Career Progression
Bring Value to the Workplace
Many people make the mistake of thinking that showing up and doing the tasks assigned to you is enough to get a raise or a
Take control of your
career path
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Stress Management
One of the things that can impact your success in the workplace is healthy stress management skills. Why? When you get stressed, your body thinks
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Collaboration
At OFE, we define collaboration as the ability and willingness to work effectively and efficiently with others to achieve a mutual goal. There is a
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Appearance
By this time in your journey, you hopefully have a clearer picture of why developing your soft skills is essential for being successful in the
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Communication
Next up on the Passport series is communication. If you missed the others you can find them here, here and here. So, how do we
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Attitude
The purpose of OFE’s Passport is to intentionally develop the soft skills – attitude, appearance, timeliness, collaboration, adaptability, stress management and motivation – that can
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Adaptability
Last week we introduced OFE’s Passport. To recap, our research at OFE showed there are key soft skills – social and emotional skills – that
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Motivation
Through our research at OFE, we discovered there are key soft skills – social and emotional skills – that determine whether a person will be
Networking
How To Build Your Network
With so many other qualified candidates out there, one of the best ways to get a leg up is through a personal connection – your
Soft Skills
Talking First Impressions With Our ESAs
Interviews With OFE Staff First impressions matter, especially in your job search. Whether you’re networking or coming in for an interview, what you say and
Career Progression
Build Your Skills… Always
How many times have you seen the words “continuous learning” or “continuous learner” on a job ad? Continuous learning is about developing your skills and
Skills Training
Enhance your workplace skills… by making origami?!
When I tell my students they will be practicing origami in class until they essentially master the art, they look at me as though I
Interviews
Polishing Your Job Search Skills – Part Two
Interviews With OFE Staff This week we are wrapping up the conversation about answering interview questions. There is a lot more to talk about than
Interviews
Polishing Your Job Search Skills – Part One
Interviews With OFE Staff We talk a lot about interviews on this blog, and no wonder! Interviews are a key piece of the job search
Interviews
How to master that Zoom interview
Zoom is the new kid on the block. While you may not have heard of them before, they are definitely getting all the attention now.
Interviews
How to ace your phone interviews
Hint: Practice, Practice, Practice! Imagine this scenario: You applied for a job and are excited about it. Then you get a call… the company wants
Life Skills
Unemployed during COVID-19? What to do?
We are in strange times – COVID-19 has changed our world. The landscape of job searching has shifted. Companies that were thriving just a few
Career Progression
Staying sharp while social distancing
While the job market becomes more and more uncertain as businesses shut down, there are still things you as a job seeker can do to be ready as soon as an opportunity comes up. The best part? All of these things can be done right in your home.
Digital Job Search
E-mail Etiquette: How to keep your online application from being deleted
A week ago I read an article that talked about the unconscious way we judge someone based on how they write. Research shows that when
Life Skills
Want to increase your motivation? Start by setting SMART goals!
When I was 16, I started my first job hunt. I was eager to start working and earn my own money – and along with it, my independence. I followed a generic cover letter and resume template online to get myself started and felt proud that I was finally on my way.
Soft Skills
The most important soft skill – adaptability
It’s 9 a.m. on a busy Saturday morning. You are scheduled to run an in-store event with fifty attendees expected. You and your team have
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AND TAKE YOUR CAREER FURTHER.
Stay up-to-date on topics that can boost your career, give you a fresh perspective on job searching, and help you meet your goals faster.
