I think the biggest HR issue facing Canada is immigration. Here's why - our workforce is aging, yes? There is going to be, in the next few years, a tremendous demand for knowledge workers and labourers as they retire. There will be an insufficient amount of workers to fill the void.
This is all, pardon the pun, old news.
So if this is such an impending disaster, why is it that the think tanks that hide behind Harper, and the great minds behind other developed countries experiencing the same problem in the US and Europe remain adamant on keeping qualified immigrants at bay? They are allowed to immigrate as qualified professionals, and then prevented from working in their chosen field. On what planet does that make sense? Either tell them upfront they have no chance of finding relevant work for a few years upon arrival, or better yet, make a better effort at helping these people find work, or if need be convert their skills to ones that are usable. For example, it is pretty obvious that you can't just walk in from another country and be a doctor - the law is different, the language may be different, etc. But at the same time, they should not be starting from scratch, either.
Would your employer be ok with you complaining about a problem that you have a solution for, just would rather not implement it, or implement it badly? The answer is that you would be fired. Especially with the amount of money and lives on the line.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Work Life Balance
There are a couple of employees where I work that have taken it upon themselves to earn as much money as possible while employed there. Unfortunately, the pay is hourly. So if you want more money, you need to be there longer. To that effect, they've been working up to 60 hours - in 3-4 days. That's around 20 hours a DAY. In a single DAY. Keep in mind, while the pay isn't sky high, it's not like it's unfair pay. It's simply a low level job with requires little qualifications. So one alternative if one wishes to be compensated better, would be to find other work at a more agreeable rate. Anyway, there are at least 4 people I know of that have done that in the last month, and one of them has a little girl at home.
I don't know if my intent at the beginning of this was to make this a formal blog, wherein I pose a problem and suggest a solution, or if I just wanted to vent about how insane that is. The thing is that, legally, they're doing it purely of their own volition. But at the same time, maybe not. One girl's shift finishes in the middle of the night, so she opts to stay back a few hours so she can go home in the sunlight. One woman is trying to make ends meet for her kid. If there were mechanisms in place to support these people so they can feel safe walking home, so they do not feel forced to work obscene hours to pay rent or get their kid braces, if there isn't as much pressure from a severely understaffed department to pull overtime, maybe they wouldn't work 20 hours a day.
At the end of the day it really does make me sad that people have to choose between enjoying life and affording it. I've been quite fortunate in that I've lived a frugal life and know how to make due with even the smallest paycheque, but my lifestyle is certainly not for everyone, especially not ones with dependants. What is most disturbing is that we are not paid minimum wage - we're not even unionized, so our cheques are far higher than they could be otherwise, even if we just work the minimum.
It's days like today when I'm reminded why the minimum wage is in place. That said, perhaps the Labour Board has it wrong when they only require written approval to work longer than 60 hours/week. Even to bring it down to 55 would make a difference, in my humble opinion. And perhaps requiring that if someone is leaving the office late in the night, they receive some kind of escort to their car or to the bus, especially since there is enough legal precedent that if something were to happen while they're getting home, the employer could easily be liable.
Sometimes it can be frustrating to know what we know as HR professionals.
/rant.
I don't know if my intent at the beginning of this was to make this a formal blog, wherein I pose a problem and suggest a solution, or if I just wanted to vent about how insane that is. The thing is that, legally, they're doing it purely of their own volition. But at the same time, maybe not. One girl's shift finishes in the middle of the night, so she opts to stay back a few hours so she can go home in the sunlight. One woman is trying to make ends meet for her kid. If there were mechanisms in place to support these people so they can feel safe walking home, so they do not feel forced to work obscene hours to pay rent or get their kid braces, if there isn't as much pressure from a severely understaffed department to pull overtime, maybe they wouldn't work 20 hours a day.
At the end of the day it really does make me sad that people have to choose between enjoying life and affording it. I've been quite fortunate in that I've lived a frugal life and know how to make due with even the smallest paycheque, but my lifestyle is certainly not for everyone, especially not ones with dependants. What is most disturbing is that we are not paid minimum wage - we're not even unionized, so our cheques are far higher than they could be otherwise, even if we just work the minimum.
It's days like today when I'm reminded why the minimum wage is in place. That said, perhaps the Labour Board has it wrong when they only require written approval to work longer than 60 hours/week. Even to bring it down to 55 would make a difference, in my humble opinion. And perhaps requiring that if someone is leaving the office late in the night, they receive some kind of escort to their car or to the bus, especially since there is enough legal precedent that if something were to happen while they're getting home, the employer could easily be liable.
Sometimes it can be frustrating to know what we know as HR professionals.
/rant.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Self Branding Part 3 - Online Image
So you've made the changes to your resume and cover letter, and they're both stellar and fit the job like a glove. But have you Googled yourself lately? What comes up? When I looked up my name I saw my LinkedIn profile, a few articles I wrote in university, and my name showed up in a couple of websites for clubs I was a member of where I tutored other students. My Facebook page didn't come up. Neither did Twitter, or pictures of me getting drunk or whatever else people post on the Internet for the whole world to see these days.
