There are a lot of good examples of bad video resumes online. There is the notorious case of Aleksey Varney, who was applying for a role on Wall Street, but became the joke of Wall Street. Workopolis has a spoof video resume (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88g12mflK1s) which demonstrates why a self-serving, unprofessional individual should never make a video resume (or read the dictionary too much!).

Having said that, I do believe there are roles where this format would be beneficial. Any role that requires creativity – marketing, advertising, television, radio – would be a good match for this method. Bear in mind that your video needs to be interesting and hold the interest of the observer.

The general advice seems to be to keep the video resume to three minutes or less. In addition to that, I would suggest making your first 60 seconds very interesting. Engaging a recruiter for three whole minutes is going to be challenging, when in fact we can scan print resumes in a much shorter time. In order to keep our interest while watching a video resume, we must be engaged immediately.  Also, be sure to have your video critiqued by people whose opinion you trust and value. Ask them to be blatantly honest with you and stress the importance that this video plays in finding a new role.

Still interested in creating a video resume? Make sure you do the following:

• Dress professionally – business attire is necessary.
• Talk clearly and slowly.
• Look directly into the camera.
• Discuss how you would be an asset to the company. Talk about your key attributes.
• Edit your video until you get it right. Have others critique it.
• Do your homework – watch examples of both good and bad video resumes until you get the idea of what makes a solid video resume.
• Include a link to your video resume on your resume.

 Lori-Anne Cunningham is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

What was difficult for me then is the now a interview norm. So many companies and organizations are using the same type of questions this sergeant did. It seems that questions on past behaviours and situations are very common. As I have learned in my Continuing Education courses, these questions can be used to determine future behaviours. “Can you describe a time that you were under stress and had to make a decision for everyone’s best interest? How did you react and what was the outcome?”

My favourite is “Can you tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult co-worker who wasn’t pulling their own weight?” Reflecting on your past work experiences and preparing yourself for questions like these is just as important as researching the company that you are having the interview with. Being self aware and having the ability to creatively rephrase any negative experiences into positive ones are key factors in having a successful interview.

 Which interview questions have taken you by surprise?

Which job interview questions have thrown you for a loop?

Natalia Rosa is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

What about when you’re in the market for that new “special” someone? Of course! You do the same as you would with the car. You meet, and greet, court, date, build a relationship, and if it all fits into the right frame of the heart, then you establish a long term relationship. Why? Bah … is this author for real? Because you want to make sure that this significant other is the right match for you!

However, there are those of you (you know who you are) that have gotten into cars and relationships without even blinking an eye. Then what happens after the honeymoon is over? Ah yes: that first $300 oil change or first significant disagreement on the colour of the bathroom. After a couple of months (or years depending on the type of relationship) you wake up one morning and ask yourself: What in the HE (double hockey sticks) was I thinking and how did I get here?

Then why in (preferred spiritual icon)’s name do most of you still enter your employment opportunities without properly evaluating them? All of a sudden you find out that being a Fire-person wasn’t the perfect job for you after all. Who knew that you had vertigo! Boy I bet you wished you had been able to see; smell and feel what it’s like in the day and the life of that special career, before spending all that time and money pursuing it!

 Well do I have news for you! There is a new type of business growing in the job market place, which offers just that: immersion experiences! There is a company in the Toronto area called Challenge Factory (www.challengefactory.ca) that does just that. For a small fee, you too can find out what it’s like to be: an Actress; an Architect; a Film Producer; a Librarian; a Marketing Consultant; a Pastor; a Broadcaster; a Journalist; a Politician (get ready to kiss some babies); an Opera Singer; plus many more potential career venues!

Yes you can even immerse yourself into the chair of a President/CEO! Take it out for a spin! See how it feels to be behind the wheel of a company.

Just remember: “with great power comes greater responsibility”

Test drive with care…

Christopher Grice is a Continuing Education Student currently studying with the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

Test drive a job to see if you like it!

First Impressions

The initial impression you make on others certainly plays a huge determining role in how people feel about you and for quite some time. This judgment is magnified at job interviews — an activity designed to make sure you fit in, both personally and professionally. You need to make the best possible first impression at the interview. The perceptual experts tell us we have 6 seconds to make a first impression. That is the visual side of perception. Poor personal grooming and sloppy attire, such as dirty hair, wrinkled clothes and unpolished shoes all give the perception that the individual does not take good care of himself or herself. If they can’t take care of themselves when going to an interview — what will they do when they get hired? What does it say about an interviewee who does not care about personal appearance or punctuality? These can all negatively impact that all-important first meeting. It does not take a lot of time to check your overall interview presentation, and it is all definitely worth the effort.

