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Author: Giulio Rocco

  • Summer Jobs: Useful?

    Summer Jobs: Useful?

    Summer/Part-Time Jobs

    Searching for the perfect part-time job is beneficial to your career choices.

    It’s summertime again, and besides gasping for that first breath of summer freedom and that thing called a “social life”, it also means looking for a part-time job.

    You’re probably just wrapping up those final projects and presentations for school, but you should consider making time in advance to discover a summer job that will take you one step closer to a career you’re really passionate about.

    So what is the ideal summer job for you?

    Ask yourself what area of work you are interested in, or what skills you think are essential for a certain career. For example, many careers involve people’s skills, dealing with customers in a daily face-to-face environment. Becoming a cashier or waiter would be an opportune job for developing your communication skills.

    Perhaps you are interested in management? If you have any tourist hot-spots in your city, getting a job within tourist areas understanding how the tourism industry operates could be a beneficial summer job! Don’t let the thought of having to start at a lower level position scare you away from a good experience; being able to understand how a company works from the ground up can improve your understanding of management.

    Perhaps engineering is your cup of tea? Getting jobs at retail technology store would be ideal. Previous Niagara Falls resident Zachary Edmonson spent a couple months in the summer acquiring knowledge working in an Apple tech support company before heading off to Sheridan college in Oakville.

    “Acquiring the technological knowledge and customer service skills, as well as working independently was priceless experience for what I am looking to do,” Zach said.

    Understanding the reality that nation-wide budget cuts have diminished the number of jobs available to students is essential when hitting the summer job market.  Be creative; even typical teenage jobs like fast food can be a great learning experience.  Many large fast-food companies have intramural sports teams and volunteer opportunities that increase job value and learning experiences

    Current Brock student Heather Long is volunteering at an after-school program called “When I Grow Up” where she is learning how to deal with different types of children.

    “I set the room up, and organize days for the kids, like ‘physics’ day and ‘musician’ day” Heather said.

    She usually supervises 12-13 kids between herself and one other employee.  Learning how to work with children will benefit Heather in her future career as a teacher.

    Sure, there can be time for some fun in the sun, but manage your time wisely! It is never too early to think ahead about what skills you think will boost your resume and get you your dream job.

  • Conclusion: Laughing your way thin

    Conclusion: Laughing your way thin

    Having gratitude for what you have.

    By increasing your awareness of gratitude it stops the merry-go-round of always needing “more” to feel satisfied. Continuing having gratitude for what you have has the amazing benefit of making it possible to get and keep more of what you want.
    We all make the mistake of taking for granted the things we truly value, and focus instead on all the things we do not yet possess. Focusing on what we do don’t have makes us distressed and miserable. When you want more fun in your life you begin by celebrating your wins and enjoying what you already have because that will make you weight loss and other achievements, lasting and real.
    Smiling will fool your body and attract fun. Taking yourself lightly releases you from the oppression of your impractical expectations. Staying focused teaches you to use food for nourishment rather than fun. And having gratitude for what you have allows you to fill your emotional void with fun and gratitude rather than food.

    Dr.nancemacleod@gmail.org
    www.thewellnessdiva.org

  • Coping with jealousy

    Coping with jealousy

    Jealousy occurs in most human relationships at one time or another. Whether your relationship is an intimate one, a friendship, or co-workers.

    For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous – whether it be of who you are, what you’ve done or something you have – and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship.Sometimes, when this happens,it feels like there is nothing you can do , but the good news is that there is. Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships. Confront the problem and you may find  your relationship will  be back to normal much sooner than you think.

    Confront Your Friend

    You may find it difficult to walk up to your  friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that. Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s something been coming between you, and that you cherish their friendship.  If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.

    Find a Solution

    When you figure out what is freaking  your friend, ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If, for example, (s)he say that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn’t get to spend any time with you because your off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember,  that whatever solution you decide on, needs to  be a compromise. Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.

    Practice Your Patience

    Even if you do get to the bottom of your friend’s jealousy you’ll probably  need to remain patient while (s)he works out their own emotions. Even if you can think of a compromise to help get your friendship back on track you can’t do the emotional work of getting over jealousy for your friend. You may even find there will be troubles up ahead, and you may need to chat with your friend again, remember to stay calm . If it turns out to be the same issue, tell your friend that you feel you have been sticking to the compromise. It may be that your friend is unable to see that, or (s)he didn’t really commit to the compromise and wanted you back all to him or herself. If this is the case then there’s not much you can do about it besides reiterate your offer to meet him or her half-way.

