As September is slowly creeping up (to end my beloved summer months), I’ve been thinking more and more about life after graduation. This will be my last year of University (thank God) and with the end in sight I’ve been contemplating my next move as a university graduate.

I’ve been working every year since I started high school and have even spent some summers working up to 3 jobs (the ‘careerist’ slant to this blog is no coincidence). A self-described work-o-holic, my friends have labeled me ‘crazy’. But the truth is, I actually enjoy working. And I’ve worked all kinds of jobs, too. It’s safe to say that I haven’t discriminated against any job, from shady grocery stores to government agency work. I’ve covered some ground, and busted my rump in the past few years… So I was thinking that once I graduate in the spring, I might take a break from work to do some traveling (original, I know).

But is it really okay to take a break?

The whole ‘university education’ thing was supposed to ensure that I actually GOT a job when I graduated, but knowing the ever-increasing competitive nature of the workforce for graduates, I wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to land that big job just for a little down time.

I’ve been thinking about how some time off could be perceived by my (hopeful) future employer. Maybe they would see the need for an extended break as indicating a lack of drive or direction, that’s not me. I am convinced however, that whatever you decide to do after graduation, the ‘spin’ you put on the story is what makes or breaks the deal in an interview. The difference between: “I was just like, tired of all the work, y’know?” and “I took some time off to collect my thoughts and refocus on my long-term objectives” could mean the difference in employment status.

You could even try spinning a temporary insanity story… though I wouldn’t recommend it.

Regardless, the right spin is only part of the equation; taking time off usually means taking a risk that the job you want might not be available to you when you decide to jump back into the job market.

I know having a gap of unemployment on your resume is a little risky, but if I jump into a career right away I could find myself working until retirement without any serious time off!

Is it ever okay to take a break?

Being the young, career-oriented woman that I am, I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning my professional future. Which direction to go in, what avenue to pursue next, what accreditations I need, how to get ahead today… But among all of these other concerns that I have for the future, from time to time I am reminded of another: the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling effect refers to an invisible barrier that prevents the professional advancement of a qualified person beyond a certain level of hierarchy (or pay) because of discrimination.

In this blog entry, (and in order to avoid speaking about that which I do not know) I want to address the glass ceiling in the context in which it refers to women specifically. This entry, like many others, is inspired by a flurry of news articles and blog entries that I caught wind of this week. The first, about the “insipid sexism of a male-dominated political culture”, and another about women making more than men on corporate boards.

Despite the views of these authors, I feel as though the ‘glass ceiling’ is a somewhat antiquated notion that referred to a force that once kept women out of the boardroom and positions of management. Today, I think the explanation behind this phenomenon has more to do with the decisions individuals make, and less about a work culture of entitlement.

I probably take this approach for two reasons:

1. I want to
   
2. I have to

Let me elaborate: I want to believe the glass ceiling doesn’t exist because I don’t want to adopt a defeatist approach and accept that there are forces beyond my control that will always prevent me from accomplishing my goals. I’m just starting out in the workplace and don’t want to abandon my mission of climbing the corporate ladder by disempowering myself.

But I have to believe the glass ceiling doesn’t exist or else the notion of its mere existence will become a crutch, an excuse, a reason for my every failure or shortcoming and would ultimately be the demise of my professional career.

At the end of the day, whether the glass ceiling effect is real or not, in my mind I have to feel empowered to move forward and persevere, relinquishing perceived drawbacks that might prevent me from reaching my goals and holding myself 100% accountable for my every failure and success.

Since I started blogging for RBC, I’ve been exposed to a whole new world of social interaction. Relatively new to the blogosphere, I wasn’t really familiar with too many blogs or the impact they can have on your personal and professional network. So, needless to say that when I heard that Bruce Firestone, a master entrepreneur, founder of the Ottawa Senators and professor at the University of Ottawa was telling his students that he wouldn’t hire someone who didn’t blog, I was intrigued.

