Although the Canadian market seems to be starting to take a turn, there is still much talk about a struggling economy. Many companies have had difficulties and are working hard to emerge from the recession. The job market is primed for leaders who are ready to position these companies for the next phase in their development.

These days, most companies are in a state of flux. Many organizations are undergoing major transformations in the form of mergers, acquisitions, centralization, decentralization, downsizing, upsizing, restructuring, and so forth. If you are a senior-level job seeker, you can leverage this to your benefit.

Prospective employers are looking for leaders that will build on and improve their organization. In order to address this need effectively, you will need to deliver some stories that outline your ability to plan and lead organizational change initiatives.

In your resume and during the interview, you must highlight how you can institute stability during a state of change, while strengthening financial performance.

Start, by uncovering some examples from your career that directly show how you enabled the company to survive and thrive during change. Then, develop dynamic stories that show how you can do the same kinds of results for your prospective employer.

Practice delivering your organizational change stories with passion and optimism. By effectively articulating your ability to transform a organization and lead it into a strong and healthy future, you will attract and impress employers who are in dire need of these competencies.

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist. For additional information on this topic, read Leaders: Create your Career Brand and Present your Value Proposition.

An analysis of Canadian job search trends indicates that career opportunities are finally opening up. According to current demographics, the mass retirement of baby boomers is changing the landscape of our labour market. These days, for every one person coming into the Canadian workforce, two are leaving their job. And, as seasoned professionals transition out of the market, more senior-level opportunities are opening up than ever before. So, if there are so many good jobs available, why is it so difficult to find these opportunities and get great offers?

 You’ve probably heard this quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you are finding that your job search is not working, you must change the way you are conducting it. Here are some things that you might be able to do differently in order to generate more opportunities and better job offers:

Focus on your target market and draw them in

Don’t just apply haphazardly to all jobs. Target the organizations where you strongly believe that you will succeed. Select only positions and companies that are a solid fit for you – and then do your market research. If you choose prospects that interest you, you will find that you are more likely to do the homework required to get your foot in the door.

Perform investigative interviews with people within the organization that you are targeting. Learn as much as you can about the company, its challenges, needs, and objectives. Figure out the corporate culture, personality, and style – especially those of the executive team, hiring manager, and recruiters.

When you discover the right opportunity, exploit everything that you know about them to ensure that they do not overlook you. Do what it takes to show that you are not the average job seeker. If this means making a special trip to drop off a hard copy of a resume to the company – then do it. People like it when you care about them. When the company learns how hard you worked to address their needs, they will know that you are the “real thing.”

Create deep connections with multiple recruiters

When it comes to recruitment firms, you need to be at “top of mind.” Most recruiters have limited openings and will work on your behalf only if they see you as a good fit. After all, recruiters are not working for you – they are working to fill postings for companies.

Many recruiters work in niches. Ensure that you find and target the ones that specialize in your area of interest. Recruiters are usually too busy to meet – or even remember – every applicant that sends in a resume, so pick up the phone and make sure that they know you. If they do not recall receiving your resume, send another copy along right away.

Recruiters are generally well connected. It is in your best interest to make sure that you get to know them well enough to be an asset – not a bother. If you share meaningful leads with them, they will be appreciative. Recruiters who know and like you will often market your resume to their industry contacts. If they see you as a valuable asset and a potential future client, you will be in the driver’s seat.

Tap into the hidden job market

If you want to attract the best opportunities, do not compete with the multitudes applying to job postings. It is a documented fact that experienced professionals find the best opportunities more quickly by tapping into the hidden job market – jobs that are not widely advertised.

Employers may not be looking for outside candidates, but you can create your own openings by connecting directly with organizations that have no jobs posted. By meeting with decision-makers, you can establish yourself as a powerful ally in moving the organization towards its objectives. And – best of all – you will not be competing with anyone else for the role you created.

Present a career brand that screams value

First impressions count – in fact, every impression that you make counts. There is no denying the power of branding. From the moment you present yourself to the public, you are making a statement.

