Career Advice

Congrats! You’ve made it. One chapter is closing, and another is just beginning—one with an ocean of exciting post-grad career possibilities. So just what will be your first job coming out of college? If you’re unsure, you’re not alone. You may be feeling a bit lost and confused about where you should be headed professionally. Maybe even feeling pressured and in a hurry to land a great gig your first time out.

For people who are used to office life, the adjustment to working from home isn’t as liberating as it might seem. Sure, there’s no commute, and you can work in your pyjamas, or even from bed if you want. But for many of the newly home-based workforce, it’s a struggle.

When people are being downsized in a crisis, take steps to prepare for change.

Plenty of professions let you amass a cool million of pay over 10 years or less. No surprise that lots of them are medical, technical or business-related. Yet some don’t require advanced degrees, like realtor or plumber.

Dreading the company’s holiday party is a December ritual. Except it’s also an excellent time to sneak in some self-advancement. All the important players will be there. So even if you hate insincerity, attend strategically and score some points.

If you’re earning minimum wage and think you’re at the bottom of the food chain, don’t feel lonely. Nearly 1.6 million Canadians – that’s about 10% of all salaried employees – took home the lowest hourly wage legally payable to most people. By late 2019 the average minimum wage in Canada was about $12.63 per hour. That compares to $11.41 in 2017 and an increase of nearly 11%. More impressive is the jump of over a third vs. 2010, when the average minimum was $9.25.

There’s no such thing as a fairy tale workplace. If an interviewer asks about your ideal work environment, a bit of reality’s called.

In an intense search for work, you (hopefully) run into a boatload of people. Many you’ll only encounter online, others face to face, and a handful turnout was vital to your hunt. The rest, less so. Since you’re stressed out and dog tired, which ones do you bother staying in touch with? Read these guidelines to help you decide. Choose well who to keep in the loop vs. those you’ll ghost by cutting off unannounced.

The CBC reports 70% of Canadian employers now ogle applicants online. That’s a troubling amount of gawking at personal info.