CareerVision - October 2009

• Time Management Truths, Tips and
  Tools: Overcoming the Frazzle Factor

• Career Profile: Rick Whitley, CA
• Etiquette for Excellent Email, Part 1
  
• From the Bookshelf: How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
• Featured Jobs

• How to Detect Resume Fraud
• Understanding What is "Work"
• Taking a Bite out of Bad Managers
• No News Isn't Good News

• Annual Study Provides Preview of
  Post-Recession Job Market
• Work-sharing on the Rise

Feeling frazzled? Want to discover new perspectives and options to take control of your time and workload? Time management skills in today's hectic workplace are essential. They are key to helping you work smarter and be more effective.

Join Crystal Campbell as she shares practical techniques – routinely used by high achievers – that will help you prioritize, plan and focus on what's important.

Click here to register for webinar

Career Profile: Rick Whitley, CA
~ Lorie Murdoch

Rick Whitley’s 25-year-career with KPMG has taken him from Ontario to Alberta and from the audit department to Partner in Charge, tax. It’s a good thing he – and his wife – like change.

He believes the key to his success is not being afraid of change. “Embrace it and it will serve you well,” he says.

The dictionary defines etiquette as: manners, accepted behaviour, rules of conduct, decorum, good form, courtesy, propriety, formalities, niceties. If we follow such etiquette in dealing with e-mail, the technology will be a communication tool instead of a nuisance. This two-part article offers ideas to help you do that.

A Wall Street Journal bestseller, How Successful People Think focuses on the 11 secrets successful people know. Arranged in an easy-to-follow format, leadership expert John C. Maxwell aspires to teach listeners how to expand their thinking and achieve their dreams.

The 11 keys to successful thinking include: Big-Picture Thinking – seeing the world beyond your own needs and how that leads to great ideas. Focused Thinking – removing mental clutter and distractions to realize your full potential. Creative Thinking – thinking in unique ways and making breakthroughs. Shared Thinking – working with others to compound results. Reflective Thinking – looking at the past to gain a better understanding of the future.

Featured Jobs

The job postings listed below are a sample of the 100+ postings on CA Source. To search all current CA Source postings, go to Search CA Jobs

1. Auditor/Accountant
   Allain & McLean LLP
   Toronto, Ontario
   Link to Job Posting
    
2. Internal Auditor/Accountant
   Medavie Blue Cross
   Moncton, New Brunswick
   Link to Job Posting
    
3. Sr Accountant - Corporate Reporting
   Nexen Inc.
   Calgary, Alberta
   Link to Job Posting
    

How to Detect Resume Fraud
~ Marc Belaiche, CA

Recruiting, hiring and training employees is a significant expenditure for an organization and, as a result, employers need to be aware of the issues surrounding resume fraud prior to hiring a candidate.

This article covers ways that candidates might commit resume fraud and tips to help spot it.

Understanding What is "Work"
~ Daniel Wong

Many employers may be surprised to learn that the answer to the question “What is work?” is more complicated and comprehensive than they realize.

A thorough understanding of what constitutes work, from a legal perspective, and the implications of employees performing work will assist employers in complying with the applicable employment standards concerning hours of work, rest periods and overtime pay requirements, and reduce the risk of claims and liability for unpaid hours of work or overtime pay.

Taking a Bite out of Bad Managers
~ Lyndsay Swinton

Spotting and stopping the “bad apple” manager from spoiling precious human resources is an ongoing challenge. HR needs a multi-pronged attack to stop the rot before stress, attrition and reduced productivity are the norm.

The bad apple manager has many guises, some easier to recognize than others. Blandness, inability to make decisions and abdication of responsibility are just as challenging as the more obvious bad management behaviours – such as being a control freak, bullying and political spin doctoring.

No News Isn't Good News
~ Gary Harper

Unfortunately, “no news is good news” is the norm in many organizations. But no news isn’t good news when it comes to feedback. “No news” office cultures produce frustrated managers, confused (or perhaps blissfully ignorant) employees, and ongoing performance issues. The lack of communication feeds insecurity and spawns a culture where issues are “buried but not dead.” These symptoms stem directly from the lack of ongoing feedback about performance.

Annual Study Provides Preview of Post-Recession Job Market

The 2009 Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report examines the state of the current job market and where the opportunities will be once the economy improves.

Findings include:

• Forty-seven per cent of hiring managers surveyed cited underqualified applicants as their most common hiring challenge, followed by the reluctance of qualified candidates to leave secure positions (22 per cent).
• In the next 12 months, more than half of employers polled plan to hire full-time employees; four in 10 will hire contract, temporary or project workers; and four in 10 will hire part-time employees.
• Technology, customer service and sales are the top three areas in which employers expect to add jobs first once the economy rebounds.
• More than half of employees polled plan to make a career change or go back to school when the economy recovers.

Source: Robert Half International www.rhi.com and CareerBuilder www.careerbuilder.com

Work-sharing on the Rise

More Canadian companies are taking advantage of the federal work-sharing program that helps employers avoid temporary layoffs by providing income support to those who work a temporarily reduced work week.

Number of work-sharing agreements started

Source: Statistics Canada
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