Welcome to the December 2005 edition of the TorontoJobs.ca Jobseeker Newsletter.

Everyone here at TorontoJobs.ca wishes you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season and Best Wishes for the New Year.

Which brain goes to the interview? By Bruce van Ryn-Bocking MD, MBA

Employment Law Review - "Notice" by Marvin Gorodensky

Did you know? Favourite Interviewing Questions

Congratulations to Rakesh Tando of Mississauga for being our 10,000th resume!

Upcoming Career Fairs

Update your profile

We want to hear from you

Which brain goes to the interview?
By Bruce van Ryn-Bocking MD, MBA

We all have experienced “interview anxiety” and have dealt with it more or less successfully. But why is it such a powerful phenomenon and what can we do to manage it?

Human beings have two very different parts of the brain that manage difficult situations.

Our Gray Matter is responsible for managing data. It gathers the facts of the situation, processes them, stores them into memory, and brings them up when needed.

Our Limbic System is responsible for managing emotions. It pays attention to other people’s emotional responses, remembers emotional memories from our past, and creates our emotional response. Because it is also responsible for survival, the Limbic System creates our fight or flight responses to threatening situations.

In any given moment, our thoughts and actions will be controlled by either our Gray Matter or our Limbic System. In interview situations, where we are expecting to be judged, the Limbic System (our emotional brain) can take control and we can end up appearing less competent in the interview than we wish to appear.

Continue reading...

Employment Law Review - "Notice"
By Marvin Gorodensky, Barrister & Solicitor
Employment Law Lawyer

It has become increasingly commonplace for individuals to be told by their employers that as a result of corporate restructuring or re-organization, shortage of work or cutbacks, they are being terminated. Under these circumstances, the employer is obliged by the Employment Standards Act (the “Act”) of Ontario to provide a departing employee who has three or more months service with notice of termination so that he may have the time and resources needed to look for alternate employment;

An employee’s rights upon termination under the Act include the following:

1. The employer must provide notice of termination in writing.
2. Notice may take one of two forms. The employer may provide written notice to the
   employee that termination will occur at some future date. In this situation, the
   employee will continue his employment until that date is reached. This is commonly referred to as “working notice”. The length of working notice that an employee is entitled to, will increase with years of service up to a maximum of 8 weeks for an employee who has been employed for 8 years or more years. During the period of working notice, the employee will continue to receive regular salary and participate in the group benefits plan provided by the employer;
3. Alternatively, where an employee is advised that his employment is being
   terminated effective immediately, he will be entitled to pay in lieu of notice quantified on years of service, up to a maximum of 8 weeks;
4. An employee is entitled to vacation pay on any amount provided as termination pay under the Act;
5. Where an employee has five or more years of service and is either part of a group of 50 or more employees facing termination or works for a company with a payroll at or exceeding $2.5 million, that employee when terminated, will be entitled to severance pay in addition to termination pay. The amount of severance will depend upon years of employment, up to a maximum of 26 weeks’ pay for an employee who has completed 26 or more years of service;
6. An employee is entitled to receive termination and severance pay owing in a
   lump sum, within seven days of termination or by the next scheduled pay date;
7. An employer is obligated to provide the departing employee with any wages and/or reimbursement of expenses owing at termination; and
8. An employee is entitled to receive a Record of Employment upon termination,
   which document is needed in order to apply for Employment Insurance benefits.

Continue reading...

Did you know? Favourite Interviewing Questions

A survey was conducted by TorontoJobs.ca to find out recruiters’ favourite interviewing questions. We spoke to a number of recruiters in the Greater Toronto Area and we asked a simple question: “What’s your favourite interviewing question?”

Here are some of the most common and most unusual responses:

Most common:

• "Tell us about your previous experience(s), and how it is relevant to this job?"
• "If we call your references, what would they say about you?"
• "Describe why you feel you’re the best for the job. (according to skills/ knowledge)"
• "Tell me about your accomplishments."
• "What are your goals?"
• "Explain what you feel you could bring to this organization."
• "Tell us what you know about our company and the position you’re applying for."
• "Tell me about yourself." (How they answer shows what type of personality/drive they have.)

Unusual Questions:

• "How many gas stations are in Toronto?" (There is no right or wrong answer to this question, the purpose is to see if person can think logically and come to a reasonable answer.)
• "Are you nervous?"
• "What’s the worst mistake you ever made at a previous job?"
• "Sell this pen to me in 5 minutes."
• "If you were a product, how would you go about improving yourself to be more saleable?"

Congratulations to Rakesh Tandon of Mississauga for being our 10,000th resume

Rakesh Tandon was the 10,000th resume posted to our resume database, for which he won a free evaluation by a TorontoJobs.ca consultant and a free career assessment by Thomas International!

Upcoming Career Fairs

Look for TorontoJobs.ca at these upcoming Job and Career Fairs in 2006:

• January 18th - Hospitality Job and Career Fair at the Premiere Ballroom & Convention Centre, 9019 Leslie Street (Hwy. 7 and Leslie), Richmond Hill from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• January 31st - Job and Education Fair specifically designed for New Canadians, Aboriginals & Visible Minorities at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Hall 718 from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Visit www.nastrategyinstitute.com to print a copy of the attendee registration form and bring it with you to the fair. Please bring plenty of resumes and arrive in well enough time (30 mins) for registration at the fair.
• March 8th - Health Care Career Fair, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Premiere Ballroom & Convention Centre, 9019 Leslie Street (Hwy. 7 and Leslie), Richmond Hill from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• March 24th - Career Concepts Show at the Metro Convention Centre from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. If you would like more information about the show please visit www.careerconcept.ca.
• March 29th - Retail Job and Career Fair from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the Premiere Ballroom & Convention Centre, 9019 Leslie Street (Hwy. 7 and Leslie), Richmond Hill from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• June 6th and October 12th - Job and Education Fair specifically designed for New Canadians, Aboriginals & Visible Minorities -- see January 31st above.

Update Your Profile and Resume

The best way to stay visible on TorontoJobs.ca, and get your resume to as many Employers as possible is to keep your profile accurate and up to date.

If you have any new experience, credentials, or education, always make sure to add that to your online resume. If your email address, phone number or contact information has changed, be sure to update it so that you can be sure that Employers know how to contact you.

Also, make sure that the "Title or Summary" section of your Resume is as eye-catching and relevant as possible since this is the first thing that any employer will see when they search for resumes. Many people have general titles like "My Resume" or "Qualifications", which do nothing to describe them, their skills, and field of interest. A quick summary of who you are and what you are capable of can make a big difference to Employers.

Click here to update your Profile

Click here to update your Resume

We want to hear from you…

Do you have any comments, questions or suggestions for improvement for TorontoJobs.ca?

We would be happy to hear from you. Please email info@torontojobs.ca.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Jobseeker Newsletter. If you have any questions or comments about the content of this newsletter, or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us.

Full Online Version

Newsletter Archives

Subscribe to this newsletter

My Account

Search Jobs

Career Resource Centre

Employment Agencies

Search Major Job Sites

Jobseeker FAQ