Top 10 Canadian Companies to Work For

AMEC Americas Limited
Oil & Gas, Mining Metals, Transmission and Distribution, Nuclear, Renewable, Bioprocess, Power, Federal Government, Water, Transportation







Cameco Corporation
Mining, Fuel and Power, Fuel Manufacturing










Digital Extremes
Gaming Industry, Programming, Artist, designers







Enbridge Inc.
Alternative Energy, Petroleum Products Transportation and Storage, Natural Gas Transportation and Storage, Gas and Distribution, Renewable Energy, and Emerging Technologies





Goldcorp Inc.
Gold Mining, Exploration, Extraction, Processing and Reclamation






Johnson Inc.
Insurance and Benefits Providers







Loblaw Companies Limited
Food Distributor, Leading Provider in Merchandise Products, Drugstore, and Financial Products and Services








Mountain Equipment CO-OP
Products and Services for Outdoor Activities







Research in Motion
Designer and Manufacturer for the Blackberry Smartphone, Create Solutions for worldwide mobile communications market








Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
Automobile Manufacturing

Click on the links to see the career opportunities!

A.N.

10 Tips for a Professional Portfolio

1. Invest in a high-quality, leather portfolio with a zipper

2. Keep all articles, design samples, posters, or other materials that you may have worked on

3. Make sure your pieces have not been ripped out of the publication

4. Paste articles or smaller items on lightly colored paper and use double sided tape

5. Keep your pieces in chronological order as much as possible

6. Make an online portfolio

7. Paste the original copies in your portfolio

8. Add to your portfolio as you grow professionally

9.Include any certificates or special awards you may have received

10.Don’t forget to bring it with you!

A.N

10 Tips for Success in School

1. Eat Breakfast

2. Wake up 15-30 minutes earlier in the morning

3. Get a good night's sleep

4. Prepare everything the night before i.e. lunch, lay out clothes

5. Stay organized

6. Create a routine, and stick to it

7. Review your notes and homework

8. Eat healthy snacks, low sugar

9. Work out

10. Don't be afraid to ask questions

AN

Perfecting Public Speaking

Typically, contact and structure are less of a problem for presenters than is the issue of style; as only 7% of the words you say make it to the audience. When presenting the most important aspect keep your presentation free of negative behavior. Eliminate anything that detracts from communicating solid, benefit-oriented information in an engaging format.

Which type of speaker are you:

The Slow Talker speaks at an unnaturally halting rate that makes the audience want to jump out of their seats with impatience.

The Low Talker speaks quietly, generally with eyes cast down. This awkward shyness eventually makes the audience so uncomfortable they forget what is being said and concentrate on the speaker’s embarrassment instead.

The Droner just doesn’t know when to stop. The presentation goes on endlessly, with no respect for the audience’s time.

The Double Talker presents a few substantiated facts and tends to over-promise. His or her proposals sound too good to be true.

The Techie presents too many details and little bottom-line content. Techies often get bogged down with charts and graphs that are difficult to read and understand.

The Stiff stands behind the podium with hands folded, reading from a script, making few if any gestures, and simply bores the audience to death.

The Apologizer destroys his or her credibility by making excuses, often right at the outset, which can sabotage the entire presentation.

The Twitcher is a nervous presenter who may repeatedly grin, grimace or make other repetitious motions, such as pointing a finger in the air for emphasis or swaying from one foot to the other.

The Show-off gives more glitz than substance, offering few relevant facts or solutions.

Ultimately to be an effective communicator and presenter the Straight Shooter is who you want to be most like.

The Straight Shooter makes eye contact with the audience, uses natural body movement, and may even move around the room instead of standing stiffly in one spot. The straight shooter uses direct language so everything is understandable and clear.

Tips:
· Make sure your appearance is well presented
· Practice makes perfect
· Speak clearly and adjust your voice; don’t shout for the sake of being loud
· Effectively used, a pause in your speech can be used to emphasize a point
· Make eye contact with your audience; this helps to build trust and a relationship

“The greatest enemy to your human potential is your comfort zone.”

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

AM

7 Mental Mistakes

We tend to accept our thoughts the way we’d never accept the same ideas from someone else. Below are 7 bad thoughts people typically tell themselves when considering a career change or challenge.

