and gives me a good feeling inside. So pass it on - smile - you too make live to 141 as well!

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Copyright July 1, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

The internet never ceases to amaze me! After posting my most recent article, a sponsored ad caught my eye - yeah, I know, who ever looks at those ads, right? I do admit I like to see what pops up with my articles and other articles here at Suite - but sometimes I just laugh at the titles and move on.

Anyway - this ad looked great - Education Job Fairs Online or something like that - the ad was about a specific Job Fair online for Canada right now, hence my interest. It's for the Education industry (duh!), and I am truly amazed at how this site integrates technology to create a terrific online job fair - there are chats going on, booths set up that you can wander around, information you can pick up - all right in the comfort of your home.

So, coffee in hand, I perused the site. Nada for me at this time, but I intend to bookmark this site and come back - often. Upcoming job fairs include Australia, United Kingdom, First Nations, and ESL. Check it out. And if you know of any other Online Job fairs - let me know, I'll showcase them here.

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Copyright June 16, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

Finding a job can be very frustrating, and it's hard to keep your spirits up as the job search stretches into months. While this week's article on Having Trouble Finding A Job gives you some tips on survival, it still will really depend on you to keep your attitude positive.

Just don't get caught into the trap of blaming yourself, or others, or a company. If you can, try to find out why you didn't get an interview or the job. While most companies will only give you a basic "if you did not receive a call, your resume/cover letter was not what we were looking for", some might actually give you more pertinent information. And make sure you do go over your cover letter to the job advertised - maybe you are missing something.

Keep looking, keep hunting, and keep taking care of yourself, too.

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Copyright June 2, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

Well readers, it has been a strange week! Lots of new contacts in my inbox - and this will make for some great articles in the near future! Unfortunately, the flu bug has held me down for a bit, but I should be able to follow these great leads shortly!

Upcoming articles will include some neat new career choices, and of course updating your important business documents. So stay tuned to Career Advice!

On a personal note, I'm plugging along at my Masters - it's a fantastic course and online University - so I just might do an article on how you too can achieve education goals through accredited online education. It can be a murky field out there - and yes, you do have to be careful on your choice of university - not all are really accredited.

I'd be interested in hearing your own education goals and situations with online education - so please drop me a line when you can - or post in any discussion thread!

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Copyright May 23, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

I’m thinking of changing careers. It’s that time again – and it’s déjà vu all over. Those who know me and previous columns might remember my diatribe with spiders. Well, I’ve moved, and d-mned if the things haven’t followed me, or sent out a telepathic message. “C’mon over to this house! It’s warm, and the household does not believe in killing insects! Ya just get thrown out, and so ya come right back in!”

Mind you, the spiders are different. Bigger. Just what I needed.

So I need to become a Spider-Buster. Any help on this mid-life change in career would be greatly appreciated. So far I’ve called a few exterminators, but all they offer is to fumigate IF the house is over-ridden. And I was told I’m too squeamish to bother training as an exterminator. So cross that off the list of career choices.

Maybe I should offer a reward to the one who is able to guide me – yeah right. I can see it now – Mr. Spider comes to my door, rings the bell, is dressed with a baseball cap, armed with papers under three of his legs, and two reaching out asking for the money.

Guess I’ll go to a Coach. At least it will be an even match – for me.

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Copyright May 7, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

I'm really getting tired of online job sites - so many just post scams or old postings. To be fair, the job sites should not have to verify that the postings are real. But to not archive old postings (let's say six months or more) is just false advertising that the site has more postings than reality.

Monster's new look is a real pain. Now I have to figure out which of the myriad of categories I think an appropriate job might be listed under - as I am limited to a max of 20 categories per search. I tried this a few times, then gave up. It was a frustrating experience which yielded no perceptable gain on results due to my efforts.

My favourite (um, my OLD favourite) is now a site to be avoided. Craiglist is a free posting site, and I (and others) used to be able to pick up some good contacts, work, etc. Now, it is filled with "earn while you sleep" type of ads. Yep, I did answer one of those, to see what it is about. Anything where you pay a "start-up fee" and get money for "signing others up" is a scam, no matter how many times someone tells me they made money on it. Yeah right, you made money by signing other suckers up.

So, anyone have a good job site out there? Feel free to vent about your own personal experience too!

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Copyright April 21, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

I remember when I first awakened to the fact that you can be judged by your shoes. Working backstage, I usually wore my capezio's as they were quiet but had enough grip so that I would not slip - but still easily and without any noise run errands between stage right and left. One professional told me he trusted me, because of my shoes. I was shocked, and asked what he meant. "They are neat and appropriate for your work". I looked at his shoes - black, shiny, patent leather, pointed, and polished to a hilt. While the person was a pain, I always remembered his words, and they do apply.

Messy shoes mean you did not take the time to really look yourself over. You'll miss details. Old shoes show you want comfort, or resent change. Quick repairs you've done yourself (and it shows) means you'll do patchwork to keep something going. Those 12" stilettos - you're there for the look, not the work.

And black, pointed, shiny, patent leather shoes? You are fastidious, pay attention to detail, but can still be a pain! Or is this getting a bit thin?

So, what do your shoes say about yourself?

Read the article that prompted this blog - Putting Your Best Foot Forward.

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Copyright April 16, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.

Posted by Paym Bergson

Keeping up a weekly blog has its limitations. Too much and it becomes an article; too little and it is just a passing comment.

I think Cover Letters and Resumes often face a similar dilemma. How do we know when enough is enough? If there's too much we take the chance of turning off the employer if it is not about what s/he wants to read; too little and we get passed over as we still haven't hit the magical words.

Yes, sometimes I do think it is a game, where we kinda know the rules, in a general fashion (we need to send a Resume and Cover Letter), but the specifics of the game change with each person who reads our Resume/Cover Letter. So, we try each time to find different ways to catch the attention of the prospective employer - or at least we should.

More on this in upcoming articles.

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Copyright April 1, 2008. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.