Marketing & Creative Jobs in Canada Blog - Part 27

Take Your Dog to Work Day Has Merit

Take Your Dog To Work Day

Tomorrow is Take Your Dog to Work Day (#TYDTWD) and this post is dedicated to our furry friends who have to stay home the other 251 working days of the year! Now most organizations have a “no pet policy” in place and I am sure there are many reasons for that – people with allergies, people who are afraid of dogs. Other issues like dogs can be noisy and some may not be able to play nice with the other visiting canines. There is also the distraction factor – have you seen what happens to a meeting of people if you bring a puppy in to the room? And let’s not forget what occurs if they don’t get outside frequent enough or if they just want to claim the filing cabinet for themselves. There is a long list of reasons why dogs should stay at home.

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The 9 to 5: Elissa Fesyk, Project Manager, Press Operations for the Pan Am Games

Elissa Fesyk, Project Manager, Press Operations for the Pan Am Games

For our latest instalment of The 9 to 5, we interviewed Elissa Fesyk, Project Manager, Press Operations for the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. Here’s what she had to say:

1. What do you do for the Pan Am Games?

My title is Project Manager, Press Operations.  This means I manage special projects for the team that provides client services to accredited written press, photographers and non-rights-holding broadcasters that are coming to the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games this summer. The big projects I work on include the central management and planning of 800+ Press Operations volunteers, managing the Games time hiring of 50+ short term staff and the development and execution of the TO2015 Young Reporters Program, the first of it’s kind at a Pan Am Games.

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Make the Most Out of Your Day With These 5 Time Management Tips

FG Time Management

We all have those friends. You know, the ones that work a full-time job, have side-gigs, blog constantly, volunteer, and have a booming social life. How do these people find the time to do so much?

Here’s the thing: everyone has 24 hours in a day to work with. The difference between someone who can fit in a lot, and be productive while doing so, versus someone who struggles to complete only a handful of things, is proper time management.

Proper time management lets you be more organized, efficient, and calm—amongst many other benefits. Best of all, you’ll find yourself with a full and productive day, crossing things off of your “to-do” checklist with no problems. Here are five time management tips that you can take to the bank as outlined in Tikva Morrow’s article 7 Time Management Tricks That Keep Expert Multi-Taskers Sane.

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The Do’s And Don’ts of Resume Formatting

Resume Formatting Tips

This article was originally published in BCJobs.ca

Clients often ask me how a resume should be formatted. (Note: this question doesn’t relate to resume types (e.g. chronological, functional, combination resumes), a subject which I will cover in a future blog.) The question relates to how a resume should be laid out from a visual, style and design standpoint. In other words, what design elements should a resume incorporate?

I would be lying if I said design plays no role in the creation of a resume; it does play a role, but it is a secondary one. The primary component of a resume is its content; it is the content that speaks to your background, education and skill sets. Design helps in the communication of that content. Design also helps the viewer interpret and internalize the words written on the page.

I always tell my clients not to be overly fussed with design and style, and to pay more attention to the composition of sentences, the grammar, the names and dates. That said, there are some basic style guidelines you should follow whenever creating a resume.

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Lessons from the Digital Strategy Conference in Vancouver

Lessons from the Digital Strategy Conference in Vancouver

By Ling Chan

I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Digital Strategy Conference at UBC Robson Square. The 3-day conference was jammed packed with insights and actionable takeaways from over 40 speakers and panelists, all excited to share with us specific ways they were using data to improve business results.

