If July is all about picnics and BBQ’s, September is about getting back to business. For students everywhere, it’s back to school. Around the same time, the pace seems to pick up at most organizations, as everyone returns from summer holidays.

September is also known to be a busy month for hiring, with a myriad of college, university, independent and niche job fairs for employers to participate in, giving them the opportunity to meet diverse job-seekers including a large cohort of recent graduates ready to launch their careers.

While nothing can truly replace the job-fair atmosphere and the opportunity to meet hundreds of candidates face-to-face, job-seekers have increasingly become tech-savvy researchers. Today, it seems the most dynamic job fairs are taking place online.

Your “virtual booth” might be the careers page on your website, or your profile on an online job board. These days employers can showcase their brand, people, community involvement and accomplishments all online, where job-seekers will know to look for them.

A word of caution though – grads are starting to become wary of online job boards noticing that many of the postings come from third party recruiters and offer little visibility to the actual employer. Furthermore inexperienced entry-level grads are competing with job-seekers at all levels for jobs that typically ask for at least 2 or 3 years of experience.

This is what makes Career Edge and Ability Edge such safe havens for both job-seekers and employers. Recent graduates as well as recent graduates with disabilities can apply to real jobs from real employers in an environment where they are only competing with other recent grads. Furthermore employers have nothing to hide in this niche environment – their postings are protected from the public and only visible to qualified registrants of our paid internship programs.

Today’s world is all about efficiency and connectivity – the best opportunities are at your fingertips, and talent is just a mouse-click away.

By guest contributor, Sydney Helland, Career Edge intern at Career Edge Organization

Career Edge Organization has connected thousands of prospective interns with host employers for over a decade, and I am delighted to be one of these fortunate job seekers to land a role that has already allowed me to make leaps and bounds in my professional development after only a few months.

In contrast to my fellow 500-odd interns currently filling positions at host organizations across Canada, I believe I have a unique perspective by working as a Career Edge intern directly at Career Edge Organization itself. In my role as Project Coordinator and Sales Support Assistant, I interact with interns enrolled within the three different internship programs (Career Edge/Ability Edge/Career Bridge) and at all levels of participation. I assist initial job seekers with the registration process and the completion of their internship documents prior to their start date. I provide them with resources throughout their internship, and continue communication once they have achieved alumni status.

Considering the extensive amount of internships I witness on a habitual basis, I have been able to make a fair assessment of what an intern requires from their employer to succeed in their role, all while growing professionally toward the objective of a rewarding and progressive career.

Although the types of internship opportunities offered through Career Edge Organization vary quite broadly, the support that interns require tends to remain steadfast. Of these requirements, the following five are certainly the most influential for an intern’s improved performance and professional growth:

1. Constructive Feedback: It is important for any employer to understand that feedback must be a timely and continuous process throughout an internship. Little should come as a surprise during a performance review. A total lack of communication regarding performance in between reviews can cause a great deal of anxiety from an intern’s perspective, and diminishes opportunities for amendments. In my role at Career Edge, I have found that feedback is not only valued when responding to a job well done, but also motivates me to progress when there are areas for improvement.

2. Independence: While it is important to provide guidance and consistent feedback with interns, it is equally important to leave room for autonomy within their role. Personally, I work well independently once I have established my bearings, and my colleagues certainly respect my self-sufficient work style. That being said, the degree of desired independence varies from intern to intern, and is something that requires periodic communication to establish.

3. Learning Opportunities: This is one element of my personal internship experience that I have been incredibly grateful for. My coach and employer consistently provide me with excellent opportunities to enhance my internship experience. Some of these opportunities include attending networking events, sitting in on conference calls, and gaining valuable new skills when providing cross-departmental support.

4. Appropriate resources: One challenge I have faced in my role is locating resources when in need. Whether these resources are as simple as office supplies and digital files, or the appropriate people to talk to in any given situation; these need to be accessible to ensure performance efficiency. It is imperative for an intern to be well-oriented to their work environment, as it can be time consuming and intimidating for an intern to search for tools that are essential to the task at hand.

5. Respect: Above all else, a respectful work environment is crucial for an intern’s success. Although interns from CEO programs are generally highly motivated individuals, this incentive to exceed employers’ expectations can dwindle rapidly if an intern does not feel valued or supported by their colleagues.