Thing is, if you live in a civilized society, you have an online presence. You can either use it to show your friends how last week you did a keg stand at a frat party, or you can show off your skills and interests in a way that shows a potential employer who you are as a well rounded person. The other alternative - keep that stuff private, but if you choose that alternative, keep in mind sites like Facebook offer products called Master Keys which, upon payment, provide the purchaser with access to all Facebook content, including the keg stand you placed under a high privacy setting. The other thing to remember is if someone posts a picture of you on Facebook and you're tagged, but their privacy setting is low, that picture might even show up on a Google search.
As for how to shape your online image, the tip most recommended is to think, when you're posting something, "would I want my boss to see this?" I don't think that's necessarily how you have to operate, because I feel for most people it's extremely constricting. Especially since careers span many organizations now, and what one organization or boss may be ok with, another may find unacceptable. An alternative is to think about it is "is this an accurate representation of who I am?" For example, if you have never done a keg stand before and have no intention of doing it again, it's a fairly inadequate representation of you. To a certain extent, most organizations do understand that there's a difference between work you and after-work you, but it really depends on each company. If the stuff online is who you are, it will come through at work one way or another, and would indicate if it's a good fit or not from the start.
As a final note (or recap, I suppose) is just to make sure you're consistent throughout - if you have a logo, spread it around, try to use the same colours if you have a blog or something where you can change it around, etc. And above else, to thine self be true :)
Happy hunting.
Thing is, if you live in a civilized society, you have an online presence. You can either use it to show your friends how last week you did a keg stand at a frat party, or you can show off your skills and interests in a way that shows a potential employer who you are as a well rounded person. The other alternative - keep that stuff private, but if you choose that alternative, keep in mind sites like Facebook offer products called Master Keys which, upon payment, provide the purchaser with access to all Facebook content, including the keg stand you placed under a high privacy setting. The other thing to remember is if someone posts a picture of you on Facebook and you're tagged, but their privacy setting is low, that picture might even show up on a Google search.
As for how to shape your online image, the tip most recommended is to think, when you're posting something, "would I want my boss to see this?" I don't think that's necessarily how you have to operate, because I feel for most people it's extremely constricting. Especially since careers span many organizations now, and what one organization or boss may be ok with, another may find unacceptable. An alternative is to think about it is "is this an accurate representation of who I am?" For example, if you have never done a keg stand before and have no intention of doing it again, it's a fairly inadequate representation of you. To a certain extent, most organizations do understand that there's a difference between work you and after-work you, but it really depends on each company. If the stuff online is who you are, it will come through at work one way or another, and would indicate if it's a good fit or not from the start.
As a final note (or recap, I suppose) is just to make sure you're consistent throughout - if you have a logo, spread it around, try to use the same colours if you have a blog or something where you can change it around, etc. And above else, to thine self be true :)
Happy hunting.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Self Branding Part 2 - the cover letter
I've seen some interesting cover letters in my time. My work in manufacturing guaranteed I'd have stories for life. The biggest issue though, is that many people misinterpret the purpose of a cover letter. It is not just a summary of your resume in sentences, it is an illustration of who you are outside of the resume, it is connecting the dots outlined in the resume in a way that makes you (a) a human being (b) of interest. So it is even more important that you highlight anything memorable about you in it, including, if you've chosen to undertake the task, your self brand.
In some ways you can get pretty creative with the cover letter in that way. You can incorporate the style of the brand into the content of the letter, using even the verbiage of the letter to remind the reader of who you are. The main point is consistency. If you've chosen to brand, just make sure it's highlighted on every piece of literature you submit to the company, so they can connect the resume, cover letter, and whatever else you send them.
And of course, make sure it's consistently good, too. The biggest mistake you can make is spend 90% of the time you devote to job searching just refining and tweaking your brand, because at the end of the day HR still does read the resumes and cover letters of the people they hire (they just might not remember doing it at the interview). If your brand is fantastic, you'll get their attention, but if there's no content to back it up, you still won't get the job.
Up next, Self Branding Part 3 - online image.
In some ways you can get pretty creative with the cover letter in that way. You can incorporate the style of the brand into the content of the letter, using even the verbiage of the letter to remind the reader of who you are. The main point is consistency. If you've chosen to brand, just make sure it's highlighted on every piece of literature you submit to the company, so they can connect the resume, cover letter, and whatever else you send them.
And of course, make sure it's consistently good, too. The biggest mistake you can make is spend 90% of the time you devote to job searching just refining and tweaking your brand, because at the end of the day HR still does read the resumes and cover letters of the people they hire (they just might not remember doing it at the interview). If your brand is fantastic, you'll get their attention, but if there's no content to back it up, you still won't get the job.
Up next, Self Branding Part 3 - online image.
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