Beyond the physical appearance, recruiters & hiring managers will get a more personal picture in the first two minutes of an interview. These are often awkward moments that begin with opening questions of – hi, how are you, thanks for coming; did you have any trouble finding our location? Etc. These initial moments are a good indicator of an individual’s behaviour when dealing with the unknown and determining a level of people and interpersonal skills. This initial chit-chat really sets the stage for the rest of the interview going forward and candidates need to take advantage of this opportunity to interact with the interviewer. The sole purpose of the interview is to find out which applicants will be the best fit and asset for the company.  Yet many applicants do not understand this simple concept. Recruiters have a very short period of time in order to determine if the candidate will be appropriate and the most suitable for the position.

Observe Interview Etiquette

During the interview process potential employers will be trying to get a perception of you and assessing your skills from the beginning. There are several   other things you can do beforehand in order to help give a positive perception of yourself to that potential employer. It is important to remember basic rules such as arriving 10 – 15 minutes early and be polite to everyone you meet for the first time, especially the receptionist. These early first impressions and your behaviour will be relayed back to the hiring manager or human resources. Have you ever been in an elevator with someone who applied too much cologne or perfume?

Here is some interview advice: Less is definitely more when it comes to applying a fragrance, particularly in the workplace now as many workplaces have become scent-free and many people have health concerns such as suffering from allergies or asthma. For people who smoke, even more restraint may be necessary. While a smoker is usually immune to the smell of nicotine in their clothes, the interviewer, who is also sharing the same small space, – like an office – may find that odour unpleasant. And if the smoker has tried to mask that smell with mints or strong perfume, the resulting atmosphere may be downright offensive. I personally have been on the wrong side of this encounter as a recruiter and it didn’t leave a lasting positive impression.

Be Prepared

Enlist the help of someone you trust to review your choices at least a day before your interview. Model your interview clothes and style your hair just as you would for the interview. Then have a friend or family member critique your appearance and give you feedback. Ask them to be brutally honest about what works and what you may need to change or fix. Better to find out now at home that an outfit is inappropriate or non-flattering than to discover this after the interview. Next, ask them for some interview advice about some of your non verbal communication cues that may hurt your chances in an interview? Do you absent-mindedly crack your knuckles, jingle loose change in your pocket, fidget in your chair, slouch or avoid eye contact? If your friend or family member finds this behaviour to be distracting, acknowledge the habit, avoid it, and channel that nervous energy toward interview preparation and focus.

Always have some questions prepared to ask the interviewer about the job or company as you never want to say “No” I don’t have any questions. This will show them a lack of preparation, initiative or ambition despite possibly having a great resume.  By making sure your interview appearance is picture perfect and that you are well-prepared, you will leave a positive and memorable first impression.

Clean Up Digital Dirt

It’s always important to watch what you say in an interview but it’s becoming also very important to pay attention to what you post on-line such as on social media sites such as your Facebook page, Twitter, blogs, etc. It’s becoming increasingly common for employers to search your online presence by simply “Googling” you to see what you are posting on-line or blogging about. Employers want to hire someone who will be a good fit within their company structure and possibly represent them within the community. Potential job offers have disappeared after employers have found inappropriate photos or messages posted online. These could come back to haunt you and prevent you from being hired or even accepted into a professional post-secondary program such as law school.

People also have been fired from a job by posting inappropriate photos of their bad behaviour like what happened to many people after their discretions were made public following the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots. Good luck trying to get a reference from your former employer after the fact. It is better to clean up your online presence now by removing inappropriate photos, comments and increasing your privacy settings on such things like your Facebook page so only friends and family may view them…not your boss!

After all, you only get one chance to make a good first impression so make it a memorable one.  To those of you going on an interview soon, good luck and hopefully this advice will help you navigate the process and obtain the position you are seeking.

When it comes to job interviews, perception IS reality.