As I approach the midpoint of my internship, I have been incredibly appreciative of my work environment that is very mindful of these keys to success. Not only have I significantly expanded on my employability skills, but I have also been given the chance to set myself on course for a dynamic career and promising future that would not be possible otherwise.

By guest contributor, Heather Brown, Applicant Screener

As an Applicant Screener for the Career Bridge paid internship program, it’s really inspiring to know that over 1400 internationally qualified individuals have successfully gained professional Canadian work experience through our program.  But, I’ve come to realize it’s not just the interns, however, who are benefiting from the program.   Employers benefit too.  It’s essentially a “win/win” situation, both for internationally qualified job seekers and for employers seeking quality, diverse talent with exceptional English or bilingual English/French communication skills.

Through my role as a screener, I get the privilege of meeting first hand, the talented and driven people who are seeking Canadian work experience through our program.  Many of the professional newcomers who I meet, have been searching for opportunities that match their skills and experience, sometimes for months or even years with little success.

Our program standards are high and we only qualify those who achieve a high score in language and communication skills.  Basically what this means is that the individuals that we qualify into the Career Bridge program have excellent business communications skills.  We also have several other mandatory program qualification requirements which includes an education equivalency of at least a Canadian bachelor’s degree, minimum of three years full-time professional international work experience, eligibility to work in Canada and have immigrated to Canada within the last three years ensuring their recency of skills and experience.   It is because of this comprehensive screening approach, that the Career Bridge program makes the process of hiring internationally qualified professionals an easy, smooth and risk-free experience for the organizations that we work with.

In a nutshell, our Career Bridge Program screening process works like this:

1. Outreach: We outreach to employment agencies, institutions and settlement organizations to build a large pool of qualified, diverse registrants.
2. Review Resumes: Our applicant screeners review 1000’s of applications and resumes each month, searching for pre-registrants with professional backgrounds, skills and experience that strongly match current or potential internships with our participating host employers.
3. Pre-Screening Selection: If selected, applicants are then screened in an in-person interview to ensure that they have met the requirements of the program and they also have a high level of language ability which includes workplace and business communication skills.
4. Pre-Screening Interview: This screening interview, which incorporates some behavioural techniques, is based on a proprietary and very carefully designed interview tool that incorporates both English or English and French language assessment if the applicant would like to apply to bilingual positions.
5. Creation of a Quality, Diverse Talent Pool: For applicants who are successful in the pre-screening interview, they are then qualified into the Career Bridge Program and now have the opportunity to apply to the internship positions posted by our participating host employers.

Ultimately, we aim to meet the changing and evolving needs of our participating host employers to ensure we continue to provide value to them in meeting their recruitment goals.  As a result of our unique approach, the Career Bridge program is one of the only programs in Canada to offer employers this level of careful screening in both of our country’s official languages, English and French. This ensures that our host employers are receiving suitable applicants for the internship positions they post on our job board, and as a result, employers are saving time, money and resources in their quest to find the best talent and fit for the job.

I came across an interesting editorial today written by Rick Spence for the Financial Post. The article, entitled “Why not hire newcomers?” also appears in the Montreal Gazette, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal, the Ottawa Citizen and many others.

The stats are surprising, considering the skills shortages felt by businesses across Canada:

A survey by the Canadian federation of Independent Business shows 78% of small business owners reported not hiring any recent immigrants between 2003 and 2006.

The article, featuring an interview with the Indian-born President of Pitney Bowes, Deepak Chopra, highlights the benefits of hiring foreign-trained professionals as well as some tips to “help more businesses benefit from Canada’s cultural diversity.”

Chopra leads by example, not only utilizing the skills of a global workforce but also providing ongoing support and training to help break down cultural barriers. For example, at least 40 senior staff members at Pitney Bowes are mentoring new immigrants through The Mentoring Partnership program offered by TRIEC.

According to Spence, Chopra recommends the following three tactics:

1. Engage in strategic planning
2. Get to know other cultures
3. Form an advisory board

We’d like to add a 4th tip to the list:

You guessed it… Career Bridge.