    Even the best of friendships can be affected by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking drastic action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend – and how far you won’t.

    Remember, don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy

     

  • G Where are you? Finding yourself

    G Where are you? Finding yourself

    Imagine your life as a timeline graph, from birth to present to future.

    Write down all of your major goals in your life that you feel you want to achieve. In turn, write down the events in your life that have already happened that you believe have affected you and have made you who you are today . This isn’t an exercise in wallowing but one about clarification and identification of issues that might be hampering your present potential and the blossoming of your true sense of self.
    Spend a little time writing with clarity about the past in your timeline.  As much as where you’re headed is important, so is making peace with the past. A timeline is an incredibly objective method for marking down past occurrences in your life that you consider to have been major. You can look at them as formation blocks and as changing experiences along your timeline without imbuing them with too much emotion (as you would  within your personal diary) . Keep it simple, real and condensed to the major effect or lesson learned from each past incident.

    When analyzing negative past experiences, look to the positive learning message in it and don’t dwell on the mistakes or the negatives. Everyone has these blips in their timeline but pretending they are either worse than they were or non-existent, won’t do you any favors. Instead, recognize that if it had not been for those past experiences you would not be where or who you are today. If there has been an abuse situation, remember, abuse thrives when kept a secret , telling someone it the antibiotic.

    Finding yourself is an enlightening experience and you become self sufficient . It  is a time of harmony because you develop that philosophy or belief system that will carry you throughout the rest of your life. When you love yourself and who you are, you will savor and enjoy both life’s pain and pleasures.

  • Five Biggest Trends Impacting the Job Market

    Five Biggest Trends Impacting the Job Market

    Aging Baby Boomers.
    The largest demographic group in Canada  is heading for retirement. Of course, this will mean something very different for many Baby Boomers than for older generations. Boomers have maintained their health and stayed in the job market longer than any other generation of citizens in our country’s history.

    As they grow older, Baby Boomers will require more frequent, specialized medical care . They will also want to maintain connections with careers and family for as long as possible. Therefore, expect to see continued growth in fields that cater to their wishes. Growing teams of social workers and nurses will help care for the needs of these boomers

    Better Medicine.
    The high output of the pharmaceutical industry , combined with constant innovation in the rest of the medical field, helps us live longer, more productive lives. New treatments for previously fatal diseases require new approaches for rehabilitation. Likewise, many adults expect to work far beyond the traditional retirement age. Therefore, patients demand a new generation of physical therapists and other specialists to help prolong their quality of life.
    Child Care.
    As today’s parents demand higher quality from their child care providers, the marketplace has responded with a variety of programs to help meet parents’ needs. The explosive growth of pre-kindergarten educational programs call for highly trained educators who command more competitive salaries than their predecessors. Therefore, especially in major cities, the cost of caring for young children has skyrocketed. As a result, early childhood education has become a more lucrative and more stable profession than ever before. Though it has traditionally been a low-paying job, child care specialists today can expect to earn far more money today than peers who entered the field even a few years ago.
    Rapid Technology Growth.
    Despite fears that many  companies look overseas for development of new technology, the rapid advance of ideas and the need for constant upgrades assure  technology professionals of consistent job security over the next ten years. Businesses of all kinds have found themselves locked into the equivalent of an arms race with their competitors. Companies must provide their teams with the best equipment and resources, or face defeat.

    Likewise, continual innovation assures technology workers that new machines, cables, and other equipment will have to be installed every few years. Even Internet infrastructure, which was designed to provide nearly limitless connections, is being overhauled to accommodate a previously unimaginable number of new devices. Therefore, IT professionals who specialize in networking installation, and support will remain in demand as more businesses rely on new technology to help them compete.

    Distributed Work.
    The giant factories and smokestacks of a hundred years ago are fading into the pages of history books. Many of today’s workers report for duty at smaller offices or manufacturing plants, connected by information networks and sophisticated shipping infrastructure.

    A growing number of employees, especially specialized consultants and leaders, divide their time among multiple locations at companies or client organizations. This trend has led to the use of  “hot desking,” where workers report to a different workstation at the start of each shift, instead of keeping their own desk or cubicle. Many workers telecommute, allowing them to reinvest time spent commuting into more productive work or family time.

    As a side effect, more workers are relocating to larger homes, farther away from city centers. Whether they want to enjoy more peaceful surroundings or they simply want to reconnect with family or friends, these shifting workers create demand for home construction , renovation, and infrastructure development.

