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Contact Point welcomes Peter Ono!

Peter joined Contact Point this past October as its new Associate Director of Internet Services and will be responsible for managing day-to-day operations, as well as re-defining the organization’s existing web platform. Peter comes to Contact Point with over 10 years of experience in online production and e-strategy with companies such as Bell Sympatico, ATI Technologies Inc., NBC News, Leo Burnett, and the Canadian Olympic Committee. Peter’s breadth of experience includes usability and design, e-marketing, web project management, metrics analysis, vendor management, and hands-on development.

“I am very excited and fortunate to be a part of Contact Point’s growth as it enters a very critical phase in it’s evolution as the premier resource for career development professionals”, said Peter.

Peter originally hails from Waterloo, where he earned an Honours Bachelour Degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo, and is currently pursuing his MBA from the Schulich School of Business on a part-time basis.

Write an Article for the Bulletin!

Contact Point is looking for writers interested in submitting articles for an upcoming issue of the Bulletin newsletter. To submit an article or for more information, please contact us at admin@contactpoint.ca. The Winter 2008 issue will feature articles on the subject of Group Facilitation and Workshop Development. Potential topics could include:

• Challenges and Changes in the Career Development Field
• Career Advancement or New Opportunities
• Current/Emerging Trends in Career Development
• Ethical Issues/Professionalism
• Educational Requirements/Experience for People Working in Different Positions in the Field
• Information on Different Roles in Our Field/What People are Doing
• Evolving Role of Counsellors in the Future Labour Market
• Associations – Pros and Cons, Benefits of Joining, Which Ones to Belong to
• Consulting/Self-Employment Options
   
• New/ Relevant Training and Professional Development for Career Professionals
• Innovative Professional Development Ideas
• Educational Options – MBA And PhD Programs, Certificates, CEU’s
• Information about Relevant Certifications and their Value
• Career Development Education Upgrading Opportunities
• New/Relevant Professional Development Opportunities
   
• Health and Well Being
• Stress Management and Reduction for Work
• Women’s Health
• Work-Life Balance (Balance, Commuting, Lifestyle, How to Do it)

Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2008.

All submitted materials become the property of the Contact Point Bulletin. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Views expressed by practitioners are not necessarily those of Contact Point. Mention of programs, services, products and initiatives is not an endorsement of these items.

A Quarterly Publication of Contact Point

• What’s New @ContactPoint.ca
• Tools to Support Group Facilitation
• Making Presentations: How to Have Your Audience Making Changes in Their Lives
• All About Blogging – Part 2: How to Write a Blog Post
• Stories of Transition: What Happens in the Decade After High-School?
• The Renovated Virtual Classroom: Adult Education Through Online Learning
• New Programs and Initiatives
• Conference Sketch
• Publications + Products
• Upcoming Events and Important Dates

If you have an idea for an upcoming issue or would like to contribute a piece for inclusion in an upcoming Bulletin, please send us a note at admin@contactpoint.ca.

Please send your comments and suggestions to Contact Point; there are a number of ways to reach us:

e-mail: admin@contactpoint.ca

tel: (416) 929-9668

fax: (416) 923-2536

Our mailing address is:

Contact Point

18 Spadina Rd., Suite 200

Toronto, ON. M5R 2S7

All submitted materials become the property of the Contact Point Bulletin. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Views expressed by practitioners are not necessarily those of Contact Point. Mention of programs, services, products and initiatives is not an endorsement of these items.

Contact Point is supported by The Counselling Foundation of Canada.

Two New Books Available for Purchase in the MarketPlace!

Contact Point is pleased to announce the release of:
The Decade After High School: A Professional’s Guide
Authors: Cathy Campbell, Michael Ungar

The Decade After High School: A Parent’s Guide
Authors: Cathy Campbell, Michael Ungar, Peggy Dutton

Both publications are a product of the ‘Stories of Transition: Exploring the Antecedents of Career and Educational Choices among Young Adults’ Project—a CERIC Partnership Project with Dalhousie University.
Please visit the MarketPlace for more information.

Write an Article for the Bulletin!

Contact Point is looking for writers interested in submitting articles for an upcoming issue of the Bulletin newsletter. Deadline for submissions is June 15, 2009.

