This ain’t no interview: it’s an informational coffee

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If you’re looking for a job, a great way to learn more about the industry you’re interested in or to find new opportunities is by holding an informational coffee – where you meet up with a pro in the industry of your desiring, and pick their brain. Author Blaire Appotive tells you how it’s done.

When I graduated University, I wanted to break into the advertising industry. The problem is I had no connections, no experience and no way of finding out who was hiring. I decided to have coffee with one person in the industry and from there ask them if they had two other people I could speak to and so on and so forth.

It took about 20 informational coffees before I found a job, but it worked! Along the way, I made a bunch of mistakes and learned a lot about how to handle these meet-ups. When I first started I found it a bit nerve-wracking – definitely stressful; but by the end I was a pro. Here are my five tips on how to do an informational coffee: Continue reading →

5 Reasons To Attend This Year’s Traction Conference

FreshGigs.ca Team

Since its debut in 2015, Traction Conference has successfully garnered international attention. It was named the “best in class for single-day event” by Huffington Post and achieved an overwhelming six-star review. The first conference in Vancouver was so successful that four months later, it was brought to San Francisco.

Traction Conference is known for its high caliber speakers. At more typical conferences, you would expect perhaps four or five keynote speakers. However, in the case of Traction, you’ll be learning from more than 30 C-suite executives and growth experts from some of the fastest growing companies in the past decade such as Airbnb. Dropbox, Marketo, Slack, Hubspot, Zenefits, Pinterest, Lyft, Credit Karma and more.

Without further ado, here are the top five reasons you should attend this year’s Traction Conference. Continue reading →

On-board and onward: learning the ropes at a new job

Guest Author

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Do you get the first-day-on-the-job jitters? You’re not alone…But what is your new employer doing to help you through those early days? In today’s article, author Michelle Sklar writes about how companies are helping new hires circumvent first-day awkwardness and fit right in.

You met the criteria of the job description in spades, won over the hiring-manager-as-gate-keeper and wowed your prospective boss with your skills and experiences throughout your interviews. Now it’s the night before you start your new job – and the excitement, combined with anxiety is starting to mount as you wonder:

“What’s my first day going to be like?”

Although most organizations have a company policy binder or code of conduct for new hires to review, more progressive companies are ditching the staid HR Department model for People + Culture hubs, with the hope of demonstrating that real people, not anonymous human resources, are the heart and soul of their organizations. Continue reading →

Being productive is easy. It’s getting started that’s hard

Emma Bullen

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There are plenty of self-help books on how to completely revolutionize your life, but they take time, commitment, and a varying degree of effort that seems to range from medium output to forgetaboutit. Emma Bullen promises to help make you more productive with very little effort.

As human beings, we love habits. Whether it’s our route to work or the way we organize our emails, we do things time and time again because they work. What if I told you, you could be more effective by using your existing habits? Instead of reading dozens of self-help books that promise to revolutionise your lifestyle, you could make significant changes by building on your established routines. Sound intriguing?

Habit Stacking is a simple technique for getting more done by adding to our existing systems. How does it work? Continue reading →

Creative Cultures: Wave

Leila Pejman

In our Creative Cultures series, our writers day inside companies to learn how hiring, onboarding and company culture play a role in employee happiness. From startups to design firms and all in-between, we’re pulling back the curtain on what it’s like to work in inventive and productive environments. Today, writer Leila Pejman takes us through a day at Wave.

Toronto’s Wave is the unsung hero of Canada’s Financial Technology startup scene. A humble company that has transformed the way small businesses manage their accounting and finances, they are now expanding into the small business lending space.

Wave’s journey began with a handful of people in a sublet corner of the basement in a Leslieville building. Now, it has 90 employees and occupies a full floor of the same building. They have 1.9 million customers in 200+ countries, with 2,000 new subscribers joining every day. It has tracked 236 million transactions totalling $80 billion in income and expenses in its five-year history. Continue reading →

How cold calling can lead to hot jobs

Guest Author

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Few things seem as challenging as picking up the phone and contacting an organization you don’t know to see if there are any job openings. But in this day and economy, it certainly can’t hurt to try a new and different way of finding employ. While it may be tempting to just pick up the phone and start calling, a systematic, reasoned approach might garner the best results.

Make a list

Start out by making three lists: companies you really want to work for, companies you wouldn’t mind working for, and places you don’t want to work but they’re in the field you work in. Social media sites like LinkedIn, industry association websites and online job search hubs can help you with names Continue reading →

On the hunt with: Monica Chang

Guest Author

This week, we debut On The Hunt – a new series where we interview potential job-seekers (whether out-of-work or transitioning) and talk to them about what the challenges have been, what their goals are, as well as any advice or tips they may have for other job seekers to stay motivated. This week, writer Jennie Lovan talks to job hunter Monica Chang.

I watch as Monica Chang adjusts herself in her seat. She is accompanied by her shih tzu, Toby, who impressively jumps into her lap, and joins us on our skype conversation. Like many people out there, Monica is keeping herself busy through various jobs while searching for that job she can call her career. I had the pleasure of sitting down with her and having a virtual chat about her hunt for the “dream job.” Continue reading →

How to turn ‘no’ into ‘nothing personal’

Guest Author

Image of employee feeling shamed by boss from Shutterstock.

The working world is rife with rejection. From “we really like your work, but…” to flat out “no,” It can really keep you down. Author Victoria Carnaghan has tips on how to gracefully turn no into next time.

Whether you’re a graphic designer, copywriter, illustrator or other creative type lucky enough to produce your passion in exchange for a living wage, the delight of doing what you love comes with a downside: you have to put your heart on the line every time you present your work.

Unlike an accountant who’s submitted the wrong tax form, this was a piece of you, and you’re it’s being turned down. Rejected. Continue reading →

Where do ideas come from?

Guest Author

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Whether you write, design or work in marketing, we all need to find new ways to express fresh ideas. Author Lee Jones talks about finding that inspiration in the every day.

Several years back – while working at a fairly large ad agency – an intern was assigned to sit in my office for the entire day to watch me intently and observe where my ideas came from. I laughed at the notion of someone staring at me like an exhibit in a zoo, and told her, “You’ll know when I have an idea because the fluorescent lights will start to flicker.” Continue reading →

Creative Cultures: FCV invests in the interactive employee experience

Crystal Henrickson

Creative Cultures is powered by Chimp, bringing people and charities together.
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For an agency working in digital, FCV retains many analog traditions. Sending handwritten thank-you notes to new clients, commuting to their four major Canadian centres in Halifax, Toronto, and Victoria, and celebrating wins and birthdays at monthly company wide team lunches are just a few of them. The interactive agency values strong interpersonal relationships and purposefully stacks teams across offices, threading the company together through the many digital project collaborations. Continue reading →