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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Know Yourself Before Choosing a Career


If you are at a point in your life when you feel like you should choose a career or are making a change in careers, you’ve likely been considering the importance of choosing the right career.  There are so many options out there and it can be a very difficult decision.

Some of the questions people often ask themselves include,

Should I choose a career that has room for advancement?

Should I base my decision on money?

Should I just choose something I love to do?

The truth is that no one can make your decision for you and sometimes that makes it even harder.  But if you take some time to get to know yourself and you are aware of what values are most important to you, making this decision will be a little bit easier.

Knowing yourself well is the key to making the best decision about your future career.  Most people think that they know themselves fairly well, but that is an assumption.
Have you ever really questioned who you are, what is important to you, what kind of ethical standards you have, and what values you hold?  Most of us don’t until someone pushes us into thinking about those things.  And if you’re coming right out of school, you might have some pretty big influences (like parents and teachers) that have pushed you towards a certain career (purposefully or not) that isn’t really suited to who you are.

Question Yourself


The key to really knowing who you are so that you can choose a career that you can enjoy for many years to come is asking yourself some hard questions.  They seem easy but sometimes once you start thinking about them you may discover that there’s more to your answers than you previously thought.

Here are some questions to get you started:


  1. When am I happiest?  Think back over the past few years of your life and figure out what you have been doing when you were happiest.  Were you writing, working with other people, designing a website, or working with your hands?  The answer to this will give you a good start on figuring out what career you should go into.
  2. What am I doing when “time flies”?  You all know what this means. There are certain things that you do that make time go by really fast.  What can you do for hours at a time and not even realize that you missed lunch?  What kinds of activities get you so involved that you don’t even realize that it was time to go home?
  3. What do I want to do with my life?  This is a more general question but it is still important?  Don’t think about the career in particular but think about what you want to accomplish. Do you want to contribute towards a cleaner Earth?  Do you want to make people’s lives better?  What kind of people?  Older people? Children? Families? Business people?
  4. Do I like spending my time outdoors or indoors?  This is going to affect the type of career you choose.  If you hate being under fluorescent lights, an office job obviously isn’t for you.  If bugs and weather bother you then you shouldn’t choose a career as forest ranger.
  5. What can I talk about for a long time and never run out of things to say?  Whatever it is, this is a topic that you are passionate about and passion will take you a long way in any career.
  6. Do I like people?  I mean, generally, are the more people that you meet that you like to be around that people you don’t?  Or do you find yourself getting annoyed with people?  Knowing whether or not you like people will help you rule out a lot of jobs.
  7. How competitive am I?  Some job fields are very competitive and take a lot of work to get into a career in that field.  If you’re not a competitive person you’ll want to be sure to choose a career path that doesn’t require you to fight tooth and nail for every interview you get.
  8. Am I a gypsy or a nester?  Nesters are the type of people that need to find one place to settle into and prefer to stay there for a very long time.  Gypsies like to discover new places and meet new people.  Some jobs are meant to keep you in one place where other jobs will have you travelling to new cities, states, and even countries on a regular basis.  If you’re not ready to get up and go as needed, you can rule out certain careers that require a lot of travel.
  9. How much am I willing to invest in education?  Most careers require that you get at least some kind of secondary education. The question is how much time and money are you willing to invest in this part of your career path?
  10. What movies and books have really touched my life and impressed me?  Movies and books don’t seem to have much to do with careers but they can tell you a lot about who you are and what you want to be when you grow up!


It can be really difficult to answer these questions about yourself because you live with yourself every day.  If you’re having a hard time answering these questions, go to your friends and family members.  The can sometimes pick up on things that you don’t notice.  They might be more aware of the fact that your face lights up after you’ve spent the day volunteering at the animal shelter or that you get particularly excited when you solve someone’s computer problem.

Get to know yourself really well and you’ll find it much easier to choose a career.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

When to pay for a resume


When one wants to try and achieve something more than they are capable of doing on their own, they often seek help. That help can come in handy when something important like your resume isn’t showing you as the top quality candidate you can be for better jobs. If you feel as though your resume is lacking and isn’t providing you with the potential opportunities for gainful employment you want, it may be time to consider paying for professional resume writers.

