Mark your calendars for the National Job Fair & Training Expo in Toronto

The 16th annual National Job Fair and Training Expo will be held in Toronto on March 24-25, 2010.

Top Canadian employers and employment agencies from various sectors will be there looking to fill positions for experienced job seekers, qualified professionals, people with technical skills, new graduates and even students.

So, those of you who are interested in finding a job, or are interested in a career change, this is a great place to meet with recruiters face to face and put your best foot forward.  More that that though, this job fair will also be a great place for those people who are considering self-employment and are looking for small business support and resources.

This Toronto job fair will offer presentations and seminars with regards to preparing for an interview; marketing yourself to stand out from the crowd; and early-stage entrepreneurship information, guidance and advice.


For more information, visit http://www.thenationaljobfair.com.


In Bliss,
Coach Sandy

© 2010, Find Your Bliss Coaching. http://findyourblisscoaching.icopyright.com

How to make yourself hire-able

The New Year has come, and with it, many people reassess their careers and decide that it's time to move on to new roles, as part of their new year's resolution. Whether you’re in the midst of a job search or are ready to look for your first job, it’s always important to take the steps necessary to make yourself hireable. This is something you can do even if you don’t have a lot of experience. So, if you’re ready to kick your job search into high gear, here are three quick tips to consider:

* Start Your Own Blog

One way to make yourself hireable in the eyes of recruiters is to start your own professional blog. Making this effort works in your favor in a number of ways. First, it helps you to boost your web presence, which you need nowadays to stand out from the crowd. Second, it helps show employers that you are a subject matter expert in the field you’re attempting to make ground in. Third, it offers prospective employers a wealth of resources to look for in the event that they ask for details about your background.

A web blog is the perfect way to not only showcase your knowledge, but build knowledge as well. It’s the perfect transition for those trying to switch careers or those entering the professional world for the first time. But the best part is that you can easily start one with no worry of overhead because they are free. I suggest using Blogger for ease of use. Other options are WordPress and LiveJournal.

* Get a LinkedIn Page

Another great way to make yourself stand out among your competition is by signing up for a LinkedIn profile. You’ve probably heard of this great site for professionals, but if you haven’t, you’re really missing out. In social media circles, LinkedIn is considered to be the professional equivalent of Facebook. Not only can you create a virtual résumé that is easily searchable via all of the search engines, but you can connect with other professionals for networking purposes and have those you’ve worked with before give you recommendations.

Having a LinkedIn page ups your credibility in the eyes of hiring managers and recruiters. So it’s a good idea to build yours – just don’t forget to link to your blog.

* Obtain a Professional Email Address

If you don’t already have a professional email address, now is the time to get yours. While foreverlazyjohnny@hotmail.com may have been an hilarious email address in high school, now's the time to get one that tells the story that you’re now ready to be a professional. Afterall, just imagine what a recruiter would think if he spotted this email on your résumé or online presence? Not exactly a rousing testament to your work ethic, right?

The standard route to take when choosing your professional email address is to use some variation of your name like johndoe@yahoo.com, jdoe@gmail.com or johnd@hotmail.com. But if you really want to look impressive, you could register a domain under your name with a service like GoDaddy, and get a website up in no time. This way, you will be able to sign up for an email address through your own account (ex. john@johndoe.com), post a quick résumé on your site, point to your LinkedIn page and blog, and have the ultimate professional email address. Now that's professional!

Sometimes it’s not easy to think of ways to get your foot in the door when you don’t have a great deal of experience in the field you’re pursuing. But taking free or low-cost steps to build your presence beforehand could make you more hireable then you could ever imagine.



In Bliss,

Coach Sandy


© 2010, Find Your Bliss Coaching. http://findyourblisscoaching.icopyright.com

Contemplating a career change?

I recently read an article online that stated the average person will hold between 7 to 10 jobs in a lifetime. Clearly, most people make many career changes during their working lives. This is pretty significant. Yet my coaching clients will often lament that they feel stuck in careers that no longer satisfy them, believing that they have no choice but to remain in roles that physically and emotionally drain them because they must “lie in their own beds”. After all, they’ve got bills to pay and need a steady paycheck. My response to them invariably begins with the tried and true coaching question: “what if…?”.

What if nothing got in your way for taking a leap?
What if it was possible for you to make a change?
What if making a career change will increase your chance of success?
What if there was no chance for you to fail?

The idea here, is to get the clients to open themselves up to a world of possibilities within their reach. The potentials are endless once you put your mind to it. Don’t believe me? Did you know that many celebrities had their career start in completely different fields before hitting the big time? If they hadn’t made the leap, we never would have become familiar with the likes of:

Ellen DeGeneres: paralegal, vacuum salesperson
Gene Simmons: paper delivery person
David Lee Roth: hospital orderly
Ozzy Osbourne: slaughterhouse worker
Rod Stewart: grave digger
Whoopi Goldberg: mortician, bricklayer, bank teller
Jennifer Aniston: telemarketer
Danny DeVito: hair stylist
Sting: school teacher
Christopher Walken: lion tamer in the circus
Walt Disney: ambulance driver
Will Ferrell: sportscaster
Paula Abdul: cheerleader for the L.A. Lakers
Steve Carell: mail sorter
Jim Carey: factory janitor
Sheryl Crow: elementary school teacher

So my question to you today is “What if the possibilities for you were endless?”