Greg Thomas has 3 years’ experience in Employment Services as both a Resource Information Specialist and Case Manager.  He possesses a University Honours degree from McMaster University coupled together with a HR Post-Graduate Certificate from Sheridan College. He is currently taking the Career Consultant Certificate at Mohawk and also has been employed within the field of human resources and has lots of direct experience conducting and administering the interview process.

When I ask you the time, don’t tell me how the clock works.

As a Recruiter, I get a lot of questions on how to answer certain interview questions. And while I’m happy to go through standard interview questions, and what potential employers may be looking for, there is a more pressing matter that I need to deal with. There have been countless times when I’ve asked a question and was still listening to the answer five minutes later. Except, at this point, the answer is no longer relevant to the question that I’ve asked. In our society we have an acronym we’ve coined – TMI, which stands for Too Much Information. Remember this when you are in an interview situation. Answer the question at hand. Do not go off on a tangent or, as one of my coworker’s used to preface a change in her dialogue, a fork in the road.

I do feel sometimes that I can write a book on inappropriate responses during interviews. The most extreme example happened to me very recently. The phone interview was wrapping up and, up to that point, it had gone very well. I asked the candidate if he had any questions and he asked me if there was a lot of travel required for the role. “And when I say travel, I mean flying”, he said. I took a breath to answer his question and he decided that now was a fine time to elaborate.

“I can’t fly”, he said.

Now there are people like me who really don’t like flying but for convenience sake, do it as needed. And there are people who are so petrified to fly that they really can’t fly. And then there are those who can’t fly because they are on what’s known as a “No Fly List”. Those of you who are familiar with this list know that it is a list, created by the government, of individuals who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft in Canada (and/or the United States). My candidate proceeded to tell me that, when he was working for a previous employer, he was required to take a short flight to a meeting. He was with another coworker and his supervisor on this flight. Shortly after the flight took off, in his words “something came over me”. He took off his seatbelt and made his way to the front of the plane. He was stopped by a flight attendant who asked him to return to his seat. He explained to her that he needed the pilot to turn the plane back. She stood up and again asked him to return to his seat. He then picked her up and forcibly returned her to her seat and made his way to the cockpit. He claims he opened the cockpit door and said to the pilot that he wanted them to turn the plane back or he would do it for them. At this point, the flight attendant had notified his coworkers of the disruption and he was manhandled back into his seat. He stated that his supervisor sat on him for the rest of the entire flight. All of this earned him a spot on the prestigious No Fly List.

 What would possess someone to divulge that kind of information? A simple “I’m afraid of flying” would have sufficed, end of sentence.

As I said, this is an extreme example but I’ve used it to highlight my point. Stick to the question at hand, answer it as succinctly as you can. Nerves can play a big part in this, as some individuals will have a tendency to ramble on.  But be aware of that when you’re in an interview situation.

One of my favourite sayings from the aforementioned coworker is, “When I ask you the time, don’t tell me how the clock works.” Words to live by!

Lori-Anne Cunningham is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

I find myself complaining about work situations with despair and exasperation, yet it is so easy to remain complacent and not do anything to improve the situation.

Looking for a better job and dreaming won’t cut it. Going back to school to rediscover a passion and increase employability is a thought that crosses my mind as well. But what I feel really will help is volunteering.

Spending some of your free time at an organization of your choice shows employers that you are dedicated to learning and have a have an appreciation for the community.

Yes you can!

As the options in front of me seem to dwindle and the opportunities few, I feel that volunteering will open up the doors to personal and professional growth because you will learn and be exposed to current practices, regulations and resources that are absolutely invaluable.

Natalia Rosa is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.

Well in the world of cover letters and resumes it’s roughly the same principal. Think about it! You have spent several years either honing your skill set, or educating yourself to get recognized as a valued contributor in a career vertex of your choice. Hmm sounds similar to that movie producer? Does it not? How you get yourself noticed depends on how you promote your wares. In the realm of job searching the cover letter now equates itself to the movie icon appearing on the browser.  The image portrayed through words on the cover letter, must be compelling enough, that the reader is enticed to know more. If the potential employer turns the page (or clicks on the attached resume icon) then the cover letter has done its job. Now it’s all up to the resume (aka the trailer), to bring it home to cause either a click to reply or even better a phone call.

