Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Sixth Quality: They Are Change-Masters

They don’t just accept their new environment, they embrace it.
They learn everything they can about the system and what’s required to succeed. Then they constantly adapt, even faster than their local counterparts.
Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.
  1. Do you fully understand your industry and work environment?
    • What are you doing to be up-to-date with the changes in your industry?
  2. Can you talk knowledgeably about your industry?
    • How are you preparing yourself? 
  3. Do you empathize with your employers’ challenges?
    • Are you approaching the job search in the traditional/old way, or you are oriented to the needs and wants of YOUR customer, which is your prospective employer? What you must be is a solution to the needs and problems which that organization is facing. Be creative and look for the opportunity to position yourself as a solution to some need that an organization faces. Stop and relax.... breathe and imagine yourself in the realities of the company you want to work for. Creatively find ways of talking and learning from the company's employees and managers about the culture and norms of their organization - talk with their suppliers, customers and even competitors. You will be able to describe their challenges and needs as well as or better than themselves. Now, you can position yourself - your unique background, skills, education, experience and talents - in the context of their needs.
      • Are you proactive and think of all you can do to shift your career or your business life forward?
        • Did you conduct a targeted research to identify industries and positions of interest?
        • Do you have a list of companies to focus on?
        • How are you going to network your way into those companies?
        • How are you going to learn about "hidden" job openings?
        • Are you happy with your brand presence? Are you showing how valuable you are for decision makers?
  4. How are you adapting to change?
    • As a newcomer, you know "change"! How will you react to that change? Do you understand that change is opportunity? How will you take advantage of that opportunity?
  5. How are you showing others how to manage change?
    • You want to be a model of what's possible.
"You can't change things in THE world, but you can change things in YOUR world." ~ Jeffrey Gitomer
"Change how you see yourself and create an opportunity for others to see you differently." ~Roger Ellerton

"NLP may well be the most important vehicle for change in existence" Modern Psychology Magazine

“You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler” Denis Waitley

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Canada's Job Market Through Recessions and Recoveries - Why This Time is Different

   HIGHLIGHTS by Diana Petramala, Economist, Canada

• The hit to Canadian employment during the recession was not as large as could have been the case given the severity of the downturn, and the recovery thus far has outperformed that following the last two major recessions.
• Job growth has become more reliant on industries linked to domestic demand, and thus the labour market as benefited from the resilience of domestic spending.
• Moving into the second half of 2010, we anticipate slower than normal job creation, as the pace of economic recovery ratchets down.
• Growth in domestic demand is expected to cool to a modest pace of 1.5-2% over the next year and a half, significantly down from the robust 4.5-5% pace experienced over the last three quarters. As such, employment in industries tied to domestic spending will likely moderate in the coming months. In addition, a diminishing rate of U.S. growth will likely weigh on hiring in export-oriented industries.
• We anticipate average monthly job creation in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 over the second half of 2010, with a gradual decline in the unemployment rate to 7.7% by year end.

You can read more of this TD Economics report  here.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Fifth Quality: They Like to Work Hard


They do whatever it takes to succeed. And they do it willingly.
They have a capacity for work that would exhaust others.
They never give up. And they never feel sorry for themselves.


Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.




  1. What is you capacity for work?
    • How are you increasing your focus?
  2. What is your attitude towards work?
    • Are you getting things done? What system do you have in place to manage your workload?
  3. How can you increase your stamina?
    • It's not about who's right; it's about who's left.
  4. What are you doing to sustain your enthusiasm?
    • Remind yourself how much you love what you're doing. 
  5. How are you communicating your work ethic?
    • What are you doing to communicate your enthusiasm?
Demartini Institute 
“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives” ~ William James

    Thursday, July 22, 2010

    Mike Lipkin: How To Become a One-Percenter so you can inspire the other 99%


    Since January 1 2010, I've worked with almost 50 000 people from over 100 companies around the world. The top one percent of them are literally amazing. I call them "One-Percenters". They do things others believe are impossible and that's how they inspire others to do more. I've discovered that they have ten traits in common...
    Listen to the podcast
    Read Mike's new insights

    Tuesday, July 20, 2010

    The Fourth Quality: They are the Best at What They Do



    They are highly skilled.
    They know their strength and they play from it.
    They also constantly upgrade their skills.
    They love to learn and grow.
    They are the standards of excellence.

    Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.