1) “I don’t know how.”
- No one knows how to do everything. That’s where the word LEARNING comes into play.
- Better thought: “I need to find some way to do this and will start finding out by…”

2) “I don’t think anyone would hire me to do this (or would buy this or be my client).”
- This line is famous for completely giving up. If you don’t want to give up stop recycling the past experience of no one being interested.
- Better thought: “I have to find the right people with the right needs/interests”

3) “Why try that? I’m just not good at it.”
- Just like learning, to be good at something you must PRACTICE; also you generally aren’t the best judge of how good you are.
- Better thought: “I haven’t been too great at that so far, but it it’s important for me to do, I can certainly learn how to do at least an OK job at it.”

4) “I screwed up. What an idiot I am.”
- The bigger success the bigger the past screw ups in most cases.
- Better thought: “How can I make sure I do that better so I don’t screw up next time?”

5) “I’d love to…but”
- If you would really love to do something there should be no buts.
- Better thought: “I’d love to do X, so I need to figure out some way to do it.”

6) “I’m too old to change careers.”
- You are never too old, typically this means you are afraid of going back to school or face younger bosses in a new field or face illegal age discrimination.
- Better thought: “Because I am really experienced, I know how to learn and can more quickly though a career change.”

7) “I’m too inexperienced to get the job/career I want.”
- A common variation of the “I don’t know how to” thought.
- Better thought: “I’m going to brainstorm 100 ways I can get experience I need.”

Source: www.choosingacareerblog.com

AM

Top 10 Tips for Job Hunting

1. Get Informed - Research sectors, industries and organizations

2. Be Self Reliant - No one is going to do it for you, so show your initiative and get out there!

3. Try Work Shadowing - This gives you a great idea if this is a job you would want and which skill will be essential to your success.

4. Volunteer - This will give you invaluable skills, and is highly valued by most employers.

5. Network - Tell everyone, friends, family, and neighbours. This is crucial to be aware of all your potential opportunities.

6. Polish your cover letter and resume - Use all your resources to perfect your cover letter and resume such as the career centre.

7. Target Applications - Get a job description, research company info, and web sites.

8. Be Flexible and always have a plan B- Careers rarely run smoothly and everyone has to start somewhere.

9. Prepare for interviews - practice, practice, practice. Come and have a mock interview to refresh your interviewing skills.

10. Don't Give up- It is important to realize that you could be rejected, so stay strong and keep going.

A.N.

Dodging Your Quarterlife Crisis: Five Strategies for Fulfilling Your Dreams

You can’t make any decisions because you don’t know what you want. And you don’t know what you want because you don’t know who you are. And you don’t know who are because you’re allowed to be anyone you want. Welcome to your Quarterlife Crisis – that uncertain time of transitions from classrooms and professors to cubicles and bosses.

Experts say this crisis hits people in their 20’s, because after years of learning the system of how to success in school, college grads are thrown into the world of work with no real understanding of how to succeed in it. Studies show that people in their 20’s are working shorter tenures at multiple employers – unlike their parents, who had more clear-cut career paths and more loyal to employers.

Here are five strategies you can take to right yourself and get back on track for fulfilling your dreams.

1. Develop realistic expectations.
Develop a mentoring relationship with someone in your same profession and learn the steps it takes to make the kind of progression you to hope to make.

2. Take time to discover your passions.
Many people fall into a quaterlife crisis because they take the first job offer after college and embark on a series of wrong jobs/careers. Spend some alone time conducting some serious self-assessments. What are your passions? What are the types of activities you love accomplishing? What do you dislike? What first inspired you about your college major? Beware your passions may change as you experience more things and grow as a person.

3. Set goals and visualize your future.
It does not do any good to have realistic expectations and an understanding about your passions if you do not have a plan for progressing in your career. Where do you see yourself in five years? What type of job do you envision? What type of life do you want?

4. Consider changing careers.
You may find during this process you notice that your current career is not for you, which is perfectly okay (even if you are already on your fifth career). If you are unhappy with what you currently do, if you dread going to work in the morning, if your work is causing you to be (mentally or physically) sick then you must make a change.

5. Cultivate a positive meaning/definition of success.
Many 20-year-olds have a too materialistic definition of success. You must stop judging yourself by other people’s standards and develop your own. How do you define success? What gives you the most satisfaction and happiness? What gives your life meaning? Remember that many of the so-called trappings of success such as money, material possessions, etc. are strictly the results of success; not the definition.

Source: www.quintcareers.com

A.M