I followed up with Dr. Firestone to get to the bottom of this story and found out that the reluctance to hire non-bloggers was something that led back to Ryan Anderson, Director of Communications at Fuel Industries – an interactive entertainment business and one of the coolest companies around (be sure to check out the website).

I caught up with Ryan Anderson to ask him more about his hiring strategy… An avid Tweeter and blogger himself, for nearly 4 years, Anderson knows the value of social networking and is a huge advocate of social media sites. “Blogging is a good way of gaining a competitive edge” he encourages students and young careerists to get involved in the community, make connections, expand the student world, connect with pros and benefit from their experience!

When it comes to experience in the blogosphere, Ryan explains that commenting on other peoples’ blogs is great, but in order to really engage with the blogging community you should start up your own blog. While being particularly applicable to the interactive entertainment industry, blogs are also important for med, law, poli sci students and everyone in between! No matter what your field of study, you can almost always find a relevant network of bloggers!

Due to the personal, opinionated and controversial nature of blogs, I asked Ryan about what students should be talking about on their blog. Are any topics too controversial? Should students avoid taking a ‘hard stance’ in their blogs should future employers come across it?

Ryan’s answer: "Don’t be an ass."

Blogging is a personal thing and there are certainly some topics and stances that you should steer clear of, however (I think) most employers look fondly upon bloggers who provide new insights on intellectual subjects. Consistency of topic or theme is important and be sure to create conversation with other bloggers in your online network. When it comes down to it, blogging is about sharing information!

Final advice from Ryan Anderson to new bloggers: Blog about something you’re passionate about. You don’t need to be an expert in the field – curiosity and interest are important and will fuel some great discussion!

Get busy in the blogosphere today! Create your blogs and be sure to drop me the link here! For some tips on blog topics check out 10 Steps to Becoming a More Interesting Blogger.

Good luck!

Side note: Fuel Industries has a great blog, including Ryan Anderson’s. Check it out here.

You’ve done all the work to land a summer job, (searching for the perfect company, cold-calling HR, working on your resume, going to interviews) you’ve finally landed your dream summer job and the hard work is over, right? Not really. The work is actually just starting, but this is the fun part: you’re actually getting paid and you’ll learn tons of new skills, get an insight into a fascinating industry and see if you’ll sink or swim in the workplace. The best part is, you don’t have to do it alone.

Now that you’ve had a few weeks to settle into your new job, it’s a great time to seek out mentors. The workplace is a great place to find these people. They can be co-workers or superiors and typically have more experience than you. Integral to your personal development, mentors should be willing to share their experiences with you and take a genuine interest in your growth and success.

Feeling a little awkward breaking the ice? Here are a couple tips I’ve come across:

• Check to see if your company has a mentoring program
• Talk to people who were hired a few years before you
• Seek out retired executives who might volunteer as mentors
• See if your company sponsors any conferences for opportunities to network
• Working for a small company? Pick up a book! Biographies can also lead you to mentor figures

I’ve been lucky enough to have had several mentors who were kind (and patient) enough to spend some time talking to me about their experiences and sharing their advice in sticky situations. But establishing the first point of contact is not enough! It’s important to maintain relationships with your mentors, they will become a part of your professional network and sounding board. Try to keep in touch with your mentors at least a couple times per year. They’ll be interested to hear about your latest endeavours and you should be interested in theirs!

When seeking out a mentor, my best experiences have been with people who like to talk. Finding people that you respect and think highly of is great, but if they aren’t talkers, you might have a harder time benefiting from their expertise. Also, see if you can talk to your mentors outside of the office, ask them out to coffee or lunch. This might allow them to speak more openly about their experiences, especially their frustrations.

There is some degree of altruism behind mentoring. While the mentor may have a genuine interest in you, they don’t usually ‘get’ anything out of meeting with you and sharing their stories. They usually are genuinely interested in your personal and professional development, but they also care about the success of their company and perceive your growth as fostering that.

Be sure to pass on the torch!

