job interviews/ "22 yr old quits job with condolence card"

Apr. 26, 2019:

Juice Place #4: There is this new restaurant opening.  I attended the interview in Mar. 2019.  It was in a small hotel conference room.


Pros:  

1. It was close by like 1 bus to get there.

2. The hours were early morning to night.  I can work those hours.

3. The duties were handling cash, mixing fruits and smoothies.  There is cleaning and restocking. 

Cons: None.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  I told them my relevant work experience working at restaurants.

May 6, 2019 Driving school: I went to this interview in Mar. 2019.  

Pros:

1. The hours are full-time.  Mon.- Fri. 10am-6pm.

2. The pay is $15/hr.

3. The duties are answering phones, look after the instructors, registering students.

Cons:

1. The interview then turns into how he wants to train someone to be an insurance agent.  I would sell insurance policies.  I told the boss that I only wanted to work as a receptionist.

2. It was also kind of far with 2 buses.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

May 7, 2019 Denture clinic:  I went to this interview in Mar. 2019.  

Pros: 

1. It was 2 buses to get to, but the buses come often.

2. The hours are full-time.  Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm.

3. The pay is $15/hr.

4. The duties are booking appointments, answering phones, some cleaning like dusting.  I have to show sympathy because the patients have lost teeth.  It's not always seniors who come in.

Cons: None.

My opinion: There is going to be a job shadow of 3 hrs.  It would be paid.  I would work there if I got hired.  

Nature company:  I went to this interview in Mar. 2019.  

Pros:

1. It was 2 buses to get to, but the buses come often.

2. The hours are full-time.

3. The pay is $25/hr.

4. The duties are accounting like invoices and checks.  Annual reports, write newsletters twice a year, deal with public and media, emails.  There is some traveling to meetings.

Cons:

1. It seems very hard and with a lot of work.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  I would at least try it out.  I don't see myself as a fit for the position.

May 21, 2019 Juice Place #3: I attended an interview here last year.  I attended an interview in Mar. 2019:

Pros:

1. It was easy to get to.

2. The hours are daytime and I don't have to stay too late.

3. The pay is $15/hr and a free drink.  There is 50% off food.

Cons:

1. I will be working on my own at times.  I would have to call someone so I can go to the washroom.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

My week:


Sun. Jun. 23, 2019 Centre of Spiritual Living: Today I went there.  The Meetup group said all are welcome, and there will be coffee and snacks.  I had free time and checked it out. 

Pros:

1. It was really close by.

2. I talked to a few people and they're nice.

3. The coffee was fine and the cookies were in packages.

4. The sermon was average.

5. There is a library where you can check out a book a week.  There are books on feng shui and self-help. 

Cons: None.  

My opinion: It was a positive experience.  I am open to attending it.

https://www.centreforspirit.com/events

Mon. Jun. 24, 2019 Old friend: My old friend N who I met in Feb. 2012 at the bus stop emailed me last week.  He said to remove his name from this Apr. 2012 post where I put his first and last name on it.  I edited it out.  I think I put his full name on my blog so I can smoke him out and be able to contact him.

It was cool to catch up with him.

Friend's resume help: My friend Dan L. and I talked on the phone about my resume and cover letter.  He said he emailed me his notes about it, but I looked in my inbox and no notes were there.  We met in-person for 1hr and 30min and he mainly said the format needed to be edited.  Also he showed me his resume.

I wrote down notes.  I then got on the computer and edited my cover letter. I then edited all the other cover letters for my office jobs.

Tues. Jun. 25, 2019 Job interviews: Today I went to 2 interviews.

Peer Masterminding Meetup group: I went to this one.  I met 3 women and a man.  I went there because I thought it would help me get a job.  This is a new group that had one event last week.  It was more about entrepreneurship.

Pros:

1. I met 4 new people who's careers are bookkeeping, tech writing, real estate investing, education.

2. They gave me some job advice, books, and websites.  There are some websites I know about already like Fiverr, but I could check it out again.

Cons: None.

My opinion: It was an average experience.  I would be open to attending it.  

Wed. Jun. 26, 2019 Work: Today I went to work.

Job interviews: After that I went to 2 interviews.