They are in tune with what employers are looking for and definitely can help you get more notice when trying to find a job or even advancement in your current career. There are some definite advantages for those who are seeking professional resume writers, and some of those are as follows:

·         Formatting: Professional resume writers know which formats are acceptable and which ones tend to be shunned by HR. It definitely is helpful to know how to present your qualifications if you want people to read them and take them seriously.
·         Wording: A professional would know how to place the most appropriate and accurate language into your resume without using redundant wording or outdated prose.
·         Content: Professionals know how to customize a resume to make sure the most relevant and useful information is presented on your resume, rather than some long-winded speech about your hobbies or anything else employers may find as irrelevant.

These are definitely three important areas to focus on that professionals know how to fine-tune as to maximize the results for their clients.

There are also times when HR may find that a resume feels artificial, or ‘doctored,’ which can give a negative impression in their minds and will definitely end up hurting your chances of success more than helping them. A number of problems exist with professional resume writers that should be addressed below:

·         Excessive language: Sometimes professional resume writers add more than required, which can sound like superficial ‘padding’ of a resume and make it harder for the employer to read the important content
·         Formatting: There are countless ways to format a resume, and some of them provide negative consequences for prospects. This includes using exotic fonts or removing the years from your employment history.


Taken as a whole, if you feel as though your resume needs help that you cannot provide yourself, look into the services of a professional resume writer. If you feel as though a ‘basic’ resume works best, write it yourself. Regardless of your decision, make sure you look up proper resume formatting and don’t add too many irrelevant anecdotes about yourself. Good luck!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Maple Leaf Career Fair - Production Workers

These are only some of the advantages of working for one of Canada’s largest employers. Twice recognized as one of Canada’s Top 10 Corporate Cultures, Maple Leaf Foods is committed to attracting, rewarding and retaining talented people who are passionate about making a positive impact in their professional and personal lives every day.

If you want to work for a top employer of choice who goes way beyond the posters on the wall and actually lives the company values, then you want to work for Maple Leaf Foods.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading Canadian food processing company committed to delivering quality food products to consumers around the world. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the Company has operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia.

MAKE THE MOVE TO MAPLE LEAF FOODS.
DISCOVER THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT AWAIT YOU.
Opportunity. Excitement. Teamwork. Respect.

Career Fair
Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM)
737 Keewatin Street, Winnipeg, MB
Saturday, November 1st, 2014
Saturday, December 6th, 2014
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

We are currently seeking the following permanent position to join our family in Brandon, Manitoba.

Production Workers
Relocation up to $5,000 may be available.

Entry-level production work starts with packaging/wrapping non-knife type work. The employee’s primary tasks include receiving live hogs and or kill (evisceration, hide removal, by-product processing), trimming, de-boning and other related activities/packaging and/or visual inspection, sorting, grading, scale weighing, truck loading, cleaning, operating equipment as related to above process.

Required Skills:
• Previous industrial/manufacturing plant experience is considered an asset.
• Ability to work in a wide range of environmental conditions from cool to warm and wet to dry.
• Physically fit and able to lift, push, and/or pull, weight of up to 27kg (60 lbs).
• Experience working with and committed to Good Manufacturing Practices is considered an asset.
• Experience in food manufacturing within a fast paced environment is an asset.
• Comfortable being part of a multi-cultural, unionized environment.
• Must be committed to safe work practices.
• Must have good communication and interpersonal skills and be focused on continuous improvement.
• Ensure safe and hygienic practices are applied to all tasks performed as per Company policies.

Wage:
$12.40/hour - $18.60/hour plus Production Bonus of up to
$1.00 per hour and Attendance Bonus of $1.00 per hour.

To learn more about this and other exciting opportunities please visit our website at www.mapleleafcareers.com
Maple Leaf Foods Human Resources
6355 Richmond Avenue East
Brandon, Manitoba R7A 7M5