In Bliss,
Coach Sandy

Sandy Kiaizadeh
Find Your Bliss Coaching

Holiday Office Party Ettiquette

December has finally arrived, ushering in all things holiday related – gift giving, cookie exchanging, and what’s known for some as walking through the mine field that is the Holiday Office Party. With this in mind, here are some friendly how-to’s on holding onto your job and reputation this holiday season.

1. What to Wear: Unless you work in the Adult Film industry, refrain from wearing body-hugging, slinky dresses with plunging necklines. Ditto for too-short skirts that leave little to the imagination. For men, wear pressed dark slacks with a smart jacket and tie combination. Remember that it is better to be overdressed than underdressed at these company gatherings.

2. Work Your Network: By all means, use this as the great networking opportunity that it is. Have you secretly wanted a transfer to another department? Remember that it’s who you know that usually gets your foot in the door. So go ahead and introduce yourself to people and get to know them on a social level!

3. What To Say: Some people are great at idle chit chat. Others, not so much. The rule of thumb here is to avoid talking shop – this is a party after all. Instead, use this opportunity to get to know your colleagues better. Do they have kids? Pets? Hobbies? What are their plans for the holidays? Have they done all their Christmas shopping yet?

4. What To Drink: The human resources professional comes out loud and clear on this one. Know your limits and for goodness sake, stay within them! Many of our most embarrassing moments in life usually occurred while we were intoxicated. Alcohol has a tricky way of loosening our inhibitions, making us act strangely. What we say and do while inebriated can (and most likely WILL) come back to haunt us. I refer to this as Career Limiting Moves. Exhibit A? Mel Gibson’s 2006 DUI arrest comes to mind. His career just hasn’t been the same since.

5. How To Act: I know this might seem like the best time and place to flirt with that copy girl you’ve had your eye on for weeks. She might even be smiling at you from across the dance floor… Whatever the case, remember that you’re likely viewing the situation through beer goggled eyes and that technically, you’re still considered to be on company time, not out clubbing with your friends. Stay in control and keep your interactions on a professional level. The last thing you want is to be slapped with a sexual harassment claim and some other Career Limiting Move.


With these tips in mind, remember above all to have fun and enjoy the celebration. You’ve worked hard all year, and this is your time to celebrate your accomplishments with your colleagues. Happy holidays to all!


In Bliss,
Coach Sandy

Sandy Kiaizadeh
Find Your Bliss Coaching

Four Common Sense Tips For The Telephone Interview

Here’s a phone interview tip worth considering: smile. A smile is a magic thing, and in addition to being seen in person it can be felt from a distance. When doing a phone interview, don’t think that because the person on the other end of the phone can’t see you that smiling and other positive body gestures are not important. The best interview tip that anyone was ever given was to smile and make positive gestures. In fact, many people talk with their hands. If you do, consider a telephone head set to free your hands up.


Another tip that will be worth its weight in gold is to have a good quality telephone. It may seem silly to even mention it, but the better quality phone you use, the better your voice will sound. Years ago everyone rented his or her telephones from the local utility phone company. These days people own their own phones, and while many people use good quality phones, many use the ten and fifteen-dollar phones they’ve found in the local dollar store or discount mart. Those phones are fine for talking to your spouse perhaps, but for business use make a good business impression, and use a good phone. Add this tip to the mix as well: use a landline with a cord, and not a cell phone or cordless phone. Dead batteries, crackling sounds, bad cell sites, and weather interference can make you sound bad at the other end, and you may not even know it. When doing your phone interview you want to be clear and make a good impression. Take this tip to heart and use a good quality landline.

I once received a tip from a headhunter who specialized in finding people jobs. While it seemed like common sense, I realized that it was a tip of value, and recommend it to people to this day. Do your homework on the company before your phone interview. Do a search on the Internet using Yahoo, Google, MSN, Dogpile or any of the major search engines.



The last tip to keep in mind is to be yourself, and be comfortable. One of the best ways to be yourself, and maintain comfort during your phone interview is to practice the interview. Ask a friend to play the part of the boss. Call your friend on the phone and go through a mock interview, answering all of the questions that you think the interviewer is likely to ask. Mock trials help lawyers, and rehearsals help musicians. It only makes sense that a practice interview will help an interviewer. While it may seem silly, this is a phone interview tip you should take to heart.

In Bliss,
Coach Sandy

Sandy Kiaizadeh
Find Your Bliss Coaching