To submit an article or for more information, please contact us at admin@contactpoint.ca.

The Summer 2009 issue will feature articles on the subject of Diversity: Working with Specific Client Groups .

Potential topics could include: Older Adults

• Career Development/Job Search for Older Adults
• Baby Boomers and Career Development
• Resources for Over 50 Industrial Workers

Foreign Trained Professionals/New Immigrants

• Career Services for Foreign Trained Professionals
• Working with New Immigrants
• Challenges for Professional Immigrants ie. certification
• Career Development Information and Resources for Newcomers ‘
• The Culture of The Canadian Workplace

Persons with Disabilities

• Working with Learning Disabled Adults
• Topics on Disabilities
• Special Needs Clients and Career Development
• Career among Persons with Disabilities
• New Programs for Special Needs Clients
• Learning Disabilities and Work
• Duty to Accommodate, Rights and Obligations

Youth

• Working with At-Risk Students
• Career Resources for Teenagers
• Student Career Development
• School to Work Transition with Secondary School Teachers as the Intended Audience
• Direct Entry Employment Opportunities for Recent High School Graduates
• Recruiting Today’s Youth
• Secondary and Post Secondary Students
• Post Secondary Training for Non-University Bound Students

Other Client Groups

• Employment Counselling and Clients With Barriers
• Models of Service for Individuals with Mental Illness
• Dealing With Difficult Clients
• Working with People with Addiction/Criminal Histories
• Vocational Counselling For Cardiac Patients
• Aboriginal Career Counselling
• Career Development and Counselling for GLBT clients

Are You Interested in Reading Articles in French?
Don’t miss the last issue of the OrientAction Bulletin!

The Fall edition of the OrientAction Bulletin includes articles on a variety of subjects: Preparation for Retirement and Identity, Emotional Health, A Review of the 16 PF, 5th edition (a psychometric test) and more. Please visit www.orientaction.ca to view the newsletter.

Share your expertise by submitting an article for the OrientAction Bulletin to admin@orientaction.ca.

By Juliet Wehr Jones, Vice President, Career Key Canada

Difficult clients are a part of any professional practice where you are paid to give expert advice. While generally the stakes are higher for lawyers than career counsellors in dealing with difficult clients (the risks and costs of malpractice lawsuits are greater), counsellors can use the same techniques to successfully handle them.

But unlike lawyers, counsellors are more likely to be Social personality types (RIASEC) and shy away from conflict with others. So to avoid conflict, you need to be proactive and directly handle problems early.

Here are a few things I learned in my ten years as a labor and employment lawyer, representing employees, unions, and management.

The Non-Paying Client. Always have a fee agreement in writing. If they delay paying their bill more than a couple of months, let them go. I represented unemployed clients so I understand how difficult (and guilt producing) it is to charge money to people without a job.  On the other hand, you have to pay your bills and they will benefit from your help. There is an opportunity cost to your time; if you spend it with this person you will not spend it with a paying client or on marketing.

The Bill Questioner.  If your client questions your bill more than once, you need to let them go. One question is usually a misunderstanding (or on rare occasion, your mistake). Two questions is likely signs of a “chronic bill questioner” who will question every bill you send, waste your time and aggravate you. You can nicely say that you think he or she would be better served elsewhere.

The Client Who Doesn’t Take Your Advice.  If your client continually refuses to take your advice, you need to let them go.  They are paying you for expert advice and if they are unwilling to take it, then they need someone else.

The Potential Client that Makes Your Gut Contract. If you talk with someone interested in your services and you do not make a connection with the person or you feel turned off, no matter how much you need the client’s money, don’t take the client. This was advice from my first mentor and the only time I disobeyed this feeling, I made a regretful decision.

The Dissatisfied Client Who Wants a Refund. Hopefully you will avoid many of these by following the advice above.  But if you get one, just give them the refund. It will take more time, treasure and be more stressful if you fight it out over principle. There are some people who are unrealistic, lazy, or opportunistic (see “gut contraction” above) and the less time you spend with them the better.