Lastly, once you’ve been through the initiation into a new company, be sure to connect with the mentoring program at your company (especially if you’re a returning co-op or summer intern). You might not have an abundance of experience in the field, but you can help a new hire get oriented and settled into the new work environment by acting as a mentor to incoming students and new hires.

I realize that sometimes as student we can get pretty wrapped up in our lives. With exams, deadlines, interviews and summer jobs we can get a little self-centered sometimes, I know I can.

This week’s blog topic takes a bit more of a serious tone. But first, I think a shout out needs to be made to a friend of mine who knowingly let me steal his copy of the Economist this week in order to save my readers from my take on another earth-shattering Onion article.

I’m a student at the University Ottawa in the International Development and Globalization program, or as I joking call it, “Hippie School”. The program focuses on developing countries and different models of social and economic development. Needless to say, today’s topic is of particular interest to me as the concept and frustration of international development is something that I continue to be fascinated and discouraged by.

The global food shortage.

Maybe you’ve heard about it on the news or read about it in the papers: we’re in the midst of a food crisis. Over the last year, the price of wheat and rice have risen 77% and 16%, respectively. The consequences of rising grain prices is felt particularly across nations we tend to call "less developed". In many developing countries, food riots are breaking out as a response to the rise in food prices. In Haiti, protesters shouting “We’re hungry!” forced the Prime Minister to resign. Twenty-four people were killed during food riots in Cameroon. The Philippines have made hoarding rice punishable by life imprisonment. The food shortage is a grim topic that is causing political instability and threatens the future of developing nations.

It is important to note here that the food shortage is not the result of failed crops. Although some regions like Bangladesh, have dealt with severe environmental conditions that have negatively impacted this year’s crop production, the Economist claims the shortage exists because of a change in demand, not supply. While the growing demand is mainly attributable to the West’s skyrocketing consumption of biofuels, what I found to be of particular interest, is that the increased demand has been largely influenced by the rising standard of living in China and India, initiating a greater demand for luxury goods, such as meat and grains.

Worsening the situation, are export quotas by grain producers, panic-buying by grain importers and governments who are softening the blow of high grain prices (which would entice farmers to grow more) through subsidies.

The Economist claims that the era of cheap food is over. What do you think? No doubt, farmers will eventually respond to the incentive of higher prices, but what are the implications for the developing world?

Food for thought

Finally, confirmation that the iPhone is coming to Canada! Rogers announced yesterday morning that they would be releasing the iPhone later on this year. Although no date has been set as of yet for the exact release date, Rogers Chief Operating Officer has hinted that the price of data plans in Canada might be reduced in order to capitalize on iPhone sales. This announcement comes after months of speculation that Apple hates Canada.

Finally, Canada will be getting some of that higher technology we only see South of the border and some love from Apple!

A few weeks ago, Earth Hour had me sitting home alone in the dark on a Saturday night… again.

I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I decided to put in motion an experiment I’m trying out called: Operation Beach Bod… When I got back from my run, I was exhausted and still had 50 minutes to kill alone in the dark… (operation failed).

I started thinking about the summer ahead and getting psyched about all the fun I was going to have with friends back home. But I was also thinking about the huge amount of money that I somehow manage to blow every summer on ridiculous outings. I should be able to find a better balance…

I considered playing “Earth Hour” every Saturday night for the rest of summer, but instead I came up with this list of five small things that I can do this summer to cut costs.

1 - Brown Bag it! So what if even the IT interns make fun of me? If I bring my own lunch to work, it’ll give me an excuse to eat at my desk and finish reading my latest nerd book in private.

2 – Potluck Patio Parties. I spend a ton of money throughout the summer, hanging out with people after work, grabbing food and a couple drinks on pub patios downtown. This summer, I’m going the way of collaborative, backyard patio parties. Fire up that barbecue!

3 – Run, bike, exercise! This summer, I’m skipping the gym membership and getting in shape the old fashioned way. That’s right, outside. Operation Beach Bod… take 2!