Take control of your
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Tag: Get Ahead
Career Progression
Bring Value to the Workplace
Many people make the mistake of thinking that showing up and doing the tasks assigned to you is enough to get a raise or a promotion, but the fact is, your co-workers are also doing those things and more. In order to make yourself stand out, you have to bring value to the workplace by
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Stress Management
One of the things that can impact your success in the workplace is healthy stress management skills. Why? When you get stressed, your body thinks you’re in danger and proceeds to do whatever it can to protect you. When properly maintained and managed, this is a good thing. It can remind you, for example, to
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Collaboration
At OFE, we define collaboration as the ability and willingness to work effectively and efficiently with others to achieve a mutual goal. There is a lot to unpack in that one sentence, but the most important thing to notice is it goes beyond “working with other people”. When you collaborate with others, you build a
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Appearance
By this time in your journey, you hopefully have a clearer picture of why developing your soft skills is essential for being successful in the workplace. We talked about setting high standards for yourself and achieving goals to show your motivation; reacting constructively to expected and unexpected changes; learning to display a positive attitude and;
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Communication
Next up on the Passport series is communication. If you missed the others you can find them here, here and here. So, how do we define communication? It’s the ability to give or receive information, including clear and logical verbal expression, active listening skills, manners, collaboration and non-verbal communication such as body language. The ability
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Attitude
The purpose of OFE’s Passport is to intentionally develop the soft skills – attitude, appearance, timeliness, collaboration, adaptability, stress management and motivation – that can impact a person’s success in the workplace. A couple of weeks ago we explored adaptability. Attitude is up next. It’s defined as the way people express their feelings about other
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Adaptability
Last week we introduced OFE’s Passport. To recap, our research at OFE showed there are key soft skills – social and emotional skills – that determine whether a person will be successful in the workplace. The purpose of OFE’s Passport is to intentionally develop these skills with our participants. After the last post, you’ve hopefully
Soft Skills
Passport Series: Motivation
Through our research at OFE, we discovered there are key soft skills – social and emotional skills – that determine whether a person will be successful in the workplace. They are attitude, appearance, timeliness, collaboration, adaptability, stress management and motivation. Following the success we had working with smaller groups of people over a number of
Networking
How To Build Your Network
With so many other qualified candidates out there, one of the best ways to get a leg up is through a personal connection – your network. A network is a list of personal, academic or professional contacts who can connect you with a potential employer. Building your network is a lifelong process. In rare cases,
Soft Skills
Talking First Impressions With Our ESAs
Interviews With OFE Staff First impressions matter, especially in your job search. Whether you’re networking or coming in for an interview, what you say and how you act towards the people around you are things to be mindful of. We already know to put our best foot forward in the presence of “big players” like
Career Progression
Build Your Skills… Always
How many times have you seen the words “continuous learning” or “continuous learner” on a job ad? Continuous learning is about developing your skills and acquiring new knowledge on a consistent basis. This may mean that you have to spend money, but it would certainly mean that you need to spend time. Why should we
Skills Training
Enhance your workplace skills… by making origami?!
When I tell my students they will be practicing origami in class until they essentially master the art, they look at me as though I am from a different planet. Their heads tilt to one side, and some even let out small laughs. They think I am joking when I say a large part of
Interviews
Polishing Your Job Search Skills – Part Two
Interviews With OFE Staff This week we are wrapping up the conversation about answering interview questions. There is a lot more to talk about than we have time for on this blog, so we encourage you to get in touch with your Employment Consultant to sign you up for OFE’s job search workshops, or simply
Interviews
Polishing Your Job Search Skills – Part One
Interviews With OFE Staff We talk a lot about interviews on this blog, and no wonder! Interviews are a key piece of the job search process. Whether you speak to someone in person, over the phone or through video conference, knowing how to present yourself well gets you one step closer to a job. Now
Interviews
How to master that Zoom interview
Zoom is the new kid on the block. While you may not have heard of them before, they are definitely getting all the attention now. What is Zoom? Zoom is a web conferencing website often used for virtual meetings. Similar to Microsoft Teams or Skype, it was created for individuals or groups to meet for
Interviews
How to ace your phone interviews
Hint: Practice, Practice, Practice! Imagine this scenario: You applied for a job and are excited about it. Then you get a call… the company wants to do a phone interview with you! Panic might set in as you wonder how this will differ from an in-person interview and if you are ready for it. The
Life Skills
Unemployed during COVID-19? What to do?
We are in strange times – COVID-19 has changed our world. The landscape of job searching has shifted. Companies that were thriving just a few weeks ago are now laying off large numbers of employees. Although these cutbacks are temporary, they dramatically impact those of us who are looking for work in these surreal times.
Career Progression
Staying sharp while social distancing
While the job market becomes more and more uncertain as businesses shut down, there are still things you as a job seeker can do to be ready as soon as an opportunity comes up. The best part? All of these things can be done right in your home.
Digital Job Search
E-mail Etiquette: How to keep your online application from being deleted
A week ago I read an article that talked about the unconscious way we judge someone based on how they write. Research shows that when your emails and text messages are full of errors, the person on the other side will view you as “less conscientious, intelligent and trustworthy”. This is especially true if you
Life Skills
Want to increase your motivation? Start by setting SMART goals!
When I was 16, I started my first job hunt. I was eager to start working and earn my own money – and along with it, my independence. I followed a generic cover letter and resume template online to get myself started and felt proud that I was finally on my way.
Soft Skills
The most important soft skill – adaptability
It’s 9 a.m. on a busy Saturday morning. You are scheduled to run an in-store event with fifty attendees expected. You and your team have been preparing for weeks, and everyone is aware of their roles and targets for the day.Then, you find out two of your team members are sick, bringing your staff down
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR BLOG IN YOUR
INBOX AND TAKE YOUR CAREER FURTHER.
Stay up-to-date on topics that can boost your career, give you a fresh perspective on job searching, and help you meet your goals faster.