Some tips to help you choose which will work best for you
When you’re starting a new venture, there are a number of things to think through (and often stress about too), from the idea itself and how you’ll execute it, to the staff you might need to hire, money you might need to raise, marketing of the product and service, and so much more. However, one…
Do any of these characteristics remind you of anybody you know?
Imagine you are a CEO and you need to hire a vice-president to turn around a failing business unit. You are down to the last two. There is Jane, who is charming and ambitious and drives the team hard. No fools are suffered, the dead wood is hacked and the parking lot is full from dawn to dusk. Jane…
Most job candidates have unrealistic fantasies about their resume, so here is our advice to make sure yours gets more than a perfunctory read
Most job candidates have unrealistic fantasies about their resume. The first fantasy is believing that their resume is exceptional and will actually be read. The second is that all resumes are given a perfunctory read. Now the truth. Few resumes are exceptional, and a tiny fraction of the resumes received by organizations are actually read.…
Domestic violence, no matter the gender of the victim, is wrong
I remember being 12 years old when my stepfather scarred my face for the first time. He had graduated to his fists from his belt some time before, and while he usually confined himself to battering me between the waist and the shoulder blades, the non-visible portions of my anatomy, occasionally he lost control. This…
Understanding who, or what, reads your resume will increase your chances of getting hired
Once upon a time, in a world seemingly far, far away, a job seeker would sit down with the classified section of the Sunday newspaper and a red pencil (it always was a red pencil, wasn't it?) and circle jobs that were perfect for them. They would attach a well thought-out cover letter to their…
Teaching Country Dance for Beginners to actual rural folk proved to be an eye-opener
Back in my not-so-halcyon days of youth and yore, when I practised the challenging social craft of ballroom dance instruction, I accepted a contract to teach 'Country Dance for Beginners' at a community centre in the small hamlet of Thorhild, Alberta. I had taught at various community centres in and around Edmonton to urban posers,…
Trade, trade, trade your way to the perfect family
A few years back my dog suffered from GDV, gastric dilatation volvulus, a sudden killer that can affect the healthiest dog. GDV is more commonly known as gastric torsion, where that cute, furry little quadruped stomach flips like a young Eastern bloc gymnast and is quite often fatal if not caught in time. Even if…
Canadians never really know which way to go when practising that murky art of American or British usage
It is hard not to be skeptical when spelling in Canada. Our spellings are coloured by our Commonwealth heritage and Canadians are in the unenviable position of never really knowing which way to go when practising that murky art: American or British usage? One has to admire the sheer efficiency of American spelling; they do…
Too often, the truth can set you free – from jobs, relationships, money and social opportunities
The first thing to remember in this day of mass media saturation is that there are no great lies – if something is repeated often enough it becomes the truth. That being said, the ultimate great lie is that it is always better to tell the truth. There are needful lies; lies of omission, white…
The Romantic Road is a 400-kilometre prescription to treat stress and anxiety
Germany’s ‘Die Romantische Strasse’, the Romantic Road, will not only rise up to meet you, it will seduce you, charm you, and make you fall in love – with fairy tale visions, historic architecture and pastoral beauty – not just a physical journey through nearly 400 kilometres of sublime German countryside, but a magical passage…