Beth Chapman's death: She was on the reality TV show Dog: The Bounty Hunter.  Beth, Dog and the family chase down people who jump bounty.  Dog then gives a pep talk to the people who are going to jail.  I saw 2 episodes.  It's an average show.

She had cancer.


https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/celebrity/beth-chapmans-daughter-tearfully-tweets-youve-got-a-halo-now/ar-AADuFAQ?ocid=spartandhp

Thus. Jun. 27, 2019 "Disrupting 'I do'": Today I found this article by Jen O'Brien in the Star Metro:

The zero-waste wedding

This might be the year confetti sales slump as more couples realize the “best day of their life” could also potentially be the most wasteful. 

With the zero-waste movement going mainstream, eco-conscious celebrations are becoming increasingly popular. Pinterest reports a 181 per cent surge in searches for sustainable wedding ideas since 2018. 

It should come as no surprise that in a time when many people are toting their own straws and coffee cups to the office that they may question spending thousands of dollars on single-use garments and flowers that will go in the garbage at the end of the night.

“People still want pretty flowers at weddings and events, but hopefully the single-use-straight-to-landfill days are over,” says Kalynn Crump, founder of Calgary- and Toronto-based ReBloom. ReBloom repurposes event flowers—picking them up and redesigning them into smaller, bedside table arrangements and delivering them to a seniors’ home, hospice, cancer treatment centre, mental health facility or shelter of the couple’s choosing. Once the flowers have been enjoyed, ReBloom returns to collect them for composting. (Gwyneth Paltrow used a similar floral recycler for her recent low-key wedding to Brad Falchuk.)

Crump’s ReBloom service comes at a cost (fees start at $800 and are based on the size and scale of the event’s floral plan), but Crump says beyond the environmental payoff, most couples see the value in being able to spread the joy of their wedding day. As she puts it, “To give flowers to someone who truly feels forgotten…their smile, their gratitude, it gets you right in your heart and that feeling will never leave you.”

https://thekit.ca/life/wedding/2019-wedding-trends-millennials/

Job interviews: I went to an interview in the morning and another one in the afternoon. 

Work: I also worked at night.

Fri. Jun. 28, 2019 Pancake breakfast: There was this event at work.  I decided to go to it.  I ate a few pancakes, a sausage, and a coffee.  I was there in the last half of the event.

Afterwards, I passed my resume to this new store.

You're allowed to be happy: I wrote about this last week.  I usually plan my fun time in the evenings after I did my work.  When I went to the pancake breakfast, it was in the morning.  However, I did work this week and attended interviews.

http://badcb.blogspot.com/2019/06/beware-big-new-years-resolutions-human.html

Job interview: I went to an interview in the afternoon.  I took a bus and then I had to walk 10 min to there.  I had to stop and ask a woman with a walker for directions.  There was a lot of construction I had to walk through.  The interview was average.  

Friends meetup: I then called my friend Cham, because she was supposed to pick me up.  She said she couldn't find the place so I said I was going home on my own.  I see the bus go by and had to wait 30 min.  At least I was reading a book and it was nice and sunny.

I went home and my parents told me my friend came by.  I called her and she drove back.  I showed her the basement of my home and we talked a bit.  She had to pick something up from me.  I met her dog.

Sat. Jun. 29, 2019 "22 yr old quits job with condolence card": I'll put this under my "laughing about death" jokes and job jokes:

A man used a condolence card to quit his job, and the Twitterverse loved it, prompting dozens to share their own quirky resignation announcements.

Sam Baines, 22, resigned from his job at a call center in Sheffield, U.K. INSIDER reported that Baines turned in his notice because he’s going back to university in September. He told the outlet that the card was meant to be a joke — one he wasn’t worried about because he knew the team would be on board.

"We are a really close team and have a fantastic manager, so we're always joking around and having fun. I knew I had to do something a little more creative when giving my notice to try and get one more joke in before I left!” he told INSIDER.

He added "I knew my boss would find it funny, so I wasn't worried about how they'd take it. I came up with the idea because I was always joking about how much they'd miss me when I was gone, then thought a condolences card would be the perfect way to finish it off.”

