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BCjobs Blog

October 20th, 2011

Employee Engagement: How Social Media is Changing Reward and Recognition Programs

Employee Engagement: How Social Media is Changing Reward and Recognition Programs

Facebook has 500 million, Twitter 190 million, LinkedIn 70 million. It’s undeniable that social media has changed the way the world communicates. The business community has embraced new media, with marketing and sales leveraging a variety of platforms to connect with and engage their customer. In many cases companies have also worked on perfecting their employer brand, attempting to appeal to potential recruits through Facebook and LinkedIn. But what have companies been doing for their current employee base?

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October 12th, 2011

Integrating Wellness into the Workplace

Integrating Wellness into the Workplace

Total wellness recognizes that all thoughts, words, and actions affect one’s overall health and well-being. Wellness is an integration of the mind, body, and spirit, permeating all areas of a person’s life—including work. This idea is further supported by Sorrentino’s definition of wellness: the achievement of the best health possible in the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of one’s life. Many theorists describe wellness as a holistic and comprehensive concept that involves interdependent balance of five dimensions: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social health.

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October 5th, 2011

Staying Motivated Even During the Downtime

Staying Motivated Even During the Downtime

How do you handle rejection in the job search? Do you need some down-time so that you can recoup your energy in order to refocus your job hunt? Staying motivated to push past the WALL of rejection is hard, but as long distance runners know, a lot of the motivation is mind over matter.

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September 27th, 2011

Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan

Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan

Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan. Underwhelming for some, unnecessary hyperbole for others, but what does it really mean for the BC economy and job creation? Will it be enough to protect the province from the downward slope plaguing our southern neighbours or the Eurozone crisis and rumours of another recession?
Last week Christy Clark toured the province sharing her plans for job creation as BC looks to cope with and even possibly grow in today’s economic environment. She has been criticized for proposing mild measures, some would say incapable of firmly steering the province in the right direction as well as missing some sectors and regions. Clark has labeled BC a ‘safe port in an unsettled economic storm’, but what does this really mean? Let’s look at the key areas of the Plan.

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September 21st, 2011

Resume Language

Resume Language

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”- Philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein

So very true. Isn’t it remarkable how so few words capture so much meaning?
As is my way, I can absolutely relate this quote to career management. How (the question begs to be asked) is the language of your resume working for you?
If you’ve saturated your resume with “provided, assisted, or even managed,” might I suggest that you have some work to do?

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September 14th, 2011

Hiring for the Small Employer

Hiring for the Small Employer

More and more small businesses are popping up due to the economic downturn. People are realizing that they need to become more reliant on themselves to be gainfully employed. As these startup businesses increase, there will be some challenges that must be considered.
One of many challenges will possibly be in hiring a strong and stable group of employees. The reality is that you will probably not be able to compete with larger employers that offer higher salaries; benefit packages; stock options; flexible work-weeks, etc. For a while, folks are going to try to hold out for these positions and may very well turn you down.

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September 14th, 2011

Be Interview Savvy: How to Ask Critical Interview Questions

Be Interview Savvy: How to Ask Critical Interview Questions

You just landed an interview. You’re excited. You’re nervous. And, your head is full of questions about how to come across as the perfect candidate: What should I wear? What should I say? What are the frequently asked interview questions are they may throw at me?
Most of these first questions revolve around marketing yourself to the company and answering the question, “What does an employer expect in an interview?” But, hang on a second. Take a moment and remember, it’s also important to use the interview process to answer the most important question of all: Is this the job I want?

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September 1st, 2011

The Myth of the Unique Employment Proposition

The Myth of the Unique Employment Proposition

Is there such a thing as a completely unique employment brand? Perhaps if you are the White House, Disneyland or Google. Most employers, however, struggle to determine what is truly unique about them that can attract candidates who have many choices.
Healthcare organizations describe themselves as “caring” places, where “you can make a difference.” Companies tell us that it’s all about “collaboration,” where your colleagues “feel like family.” Others speak in general terms about “career growth and opportunity.”
How do you cut through the clichés and create something memorable and enticing to candidates, especially when you may not have one startlingly unique attribute to advertise? Consider the following:

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September 1st, 2011

Employment Resource Centres: Helping you with your job search

Employment Resource Centres: Helping you with your job search

Are you looking for work? If you are like thousands of people across B.C., your local Employment Resource Centre offers tools and resources that can help you succeed in your job search. Employment Resource Centres are funded by the Province of British Columbia, and services are provided at no cost to you.

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August 31st, 2011

Tips for communicating change!

Tips for communicating change!

Every organization at some point in time will have to announce some type of change in the workplace. It’s right up there with death and taxes – we can count on it!
The changes may be new or updated technology; changes in leadership (a new supervisor hired in a department); or changes in policies for one reason or another.
The way in which changes are communicated will determine how successful the changes are understood and adopted by the employee group. Having been involved in a number of change initiatives in various organizations I can tell you with from experience, communicating effectively is a must!

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