Small Business Week - October 17 - 21, 2011

Come visit VCCS Employment Services' table at MP Barry Devolin's Lead Off to Small Business Week on Monday October 17, 2011. Located at the Lindsay Fairgrounds, 354 Angeline Street South, Lindsay, from 4:00 - 9:00p.m. No registration is necessary and everyone is welcome!

Representatives from various agencies will be on hand such as Business Development Canada, Farm Credit Canada, OMAFRA, Export Development Canada, Revenue Canada, Service Ontario, Community Futures Development Corporation, Service Canada, City of KL Economic Development, Kawartha Lakes Small Business Enterprise Centre and many more.

5:00p.m. - Special Presentation: Small Business
7:00 p.m. - Specical Presentation: Futures for farmers

Small Business Week - Oct. 17 - 21, 2011

On Thursday October 20th from 5:30 - 7:00, Mark Mason, Barrister and Solicitor, Hicks Morley will present a FREE workshop on Employment Law and What Employers Need to Know at VCCS Employment Services.

Mark will cover the following topics:

• What should be in a personnel file


• Dealing with difficult employees


• Performance Appraisals


• Managing contract and part time employees


• Liability Issues training and due diligence


• Question and Answer period

Space is limited. Please call 705-328-0180 to reserve your spot.

For more information visit our website at http://careerservices.org/

Student & Youth Services: How VCCS Can Get You Hired

Whether you're in school or not, if you're under 21, VCCS Employment Services has many services and great people who can get you hired.

Have a job in mind? We can help. Our employment counsellors are trained experts with the knowledge and years of experience that can take your resume and cover letter from good to great. They can help you prepare for the toughest interview questions. Come in and see our employment counsellors before you fill out that application or send that resume.

Trying to find work? We can help. If you don't already have a job in mind, and are having trouble finding job vacancies for youth/students, come in and view our job board. Our resource room counsellors and job developers have their fingers on the pulse of the local employment sector. If there's work out there, we know about it. Many jobs are not advertised in the paper. We can help you access the hidden job market. You don't have to take the first job you find. We can work with you to find the opportunity that's right for you. Stop by our resource room today.

Not sure what you're looking for? We can help with that, too. Our counsellors are available to discuss options with you. They also put on workshops to help you figure out where you're going in life and what careers are suited for you. Come in and make an appointment today.

Staying Motivated While Job Searching

Job searching is a difficult task, made all the more grueling by the very personal nature in which you are being evaluated for each job. Every "no" feels like it's aimed at you, and after a collection of rejections you might start to feel like you'll never get a job. Finding the motivation to keep job searching becomes a chore in itself. Here are a few tips to help you keep up your job-search confidence.

First, review your accomplishments every day. Employers are looking for people with positive, enthusiastic attitudes to enhance their businesses. They're not going to want to hire droopy, depressed people who are afraid to talk about themselves. Read over your resume, look through your certificates, and keep a notebook of your best accomplishments. Whenever you remember something you've done that makes you feel proud, jot it down in the notebook. Review these accomplishments before sending a cover letter and before attending an interview. A positive attitude can be felt even in a cover letter. Remember to wear a smile!

Find a support group. A group setting not only increases your list of contacts, but the group setting can provide you with new job search ideas and stories of job search success. A group can be a great source of inspiration. Sometimes when job searching you feel like you're all alone. The first thing you'll find in a support group is that you're not alone. Here at VCCS Employment Services, we run workshops each month. These are great opportunities to find others who are job searching just like you.

If a support group isn't your thing, find a motivational partner. This is someone you can talk to about your job search, proofread your cover letter, commiserate with you and celebrate your success. Find someone who will hold you accountable for your job search and won't let you give up even when it gets hard. This person could also be job searching, and you could lean on each other for support. If you're having trouble finding someone, come to VCCS Employment Services and talk to our counsellors. There's a whole team of job-search cheerleaders here for you.

Perseverance. The hit movie The Help is based on a book by Kathryn Stockett. Kathryn's book was rejected by literary agents 60 times. What if she'd given up after 8 rejections? Or 23? Or even 40? After all, 40 rejections would be pretty hard to take. Finding an agent is no different from finding a job. What if in your job search I told you that you would get the 47th job you applied for-- would you quit after applying for 15 jobs? After 26? Probably not. The right job is out there. You have to keep applying to find it. Try this: for every "no" you get, send out 3 more resumes. Keep looking for opportunities, keep applying.