The business presence you create for yourself must stand apart from others, but it also needs to be authentic and aligned with your career objectives. Develop a robust career brand that clearly delineates who you are and what you have to offer potential employers. “Live and breathe” your brand. To be effective, your brand must be apparent throughout your job search and in everything you do. Your message must be evident whenever you are networking, interviewing, or simply socializing. Consider your brand in your selection of business attire, your verbal communication, and your manners.

A strong career brand separates you from your competitors. In the eyes of employers, you become more memorable. You are seen as a significant catch and a valuable resource.

Put forward a portfolio that sets you apart

One of your strongest career branding tools is your portfolio. Trash your template resume and create a unique portfolio that is an advertisement of your brand. Of course, your branded resume is the central document in the portfolio, and it must effectively represent you. The rest of your portfolio will reinforce your message, with a consistent “look and feel.”

A dynamic, creative, strategic, and thoughtful portfolio that relates your distinguishing factors will dazzle the recruiter. If most people are submitting a “cookie cutter” résumé, you will naturally stand apart. With a proper portfolio, when you meet with a recruiter, you will distinguish yourself from the others. Rather than slapping a flimsy résumé on the desk, you will present your spectacular portfolio package. By doing this, you will already have a step-up on all the other candidates and the opportunity will be yours to seize.

Close the opportunity before anyone else does 

Once finished with the interview, many candidates just sit back and wait for a call. Stand apart from the rest. Make yourself known as a take-charge professional who is very interested in the opportunity and will do what it takes to make it happen.

Shortly after your interview, follow up with a professional “thank-you” letter. In your letter, emphasize how your strengths relate to the opportunity. Stress the fact that you are excited about moving forward, so that the recruiter clearly understands your interest in the position.

Don’t rest on your laurels quite yet– follow up once again by phone to remind the decision-maker that you are still very interested in the opportunity. By connecting with the organization in a proactive and professional way, you will create a positive and memorable impression.

When it comes to getting more opportunities and better offers, you must persevere. Don’t just go along with the status quo – take a proactive approach in your search. Just because there are tons of openings posted in cyberspace, it does not simply follow that you are going to be the one called for an interview. There are many components to the job search, which must be conducted effectively in order for recruiters to perceive you to be the “cream of the crop.” If you exploit as many strategies as possible, you will be seen as one who is worthy of the top opportunities and the best offers.

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist.You can find out more about what six-figure Canadians do to attract opportunities by downloading Outlook 2010, a national survey conducted by Graham Management Group.

According to “Social Networking: 2009,” an online survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, only 26% of Canadians who are actively online are aware of Twitter. A more interesting fact is that just 1.45% of these Canadians actually used the 140-character microblogging site.

The original survey was done just before the all the media hype caused by news outlets like CNN, celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, daytime talk show hosts like Oprah, and others, so it could be that the Ipsos numbers are a little on the low side now. In any case, we can be sure that only a very minute number of Canadian professionals are using Twitter. I suspect this is because of confusion and fear that usually arises when a new form of technology proliferates our world. People are afraid of many things:

• Jumping in too early (Remember the Beta/VHS controversy)
• Becoming addicted (Social Media Addiction does affect some, as does alcoholism)
• Becoming narcissistic (Who really cares about your lunch plans?)
• Losing privacy (Big Brother is watching-only if you are telling)

All these are valid concerns, but after trying out Twitter, what I have learned is that it is a veritable GOLDMINE for 6-figure job seekers. These hidden benefits don’t seem to get much exposure, but I will tell you today that Twitter can help you in many ways:

• if you need good career advice because you seem to be “spinning your wheels”
• if you have want to supplement applying to postings with some new things
• if you are feeling lonely and isolated in your home office and you want “business chat”
• if you haven’t been working for a while and you need to address the gap by keeping current
• if you are feeling like you need to build your credibility by showing that you are an expert
• if you feel like the economy is getting you down and you need a boost

TAKE A CHANCE TODAY – TWITTER MAY OPEN UP DOORS YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED!

