Please fill out this form for the Super Visa Information Session.

Field Trip Thursday: Concert at Roy Thomson Hall

Field Trip Thursday: Concert at Roy Thomson Hall

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Be at the coffeeshop inside Don Mills Station by 10 a.m. and depart westbound for Sheppard Yonge. Transfer to a southbound train and get off at St. Andrew Station. Follow signage to Roy Thomson Hall.


Enjoy one of Canada's wonderful gifts to the world, as the Hamilton Children's Choir and Young Voices of Torontopresent Sound Tapestry.

Tuesday's Assignment

Job interviews are your chance to show what you have to offer to potential employers. It is important to prepare before each interview. Make a list of typical interview questions with sample responses.

Listening Activity 1:

Siliva Carnali has been invited for an interview. Listen to the talk between Silvia and her friend Nina, a human resources manager, for some interview preparation tips. Write Nina's opinion (do/don't) next to the tips below.

Interview Tips:

1. Arrive ten minutes early.
2. Speak English with a friend or relative with you for support.
3. Bring a close friend or relative for support.
4. Take a copy of your resume and examples of your work with you.
5. Memorise long answers to questions that you anticipate being asked.

Listening Activity 2:

Listen to this mock job interview; list all the Dos and Don'ts which the interviewer has mentioned. Click here to listen to it.

Activity 3:

Search the internet to find the 10 most annoying gestures during a job interview.

Activity 4:

Now read this article and write a comment on it based on your research effort.

Landing a job requires more than a well-crafted resume and flawless references.

Let’s start by avoiding these ten gestures:

1. Looking down.

As a job candidate, looking down while responding to questions portrays a lack of confidence. Even if you provide a stellar response, the delivery won't be as powerful if you're looking away from the interviewer. Of course, don't stare at the interviewer for the duration of the meeting, but make eye contact in your response to drive home your point with conviction.

2. Slouching in the chair.

Slouching in your chair can give off the idea that you don't care about the interview. Establish a balance between slouching and sitting up extremely straight. When it doubt, err on the side of sitting more upright and less slouched over in your seat.

3. Not maintaining eye contact.

This relates to No. 1: Maintain a balance between looking in random locations and staring at the interviewer. Need a spot to look aside from directly at the interviewer? Glance at the legal pad you bring for notes every now and then.

4. Foot taps.

In an effort to combat nervousness, some applicants will repeatedly tap their shoe(s) against the floor like they're listening to an up-tempo dance beat. This can be difficult to identify in the interview because you may not even notice you're doing it, but tapping your feet on the ground gives off a feeling of uneasiness. Try to keep your feet still during the interview.

5. Arms folded.

Employers could mistake you for being uninterested and a little pompous if you fold your arms in the interviewing room. As a best practice, lock your fingers together on the table to prohibit unnecessary fidgeting.

6. Weak handshake.

Providing a weak handshake to the potential employer can signal a lack of confidence. A firm handshake that doesn't hurt the interviewer's hand is ideal. The same practices should be applied for men shaking women's hands and vice versa.

7. Frowning.

It may sound obvious, but employers are looking for candidates with a positive attitude. Frowning - or maintaining a stoic look throughout the interview - won't be received as well as someone who smiles and displays positive energy.

8. Moving restlessly.

Be cognizant of any unnecessary movements: playing with your hair, popping your knuckles and random fidgeting should be left out of the interview.

9. Nodding in agreement to everything.

By all means, it's OK to nod in agreement when you come to the same conclusion on a topic with the potential employer. Just refrain from nodding in agreement to every single sentence the interviewer says.

10. The frustrated look.

The picture above illustrates a look of frustration. If you don't know an answer to a question, be honest about it and don't appear to be visibly flustered. That could signal to the interviewer that you're easily defeated and don't work diligently to solve complex problems.

Monday's Assignment:
Please place the following words in sentences of your own. If you feel more creative, you can use them in a paragraph to clarify their meanings.

Drill/ Erstwhile/ insight/ outplacement/ liken/ gambit/ expectations/ shortcoming/ continuum/ pithy/ pertinent/ draw people out/ sales pitch/ stubborn/ nudged out.

Please fill in this form for the ROM field trip. 

Friday's Assignment: 
Moving on for more practice to write cover letters, find a job posting you are interested in. Write a cover letter to the position. Focus on the skills, attitudes and experience requested in the job posting.

At Toronto Reference Library!
Now since everyone has a library card, please share the book title that you are reading now for your Friday's presentation!

Happy Mondays changed to fun Thursdays. Pot luck and more!

Farewell to Fariba. Will miss you!

Tomorrow's field trip to Toronto Reference Library. We will meet there at 9.45 a.m. 
Please bring any proof of address with you and one piece of ID to get a library card.

