Career Advice

In the time between accepting the offer and start-day prep to make succeeding nothing but a swish. Pay rapt attention. No, even Raptor. NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard has transferred to Canada (at least for 2018-19). How’s this California native prepping for his moose and Mountie debut? A lot like you before starting a new job. He’s using pre-season – the half-time after offer signing and before officially starting – to ensure his game’s lit. No reason you should be a basket case on your first day. Not if you follow the playbook.

An NHL season’s plotted in stages, with goals, resources and managed expectations. Sound familiar? Go Canucks go! Carry on, Canadiens! The 2018 NHL season’s in force. With it comes valuable lessons on how teams design their tactics, gather resources and leverage collaboration. Seems a hell of a lot like project planning. Your own projects won’t start with a puck drop in October, or end with a Stanley Cup in June. Yet no matter if yours takes a few days or more than eight months, follow the steps Canada’s hockey squads do.

Go Gaga when going after a passion career, but don’t look away from this movie’s messages. Love Cinderella? A Star Is Born’s latest remake pays homage. Complete with evil meanies (no stepsisters though) and a fairy-tale rescue, its core’s about wishing for a dream job, This time Lady Gaga (aka Ms. Stefani Germanotta) plays Ally, an unknown bun-nosed waitress, plucked from obscurity into music’s dizzying heights. Her prince is Jackson (Brad Cooper), a broke down fabled singer. Aside from retelling an enchanting story, the film shatters plenty of myths about pursuing your passion career.

Who the hell wants to hear you complain? Channel your harsh feelings into improving conditions. Do you want to get your ass fired? Moping around all bitchy at work. Complaining constantly. Not lifting a finger to try and fix your issues. Won’t take long for others to clue. Some’ll defriend your miserable hiney. Then the boss criticizes your sucky attitude. Hey, you’re halfway out the door!

Get ready for meta-cognition, AI integration and other emerging aptitudes. Hey there modern managers! You’re so damned up to date. Brimming with emotional intelligence. A master at communicating. And tech-savvy? All your mobile apps auto-sync to teamware. Who cares what a recent major study by Royal Bank says; how massive skills changes will slam Canadian jobs by 2025. No one’s more future-proof than you. That said, maybe curb the hubris a tad. Experts predict managers will need some magnum new talents.

Sometimes you need to cast aside conventional advice when trying to get noticed. Phones off! No phubbing in a job interview. Prepare like crazy cuz the struggle is real. Those are some rules to respect when looking for work. But is every guideline carved in stone? Not if you’re up for stepping outside the box sometimes. Especially when the job ad clearly says “Do (or don’t do) the following!” There’s some risk – and potential reward – when ignoring norms. Here’s seven and why to consider ‘em optional.

Already got a full-time job? Earn extra cash in the peer-to-peer marketplace by following a simple plan. Doing a side hustle’s kind of like playing Fortnite: Battle Royale. OK, so no blowing your enemy to smithereens. But you do get to execute some killa dance steps much like in the game. We’re talking how to sell your services or stuff freelance, on top of your full-time job (or work hunt). Car jockeying strangers for Uber or Lyft nights. Renting out your spare room via AirBnB. Flogging your skills on sites like Guru, Upwork or Fiverr.

There’s no law in Canada that says you can’t. But if you do, beware the landmines. Pay’s right up there with politics, religion and race as minefield topics at work. People tiptoe around them ‘cause they’re laced with tripwires. Except your dying to know if Keisha (your rival) or Randall (the owner’s moronic nephew) are pulling down bigger bucks than you. Hacking into HR’s data is out of the question. And company policy forbids pay chats among workers.

Combine Writing And IT Know-How As A Technical Storyteller These multi-talents scribbles and yak about what techies produce, in language that rouses non-geeks. “Storyteller” used to be a synonym for full of @rap. Now it’s the buzzword in job ads for marketing communications. Apply this to the tech world for a niche IT career. Tech storytellers are part public relations guru, writer and public speaker, with an undercoat of nerd. A dope combo, much in demand.