_{^{https://ca.yahoo.com/style/man-quits-job-with-condolence-card-160735101.html}}

Job interviews: My parents and grandma went grocery shopping.  My parents dropped me off at this job interview.  After that, they drove me further to this other job fair where I attended another interview.  There were a lot of people, so I told them I will be there for awhile and they can go grocery shopping and home without me.  I was then to get a ride from Cham.

Netflix: Cham and I then watched shows that were exclusive on this.

Black Mirror: I was reading this in the newspaper, and co-workers and friends said this show is good so I watched the episode "Nosedive" which is about social media.  It was strong and well-written ep.

This show reminded me of Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams which is also a sci-fi anthology series.

It's the End of the F---ing World: I read about this in the newspaper and one guy told me about it.  I didn't really like it because it was offensive. 

Midnight, Texas: This show isn't on Netflix.  I then went and checked Global, and they started airing it on Sun. nights at 4:30pm.  They aired the season 2 premiere last week and I was able to watch it on Telus on Demand.  I missed a couple of eps.

"Executives need to be invested in their employees' careers"/ Karine Samson

Jul. 30, 2018 "Executives need to be invested in their employees' careers": Today I found this article by Laurie Schultz in the Globe and Mail:

Laurie Schultz is CEO of ACL Services Ltd., a Vancouver-based anti-fraud software provider.

Having engaged employees at work is a clear sign of a high-functioning organization. Employee engagement goes beyond workplace morale and culture. Rather, it refers to the level of personal investment an employee has in the growth and success of the company. 

When employees are engaged at work, they feel a greater connection to the company and an alignment with business goals and targets. How does a business achieve an office full of happy, engaged employees?

Never discount the power of the C-suite taking genuine interest in the career goals and advancement of their team. When employees feel that their career goals are communicated and valued at a senior level, they are less likely to seek outside employment, even pass over higher salaries, because their personal goals are valued within the company. 

Likewise, employees are willing to take a pay cut at another organization if they feel there is more room for growth there. It’s extremely important as a leader to understand the role that career advancement plays in boosting employee motivation.

Always reject the notion that the C-suite needs to be at arm’s length from employees to be effective leaders. Know your people and understand their hopes for their careers and the future of the business. That means digging in deep with employees to get the most from them.

Embrace vulnerability and transparency with employees to build connections that both illuminate how they can be helped and how they can push the business forward at the same time. This can translate into 90-day learning goals, having a lunch-in to define their career path within the organization or even having a mentor describe the best route to take in order to climb the ladder. 

On a quarterly basis, ACL brings together 10-15 employees for a lunch town hall session to facilitate a chat about what is working for them and what isn’t. Having an open line of communication allows us to identify trends in what is creating barriers to their job satisfaction.

Every organization has individuals who champion the mission and vision of the company in a way that inspires those around them to do more. These are called change agents, which are defined as people who bring about organizational transformation through constant improvement and development.

At ACL, we’ve formalized this in a change agents program, which takes those people and supports them through direct career support from the chief executive and the executive team, additional cash for education, special project participation and high potential for promotion. I invest time in each change agent to ensure they get as much from me as we get from them.

There are many elements involved in an employee’s successful career path. They need competent, effective management and an environment where they have the tools and resources to succeed. 

Employees often model the behaviours of upper management, which is why it’s important to set the tone of the working relationship. Investing time in understanding the needs and wants of all levels of staff shows a commitment from management to ensuring employees are motivated and happy. This is a small gesture that doesn’t go unnoticed.

Twice a year, through an employee net promoter survey (eNPS), we ask employees about aspects of manager effectiveness, work environment and compensation, specifically the importance of their satisfaction with talent management and career development. 

As a company, we have a publicly communicated eNPS target that helps highlight areas where there are gaps between expectation and reality. 

Career growth can have a variety of definitions, from promotion to expansion of skills within your existing role. 

Be sure that if you’re going to ask the question, you’re willing to do something with the answers you get back. Create an action plan for how you are going to improve the areas of opportunity.

Employees are always evaluating the direction of their chosen career in such a competitive hiring market, and they’re prepared to leave if the current situation isn’t suited for them. 