 Twitter can give your six-figure career a HUGE boost. I took the long route to get there, but you can start now. How about investigating Twitter in five easy steps?

 Step 1 – Click on this link: http://twitter.com

Step 2 – Click on Join Today.

Step 3 – Create your Account (Tip: Just complete the basic form and skip the rest for now)

Step 4 – Search for some people and start to follow (read) their tweets.

Step 5 – Visit your page daily to stay connected with your tweeps (twitter people).

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist her twitter account is http://twitter.com/sharongraham  or @sharongraham. When you feel more comfortable and you are ready for the next steps, feel free to send Sharon a question or let her know how you are doing through the “Direct Message” link on your Twitter home page. She’ll answer with a new tweet in no time.

Age is relative and the definition of an “older worker” is expanding. The labour market is dramatically shifting into a new phase, with the percentage of Canadians in the workplace who are over 50 doubling every decade. If you are an older worker, you are quickly becoming a valuable commodity in a market that needs your expertise.

Older workers have much to offer the current Canadian marketplace. This is very meaningful for you, as it indicates that qualified workers are already highly in demand, and the need for experience is only becoming more prevalent.

Consider yourself as a product and your next employer as the purchaser. In the past, older job seekers often reported that employers sometimes seemed discriminatory, in that they appeared to favour younger candidates over more mature ones. But this is all changing.

There are two key forces in action that are shifting employers’ perception of older candidates:

1. The supply of experienced workers is decreasing. As boomers retire from the workforce in greater numbers, we are creating a talent drain within our labour market.
2. The demand for experience in the labour market is increasing. The talent drain is creating an unprecedented need for people who have applied knowledge and expertise.

As the pool of knowledgeable workers is dwindling, if you are skilled and qualified through actual work experience, you are quickly becoming indispensable. According to a labour force projection study published this year in Statistics Canada’s Canadian Economic Observer, although many baby boomers will retire from the workforce by the year 2021, we can expect the proportion of people in the labour force who are 55 and older to double what it was during the mid-1990’s, to up to 20% of the workforce. This dramatic increase will predicate your future potential within the Canadian job market.

The laws of supply and demand tell us that if there is a shortage of highly experienced employees, then you, as a mature candidate, are worth more to employers than less experienced workers. You are now heading from a buyer’s market into a seller’s market where you maintain quite a bit of power. The excess of demand over supply in the coming years will work to your favour.

Employers want to hire older workers because older workers often have many qualities that younger workers cannot offer. There is great value that comes from maturity. You bring:

1. Experience from a lifetime of work.
2. Adaptability coming from the transitions in your career.
3. Expertise with a deep understanding of your industry.
4. Professionalism to present a favourable first impression.
5. Maturity to deal effectively with tough business issues.
6. Leadership to mentor other employees.
7. Integrity that is displayed through your values.
8. Dedication shown through your reliability.
9. Commitment to remain loyal to your job and employer.
10. Vitality that comes from loving the career you are in.

The laws of supply and demand naturally put you in a better position to negotiate your employment terms, compensation, and benefits. You offer an excellent return on your employers’ investment. By hiring you, employers will decrease the costs associated with recruitment, training, and turnaround. Plus, you will be able to create almost immediate results in increased productivity and profitability because you know the job so well. You have a powerful voice. Start taking advantage of this great opportunity right away – you won’t be sorry.

Outlook 2010, a national survey conducted by Graham Management Group determined that agism is considered a primary barrier for six-figure Canadians. Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist. For a summary report and analysis of the Outlook 2010: Competitive Career Intelligence Survey email info@grahammanagement.com

Recently, Canadian recruitment professionals Head2Head, in partnership with LinkedIn, performed an informal survey. They asked recruiters to tell them how they found candidates. The results were quite telling.

In short, 69% of Canadian recruiters surveyed use LinkedIn for recruiting and 44% use Facebook to find and investigate candidates. A small percentage of recruiters use other online venues as well including blogs, Twitter, YouTube, and Craigslist to mention a few.