4 – Carpool. – Dude, have you seen the price of gas? Take the carpool lane!

5 – Library. I’m a total bookworm and lately, my routine Chapters splurges have been running up an astronomical bill! Since summer is usually my time to get down to some of my own reading, I’m going to try and spend more time at the library and less time in book stores. (Unless you know of any good used book stores!)

Saving money and finding ways to cut costs as a student can be tough, but it doesn’t have to send you dumpster diving.These are just some of my goals, based on my own spending habits for cutting costs and having fun this summer. How are you going to save this summer?

Today’s entry is mainly inspired by this article that I read in The Onion, a hilarious and 100% trustworthy news source. This post goes to complement Nathan’s recent entry about the art of networking and the use of social networking sites to establish a legitimate network.
 
The article I read, was talking about a system failure that caused the social networking site, MySpace.com to crash. The article read: “An estimated 150 million people continued to be without social lives Tuesday as a massive system failure at MySpace.com entered its third day.”

If the MySpace crash can leave so many distraught, how many people will be left feeling hopeless and desperately alone if, god forbid, the match-making giant lavalife.com should experience a crash? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Side note: I’m thinking of replacing Globe and Mail for The Onion as my homepage.

3 years worth of bus tickets has got me thinking: Is it really worth it?

I’ve been living in Ottawa for the better part of 3 years now. Living in the nation’s capital is great, there are so many benefits to reap as a student in Ottawa. Great city, cool festivals, the best St Patty’s day celebrations and the OC Transpo. That’s right, Ottawa has one of the best public transportation systems around. This is particularly cool for student pedestrians (like me) and those of you who are looking to save on transportation costs!

So the other day while I was on the bus, I noticed some people jumping on the back of the bus – without paying. This got me thinking about something that might be of interest to those of you living on the tight student budget.

Now, before I continue, fair warning must be given: In NO way do I condone ripping off public transportation systems or any other kind of public service.

That said, I wanted to find out if it would be financially justifiable (if you’re willing to sacrifice your conscience) to try and cheat the system, seeing as there’s a $125 fine should you get caught.

Now, seeing as I’ve conducted this experiment taking into account approximately 3 cases, this experiment should undoubtedly be regarded as official and dependable for consultation. Since my research methods (interviewing a few friends) are totally legit and entirely reliable, the following quantitative, empirical analysis should be considered official and 100% accurate.

The Findings

Of 150 bus trips counted here in this experiment, riders’ tickets were checked 3 times.

Using probability theory, we can draw conclusions about the likelihood of getting ‘checked’ each time you ride the bus.

The Calculations

Bus trips observed: 150
Ticket checks: 3
Probability of having your ticket checked: 3/150= 0.02 or 2%

Bus tickets: $3
Fine for illegal riders: $125
Cost of 150 legal bus rides: $3 x 150 = $450
Cost of 150 illegal bus rides: (150 x 0.02) x $125 = $375

Amount of money that could potentially be saved by jumping on the back of the bus 150 times: $75
The amount of money that would have to be set aside each time you jumped on the back of the bus in order to break even if you got caught: $125 x 2% = $2.50

The Conclusion
Now, while I feel the necessity again to emphasize the validity of a survey conducted with such a vast research sample, there is one problem with my formula. It doesn’t take into account the value of the rider’s conscience. If the rider feels his or her conscience is worth less than $75, per 150 rides then this experiment proves that jumping on the back of the bus without paying is justified. However, for those moral citizens who aren’t quite willing to jeopardize their integrity (and bus record) for a mere $75, then bus tickets are the way to go.

How much is your conscience worth?

This week, I wanted to look into one that might be of particular interest to students. It’s pretty controversial so I’m looking forward to hearing some different perspectives on the subject.

Tuition fees.

