Informational Interviews

Informational Interviews are an excellent way for the job seeker to learn about a job or profession and an important step in the process of getting hired.

Informational interviews differ from job interviews, because you are in charge.  You are the one asking the questions; as such you need to be prepared.  You need a goal and you need a plan.  Your ultimate goal might be to find a job, but you might also have smaller or short term goal of finding out about the job or the employer to see if you are interested in doing the job.  Informational interviews can also help you develop a network of professional contacts and they can help you develop confidence when you have actual job interviews. 

You should conduct each informational interview as the professional appointment it is.  You should dress accordingly, you should be polite, respectful and on time.  And most importantly, you should be prepared.  In order to assist you in preparing here are ten very general questions you may wish to ask:

1.      How do people get into this field?

2.      What do you like or not like about your job?
3.      How did you get into the field?
4.      What degree or certificate do employers look for?
5.      What kind of work/internship/volunteer experience would employers look for in a job applicant?
6.      What are the most important personal characteristics and values a person needs to be successful in the field?
7.      What are some related occupations?
8.      What are the important "key words" or "buzz words" to include in a resume or cover letter when job hunting in the field?
9.      Do you have any advice for someone entering the field?
10.  Do you know anyone else I could interview regarding the field?

After the informational interview go home and do the following things:

1.      Take notes and/ or review your notes and write up a summary of your findings, including who you might also interview.
2.      Thank the interviewer for his time and insight in writing (hand written or email).

Quote of the Week

Manpower: Healthy Job Climate for Saskatoon

Manpower: Healthy Job Climate for Saskatoon

Written by Paul Burke

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 06:35

It's good news for job-seekers. Manpower is calling for what it calls a 'healthy hiring climate' for the second quarter of the year. Survey data indicates 30 per cent of employers plan to hire someone in the April to June time period, while 70 per cent plan to maintain their current levels. No respondents indicated plans to cut staff. Across western Canada, Manpower says the strongest employment gains will be in the transportation, public utility, and construction sectors. (pb mar 12/13)

Saskatchewan Weekly Earnings in Third Place Nationally at $932

 

Recent information tells us that Saskatchewan weekly earnings have increased  4.6% year over year to $932.22 in October 2012, third highest among the provinces in both percentage increase and level of earnings. Earnings have been influenced by gains in four sectors: mining and oil and gas extraction, construction, professional, scientific and technical services and educational services.
Accomodation and food services, construction, retail trade and public administration all saw year over year growth above the national average. For example, average weekly earnings in accommodation and food services totalled $372 in October 2012, up 5.8 per cent from the same month last year.
“More money in worker’s pockets means more money to spend in the market place”, Economy Minister Bill Boyd said.
But Economist Erin Weir noted that Saskatchewan lagged the Canadian average in earnings growth on a month to month basis. “Between  September and October average weekly earnings rose by $4.90 in Saskatchewan compared to $7.80 nationally” , Weir said.
On a year over year basis, earnings were up 2.8%. That reflected a number of factors, including wage growth and changes in the composition of employment by industry as well as the average number of hours worked.
                 From the Leader Post with CP files

Quote of the Week

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is

A parent/client recently sent me a link to a CNBC news article discussing a Saskatoon mom named Patricia Feeney, who is supposedly earning almost $7,000 per month working part-time from her home.

http://www.locationfaycelles.com/fnmkcew/1gn0gsthb4qgzx20i2yi0xp4sy.d?us6h3yoymdm377eplm01em4m9i86

On reading this article, I figured it seems too good to be true.  If it is true ….sign me up.  So I Googled , Patricia Feeney of Saskatoon to see if she was an actual person, with a phone number and address.   And what did I find...well it turns out that there is also a Patricia Feeney of Yorkton and I am sure there are hundreds of other Patricia Feeneys out there as well. 

As you will note from the Yorkton This Week newspaper article below, this is a scam.  Patricia Feeney of Yorkton or for that matter Saskatoon doesn’t exist. 

You will note that, the CNBC report does not say what she is doing to earn all this money.  In fact, the Yorkton newspaper reports it’s actually not a CNBC website at all and that the article is a front for www.realinconline.com.

The newspaper advises…if you click anywhere on the faux-CNBC page, it takes you directly to the Real Online Income site, where you can sign up “in the next 60 seconds,” and “gain access to a work-at-home job paying as much as $87 an hour.”, and the only way you can find out is by entering your personal information.

The newspaper quotes, Cst. Tyler Buchanan of the RCMP’s commercial crimes unit in Saskatoon as saying: It’s a variation of a service scam. A lot of times what you get for this is identity theft.

He explained this type of fraud pre-dates the Internet. The classic variation was the old secret shopper routine. It goes like this: You receive a letter in the mail from someone claiming to be a company that conducts evaluations of retailers saying you have been “selected.” All you have to do is send them a cheque for your training materials and shopping “certification.”

http://www.yorktonthisweek.com/article/20121017/YORKTON0101/121019830/-1/yorkton/web-scam-hits-yorkton

For more information and resources on fraud awareness, visit the Government of Canada’s Anti-Fraud Centre:  www.antifraudcentre.ca

Quote of the Week

Dear Readers:

In addition to our regular Monday morning blog entry, the YWCA Saskatoon Employment and Learning  Centre begins a new feature called quote of the week.  We hope these quotes will be inspirational (or at least amusing) and will assist you in your job search.
Look for these quotes every Friday at 8:00 am in what is supposed to look like a post-it note.