The Dissatisfied Client that Complains to Your Boss.  If you work at a place where you have no choice over the clients you must handle, it is best to keep your boss in the loop early with difficult clients. Managers hate ugly surprises. And as simplistic as it sounds, if you have a boss who is unsupportive or doesn’t trust you to make good decisions, you need to get a new job. Difficult clients, when they sense sympathy and weakness from your employer, will make things worse – and potentially damage your professional reputation. You need a supportive boss who backs up your decisions.

Finally, document your work.  Right after the client leaves your office, take 15 seconds to write down in the file a few words to remember what advice you gave someone. It doesn’t have to be complete sentences or a full picture – just enough to trigger your memory.

Most lawyers do “pro bono” (free) legal work so there are exceptions to some of my advice about fees.  But it is easy, especially when you want to help people in need, to take on more unpaid work than you can afford.

We work in career development because we want to help people, but we need to be careful not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.  In the long run, the more financially secure you are, the more “pro bono” work you can accept.

Juliet Wehr Jones, J.D. is Vice President of Career Key Canada, www.careerkey-ca.org, the #1 Internet source for helping people choose careers. Her popular blog, The Career Key Blog, http://careerkey.blogspot.com/, is featured on Alltop Careers.

Extreme Makeover!

As you may have noticed, ContactPoint.ca underwent a radical new design earlier this year in our continual efforts to improve and be of greater service to it’s users.

Based on feedback from industry professionals, colleagues, and partner organizations, the need for doing this was clear. With our expanded content and content delivery channels, we can now reach a larger, more diversified group of professionals, and also provide our partners with more options in reaching their intended audiences through advertising.

The goals of the re-design were to enhance the online experience, making it as user-friendly as possible; deliver relevant and timely information to our end-users; implement industry standard technologies; allow for better performance and traffic monitoring; and update our overall image.

New features on ContactPoint.ca include RSS feeds, YouTube-style video, an upgraded ListServ which now has over 1,700 subscribers, and practitioner blogs written by our esteemed colleagues, Dr.John-Paul Hatala, Melissa Macfarlane and Isabel Savoie.

What hasn’t changed is our focus on delivering content that is both useful and current. Our popular sections continue to be our Online Resources, Job Boards, Bulletin newsletters, and Networking lists.

We are mindful of our mission to advance the knowledge of our colleagues by delivering content they depend on to make informed decisions. We are confident that our new website will allow us to fulfill our mission and ultimately enhance end-user value.

We wish to thank you for your patience and feedback during the process and if you have any questions or comments regarding our new website, please contact us at:

admin@contactpoint.ca.

Write an Article for the Bulletin!
ContactPoint is looking for writers interested in submitting articles for an upcoming issue of the Bulletin newsletter. Deadline for submission is September 15, 2009. 

To submit an article or for more information, please contact us at admin@contactpoint.ca

The Fall 2009 issue will feature articles on the subject of HR/Corporate/Workplace Issues.

Potential topics could include:

• Organizational career development
• Human resource information for small and medium businesses
• Hiring practices of companies
• Privacy trends and practices affecting human services in private sector
• Conflict resolution in the workplace
• Conflict mediation
• Human rights in the workplace
• Workplace bullying
• Evaluation of training results in the corporate environment

All submitted materials become the property of the ContactPoint Bulletin. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Views expressed by practitioners are no necessarily those of ContactPoint. Mention of programs, services, product and initiatives is not an endorsement of these items.

The Opportunities Are Increasing

By Mark Swartz, MBA, M.Ed.

The idea of employment being sustainable has a lot of appeal in this day and age of job insecurity. Now there’s a whole new meaning to the term. “Sustainability” these days means your job involves green, environmental initiatives, or else falls under the umbrella of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It’s a great new way for your clients to increase their marketability. They can differentiate themselves as capable employees who can also get profit-enhancing CSR done. But don’t just take it from me.

Being a Strategic CSR Employee

Adding his viewpoints is Dr. Andrew Crane, George R. Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics and Director, Business & Sustainability Program at the Schulich School of Business, located at York University. He says that this is the right time for people to clarify their role as an employee involved in CSR initiatives: “You are not merely the company’s conscience or donations person. You are uniquely prepared to deal with complexity and multi-stakeholder relationships on a strategic basis.”  Andrew adds that those who can create new socially responsible products and services (e.g. fair trade coffee, green mortgages), or who can reshape processes to enhance the triple bottom line (e.g. using fewer scarce resources, leaving less of a carbon footprint, making governance more effective), will be in demand. He also notes that “Consumers will purchase responsibly – assuming that price, quality and branding are equal to the alternatives. Thus we need business-savvy employees who can make or promote exciting products and services that have CSR built-in and the potentially daunting tradeoffs removed.”