Clearly, there has been a noticeable shift in our marketplace. Recruiters are moving away from spending money to post jobs on job boards. This is because the time and energy that it takes to weed out undesirable candidates has increased in leaps and bounds.

In the early days of the Internet, one effective posting produced a manageable number of corresponding resumes. Now, in some cases, hundreds of resumes flood the recruiter and the work required to find one good candidate is no longer worth the effort. Cyberspace has allowed a much more interesting and cost effective way to find the best candidates – by actively mining for them.

So, what does this mean for you? Rather than spending most of your valuable job search time seeking out jobs, you should be building and managing your online presence. It is now clear that your visibility is critical to your short-term goal of finding a role, but also your long-term career success.

If you want to cultivate your career prospects, then you should not treat social networking sites as entertainment. Rather, you should be treating every activity online as a potential career maker or breaker.

Step 1- Clean up your internet presence

Start by eliminating bad press. Go through your social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace and remove all inappropriate content. Be assured that if you don’t, your folly will come back to bite you during any background checking process.

Step 2- Create your brand identity

Flesh out your value proposition – the compelling message that you will be delivering to recruiters. This should be the same brand message as you deliver in your resume and other supporting career documents. If you create a memorable picture that sets you apart from the competition, you will be found and selected.

Step 3- Implement your online strategy

As an executive, it is in your best interest to develop and execute an effective online strategy. To market yourself on the internet, you must deliver a consistent brand message. Leverage sites like LinkedIn, VisualCV, Plaxo, and Twitter to your benefit.

Outlook 2010, a national survey conducted by Graham Management Group determined that 62.5% of six-figure professionals have a targeted online networking strategy that leverages LinkedIn. If you are not participating, you may be missing significant career opportunities. 77% of the Canadian recruiters surveyed by Head2Head said that online recruiting improved their ability to connect to passive candidates. Don’t you want to be recruited too?

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist. For a summary report and analysis of the Outlook 2010: Competitive Career Intelligence Survey email info@grahammanagement.com

The recession has created a sentiment of trepidation and uncertainty for many senior-level professionals. Outlook 2010, a national survey conducted by Graham Management Group determined that 47.8% of Canadian six-figure professionals are unsatisfied with their career. These professionals identified that the current economic environment is a primary source of concern and that “the fear of failure” is a major obstacle to their career development.

When it comes to career development during tough times, it’s all in your perspective. You can construe the economic environment as either negative news. Or, you can see it as a source of valuable information that will assist you in your long-term career success. After all, in North America, “more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than in any other time in history.”

There are three things you need to know to take advantage of times like these:

• First, companies are looking for new leaders to help them get through their difficulties;
• Second, as old industries shrink, new ones emerge;
• Finally, some industries will always be there – whether we like it or not.

The following case study illustrates how a Canadian professional can succeed when armed with knowledge and statistics.

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Case Study Displaced Canadian General Manager – Automotive Parts Supply

A General Manager for a struggling Canadian automotive parts manufacturer and supplier has recently been let go. As he embarks in his career transition, he has a number of choices, and each will take him on a new and exciting path.

It is already apparent to our GM that most parts manufacturers are having similar difficulties. So, he starts his job search with an initial market investigation and soon learns that some organizations are restructuring and recruiting leadership to implement new strategies and best practices to ensure their long-term sustainability. As an initial approach, the GM decides to identify automotive parts manufacturers’ needs, research specific organizations that may need his services, and revamp his resume to show them where he can fit in to help them survive the adversity. By targeting a few viable organizations where he is a perfect match, he is soon in a position to deliver his sales pitch to the decision makers.

In between interviews, our GM is not sitting idle. While targeting the companies where he is best matched, he is still looking at other options. From his research, as the parts manufacturing industry seems to be shrinking, new industries are emerging. However, upon deeper analysis of his own sector, this GM finds some exciting new challenges ahead. Although the highest declining employment has been in the manufacturing industry as a whole in Canada, manufacturers of food, aerospace, and machinery are three categories that have not suffered as severe an impact. Armed with this information, he starts a second, concurrent strategy focusing on growing manufacturing industries outside of his main specialty. He starts to disseminate a networking letter and presentation strategically, focusing on his expertise: leading manufacturing organizations, while minimizing his field: automotive parts. This strategy opens up a second stream of opportunities and connections in a segment of the market that offers more opportunity and stability.