Good morning everyone,

Having worked with the resume format for some time, now it is time to put it into action. So let's follow these steps below:

First, create a ''Base Resume''  for yourself.
Second, locate three job advertisements you would like to respond to.
Third, write a different career objective statement related to the advertised position. Make your objective statement brief, specific and relevant to your skills and attributes.
Fourth, once you have done with your resume, ask one of your peers to edit it for you, and you do the same thing for him/her.

Thanks for everyone's participation, we had a great day at the ROM last Thursday! Here are some of the photos, waiting for the rest to be uploaded soon!

Here is a list of websites that can help you find your dream job!

www.canadajobs.com

www.canjobs.com

www.careerexchange.com 

www.employcanada.com

www.hotjobs.ca

www.jobboom.com

www.ontariojobs.com

www.charityvillage.ca

http://www.peoplesource.ca/

http://www.jobserve.ca/

http://www.procountstaffing.com/ 

http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/

http://www.adecco.ca/

http://www.sgbworkforce.com/

http://www.accountemps.com/

http://www.careerbuilder.ca/CA/Default.aspx

http://www.hays.ca/

http://www.randstad.ca/

http://www.quantum.ca/home.aspx?ln=en-CA&wl=false

http://www.ajilon.ca/en/default.idigit

http://www.appleone.ca/

http://www.manpowerprofessional.ca/

http://www.spherion.ca/

http://www.hunt.ca/

http://www.workopolis.com/

http://www.monster.ca

Good morning everyone,

Now we have learned about the job postings' phrases and sections; follow the steps below to help you find a job:
1- Use the Internet to locate two job postings for an occupation that interests you. Take notes on the
information from both postings and compare the information. Use the following headings to record
your information: Job requirements (education, experience, hard skills, soft skills, experience);
duties and responsibilities; employer information; how to apply.

2- Search the Internet for tips on completing job application forms. Write a list of 10 tips to present
them in a small group.

3- Access the Working in Canada Tool at  www.workingincanada.gc.ca. Click Start. Type in the name
of an occupation, and then select a location. Read the information about the occupation. Give a
short presentation of your findings to the class. Discuss which parts of the tool you found useful
and why.

4- Search the Internet to find examples of different résumé formats. Then answer the following questions:

1. What is the focus of each type of résumé?
2. What headings does each type of résumé have and how are the details listed under those headings?
3. What features do these résumé formats have in common?
4. Which résumé format do you think is best for you? Why?

Thank God for some generous sponsorship--we're headed for the Royal Ontario Museum this Thursday. Please meet at 9:30 a.m. at the coffee shop just above the subway platform in Don Mill Station. Bring comfortable walking shoes, a packed lunch, and your camera! Free tickets are available for our LINC participants, but others can join in by paying the regular entrance rates.

You can enjoy the Forbidden City special exhibit for a special price.

Address

Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6

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IEP Conference's Photos:

Sad face:(

Happy face:)

Serious!

Think and List the 10 Annoying Working Habits That Will Give Your Coworkers A Nervous Breakdown

Good morning everyone,

Here is tomorrow's plan: we'll all be going to Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the IEP Conference. You can get there by 8:30 a.m.if you leave at 7:30 from Don Mills Station. When you arrive at the Convention Centre, look out for signs that say "IEP Conference" and for people wearing sashes showing the way. At 12:30, how about group photo at the entrance of the exhibition area called the Marketplace?

While there, please note:

1. the name of the sessions you attended and the speakers' names. 
2. the name of one person you met in each session and something about that person. 
3. at least one interesting or helpful thing you learned in each session. 

Go on this website, it provides information about 300 occupational groups. Find the occupation you are looking for, then describe the average earnings for this occupation. Describe how the average unemployment rate for the occupation compares to the average unemployment rate for all the occupations.

Click here to locate the NOC website. Click on Occupational Structure on the left-hand side of the page.
List below the 10 sectors that the first digit of the NOC code refers to.

Then, each one think of an occupation you would like to enter in Canada (either as a survival job, or in the occupation you are trained for), and answer the following questions:

1- Which of the above sectors is this occupation in?
2- What is the NOC code for it?
3- What are the job title and the related titles?
4- What are the main duties for this job (list only the most important 5)?
5- What are the job requirements?

Good morning everyone,
Please click on this link to post your feedback on yesterday's workshop.

Everyone is encouraged to join LinkedIn Canada, as part of social networking. Click here and follow the instructions.

Another Parent wins! comment if you can relate:)

Now share this with us: 

1. An important achievement you have done in your life.
2. The last goal you have set and it has worked out for you and how.
3. A goal you have set and did not work out for you and why.
4. The one thing you are determined to do in your lifetime. 

Please read this short inspiration story about goals and share your feedback with our class. Click here for the full story.

Welcome to Workplace English. We will start by goal setting; all students are encouraged to post their short term goals and five steps to achieve it.