Our paid internship program for Internationally Qualified Professionals has not only provided incredible opportunities to skilled immigrants, it as also provided our clients with incredible talent. Most people know we work with numerous medium and large organizations across Canada such as RBC and the Government of Ontario. Well, small businesses hire Career Bridge interns too.

So while 78% of small businesses hadn’t hired immigrants between 2003 and 2006, we know of numerous small businesses working with us today to bring international skills and knowledge to their workplaces, such as Interkom, Polar Mobile, AMR Process Inc. and many others.

Checking references are a critical part of the hiring process. At the very least, it is a basic form of risk management that allows employers the peace of mind of knowing they did their due diligence.

Reference checks can also act as a tie-breaker for an indecisive hiring manager, when two or more candidates are a qualified fit for the role and organization.

As employers, we know the importance and value of checking a candidate’s references and so when we’re called upon to give a reference, we know the stakes.

Today’s Globe and Mail features an article by Wency Leung warning employers about some of the potential consequences of giving a bad reference.

These risks can include lawsuits for defamation and privacy or human rights complaints.

In extreme cases dealing with issues like theft, fraud or workplace harassment, it’s understandable that an individual may want to warn an organization against a potential liability.

In fact, I would ask employment lawyers this: is their legal risk involved in not disclosing full details about a former employee? In other words, if you did not warn a company about hiring someone who committed fraud or is a potential danger to the workplace, can you be held legally responsible? This would make for a great discussion some other time but, I digress…

Outliers aside, it’s important to consider that employees who did not excel in one organization may still go on to shine in others.

The Globe and Mail article touches on this:

“…more often than not, friction between employees and their bosses are a result of a bad fit.”

You might recall that our recent quarterly e-Newsletter featured several articles on the topic of person-organization fit. This is because fit is our specialty.

We know from research that one’s fit with an organization impacts their productivity, engagement, satisfaction and retention.

This is important to keep in mind when either giving or receiving a not-so-glowing reference. Before bad-mouthing the former worker, consider whether you think the issues are inherent within the individual or if the negative experience might have just been a result of the situation.

When checking references, employers will often ask, “would you hire this individual again?” This is a safe opportunity to get your point across without splurging on details or venturing into the murky grey area between facts and opinions.

But then keep in mind the impact that answering no, or saying do not hire, may have on the individual. Even if you don’t provide any reasons or details, the employer will then likely be less-than-enthusiastic to hire the individual.

So take “fit” into consideration – the individual may be a real asset to another organization. Think of your own credibility as well. If a former employee succeeds and climbs the ranks in another organization while you were slighting them, you risk appearing unreliable.

Play it safe when giving references – make sure you are well informed of your organization’s policies and practices around it and of course, it doesn’t hurt to know the legal ramifications as well.

August is almost upon us. That means more sunshine, long weekends and for many of us, vacation!

But before you hit the road, you’re well aware that there are a few key things you need to do first, to ensure that your vacation is truly relaxing and that you can leave the office with peace of mind.

#1 Make a list and check it twice

Make a list of all the things you need to do before you leave, and I cannot stress this enough – be realistic. The last thing you want is to be beating yourself up while on vacation because you didn’t get through your overly ambitious pre-vacation to-do list!

#2 Set boundaries and expectations

Unless you’re going on a top secret mission, let your team know where you’re going and what you’re planning to do. Being open will facilitate conversations about how accessible you’ll be.

For instance if it’s a “staycation,” (aka vacationing from home) you may be willing to participate in conference calls or even drop into the office occasionally. On the other hand, if you’re planning a camel-trek through the dessert, you may be off the grid where even a blackberry won’t help.

Set clear boundaries and expectations to define what your level of engagement will be with work while you’re gone. Part of this will be a function of where you’re going and what you’re doing, but also take your needs into consideration.

Some people prefer to stay engaged with work at some level, because it reduces the anxiety of the “unknown” waiting for their return. But most often, people need to disconnect altogether and take a real mental vacation from all things work-related. It’s healthy to take a proper break.

Whatever you decide, make sure you’re able to deliver on your promises – if you tell everyone you’ll be checking email often, you may want to ensure the resort you’re staying at has internet access!