Aimed at pros and beginners alike, Digital Strategy Conference was an excellent opportunity to learn from the best. The impressive roster of speakers included:

  • Kevin Kinghorn, Director, Digital, Canucks Sports & Entertainment
  • Aaron Zifkin, Country Manager – Canada, Airbnb
  • Bryan Robertson, Senior Digital Guest Experience Analyst, Lululemon
  • Stacey Jaffe, Managing Director of Social Media and Community, Teach for America
  • Cullen Scannell, Senior Manager, Digital Content, Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games
  • Steve Sugars, Manager New Media & Technology, Canadian Pacific Railway

Here are some of my favourite takeaways from the event:

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The Transition from Freelance to Full-Time

The Transition from Freelance to Full-Time

As a freelancer, who has been at it for almost four years, I think of the move back to full-time with a frequency that’s dependent on many factors. Right now you may be a freelancer, or maybe you are thinking about trying your hand at freelancing, but want to be sure you have a proper exit plan just in case.

Lauren Riley, who once was a freelancer and is now the social media and marketing manger for Bubble Job Board in the UK, wrote 5 Tips for Moving from Freelance to Full-Time Employment for the Business2Community audience. Her top three tips are:

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Why You Should Be Taking Your Vacation

Why You Should Be Taking Your Vacation

Everyone loves taking time off from work, well almost everyone or at least half of the population does. Think back to your last vacation, once it actually started and you were able to start to relax with a drink in hand. Don’t think about the days leading up to it where you had to wrap up 3,451 things, brief the team on what would need to happen while you’re away, ensure your desk isn’t resembling a dump site and set up the out of office message on your phone and email! I don’t think anyone would deny that taking a break from the daily grind is beneficial but so many people don’t take the time they need and/ or when they do they are still connected to work by their smartphone.

In a Huffington Post article, Renee Jacques highlights some of the key benefits (some we surely already know) of taking time off:

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5 Tips to Writing a Resume That Will Land You a Job

5 Tips to Writing a Resume That Will Land You a Job

We’ve covered five tips to writing a killer cover letter, now it’s time to switch gears and discuss five tips to writing a killer resume that’ll land you a job.

Writing a resume involves fitting your entire work experience onto a one-page piece of paper. As you’re well aware, it’s not easy. What makes writing a resume even harder isn’t the simple act of what to include on the resume, but rather how you should phrase and organize your inclusions in a manner that will appeal to hiring managers to ultimately land you an interview and get you a job.

With that in mind, there are five tips to writing a killer resume:

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Life Lessons from Gene Simmons

TheArtOf - Life Lessons from Gene Simmons

This week I was lucky enough to be able to attend The Art of Marketing conference; not only was the day packed with great speakers who provided all kind of insights and really got me excited again about the world of marketing, but Gene Simmons was the keynote speaker. Not being a fan of KISS I was not as excited about seeing him speak as some until a few minutes in to his session when I realized that this man knows a thing or two about marketing, business and how to be a success.

I don’t think anyone who has been in his audiences can deny that the man is very confident and dare I say a narcissist but he has a reason for it—KISS has made more money through licensing than any other musical entity. There is something to be said for that. He still performs to this day and has too many companies to even mention. He is in advertising, publishing, producing and has recently launched a chain of restaurants Rock and Brews (arriving soon in Canada).

Mentors will take you up the ladder, they will tell you what to do and where to go, so you too can achieve your dreams.

During his hour long talk Gene had us laughing (literally out loud) as he bantered with his wife, Shannon Tweed, who is very successful in her own right, but also dispersed many smart life lessons:

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Should You Lie on Your Resume?

Should You Lie On Your Resume

The answer is an obvious, resounding NO! But a recent survey from The Society of Human Resources Managers reported that 53% of the resumes and job applications they reviewed contained false information. Now that information could be fraudulent degrees, altered employment dates, false references and inflated pay claims. And in an online survey done by AOL Jobs, 26.5% of respondents stated that they either have lied or would consider lying on a resume.

Obviously Human Resource departments are aware that this type of inaccurate information finds its way on to resumes. There was actually a recent post on HRMOnline with tips for human resource professionals on how to catch resume lies throughout their hiring process. This post isn’t meant to give you any ideas on how to outsmart HR, but to instead inform you on the ways you might be caught if you decide to add some fiction to your application:

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