  • To live on campus or not, that is the question

    Do you enjoy meeting new people? How do you feel about studying with them – or even sharing your kitchen and shower with them? Welcome to the reality of resident student life.  Like many Canadian students on their way to attending college or university this year, you may be considering moving on campus for the convenience of being steps away from your classes and most importantly for a ‘richer’ student experience.


    Although you might have good reasons for wanting to move on campus, resident student life is not for everyone and making an informed choice is imperative in ensuring you’ve made the right choice for your own peace of mind.  “You have to be flexible and realize you will be around other people to make this work” says Fern Moran, former British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and University of Winnipeg (U of W) resident student. “Talking [with your roommates] about the things that come up without judgment is what makes it a good experience for everyone. If you’re not willing to do that, campus living is probably not for you”.  Although you will have less space and less privacy in a dorm vs. living on your own, one of the upsides is that it’s easier to get more involved and build a greater sense of community for yourself and your peers.  “Living on campus allowed me to participate in two campus clubs at BCIT that I would not likely have done if I were not living on campus. The same applied at U of W where I was part of a group that founded what became a faculty student association” says Moran. 


    Other than the obvious social aspects you need to also think about your finances. Which option is cheaper? Generally speaking, living on campus usually ends up being less costly than if you were living on your own, especially if a meal plan and daily cleaning service is included (one or the other usually are).  If you stay at home with your parents and are not asked to fork over any rent then your cheapest option would be to live off campus.  “Living with my parents…gives me more opportunity to save money and travel” says Simon Fraser University student Branka Parenta, 23. But if staying at home is not an option you can find out if you’re eligible for subsidized housing for students through your school or government social services. 


    As a young person who fiercely values their privacy and are seeking a greater degree of independence – and can afford it, you would be better off finding an apartment close to school on your own or with a roommate. But keep in mind that along with the hassle of initially having to look for a place, you’ll also have to worry about setting up your place (eg. study area, other furniture) and keeping up with parking, rent, utilities, cable and internet payments –  just to name a few.  All of these factors must be considered along with the degree of involvement you’re comfortable with. Also thinking about what sacrifices you are willing to make in that regard will help you determine if living on campus is right for you.

  • How to Prepare for The Dorm

    1. Write a list of the stuff you know you need. A good start can be found below

    * Bedding (sheets, comforter, pillows, mattress pad. A lot of colleges use Twin Extra Long mattresses which are a few inches longer than a regular twin. Do not skip the mattress pad; dorm room mattresses by themselves are not comfortable)

    * Toiletries (shower tote, towels, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, shower sandals, bathrobe)

    * Storage (under-bed plastic tubs, laundry hamper, drawers. Organizing your closet with a shoe rack or sweater organizer is always a good idea.)

    * Personal touches (posters, lamps, Christmas lights, knick-knacks)

    * Clothes (typically bring enough to last you three weeks without having to do laundry; you’re not going to want to do laundry every weekend. A wide variety is good as well so you’re covered no matter what the weather is doing. Remember to bring nice clothes you’d wear to a job interview because you never know if you’ll need to look snazzy.
    * Necessary miscellaneous (fan, alarm clock, refrigerator (optional), bedside lamp, clip-on shelf for your bed frame, laptop, laundry detergent, umbrella)
    2. Take this list to a trusted college graduate who can help you decide what you can do without.
    3. Start thinking about what necessities you need. Those necessities are; a couple pairs of shoes, clothes that are of a wide range (bring summer and winter stuff), shower and bathroom stuff, entertainment stuff.

    Tips

    * Wait until you have moved into your dorm before you begin buying a lot of things. You may find after you get there that that really cool organizer bin will not fit in the room, or the doors are not set up for organizers to be hung from them.

  • How to Survive Without a Salary

     

    Today my grandmother gave me a thick antiquated book entitled “How to Survive Without a Salary”, by Charles Long, circa 1981. The truth is that I’m employed, as a writer here for Jobspeopledo and a barista at a coffee shop. My grandmother is aware of both those facts. So I do in fact earn summer salaries, but with her infinite wisdom, my loving old granny felt the need to bestow the book upon me nonetheless. With a career as a student and jobs that pivot around an education’s schedule, it’s pretty much impossible to predict long term income or complete financial stability anyway. My grandmother knows that despite the state of a person’s finances, tips on how to adopt what Long calls the “conserver lifestyle” are always good to consider.