#3 Delegate and communicate

To make sure you haven’t missed anything, make a list of all the tasks you do on a day-to-day basis. This could include any internal or external inquiries you handle or any unexpected fires you are called upon to put out. Think about who would be the right person to tackle each of these unique and important tasks. In some cases there will be an obvious choice but in some cases, you’ll want to consult with your team first.

People will often select one person as their point-of-contact in their absence. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that one person should shoulder all of your duties while you’re gone. That would be like inheriting a second job. Instead try to think of how you can divide things up amongst a team, whenever possible.

Make sure you have taken the time to communicate or meet with each person individually to ensure they have a good understanding of their responsibilities while you’re gone and that everyone knows who else on the team is handling which duties.

Finally, be sure your expectations are reasonable. Unless you have a clone, you need to be comfortable with the fact that many aspects of your job are simply going to have to be put on hold for a week or two.

#4 Leave your work station in a navigable state

Technically, we should be doing this every day, being mindful that at any point we may win the lottery and someone else will need to sit at your desk. But since that’s often not the case, take some time before you leave on vacation to organize your desk and virtual desk top in a way that is universally intuitive.

Not only will this make life easier for your teammates, but it will also reduce the chances that you’ll receive a phone call while on vacation from a desperate colleague who can’t locate critical pieces of information. This will just stress you out and take away from your vacation time.

#5 Set detailed auto-emails

Most people are pretty good about remembering to set out-of-office alerts for email. Often, this is a simple message saying “Hi, I’m on vacation and will be returning on such and such date…”

Short and sweet is always appreciated; however it doesn’t hurt to provide some additional details. Make sure your auto-reply covers off the following:

• When you left
• When you’re coming back
• Who to contact in your absence (and for which needs)
• Whether or not you have full, limited or no access to email/voicemail

If you’re like me, you’ll be in line at the airport when it hits you – oh no! I forgot to set my email to out-of-office!

In that case, set a reminder now on outlook or on your phone. Don’t forget voicemail too!

This week, some of us with Career Edge Organization’s marketing team registered for the “unGeeked Elite” conference in Toronto – a three day social media, branding and marketing retreat. Their website explains it best:

unGeeked Elite Retreat is your three day retreat where you will experience “some of the formality of a conference,” and a lot of the informality of retreat. The 3-days are designed to foster not only an “intimate learning experience,” but also deeper networking and bonding with attendees like yourself who want to connect beyond the Tweet-up or cocktail party business card gala.

So you may be wondering – why is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is around employment and diversity participate in a social media conference?

As we all know, behind the scenes of any good organization there is a marketing team looking for innovative ways to better serve and engage their stakeholders. We may be a small team, but we are one of the most forward-thinking private organizations in Canada’s not-for-profit sector. We pride ourselves on being “nimble” which has allowed us to change and shift with the times, better responding to market demands and stakeholder needs.

In 2009, before the launch of this blog, we participated in Social Tech Training held by Web of  Change and Career Edge host employers, MaRS. This social media boot-camp for not-for-profits gave us a strong foundation of expertise that helped kick start exciting initiatives like this blog, our LinkedIn and Facebook groups and our Twitter account, as well us our online/offline professional network for Alumni.

But now we’re ready (and hungry) for more.

As the Canadian economy emerges, victoriously, from an economic slump, it is more critical than ever for private organizations like us (who don’t receive government funding) to step up our game and offer more. We hope to use the knowledge gained at this conference to improve all aspects of what we do whether it by our website, our relationship management processes and the way we communicate with employers, partners, job-seekers (aka registrants), interns and alumni.

The first unGeeked Elite was held in Milwaukee. Now it’s making the rounds to San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Orlando and Chicago. Toronto will be kicking things off on October 28th. We hope to see you all there!

Today we received a beautiful thank-you card from Eric, our intern at Kraft whom we recently blogged about.

I think the note speaks for itself:

At Career Edge Organization, we not only “talk the talk,” we transcribe the talk too.

For over ten years now our Ability Edge program has worked with incredible employers in Canada to provide paid internship opportunities for recent graduates with disabilities. We have worked with a number of employers to provide expertise in sourcing and accommodating persons with disabilities.

Given our mandate and the nature of what we do, we promote inclusivity in the workplace any opportunity we get. The same goes for our Alumni Network Committee.