Jobs for Responsible Business Employees

As for where the jobs might be, Andrew says that you needn’t focus your search exclusively on employers in the environmental or not-for-profit sectors. “When you look at who is winning awards for being socially responsible, it includes companies such as Walmart, IBM, Loblaws, Vancouver City Savings and Home Depot; places you may not have thought to look first.” Each of the companies cited above is on the “Best 50 Corporate Citizens” list for 2008 or 2009, prepared by Corporate Knights (the Canadian magazine for responsible business).How to find an employer that might value your CSR credentials? Well, it makes sense to look at that Best 50 list above and review the Canadian Business for Social Responsibiltiy (CBSR) membership roster, for starters. Also that of the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy, and the top performers on the Jantzi Social Index.Here’s a tip from Adine Mees, President and CEO of CBSR: “Seek out industries where there are already obvious aspects of CSR that directly impact profitability and the capacity to function within communities, such as mining or oil and gas.” The goal of your clients is to be at the intersection “where significant stakeholder concerns and corporate strategy meet head on.” As well, search for employer websites where they boast of their sustainability efforts. And keep an eye out for those that issue a CSR or Sustainability Report in addition to the standard Annual Report.

Andrew adds that “So far there are few actual jobs with CSR in the title, yet employers often look for people who match their values and vision statement, who can position themselves as a solid recruit based on respecting integrity while also being a champion of innovation, profitability and sustainability.” He reminds us that to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders (both internal and external), you may need to prepare yourself to be “politically astute and tough, declaring yourself a true agent of change.”  In other words, sustainable jobs go to the sustainable job seekers.

Mark Swartz, MBA, M.Ed., is Canada’s Career Activist. His insights reach millions as the Workopolis Career Advisor, as author of the best seller “Get Wired, You’re Hired!,” and as a professional speaker and coach on career/work issues. A former Toronto Star careers columnist, Mark’s advice is forthright and practical. For many more free articles, and for personalized coaching, please visit Mark’s site at www.careeractivist.com.

ContactPoint is Hiring!

ContactPoint is growing, and we’re in need of a Web Content Administrator. This role is primarily responsible for implementing and contributing to ContactPoint’s online content strategy to attract new users and engage existing stakeholders. S/he is a skilled writer who can create compelling online content, and utilize social media tools, video, and Web 2.0 strategies to build a strong community of engagement and support.
If you’re interested, or know of someone who might fit the bill, please visit our website for a full job description:

http://www.contactpoint.ca/index.php?option=com_resource&controller=article&article=2799&category_id=38&Itemid=68

Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010.

Book Reviewers Needed

If you are a practitioner in the field, and love to write, we want to hear from you! Please send us an email at admin@contactpoint.ca with the subject: Book Reviewer. If possible, please cite examples of your work.

Write an Article for the Bulletin!ContactPoint is looking for writers interested in submitting articles for an upcoming issue of the Bulletin newsletter. Deadline for submissions is March 15, 2010. 

To submit an article or for more information, please contact us at admin@contactpoint.ca.

All submitted materials become the property of the ContactPoint Bulletin. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Views expressed by practitioners are not necessarily those of ContactPoint. Mention of programs, services, products and initiatives is not an endorsement of these items.

Welcome to Paula Wansbrough
We welcomed Paula to the CERIC team this March. As ContactPoint’s new web content administrator, Paula will be responsible for future Bulletins as well as all other ContactPoint resources and services.

Paula has managed a variety of web projects and has worked in the community-based employment services sector. Highlights from her work history include monitoring the implementation of the Labour Market Development Agreement in Ontario with ACTEW, an umbrella organization that supports women’s employment and training, and assessing online strategies for job-seeking youth with First Work/The Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres. Paula also coordinated the Ontario Women’s Justice Network, a web site that provided abuse survivors with legal information, and was a content animator for CLEONet.ca, an online clearinghouse for public legal education.

