News You Can Use - A path to acceptance for immigrant professionals

“Obviously I want to find something more permanent that uses my skills,” he says, such as a job as project co-ordinator or sales or technology manager. But to do that he’s realized he has to reinvent himself for the realities of the Canadian workplace. - THE GLOBE AND MAIL


Read the article here.

The Eighth Quality: They are Excellent Communicators

They get their message across – even though they may not always speak perfect English. 
They are fully involved in the conversation. 
They listen. 
They demonstrate their commitment. 
They show their enthusiasm. 
They engage the people around them.

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

1. How are you improving your communication skills – speaking, writing, listening?
• Identify what you need to do to become a great communicator. 
2. What’s your communication style... and how can you improve?
• Decide what it is your style.
• Do you know the four phases of the communication process?
• 1. Verbal or Non-verbal
• 2. Meaning or Perception
• 3. Clarifying
• 4. Shared Meaning & Understanding
• Are you practicing it?
3. Are you demonstrating your enthusiasm and commitment effectively?
• Remember... "It's not what you say or do, but HOW you say it." 
4. How can you motivate people to want to speak with you?
• Are you a good listener? What steps do you need to take to improve your listening skills?
• “Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view." ~ Dale Carnegie
• Think of LADDER to be a good listener
• Look at the other person. 
• Ask questions. 
• Don't interrupt. 
• Don't change the subject. 
• Express emotion with control. 
• Respond appropriately.
• What are your keys to success?
• Hear & Understand - Focus on what is being said!
• Expect the Best When Communicating - Be Optimistic!
• Act with Integrity in All Your Interactions - Be Honest & Fair!
• Respect Diversity and Recognize Differences - Build Rapport!
5. Are you web-smart?
• Are you on LinkedIn? Connect to get the opportunity! Help others!!

"Communication is defined as consisting of 7-10% words, 35% tone and 55% non verbal." ~ Albert Mehrabian
"Debunking the 55%, 38%, 7% Rule" ~ Judith E. Pearson

The Seventh Quality: They are Courageous

They believe in themselves. 
They take on big challenges. 
They operate with confidence. 
They are not intimidated by others. 
They may feel the fear, but they don’t let it stop them.

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

1. Are you taking on ambitious challenges?
2. How are you building and expressing your confidence?
3. What obstacles or people do you need to confront and overcome?
4. How are you using your fear?
5. What relationships are you building to help master your fear?

"I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep trying." ~ Tom Hopkins' The Champion Creed


"The opposite of courage is conformity and there is little compensation in conformity." ~ Earl Nightingale

Benjamin Zander on music and passion

I had to share with you this great life lesson, which actually touches on many of our topics we're discussing on our blog... on success, on leadership, on how to present your passion, on new experiences, on new challenges, on music, on attitude and belief in others, on teaching and learning, on inspiration, etc., and I hope you'll have shining eyes like me, too. Enjoy!

Are you passionate or familiar with any topic discussed here? Please collaborate and share your thoughts with us. 


"The difficult in life is the choice." ~ George Moore

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

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.

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 Since there is no ease without difficulty, your mission may sometimes require you to do something that is unpleasant, frustrating, or temporarily unfulfilling. In fact, anything that you do in your daily life that you can’t see as fulfilling your highest values will leave you feeling drained. There is a simple, effective solution to this problem, however: Link everything you find unfulfilling to your highest values, that which is most important to you. www.DrDemartini.com 

Determine your values: http://lnkd.in/YEzkCJ 

“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

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

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

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.