Volunteer. This is also a great way to increase the number of people you know, and establish more connections, grow your support network. It also increases your employable skills, giving you something relevant to add to your resume. Come in to VCCS Employment Services and look over the many volunteer opportunities posted on our bulletin board, or have a look at Fourinfo.com. The right one is there for you.

Remember you are your own life manager. How would you say your manager is doing? Are you happy with your current job prospects? Would you manage someone else's career direction this way? Probably not. Probably you would be encouraging, supportive, and not take any excuses to quit! Remember: you are worth the same effort! If you're having trouble remembering this, go back up to the top of this post and start following the tips. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Be your own best friend.

Sometimes finding a job really is about who you know. Talk to your family, friends and neighbours. Let them know you're job searching. They might have heard of an opportunity that's right for you. This also helps you establish a support group, a network of motivational partners. Look for work opportunities everywhere.

Above all else, don't give up.

...

Read more about Kathryn Stockett's inspiring story of perseverance: More magazine

Photo credits: perseverance

Community Open House Day - Sept. 21, 2011

September 21, 2011
9:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Drop in or call to register today (705) 328-0180
Community Services Available to YOU
9:00 Literacy Ontario Central South - Brenda Graham
10:00 Ontario Works - Donna Jokinen
10:30 Job Quest - Kim Godwin
11:00 A Place Called Home - Lorrie Polito
1:30 Service Canada - Claudia Humber
3:00 Credit Counselling Service of Peterborough - Nancy Jackson
4:00 Four County Crisis Centre - Andrew Hodson, Melanie Graham

Descriptive Verbs

Sometimes when composing resumes and covering letters we get 'word locked' and can't think of a proper word to use. We are hoping these descriptions of verbs will help you.

10 Twitter accounts to follow for job searching in Kawartha Lakes

1) @WorkCabin – Founder, WorkCabin.ca, Canada’s Environmental Jobs Site | I’m a boots-on-the-ground conservationist. The forest is my second home (really, I’m not kidding)
This is an excellent site for anyone looking for environmental, conservation, and outdoor jobs anywhere in Canada. Ontario is expanding rapidly in the eco-jobs industries. New jobs are posted daily as soon as Work Cabin receives them.

2) @advantageKL – Come for a visit and learn about the advantages of operating a business while living in Kawartha Lakes! We’re here to help.http://www.advantagekawarthalakes.com
These folks are at the forefront of bringing businesses to the City of Kawartha Lakes. Follow them for news of coming businesses and you’ll get a heads-up on where the jobs will be.

3) @MonsterCareers – Monster.com tweet career advice, job-seeking tips, and more – voiced by Monster’s senior editor, Charles Purdy.
Although jobs aren’t posted here like they are on Monster.com and Monster.ca, there are great job search tips posted daily. This site is American.

4) @OnlineResume – Helping Job Seekers overcome the obstacles in resume writing and job seeking online
Again, no postings, but more great job search tips. Some tips are presented with humour. This site is American.

5) @WorkforceDB – The Workforce Development Board is a community based independent not-for-profit corporation funded by MTCU, Industry and other funding sources.
This is a great local resource for employment information, as well as job postings via our CERP job board for the City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Cobourg areas.

6) @MunicipalJobs – Canada’s premier Municipal Job Board, hosted by Municipal World, now tweeting job postings from across Canada #jobs Also follow our Editor @MWEditor
Jobs are posted almost daily, but are from across Canada. This is a great resource for those with a university education, who don’t mind relocating.

7) @kawarthajobs – Only jobs in the City of the Kawartha Lakes will be posted here
These jobs are all local, posted daily, and sourced from Kijiji. If you are going to check out these jobs, please do a little homework and be careful.

8) @ptbojobs – Daily job postings for Peterborough, ON. Kyle Richtig, certified Job Search Coach and Résumé Writing Coach, currently works for Northern Lights Canada. http://www.kylerichtig.com
Daily postings of jobs in Peterborough, including Kijiji postings (again, do the research and be careful with Kijiji postings).

9) @vccsemployment – Your one-stop employment service in the City of Kawartha Lakes!
Our official Twitter. Updated as often as possible with what’s happening at VCCS.

10) @SaraW_VCCS – VCCS Employment Services: We are your employment experts in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Follow @vccsemployment Find us on Facebook. http://careerservices.org
News and job information gathered daily from our community and presented for your reference, including job postings and employment-related events.

Bonus tip: Be sure to check out who these accounts are following for more great resources.

Do you have a great Twitter resource to add to this list? Mention them in the comments.