Concurrently “working” all his strategies, he continues attending interviews and meetings while he builds his list of contacts. During his down time, rather than sending resumes haphazardly, our GM creates an online social networking and marketing strategy to further improve his visibility and turn the tables – helping his target organizations to find him. In short order, our GM accepts a contract job offer to lead a foremost Canadian food supplier out of potential demise.

Never wanting to get into this position again, our GM continues to proactively create his career path and direction. Keeping current with industry news, our business-savvy GM learns that the federal government has taken the initiative to advance $700 million to bolster the automotive supply industry. It is clear that the manufacturing sector will always be there – whether we like it or not.

Since our GM has done everything right, he is now positioned to meet with all the new connections he has made. Clearly, inside or outside the automotive manufacturing industry, he is poised to flourish in his career from this point forward in whichever direction he wants to go.

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In this highly competitive job market you will need to take advantage of all available resources to position yourself above the competition and remain at the top. The good news is that the resources available today are so extensive they easily overshadow the current economic crisis. The Career Thought Leaders website and blog is a very good start.

According to Outlook 2010, more than two thirds of Canadians targeting positions over $100k feel that they do not have strong connections and that they are not recognized in their industry; over 80 percent do not know how to approach the market. Do you want to join the statistics or rise above them? The loss of your job does not have to interfere with a positive approach to your future. You can learn from what you know. The choice is yours to embrace this as an opportunity to engage in a strategic plan to further your career.

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist. For a summary report and analysis of the Outlook 2010: Competitive Career Intelligence Survey email info@grahammanagement.com

In my last blog post, I shared resources about the UK Labour Market and Employment Information; Occupational Information and Professional Membership Organisations. All in the hope that you’d gain a better understanding of the British job market.

In this second part of “Back to Basics”, let’s look at other aspects of accessing the British Job Market: UK newspapers and magazines, job boards, and recruiters.

1. Newspapers and Magazines – local, regional and national ones – still play a distinct role in advertising vacancies in the UK (at least for the time being) – despite the recession and the growing importance of social media for finding job openings. If you are not familiar with the media landscape in Britain, www.mediauk.com is a fabulous tool. Here you’ll find the right publications, whether it’s in a specific location or a professional field.  Not sure which newspapers cover Manchester, Edinburgh or London? Or which magazines cater for senior managers and executives? Simply search the alphabetical directories for newspapers or magazines (by city, region or keywords such as “management”), click on the web links and go straight to the relevant online job postings of the respective newspapers/magazines.

2. Job Boards – I have spent hours trying to find the “ultimate” free online UK directory of Job Boards. To no avail! I start to think one single comprehensive source of job boards doesn’t exist, or at least there is none that’s comparable to the in-depth AIRS directory in the US. (And if you know where to find THE UK online job board listing, please share the link with us!).

Here are two user-friendly directories to begin your UK job board search: UK Recruiter Community http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk/jobboards/executive.htm; and the accompanying website to Online Recruitment Magazine http://www.onrec.com/directory/recruitment/.

And do make sure you save online job search time by using aggregate boards. Aggregate boards scour a wide range of job boards based on the keywords you use as your job search criteria. If you have used aggregate boards in the US, here are the UK equivalent sites: www.indeed.co.uk; www.simplyhired.co.uk; www.jobrapido.co.uk

3. Recruitment Agencies – with more than 135,000 UK based recruiters and candidate researchers, the choice of recruiters can be overwhelming.

A good starting point is the UK member directory of the REC (The Recruitment and Employment Confederation), http://www.rec.uk.com/, where you can search for sector-specific recruiters across the UK, but also in specific locations. Handy are also the “local labour market intelligence reports” across all UK regions, plus regional contacts, resources and labour market trends http://www.rec.uk.com/regions-sectors/regions.