I’ll be graduating next year with a Bachelor of Social Science, and lately, I’ve been thinking about: (1) How I’ll ever be able to break into the workforce after graduation and (2) The protests to lower tuition fees. Despite the widely publicized rally to lower tuition fees last year, it’s a topic that I keep hearing about around campus. It appears that a lot of students are still really unhappy about their tuition fees. I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue…

I wanted to get a closer look at just who was behind the campaign to freeze tuition fees. What I found out, was that this social movement is being supported by the Canadian Federation of Students. The CFS boasts a student membership of over 500,000 post-secondary students across Canada. Pretty impressive. I read on about the Principles of the Federation and found that their “ultimate goal – [is] a system of post-secondary education that is accessible to all…” Pretty ambitious.

Stats Can found that between the 1990 and 2005, tuition fees increased at a pace that was 4 times faster than the average rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Here’s what that looks like:

The idea of lowering tuition costs is definitely an attractive one to myself and many other students. Granting greater access to education, by freezing tuition fees is an interesting idea that has a lot of people talking. But I’ve been thinking about what the success of this social movement will mean for the value of my degree in the market of undergrads and competition for jobs after graduation.

Will lower tuition fees reduce the value of the undergrad degree?

Instead of simply lowering tuition fees to make post-secondary education “accessible to all”, I’d be in favour of a more merit-based system for granting access to post-secondary institutions. This would give equal opportunity to all prospective students, while making the admission process more competitive.

Finland’s tuition-free universities are a great example of the success of a merit-based system. Finland boasts tuition-free universities that have been ranked by the World Economic Forum as one of the best education systems in the world, as found by the Global Competitiveness Index.

Should Canada be taking a page out of Finland’s book?

Just something on my mind...

I spent the past weekend at a business conference in Toronto, where I had the chance to talk to some consultants about image and personal branding. Apparently this is something pretty important, especially if you plan on surviving in the business world (which I do).

After having some time to mull it over, I’ve been thinking about just that. What’s the image that I’m sending out? What exactly is my brand? Am I an Adidas: “Impossible is nothing”, a General Electric: “Imagination at work”, a Sony: “like.no.other”, a Gillette: “The best a man can get”, a Jockey Underwear: “Best seat in the house”…

Sorry, too easy.

But all joking aside, I was challenged over the weekend to think of 3 people who’s ‘brand’ I really admired. I consider myself to be pretty selective and after some thought, I went with:

Sir Richard Branson – For his charisma, glam factor and business intuition.

Michael Jordan – For his inspiring work ethic, dedication to his team and passion for his sport. (I HIGHLY recommend reading the book: How to be Like Mike. It made a fan out of me.)

And finally, I’d really like to have a woman on my top 3 list. And maybe you’ve got some suggestions in this area. For my third ‘brand idol’ here’s what I’m looking for:

• Integrity – someone that I respect
  
• Substance – no flakes please!
  
• Glam factor – that rock star quality

Choosing brand idols can be one of the most important things you do to shape your brand. You can emulate and even copy another person’s brand to adopt those admirable qualities that you see in your idols.

So the question becomes: Are you a Double Diamond: “I’m only here for the beer”, an IBM: “Business is our middle name”, or an iPod Mini: “Next big thing”?

Some advice given to me: choose your brand wisely and OWN IT. What ever brand you create for yourself, be sure to wear it with pride in ALL you do. Let your brand speak for you through your work and be sure to take it with you to every interview as summer approaches!

Who are your top 3 brand idols?

Okay so a funny thing happened today...

Remember my old rant about how my cell phone bill is way too high and how I want a new phone for my heard-earned money? Well, today the coolest thing happened! My cell phone provider Telus, called me and they decided that they want to give me additional services on my account and then charge me LESS than my old plan!

Here's what they're going to give me:

• 100 additional text messages
  
• 100 additional anytime minutes
  
• Evenings that start at 5:00 PM (as opposed to 9:00 PM)
  
• What they'll charge me: Less than my previous deal!

I know this is probably because my contract with Telus is up at the end of next month and they're trying to keep me happy so that I'll renew with them, but personally I'd like to think it's because someone is ACTUALLY reading these blog entries! could it be?

:-)