     

    So let’s consider them. Long defines the term conserver lifestyle as “a means of coping better with what (one) already has.” Chapter one of his novel deals with internal factors preventing you from finding success in that regard. For interest’s sake, let’s pretend we don’t have any of those. But chapter two is ‘Assessing Yourself: Making a Budget,’ which is definitely worth a look. You never want to be spending more than your wallet can handle, especially when, as students, there are some costs that can’t be evaded.

    According to Statistics Canada, Canadian student tuition fees alone averaged at $5,777 in 2008-09, with Quebec’s $2,488 average the lowest and Ontario the highest, at $8,797. But there are also “ancillary fees,” those compulsory extra charges over and above tuition to cover things like athletic programs, health services and student associations. These fees added an average of $695 more to the demands on a full-time Canadian undergrad in 2008-09, ranging from a low of $423 in New Brunswick to a high of $827 in Nova Scotia. Ancillary fees are usually unregulated, but you can often look into them on school websites and find opportunities to opt out of what you don’t need.

    We can all survive without a salary while we are students if we keep watch on costs and budget ourselves accordingly. Long claims that “costs are always more important than earnings…there is nearly always more advantage in reducing costs than in increasing earnings.”

    In order to be able to sustain yourself while you get an education with an unstable salary and all of these subsidiary costs to student life, several banks like RBC and TD Canada Trust have places for you to create your own budget lists on their websites. At the time the book was written, without widespread use of the Internet it was a bit tougher to budget, but today many student budget list templates can be found online as well. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada’s student budget section is a good resource, at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/br01399.html.

     

    After the section on budgeting Long gives eleven more chapters of detailed analyses on financial strategies, many of them useful. He says, “A penny saved is not a penny earned. A penny saved is a hell of a lot more than a penny earned today.” We know that simply by keeping our savings in the bank, they grow with interest. That can apply to scholarship money or bursaries that may be extractable for personal holding (OSAP, for example).

    Chapter six, on ‘The Second-Hand Market’, is my personal favourite, advocating the benefits of getting everything and anything used or pre-owned. Shopping in thrift stores doesn’t only help your wallet, but choosing to reuse can help our planet too.

     

    I’m glad to have been given this book, and prepared to become more money-conscious. With sky high tuition costs and the absence of established careers at this point in our lives, it’s smart to consider advice from anyone, outdated or otherwise, especially a published professional. And where did my grandmother find this yellowing treasure? At Value Village, naturally.

  • The First-Year Flop

    The First-Year Flop

    With the first few weeks of September gone by, college and university students all over the country are getting into the swing of being back on campus.

    For first-year students this is a time to mispronounce your professors name, accidentally sit in on the wrong class, order a tea but get a coffee, and miss your bus to that one class that you promised yourself you would attend no matter what. Beyond that, there is one terrible truth looming over most students that they are blissfully unaware of; the first-year flop.

    Every year students come out of high school with enormous averages, expecting the trend to continue into university without a hitch. For most, September and October are a brisk reality check and a time to realize that you can’t get your mom to write you a note explaining why your first paper is late. If you wrote essays and scored in the 90s back in high school, you can almost guarantee that you won’t see that in your first year. The university grading level is an incredible change from high school, and first year is your bumpy transition into the upper echelon of academia.

    So what does all this mean? Well, prepare to be disappointed. Very few students excel in their first year as they did in high school, and it’s nothing personal. If you talk to any university professor or upper-year student, I would guarantee that they stumbled somewhere along the line when they first arrived at college or university. It happens, and it’s nothing to be afraid of!

    You are in a prime position to learn a lesson from this experience. If you receive a poor grade, go talk to your professor. See your TA, find out where you went wrong, and more importantly, how to fix it. And if it happens again, don’t sweat it. First year is meant for students to gain a foothold. As long as you can keep your grades high enough to enter your program of choice, in all reality, your grades from this year won’t matter too much in the long haul.

    If you’re still sweating it, there is one other thing you should know. For university students, most masters programs only look at your average over the last two or three years of study. If you think I’m getting too far ahead of myself, I’m not (I promise!). You should try to be as aware of your academic path as possible, even while you’re in first year. If you think you may have even the smallest interest in pursuing a masters degree, find out what they’ll be asking of you. While it’s 3 or 4 years off, you’ll be at ease if you can confirm that they don’t care about your first year grades. This isn’t an invitation to slack off because you’ll still need a solid average to get into an honours program if that’s what you’re aiming for, but it’ll definitely ease the tension after your first calculus exam comes back with a 68% instead of an 86%.

    If you can study hard, ask questions, and meet your deadlines, you’ll be ahead of the game throughout college or university. Meet with your professors and TAs, and your grades shouldn’t dip too much!