Taking initiative to understand where your employees want to be and helping them get there will ensure that they receive the job they want instead of finding it somewhere else. Leaders play a key role in determining whether employees seek outside opportunities or continue to grow in their position and all it takes is a conversation.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-ceos-need-to-be-invested-in-their-employees-careers/

2 hours ago

Engagement is the new buzz word for how to get employees to work at lower wages so the executive level can achieve their objectives and get paid their bonuses. Truly valued employees always put the company first, demand little in terms of compensation for their efforts, and mumble values about giving back to the company as the mantra that gives them recognition but not true compensation. 

This is especially true for those on the technical side that produce the products and perform R&D. The mantra is to engage them, give them problems to solve. For Sales and Marketing types, to engage them you give them the opportunity to make more money via bonuses from achieving objectives. 

After working at 9 companies over the past 35 years, this is always the same situation. Stay at one company and get nowhere. Change companies and you find out just how underpaid you were before.

The Ladder: Karine Samson: Today I found this article by Doug Firby in the Globe and Mail:

Working in the Arctic and later Fort McMurray as a young engineer, Karine Samson, 30, repeatedly witnessed costly errors on construction projects. She founded Optimal Efficiency to create a solution, recruiting experts from companies such as SNC Lavalin, Boeing and Microsoft. 

The team has released the first two modules of a software suite for management of projects in the construction, mining and oil and gas industries. Born in Beaumont, Que., now based in Vancouver, Ms. Samson graduated from Laval University and started her career with Construction Gély.

My first project was in Salluit [an Inuit community in Northern Quebec] and it was in the middle of nowhere. We were building a runway and some roads in the community.

Before I went to the Arctic, my friends told me, “Don’t go there, it’s too dangerous for a woman.” And when I got there, I was told that women belong in the kitchen. But six months after that project was completed, I was made a project manager [at the age of 24]. I was the youngest person to manage a project for the company I was working for.

After I graduated, my goal was to acquire as much experience as possible in a five-year period. I spent 2½ years on projects in remote areas, and then moved to Fort McMurray so that I could learn English. I worked as a project engineer on a $350-million project in the oil sands.

I realized that the same inefficiencies were in a major project, as there are in small-to-medium projects. Because there is an absence of real-time collaboration, people are not on the same page, and that affects other components of the projects. 

For example, in one case a general contractor did not get updated drawings and built according to the original design. When the mistake was discovered, it all had to be redone. It’s so inefficient to have everything paper-based.

The human brain isn’t wired to see in three dimensions. Moving to a digital platform makes it easier to see conflicts as they develop. It enables us to be pro-active. We don’t just eliminate the paper; we eliminate the old way of thinking.

We began to develop the software in 2014. I’m not a software engineer, but I know how the workflow should be. I recruited a strong team on the technical side. For them, there is nothing impossible. I described the concept, and they make it way better. We have a very diversified team with incredible talent.

Creating a startup company is a lot like starting a construction project. You start with nothing – just an idea. The requirements are not defined upfront. You have your whole vision, and the timelines are very aggressive. I see a startup as sort of the same way. A lot of things have to happen in parallel, and you have to delegate to the experts.

All of my management team are way smarter than me in their own areas. Regardless of the setbacks, we will always find a solution.

You have to put your ego to the side. I encourage thoughtful disagreements. It’s all based on respect.

In hiring, sometimes you find great people with good résumés aren’t a good fit for an organization. I have learned to read the résumés a bit more carefully. I look at not just the credentials, but the attitude. 

I also introduce them to other members of the team and see how they interact. If there’s someone who hasn’t worked out, it’s my mistake. I also learned that the best people are not on the market. I look on LinkedIn for the people who aren’t looking for a job.

I’m married to Optimal Efficiency. I’m working a lot. The only downtime I take is when I have to. We are building an empire and we are all committed to this. Some people criticize me, they say I’m too obsessed with the company. Our goal is to become the world leader in project-management software.

Since a young age, I have always been looking for challenges. I knew an engineering degree would open doors. I was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth. I financed my own education and I bought my own house while I was in university.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/management/article-optimal-efficiency-founder-karine-samson-was-told-its-too-dangerous/

1 hour ago

This is so ironic, the article is about a 30 year old woman who says she's married to the job and you're showing ads of baby diapers!