A website site that has caught my attention is www.hirescores.com – an online community for job seekers, employers and recruiters alike. The site gives candidates the opportunity to provide 360 feedback about their recruitment experience. It sounds like a triple WIN: Recruiters and employers get the chance to get candid feedback on the recruitment process (and make changes accordingly); job seekers can access the rankings of recruitment agencies and make an informed choice about whom to approach for their job search.  At least that’s the idea – it will be interesting to see how this site develops over time …

4. Headhunters – As a comprehensive resource, I recommend the title Headhunters and How to Use Them – A Guide for Organisations and Individuals, by Nancy Garrison Jenn, published by The Economist / Profile Books (ISBN - 13: 978-1-86197-734-2). Just bear in mind that with the publication date being 2005, some of the names and contact details will have changed by now. A quick online search or visit to LinkedIn should do the trick.

I trust that by providing some of the basic information about accessing the British job market, you have at least a few resources now to get the ball rolling. And I am well aware that there are other job market topics that I have not covered yet, such as my favourite – networking.

Is there a subject you are particularly interested in? Why don’t you drop me an email? I’ll then get the chance to answer your specific questions in future blog posts.

Greetings from the UK, and “Happy Job Hunting”!

Ruth Winden

If you are targeting a position in Canada, you don’t want a recruiter to discount you just because you don’t know the country’s norms when it comes to spelling and grammar. After all, in Canada, there is no such thing as a paycheck. Your goal is to secure a position and get a paycheque.

To overcome the Canadian recruiter’s scrutiny, you’ll need to make some subtle, but important changes to your resume. By showing that you have impeccable spelling and grammar, you’ll pass the first test with flying colours.

Canadian employers regularly run into the issue of “Canadian English” versus “American English” when they are assessing resumes that come in from applicants around the world. If you submit a resume with a glaring mistake, the recruiter may feel that you do not care enough to do your homework. This could be just enough to eliminate you from the running.

Canadians have a way with words. Although Canadian English is not exactly the same as American English, it is not British English either. We employ subtle differences in spelling and grammar, which are unique to our country.

Canadian spelling takes on influences from our British and French ancestry, with a touch of Americanism. For example, in Canada, just as in the United Kingdom, we insert “u” in “labour market.” Yet, we opt for a “z” in “organize” just as our American friends do. A hint of French comes out when we use “centre” instead of “center.”

Here are some examples of words that are sometimes spelled incorrectly in resumes and cover letters:

When you write your resume, targeted to the Canadian market, make sure that you change the default language on your Microsoft Word application to “Canadian English.” This will help ensure that the spelling and grammar you employ conforms to Canada’s standards.

Don’t rely solely on your computer as many Canadian words are spelled correctly when you mean to say one thing, but may be incorrect in another scenario. For example, you may want to indicate that you practise a certain technique, and now you are opening a practice to start teaching others that technique. Note in the first sentence “practise” is a verb. In the second, “practice” is a noun. Your computer would not be able to catch this difference, so you must be diligent in your proofreading.

To pass the detailed review, your resume and cover letter must have no errors at all. If you still are unsure of the spelling of a word, use a good Canadian dictionary such as the Canadian Oxford Dictionary to verify your work. For acronyms and abbreviations, refer to The Canadian Dictionary of Abbreviations. If you are unsure of grammatical requirements, refer to a Canadian style handbook such as The Canadian Press Style Book. If you need help with your Canadian career documents, check out Best Canadian Resumes and Best Canadian Cover Letters.

Modern technology and the speed of communication have influenced how we use language. The Internet has exposed us to inconsistencies, differences, and mistakes from all over the world, making it more difficult to ensure correct use of language. Whatever you do, employ consistency in your use of language and you will earn that Canadian paycheque.

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist

If you want to get a better understanding of the British job market but don’t know where to begin, here are my recommendations on how to get off to a great start:

1. General Labour Market and Employment Information:

With 135 000 members, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, CIPD, is the largest and most influential association for human resource professionals in the UK. Even as a non-member, you will find vast amounts of well-researched information on their website www.cipd.co.uk.

