The Bulletin

Job Exchange Program, A Great Experience

October 12, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Christopher Little

My name is Christopher Little; I am a careers co-coordinator at the University of Lancaster in the UK, presently on a five month exchange program with the Career Planning Service at McGill University. How did this exchange program come about? Interested in looking for a possible job exchange with someone in another country? Read on! Back in the winter of 2010 on a visit to Quebec the idea of an exchange came to mind. This was not the first time I had gone down this road, for back in 2003, I had come up with a similar idea to undertake a professional exchange, at that time I was looking towards the southern hemisphere. Back then, one thing led to another and I began looking up universities on the web, and contacting various career departments in Australia and New Zealand. This process took quite a bit of time and persistence, sending emails to the various heads of department and enquiring if any members of staff wished to undertake an exchange. I thought the duration of the exchange would be manageable with around three to six months, though I was always flexible in my communications. Eventually, through trial and error, my hard work paid off and I was able to start a dialog with a colleague in New Zealand, after drawing a blank with Australia.

Getting Further Faster: Executive Coaching

October 12, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Sean Townsend

“High-performance coaching” is how executive coach Laurie Hillis describes her recent experience with Patricia,* a senior analyst focusing on operational excellence in a Calgary-based pipeline company. Patricia was looking for ways to improve her communication skills to meet the challenges of her unique position.

Working with Musical Clients? Remember to Look at Transferable Skills!

October 9, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

by Jan Bottomer

I am a career advisor. I am also a cellist.

For the past five years I have played with I Medici di McGill Orchestra – “the doctors’ orchestra” of McGill. To me, my orchestra is a weekly reminder that musical training is only limiting if you let it be, and that, more often than not, the skills developed along the way can open up worlds of experience and opportunity. The core members of this high-level amateur orchestra include doctors and professors representing specialties from Ophthalmology to Obstetrics, Oceanic Sciences to Electroacoustics. These people have been musicians for most of their lives, and continue to play while also holding down highly demanding jobs in a range of diverse fields.

A View of Cannexus12 through the Eyes of Rich Feller

October 9, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

by Rich Feller

Arriving a day early from Fort Collins, Colorado to attend two Cannexus Pre-Conference Workshops I regret missing the third. Eager to attend anything Mark Savickas presents I missed the Cannexus Actively Mastering What We Passively Suffer: A Counselling Session. Yet having access to Mark, and networking with him and his lovely wife in the Westin’s restaurant was a special treat. I couldn’t get enough of Chris Kulbaba and his cutting edge work with The Social Media Toolkit and Career Counselors, and immersing myself in Norm Amundson’s Career Flow in Action the first day all expectations were exceeded. From there I joined the audience on the edge of our seats as Trey Anthony’s story and mentoring message inspired all of us to live fully with joy.

Career Services Sector Learns from Survey Findings

October 9, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

by Mario R. Gravelle

Findings from the Survey of Career Service Professionals were revealed at Cannexus12 (January 23-25, 2012). The survey delved into research and education issues as well as career competency and mobility. The resultant information offers a snapshot of the composition of the career services community including some of its interests and challenges, along with professional development and information needs. Here are a few things that we learned:

Award-Winning Programs Tackle Youth Unemployment

October 9, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

by Barbara Williams

FirstWork, a not-for profit organization that supports and advocates for a sustainable youth employment delivery network in Ontario, received funding from The Counselling Foundation of Canada in 2009 for its Cross Canada Dialogues on Youth Career Development in Hard Times Project. This three-year initiative was instituted to bring together youth serving organizations from all regions and employment counselling sectors in Canada to discuss how best to serve the career development and employment needs of the nation’s youth during an economic downturn.

Improving Your Employability in Tough Economic Times

October 5, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Jen Davies

Youth unemployment in Canada has rarely been worse. In an economic period that has seen retirement savings shrink, Boomers aren’t retiring as expected. Long-time program funders like the federal and provincial governments are cutting the number of dollars they are spending on summer jobs programs and even on ongoing employment-related services, so there are fewer openings and recent graduates are competing for positions with recently laid-off experienced workers.

Network Your Jobs

October 5, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Laura Henshaw

As career practitioners, it is a reality that, at various points in our lives, we will have to use for ourselves the advice that we give to our clients. In this personal account of her own job hunting, Laura Henshaw, who graduated in 2010 from the Career and Work Counsellor (CWC) program at George Brown College, tells us of her experience finding work as a career practitioner, still at the beginning of her career, in a difficult labour market. Lessons learned? Do not look down on volunteering and temporary work as a way to get experience and create ties! And also, network, network, network!

Career Development in Plant Agriculture

October 5, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Vijay Kumar Bhosekar

Due to the continued growth of the global population and the consequent expanding need for study of food crops and agriculture in general, the outlook for plant agriculture and agriculture experts is excellent. Past agricultural research has created higher yielding crops, crops with better resistance to pests and plant pathogens, and more effective fertilizers and pesticides. Research is still necessary, however, particularly as insects and diseases continue to adapt to pesticides and as soil fertility and water quality continue to need improvement. This article will discuss career opportunities and the labour market in the field of agriculture.

Help Build a Career as an Artist at Canadianartschool.ca

October 5, 2012By Norman Valdez0 comment

By Ann Webb

The Counselling Foundation of Canada provided a two-year grant in 2010 to the Canadian Art Foundation (CAF) to support the development of a new career-related website, canadianartschool.ca. The Canadian Art Foundation is a charitable organization that supports the visual arts in Canada with a mission to promote the understanding and appreciation of the field by providing an informative, provocative and lively forum for audiences to engage with artists and their works. Canadian Art magazine and canadianartschool.ca are two of CAF’s cornerstone initiatives. Canadianartschool.ca was launched in January 2011 as a means of supporting those who are interested in pursuing a career in visual arts or those currently in the art and design field seeking to enhance their career training and professional development.

Canadianartschool.ca features content targeted to teachers, students and parents that would certainly also be of help to career service professionals. This comprehensive site includes career profiles and guidance on art education and cultural careers with much of this material focusing on practical, “how-to” topics relating to art school and building a successful career. Users can also get advice from experts in the field on making the most of their art-school experience. For instance, tips and tricks are offered on getting a start in the art world, from internships to portfolios to networking. The website likewise has teacher resources including four curriculum guides and videos about various art and design topics (from graphic design to painting to photography and new media), and short videos featuring artists, curators, writers and other Canadians who are leaders in the cultural field. The site also includes a comprehensive directory of art schools across Canada from universities with art programs to dedicated post-secondary art colleges to continuing education institutions.

The Canadian Art Foundation is very pleased to offer this new website that will provide much-needed guidance about art and design career-related matters. This website will prove to be an invaluable resource for those who are interested in a career in art and design, those involved in the field seeking to enhance their careers, and career practitioners who have clients looking for a way to find their place in the exciting world of visual arts.

Ann Webb is the Executive Director of the Canadian Art Foundation. Please visit canadianart.ca to familiarize yourself with its content and check back regularly as new material is updated on an ongoing basis.

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 July 2012 10:16