You may recall, earlier this year we formed a committee of dedicated former interns to meet quarterly and steer the direction of activities and programs for our “Alumni Network” of former interns.

One of our most active committee members presented us with a learning opportunity when she requested accommodation for our quarterly meetings.

As a deaf person, participating and contributing in meetings would have been a challenge for her without accommodation. I had worked with ASL interpreters in the past and immediately assumed this would be the appropriate accommodation.

Lesson #1 – each individual has unique needs and one solution cannot be applied to everyone! For this particular situation, the committee member informed that computerized note-taking would be best.

After a little bit of searching, I came across a company called WordWrap. The Toronto-based firm offers a wide range of services specializing in computerized, onsite note taking and real-time transcription for a variety of sectors. The friendly staff understood our unique needs right away and offered affordable solutions for our meetings so that all can participate to their full potential.

The note-taker did an excellent job and we will continue to work with WordWrap in the future. As an added perk, all of us benefited from the thorough and detailed notes they took which means none of us will need to take minutes for the rest of the year!

Most importantly, the alumnus who requested the service has been an enormous asset to our committee. For a small, negligible cost, we have gained invaluable knowledge, insight and commitment from her.

By guest contributor, Paula Calderon, Client Relations Manager/Applicant Screener

There is often a misconception that Career Edge Organization is a government funded agency that places people in internships.  This may not be surprising given the successful partnership between the Ontario Government and Career Edge Organization and the number of Career Bridge interns who have been placed in the Ontario Public Service Internship Program for Internationally Trained Individuals and the presence of the Career Bridge logo and links on the government’s public websites.

Career Edge Organization is in fact a national, private, self-sustaining not for profit organization that connects qualified talent and Canadian employers. A large number of employers from the private, public and non-profit sectors have accessed qualified talent through Career Edge Organization’s three paid internship programs.

So, how do the Government of Ontario and Career Edge Organization partner to implement the Career Bridge program across the Ontario Public Service?

The Ontario Public Service Internship Program for Internationally Trained Individuals (OPS ITI Program) is an innovative internship program specifically for professional newcomers to Canada, so that they can earn valuable Canadian work experience in their related career fields within the Ontario Public Service (OPS).

Through this important bridging program, the Ontario government is fulfilling its commitment to helping ITIs integrate into the Ontario labour market, enabling them to contribute to the provincial economy.

Since 2006, Career Edge Organization through its Career Bridge program has supported the implementation of the OPS ITI Program. As a Host Organization for Career Bridge interns, the Ontario Government has to date placed over 400 internationally qualified individuals in the OPS ITI Program across Ontario. YNPS, HR Ontario currently administers the program across the OPS in various ministries and regions in the province.  OPS managers have access to a pool of pre-screened, qualified Career Bridge registrants to select candidates for the internship program. Under the program, Career Edge Organization administers the interns’ payroll during the internship period.

The OPS ITI Program’s goals and objectives are to:

• Promote OPS as an employer of first choice by providing newcomers with the skills, knowledge and coaching/mentorship that will assist them in securing employment in their field.
• Support the Government of Ontario’s commitment to maximize bridging programs by providing a coordinated enterprise-wide approach to increasing access to Canadian work experience for newcomers in Ontario.
• Contribute to a welcoming community/work environment that promotes diversity.
• Help OPS to gain an increased understanding of settlement issues and barriers faced by newcomers to Ontario.
• To be an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible organization.

And from my perspective, most importantly…

• To demonstrate government leadership in the recognition and support of internationally trained individuals in labour market integration by providing short-term work experience in the OPS.

Not only is OPS demonstrating leadership, but it is also proving first-hand that the Career Bridge Program provides an excellent opportunity for Internationally Qualified Professionals to demonstrate their value and skills while gaining meaningful work experience, which they can leverage to full time employment in their field. It is clear that an internship can be the perfect bridge to employment.

In the last three years, surveys have shown that over 75% of Career Bridge interns within the OPS ITI Program have secured employment in their field within six months of completing their internship.

This success should be a call to action for the entire business community to follow the Government of Ontario’s example of utilizing this valuable resource to fulfill their recruitment needs, as they help grow and sustain our economy.