Look out for factsheets, reports and pod casts on topics ranging from employee relations to salary surveys, from employment law to career management, from unemployment figures to recruitment and talent management practices.

2. Occupational Information:

In the US, many of you will be using O-Net for occupational information. In the UK, we career professionals tend to refer to “the UK’s official graduate careers website” www.prospects.ac.uk. Don’t let the focus on graduate careers deter you – the site provides up to date and detailed information on career fields, employment sectors and occupational profiles relevant to professionals at many different stages of their careers.

The wide range of “occupational profiles” and “sector overviews” will be a good starting point if (a) You need to familiarise yourself with the technical terms used for your profession in the UK; (b) You want to learn more about specific types of jobs and the way they are performed in the UK (the occupational profiles cover job descriptions, employment prospects, working conditions, training and entry requirements, career development and career progression, professional membership associations and sources of job openings).

3. Professional Membership Organisations:

Professional associations offer a wealth of careers information, professional development opportunities and rich networks you can tap into. Yet in my view, they are far too often ignored by professionals as an information and job search tool.

How can you find out whether there is a relevant professional association for you in the UK? (a) Visit your own association’s website to check for links within its global network – in many cases associations collaborate on international projects or have affiliate systems in place. For instance, via the American Chemical Society (ACS) you will be able to identify the UK based Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC); (b) Check out the listings of the UK Trade Association Forum www.taforum.org; (c) Use a search engine – you are bound to uncover useful connections with UK professionals, however small or large your professional niche may be.

In part II, I will share information about UK based job boards, recruitment agencies and professional online networks.

Until then!

This year, people around the globe have turned their eyes towards the 2010 Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver, Canada. During the dreary winter months, there is nothing more exciting and rejuvenating than the Olympics.

Every four years, this prestigious winter sports competition takes us away from our everyday issues and concerns. This year is no different. We can take our mind off the recession and its ramifications, which has clearly been the focus of the media worldwide.

If you have been stalled in a tough labour market, you might be wondering if Canada is the place for you to start up again. The Olympics may have put a spotlight on a new target market – one that may be right up your alley.

Although Canada experienced an economic decline in the last few years, it certainly did not take the hit that the United States suffered. In general, Canadians have been more fortunate than our American counterparts have. We did not experience the ongoing sub-prime mortgage crisis. Nor did we suffer through the crisis on Wall Street. However, the corruption and catastrophe within critical industries such as the automotive sector did cause ramifications in Canada, albeit not to the degree that we have seen in many of the states.

In January 2010, Statistics Canada showed a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.3%. These results were far better than the expectations of many economists and many Canadians are feeling positive about their future in the working world. Job seekers around the world have also found an exciting market in Canada. With increased globalization, people are crossing borders and trying for positions that they may have never attempted to apply for before.

If you are thinking about targeting Canada, here are some industries that are on the move upward:

• Aerospace
• Agri-Food
• Bio-Pharma
• Biotechnology
• Chemicals
• Digital Media
• Financial Services
• Life Sciences
• Medical Devices
• Oil & Gas
• Pharmaceutical
• Renewable Energy

Here are some Canadian occupations that have managed to survive the recession and are positioned for a forward gain:

• Government Agency Administrative Staff
• Computer & Database Administrators
• Oil and Gas Drillers & Service Technicians
• Environmental Scientists & Technicians
• Nurses, Nurses Aids & Orderlies
• Personal & Home Care Aides
• Mental Health Counsellors
• Pharmacists & Pharmacologists
• Health Educators
• Social Workers

If the excitement of the Olympics have put a new charge in your career goals, consider investigating Canada further. Here are a few sites to get you started:

Going to Canada (learn about immigrating to Canada) http://www.goingtocanada.gc.ca

Service Canada (learn about life in Canada) http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/

National Occupational Classification (learn about jobs in Canada) http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/

Hope to see you in Canada soon!

Sharon Graham is Canada’s Career Strategist