We used to have an informational problem. It was difficult to track down the companies that were hiring – sometimes it meant going through the phonebook and calling them all or paying close attention to adverts in the newspaper.

Generation Y has quite a different problem – too much information. We now have access to company profiles, the backgrounds on their leaders and team, and in some cases their detailed financial reports all from the palm of our hand.

It’s now a case of too much information – a paradox of choice of sorts.

This guide is intended to help navigate these choices and help you ask the right questions when it comes to making a career move in Toronto.

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When it comes to landing a new gig, most seem focused on the act of applying at the expense of where they would actually like to work. It’s all too familiar to hiring managers and involves a lot of copying and pasting, as well as submitting hundreds of applications at the same time in the hopes that one will squeak through. Applying is a means to an end, not the actual end.

While playing the numbers game is a particularly bad strategy when it comes to landing a new gig in its own right, the most egregious error is not spending this time on evaluating the kind of company, environment, and culture that’s going to be best for you.

Just think, what happens when that application squeaks through and you end up working for a company you don’t like in an industry you’re not interested in – it happens all the time.

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Of all the purported job skills that we emphasize, persuasion has to be one of the most underrated.  So much attention is given to your qualifications and experience, and not nearly enough on your ability to influence to make them matter.  How else will you assure someone that you can truly sell a product or that your project ideas are viable or profitable?

Consider what a job interview, a presentation, or a speech would look like without the ability to convince your respective audience? It’s not enough to be simply knowledgeable on a topic – we’ve all had teachers, professors, or even managers that know their subject inside and out, yet still left us unconvinced.

How do you become persuasive, or is it even possible to learn? Despite those who argue it remains an innate ability, it’s commonly held that there are three modes of rhetoric you can use to help structure and support your argument.

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Writing is becoming a lost art, particularly in the business world. The chances are you’ve received either a poorly written email, sat through an inarticulate presentation, listened to an unconvincing speech, or experienced all three. The ability to write clearly and effectively remains one of the central building blocks of our society, yet increasingly the emphasis on writing as a skill seems to be waning.

The irony, of course, is that it’s never been easier (or cheaper) in the history of civilization to disseminate content to the masses. Between blogs, e-publishers, and social media you have a triumvirate of tools to professionally present and share your message – without the need of any third parties.

There’s any number of reasons to explain its decline. Some argue it’s the influence of social media, which facilitates speed rather than thought, while others suggest schools no longer place the same emphasis on effective writing that they once did.

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Let’s face it – we’re obsessed with risk. It permeates everyday life in any number of ways; we employ “Risk Managers”, we look to minimize risks in our investments, apply risk management techniques to the projects we run, and even try and avoid making seemingly risky career moves. The “riskier” the choice, the greater we’re supposed to discount it.

When we’re evaluating a choice, risk has a very well-established place in this process. We use it to avoid making mistakes others have made, to heed the warnings of friends, family and colleagues, and to make ourselves feel better about the choice we ultimately end up making.

However, somewhere along the line risk has taken on a far more prominent place in our everyday decision making than it deserves. That isn’t to say you should ignore risk, but when we’re so focused on mitigating them, we can lose sight of and undervalue the importance of opportunity. This has a lot of implications for your career and the decisions you make.

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The nature of work and the job market are always shifting, but the same can’t always be said for the nature of job-seekers.  A lot of people with great qualifications are scuffing their chances at landing a job or an interview by using tactics that should have been left in the ‘80s along with spandex and jazzercise. 

Liz Ryan, of Bloomberg, has a short list of job search strategies that you should avoid like a sparkly, rhinestone-studded plague.

1) Using Dedicated Resume Paper/Envelopes – Unless you’re applying for a creative position like Graphic Design, overly fancy or colorful stationary is only going to make you amateurish and out of touch.  Most resumes are read electronically, and simplicity and readability is the key when it comes to proper digital formatting.

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There are few professions that rival politicians when it comes to the frequency and extensiveness of interviews. Given all the coverage of the Republican Party presidential primaries at the moment, we thought it seemed like a good time to draw out some lessons we can learn from politicians when it comes to interviewing well. 

The following is a list inspired by Shawn Graham’s article in Fast Company and our own experiences from watching politicians try and work their magic in front of the country. Here are some key tips to keep in mind next time you’re in an interview:

Don’t dodge and deflect
When you’re faced with a tough question, don’t take the easy route. It’s just that, easy. The chances are you’re going to sound like everyone else and won’t distinguish yourself in any meaningful way.

Take Pause
A canned answer doesn’t sound authentic and will win very few people over.  Try waiting a few seconds before you answer a question - it gives the impression that you actually gave it some thought.

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New Year’s day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to make resolutions for the coming year. Some of us will want to become better people or take on more of a leadership role in our careers, but we might not necessarily be equipped to get there yet. Allow me, if you will, to suggest a particular set of resolutions (courtesy of HBR) that can help you in both endeavors.

Find a trustworthy mentor
A good mentor should do more than just tutor you professionally; they should be someone who you jive with intellectually/emotionally and is genuinely committed to your development. If you want to become a great leader and not just a great businessman, then find mentors who you admire for their character as much as their success.

