Career Trends

One of the best ways to learn more about a specific industry, job, or organization is by connecting with professionals who are actually in the field. The technical term for this type of interaction is called 'Informational Interviewing'. Often the most current information about a career field, especially in a specific geographic location, may not be available in print or online resources. This resource gives great information on informational interviewing. It gives benefits of informational interviews as well as steps in conducting an informational interview along with samples of what one can say or questions one can ask.

For years, Eileen Hasselhoff enjoyed her steady job as a cashier at a Toronto fast-food restaurant. She didn't earn a lot, typically minimum wage, but at least she had regular hours that let her plan her life and save a little for retirement. That all changed a few years ago.

In 2008 the Municipal Finance Officers' Association published a 27 page document that I find quite fascinating. It addresses the challenge that municipalities have in finding a balance between embracing local strengths, working within the framework of government and competing on a global scale. It breaks Ontario into different regions, talks about each regions' strengths, identifies stakeholders and suggests ways that all parties can work together to strengthen Ontario's competitiveness on a number of scales.

This article is very helpful in guiding businesses/industries on how to remain competitive, and the importance of doing so. It offers many links and tools for assessing one's company in relation to its competition, and offers explanations on how to accurately follow and implement their guidelines. This article is a simplified tool for expanding a business and improving its competitiveness, or ensuring that they remain the leading competitor in their industry.

The site lists the minimum wage across Canada. Interesting that working full-time for minimum wage puts a single person below the poverty line.

While the unemployment rate may 'only' be at 7%, a more informed look at the statistics would reveal real Canadian struggle. 7% may seem low, but this stat does not include 'discouraged workers' in Canada (those who have given up on finding work and are no longer looking). And while the employment rate may appear to be at an all-time high, look closer and you find that most of those workers do NOT have full-time work, and the stats have climbed only because of the increase of women in paid roles in the last decades.

This site shows current unemployment data in Canada for 2014. Unemployment remained unchanged at 7% in August and July of this year and has averaged 7.74% since 1966.

This article relates to what Stanford says about the economic gender gap, at the end of Chapter 9. He mentions that poverty rates are especially high for single mothers and single female pensioners. (p.118) The article discusses some of the reasons why this poverty level exists in these two groups of women.

Average household expenditures in Ontario in 2012 was $78,495 whereas the total median income of Ontario census families in 2012 was $74,890. This can be seen in this second link: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/famil108a-eng.htm This relates to chapter 9 of Stanford's book as he states "most households spend essentially all their income on consumption, and hence their savings are non-existent" (114). This can be seen with the two figures above. If you take the two numbers, households are actually spending more than they are making.

Knowing who your competitors are, and what they are offering, can help you to make your products, services and marketing stand out. It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives.

I think this link relates to this weeks talk about competitiveness in the economy. It looks understanding who a companies competitors are as well as actions that can be taken to improve your own competitiveness.

This article describes ways in which small independent artisans can fight back against the competition of large megacompanies. Although in Chapter 9 Stanford mentions that independent businesses are negligible in the large scheme of things, I think it is interesting to look at competition from this point of view. Also, upon reading this article, I think that these kinds of more personal purchasing interactions may become more popular in the coming world as Etsy is another online marketplace, similar to ones mentioned by Gratton in The Shift.

In Chapter 8 of Economics for Everyone, Jim Stanford brings up on multiple occasions the need for labour extraction, and the use of the carrot and stick (reward and punishment) model in all businesses. As soon as I was reading this it made me think of a book I read last year by Alfie Kohn on Punishment and Reward. Kohn believes that punishments are just as bad as rewards, and that using either reduces happiness, and productivity. The first section of the book focuses on the research showing that the use of both punishments and rewards is detrimental to people's ability to do good work. In the second section he looks specifically at punishments and rewards in 3 places, the workplace, the school, and the home. In the third section he suggests new methods of motivation for all three places. When I origionally read this I was focused on his his ideas about school, however he his theories are equally important to the world of work!

This is a well-research and balanced article from the British magazine 'The Economist". It provides an accurate overview of the status of online learning. It's shortfall is that it is primarily focussed on US data.

Maclean's article describing some pitfalls of American capitalism and how the Canadian more socialized system differs (and how it makes for fewer inequalities and a stronger nation). Published at macleans.ca, but written from an American perspective, and covering everything from unemployment to quality of life to a brief introduction into why the States fear the word "socialism".

The Canadian economy shed 11,000 jobs in August but the unemployment rate stayed the same at seven per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The figure was much less than economists were expecting. The consensus was that the economy would eke out a slight gain of about 10,000 jobs.

A very interesting article to read and reflect on prior to working as an employment counsellor, as many clients have worked, currently work, or will work in precarious employment relationships. The article defines precarious employment, gives a brief history, and provides great insight into why precarious employment is on the rise. It includes a study of about 400 workers in precarious employment in Ontario, and outlines the negative health benefits. Some of these include uncertainties in the following areas: uncertainty of future work, of level of income/ benefits, location of work, schedule, workload uncertainty, etc., which ultimately lead to negative effects in people's mental and physical health.

A recent survey on millenials - another name given to Generation Y - conducted by the Pew Research Center, explains how major events such as wars, social movements, economic downturns, and medical, scientific or technological breakthroughs affect all age groups simultaneously, but the degree of impact differs according to where people are located in their life cycle.

This article from the Economist published in 2012 discusses recent changes to the Swedish economy and the lessons that Anglo-Saxon economies such as the US can learn from their example.

In the first few chapters of Stanford's book - Economics is for Everyone - he speaks to how Economic Impact is measured in both the private and non-profit sectors in different ways. Having worked for non-profit organizations for a number of years, I was especially curious about how the economic impact of the non-profit sector is measured and found this great resource put together by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Especially enlightening is the PowerPoint presentation of International best practices for Tracking Economic Impact. Enjoy!

In this week's course notes the idea of the precarious worker caught my attention. Many health issues as well as discriminatory issues are seen while doing precarious work as it is not long term and there is constant change. This article outlines and defines what the precarious worker is and the gender differences in the precarious work environment. To give one example, the article states that women represent more precarious workers than men being 33%:12%. This automatically gives way to questions regarding sex discrimination in full time work and brings in the idea of women trying to have a work/life balance for their family.

Alternative Link: http://www.erudit.org/revue/ri/2010/v65/n1/039528ar.pdf