Therefore, as you prepare your cover letter and resume for the next job opportunity, take the time to click on a couple of movie icons, and notice how quickly (or how slowly) the producers are trying to grab your attention. Was the movie icon was appealing to you? How was it appealing? When you viewed the trailer, did it compel you to purchase a ticket or close the window after the first 3 seconds? By putting the effort into promoting yourself as would a movie producer can produce positive results. It will make the difference between getting a request to see your feature presentation, or being quickly brushed aside for to make room for the next “big ticket” trailer.

Christopher Grice is a Continuing Education Student currently studying with the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website, www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca

When it comes to job search, you’re the show!

There are a variety of groups; from the Canadian superstars like the World Wildlife Fund and the David Suzuki Foundation to local groups like Burlington Green and Earth Day Hamilton.

These organizations play a vital role in the environmental marketplace. They are able to advocate, educate and demonstrate in ways that government, corporations and small business can’t or won’t.

An Ottawa based, consulting firm, ‘Foot in the Door’, has a motto, ”World Changers Wanted”. They make the following observation. “People don’t wind up working in the non-profit sector by accident. It’s a values-based choice and this is why it is so competitive!”

Environmentalists have the view that the fate of human life as we know it will be determined in the next few decades!

As in many occupations, some employers will want a first and second university degree or a degree and a diploma before being ‘short listed’ for a competition. But this rule of thumb is not universal.

Unlike many occupations, people who work in this field come from a variety of academic and life experience backgrounds. With a few exceptions, such as a certified energy auditor, there is no license or certification required.

Here are nine common competencies or skill sets derived from an examination of three dozen postings jobs in the ENGO sector Not every position requires each item. However, computer applications and the Internet are ubiquitous tools required to complete almost every task in these categories. If you are interested in this field, compare your current skill set and educational plan to the items on this list.

1.     Editorial: The newsletter, website, Facebook and blog: All groups are communicating their message through words, pictures and videos. Clear crisp and ‘politically correct’ copy is required.

2.     Education: Education Workshops, seminars, in-store displays, school events and household visits are all opportunities to ‘get the word out’ to the funders, donors, and clients. Tasks include the development and presentation of material.

3.     Event Management: A typical group may have an annual ecological festival, seminar, and conferences all of which will implement strategies developed in the event management field.

4.     Fund Raising: Unlike the broader public sector and business, some of these groups rely on fund raising activities to keep solvent.

5.     Grant Writing: The vast majority of these groups receive almost all their funding from government agencies, boards and commissions and public and private foundations. This ‘life and death task’ is frequently assigned to the executive director. Nevertheless, some organizations will welcome the input of junior staff.

6.     Management and Administration: The effective use of time, talent, and treasure is a measure of any type of organizations. Your skills and experience in this area will add value to the organization.

7.     Research: Research skills have been developed since you did your first ‘Google’ search. There is more to this skill than Google, cut and paste. The development, administration, and analysis of structured survey questionnaires, focus groups and the new trend of World Cafe all fall under this category.

8.     Visual Design: We are a visual society. Some digital photography and graphic design and page layout techniques will make everything from the Annual report to the Executive Director’s Power point presentation stand out.

9.     Volunteer Management: Most organizations have volunteers and interns. Someone needs to recruit, train, supervise and give them recognition.

Soft skills or people skills are also required. Many experts argue that these skills are necessary in almost any occupation.

The discerning reader will notice one omission- ’Subject matter expertise’. Why was it left out? Surprisingly, it is frequently not a mandatory requirement of the position. A quick learner will be able to grasp many of the fundamentals of issues such as energy conservation or the value of local food without having to understand all the complexity global energy system, peak oil and the global food system. Nevertheless, it’s likely you will find the staff people in these organizations very knowledgeable about these issues. If you are hired, be prepared to do a lot of learning on your own time.

Most of these groups are clustered in three areas in the province:

1.     Ottawa

2.     The Golden Horseshoe (centred on Toronto)

3.     The Golden Triangle (Waterloo Region and Guelph)

Another characteristic of this sector is that most of the work is project and contract based. The organization is always looking for money for core operations or for new projects. Failure to find the money means that you may be looking for work again. That is a fact of life which will test your resolve.

Mike Fellowes is a Continuing Education Student currently studying within the Career Consultant Certificate Program at Mohawk College. MCACES offers a comprehensive Employment Advisement program for our students. For more information about Employment Advisement, please visit the MCACES website,www.mcaces.ca or contact Lidia Siino, Employment & Communications Specialist at Lidia.siino@mohawkcollege.ca.