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Salary negotiation is one part dance, one part game, and all parts stressful. Remember, you are trying to maximize your return on your “perceived” value in the marketplace, and your potential employer is trying to maximize productivity for the least cost. The worst part of salary negotiation is feeling that your potential employer holds all the cards. Here are some quick tips that will tip the balance in your favour and give you some sense of control over your future:


1. Never bring up money first—virtually all employers have done their homework and have a pretty good idea of how competitive their salaries are in the marketplace. They also Twitter and use Facebook to find out how much your friends are getting, so typically you should not be surprised by the number. If they press YOU for a number, you need to ask yourself if they are bargaining in good faith.  Say:  “I am sure you have a range in mind that is commensurate with the role and responsibilities.” If they persist, you need to ask yourself if they are bargaining in good faith (or what else are they hiding.)

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It’s clear that feedback is essential to keeping your team motivated and engaged – all the best companies make this a practice. Yet, it tends to become part of the process only after an employee is “on-boarded”. However, there’s an opportunity for these same companies to make it part of the hiring process in order to help distinguish themselves and effectively showcase their employer brand.

Why it’s important

Authenticity: How do potential hires know your culture focuses strongly on employee engagement and feedback, because you told them? Make it clear to them from the first step of the hiring process.

Perfect Information: Today, future hires have almost perfect information when it comes to background research on companies. Certainly, the very best ones will have done extensive research, including starting salaries, how many people work there, as well general impressions of your company and its products or services. If the hiring process doesn’t provide very good feedback or clarity, chances are someone’s going to write about it, post it and you might just miss out on your next great hire because of it. The converse is also true – think Zappos and all the people who apply because they’ve read about their unique approach to hiring.

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At work, at home, and on the move, we are all inundated with information. It’s no surprise that employers are as well. When you submit an application for that great career you’re after, you’re most likely competing for the hiring manager’s attention against a pool of other great candidates.

It goes without saying that you need to make yourself stand out, and sometimes it takes more than just a well-written resume.

How do you stand out? By creating a personal brand and selling yourself. Borrow a page from the business world—know what you’re selling and the compelling reasons that you’re the best person for the job.

“25 per cent of the reason anyone gets, keeps, or advances in any position is due to technical ability. The other 75 per cent is interpersonal skills and image,” says Kendra Reddy, talent consultant and owner of Blueprint Strategies. “In business and in life, people want to be around people they like and share beliefs with.”

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In “Good to Great”, Jim Collins draws on a famous essay by Isaiah Berlin, a Russian-born social and political theorist of the late 20th century, entitled “The Hedgehog and the Fox”. In it Berlin divides the world into foxes and hedgehogs: the fox is a cunning creature, constantly on the move and looking to exploit many different ends while the hedgehog looks at the world in far simpler terms and shuns complexity. 

While the fox constantly tries to outwit the hedgehog by setting traps and chasing it down, the hedgehog simply curls up into its protective layer of spikes every time the fox nears thereby thwarting its advances. What does this have to do with you and your career you may ask? Well, a lot.

Collins found that that companies who made the leap from “good” to “great” companies all had one thing in common: they were run by hedgehogs. This led to the development of the “Hedgehog Concept” that helps to identify the three key “circles” or elements each of these successful companies and leaders exuded during their transformation.

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Everybody’s cover letter looks the same, which is good news for you. Take this opportunity and break away from the tired old model of copy and paste, or worse just re-stating what’s on your resume.

If you’re looking for a way to stand-out, look no further than the advertising industry for inspiration. If there’s anyone who knows a lot about trying to stand out, it’s the advertising industry and their poster boy Don Draper. The same things that make that industry tick can help you improve your own pitch.

Your audience matters.  Advertisers spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours trying to figure out how to target their message.  Your job is infinitely easier because you already know who you’re selling to.  What’s more, thanks to social media it’s possible for you to even dig up the hiring manager’s name, so don’t dare be tempted by that “Dear Sir or Madam” stuff.  Once that’s done, don’t lose momentum.

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We are all well accustomed to the following sentence in a job description:  “...minimum [#] years of experience in [insert role, skill, job function here].”  I encourage both employers and job seekers to assess this so-called requirement with a critical eye. Defining experience in terms of years often results in a disconnect between its intended purpose and effect on the recruitment process. In the bestselling book Re-Work, the authors from 37signals refer to the years of experience factor often found in job descriptions as years of irrelevance.

In a knowledge economy, attracting the best people is critical to a company’s success. In other words, talent management is kind of a big deal these days. An important and often overlooked element of the recruitment process is the job description: a list of ‘must haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ driven by an assessment of resource needs. Most job descriptions cite the years of experience factor as a ‘must have.’ This approach is very practical from the employer’s perspective. Hiring Managers, Recruiters, and/or recruitment software can weed out a large volume of the resumes based on the experience requirement. In addition to being practical, this approach is consistent with the business community’s use of metrics.

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With today’s job market in the shape it is, presenting yourself to an employer in a positive and unique way is more important than ever. After you have done all of the necessary research and footwork it takes to find the right career opportunity, the next thing you need to decide is how you will go about making your personality and experiences stand out from all of the other candidates. Fine tuning your paper resume is one big step, but with today’s technological possibilities and the way networking has become so easy and available, maybe you should take it one step further.

Of course, a video resume is not going to land you the job you want on its own, but the right video resume could be just the thing to put you over the top, and win you your dream job.

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