    1. How can you become the best in your field?
      • What's important to you in your work/career/job?
      • What are the expects you need to focus on? Remember... You Get What You Focus On
    2. What’s your “Personal Genius”?
      • I invite you to awaken your genius potential. Discover it!
    3. How are you developing it?
      • Practice, practice and practice. Use it! 
        • "Practice so much they think you are lucky" ~ Kit Grant. Getting good at anything seldom occurs until you make the decision to get better. The old saying "practice makes perfect" is a bit misleading and should actually say, "Perfect practice makes perfect." The more you do something correctly, the better your skill level. In order to get much better, you'll usually discover it takes a bit of work — not an overbearing amount, but just doing it.
    4. How are you turning your Personal Genius into a unique “Personal Value Proposition”?
      • What is your brand? How you position yourself? 
    5. How are you benchmarking yourself as a standard of excellence?
      • You have to be able to compare with other people.
    "The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said." ~ Tony Robbins

      Sunday, July 18, 2010

      Top Ten Qualities to be Successful

      The qualities that are being highlighted in this blog are extremely relevant not only for internationally trained professionals trying to make their way in Canada. These traits are fundamental for any professional trying to succeed in this new interconnected world. Technology and globalization have changed the landscape of competitiveness and mastering Lipkin's qualities posted by Danny will help us differentiate ourselves and take a privileged position in the workplace.

      Sunday, July 11, 2010

      The Third Quality: They are Proud of Their Differences

      They understand the power of perspective.
      They call themselves out.
      They relish their diversity.
      They demonstrate their innovation and creativity.
      They see things from an alter-nate point of view.

      This quality is a critical one! Don't minimize your qualifications. Your advantage is your perspective! Bring these different points of view to your advantage. Now, please take your time and go through these next five steps. Be clear and specific.




      1. Do you truly understand the challenges facing Canadian Employers?
      2. How are you using the power of your differences?
        • Demonstrate the value that you bring.
      3. How are you turning your differences into competitive advantages?
        • How are you going to position yourself? 
      4. How are you demonstrating your innovation and creativity?
        • Realize how you can bring value.
      5. How are you helping others see things from a different point of view?
        • Did you think about that before?
      “To understand a country, you need to be a part of it, think of its culture, think of the opportunities and challenges it will present, and also think of your contribution, because you too can help by building a ‘better you’ through your immigration process.” ~ Excerpted from Immigrant Women’s Health Promotion Project – A Guide to Prospective New Immigrants to Canada

      Saturday, July 10, 2010

      2010 FIFA World Cup & the ‘No Canadian Experience’ Myth

      Hope you are enjoying the last games in the FIFA World Cup as much as I do. This championship it was so unexpected of the direct games results as well as the aftermath... I came across this below article, which I found very creative and thoughtful through the interesting association made between IEPs and  the 2010 World Cup Soccer phenomenon happening in South Africa.

      Daisy Wright is known for the passion she has for Internationally-Educated Professionals who face numerous challenges in getting that proverbial foot-in-the-door job opportunity, and that passion led to the birth of her book  No Canadian Experience, eh?


      In this article, Daisy puts the spotlight on the challenges IEPs face when they begin their job search, after arriving here with great expectations. Read the entire post at Career Musings

      "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."Pele

      Wednesday, July 7, 2010

      News You Can Use - Immigration becoming increasingly important

        These materials will give you a piece of the "Canadian flavour" about the current trends in the Canadian society towards more effective HR practices. I hope that will also help you be better prepared for your journey as an IEP in Canada. I encourage you to check them out.


      ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) is a project jointly funded by Maytree and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. ALLIES provides funding, information, networks and technical expertise to Canadian cities so that they can successfully adapt and implement local ideas for skilled immigrants to find suitable employment.


      Resources from the 2010 ALLIES Learning Exchange: Putting Ideas into Action are now available on the 2010 Learning Exchange presentation page. These include a summary report of the proceedings, audio files and slide presentations from the main plenary sessions and workshops along with a photo gallery. 


      Are you really prepared to come to Canada? I would like to suggest you to review these materials by clicking the above link. You can  find out what are the greatest difficulties faced by immigrants, and... prepare! It's not a surprise that language and literacy are playing a major role in adapting to the Canadian workplace. And, most important... it is strongly correlated with your future personal income.

      I thought you might find interesting to watch this video "Finding Talent" from the cultural competence "recruiting" series, a  dramatic television style video, where we come face to face with the challenges faced by an immigrant job seeker on the one hand, and those faced by a medium sized employer. 
      As well, Maximizing Skilled Immigrant Talent video focuses on how cultural differences can impact team dynamics. I encourage you to check it out.
      All the best and be happy!

      “The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

      Thursday, July 1, 2010

      Have a Fantastic and Happy Canada Day!



      Do you ever feel different than everyone else or do you ever think someone else is ‘Different’ than what they should be?

      Click the picture to watch this inspiring 3 minute video.