Paula looks forward to working with Peter, Riz and the rest of the CERIC team and to broadening her horizons by joining the nation-wide conversation on career development. Write to Paula at paula@contactpoint.ca with your suggestions for new content on ContactPoint.

Blogging on OrientAction

ContactPoint’s French sister site has entered the blogoshpere. Visit Orientaction to read François Bernatchez and Émilie Robert.

http://www.orientaction.ca/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=100

Write an Article for The Bulletin!

ContactPoint is looking for writers interested in submitting articles for upcoming issues of The Bulletin.

The Bulletin offers articles on a variety of topics relevant to career practitioners and the field of career counselling. It also features book reviews, conference sketches, organization snapshots, and new publications and products. Most content for The Bulletin is contributed by volunteers. The newsletter is a quarterly publication available four times a year online and twice a year in hard copy.

Our theme for Summer 2010 is Assessments and Testing. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2010.

To submit an article or for more information please contact Paula Wansbrough at paula@contactpoint.ca.

Welcome to the Spring 2010 edition of The Bulletin. With this issue we look at youth employment and career development, a timely topic given the current state of youth (un)employment.

As anyone in the sector is aware, opportunities for job-seeking Canadian youth are limited. In February, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reported an unemployment rate of 15.2% and a participation rate of 64.7% for people age 15 to 24 years. In comparison, in February 2008, the rates were 11.4% and 67.6% respectively.

Employment losses among young people are a common trait of economic downturns, yet even as the Canadian economy revives, youth are still struggling to find their place. And many enter the job market with hefty loans from post-secondary education.

The Bulletin Spring 2010 offers tools and inspiration for career practitioners as they guide youth through these challenging times. There are strategies for engaging “Generation Y”, techniques for flushing out skimpy job histories, information about on-campus recruitment, a national survey on youth employment, and reflections on the challenges and pleasures of launching young people on their career paths.

For further encouragement, here’s a finding from another recent release from Statistics Canada:

“while student debt continues to affect individuals’ finances after graduation, borrowers who complete their postsecondary education received labour market returns to their education similar to those of non-borrowers. Moreover… graduates have fared much better in the labour market than those with less education, including those with partial postsecondary studies.”

May this Spring issue of The Bulletin help energize your important work!

References:

February 2010 Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-x/2010002/t001-eng.htm

February 2008 Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/080307/t080307a-eng.htm

“The financial impact of student loans”, Perspectives on Labour and Income, January 2010 Issue, Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100129/dq100129c-eng.htm

ContactPoint Merges with CERIC

ContactPoint has merged with the CERIC (Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling). For a number of years, ContactPoint has operated as a program of CERIC and we are now formalizing this relationship. We are very excited about this development and are confident that it will ensure that the services we have provided to you in the past will continue into the future.

CERIC is a charitable organization dedicated to advancing education and research in career counselling and career development within Canada. CERIC’s mission includes the support of professionalism in the career and work search counselling field, with a focus on staff development,curriculum development, and applied research.

We hope that you will avail yourself of the services that CERIC provides. Note that CERIC accepts Partnership Project Applications from individuals and organizations for career counselling related research, learning and professional development projects. Those seeking a partnership are encouraged to submit a brief Letter of Intent with an outline of the project. For more information on current funding priorities, application procedures and other CERIC projects, please visit www.ceric.ca.

Meet You at the MarketPlace

Visit ContactPoint’s MarketPlace to purchase great career development resources. All books are published and distributed through CERIC.

Blogger Central

Be sure to check out ContactPoint’s popular blogs. Our bloggers are: Mark Franklin, Practice Leader and Radio Host; Dr. John-Paul Hatala, Professor, HR Education/Workforce Development; and Melissa Macfarlane, Development Coach.

Some highlights from the past month:

• Get creative with you job search. Now!
• If you’re unemployed why should I hire you?
• What makes a good career practitioner?
• Motivation + you + client = greater potential
• Two leaders—two unconventional stories of career success

To access our blogs, follow the Blogger Central link.

ContactPoint has a New Phone Number

You can now reach us at: 416.929.2510 x34. Our old number — 416.929.9668 — will not be in service after August 1, 2010.