Have you ever thought you deserved to be earning a lot more than you were being paid? And that it's a lot harder to make ends meet than it used to be? In fact, if you want an idea how much it's costing you to spend your time, check out Time is Money. Would you like a (better) job? If any of this rings a bell with you, read on...

Maybe your hard efforts are being concentrated in activities that exclude the mechanics of wealth. What proportion of the population do manage to achieve a level of wealth by the time they retire?

Maybe you have recently been laid off and are formulating a recovery strategy. Information on this page will help. You can apply for EI on-line. You may be wondering whether to invest your time and money in vocational consultancy. Today, networking is key to finding a job, but it is not the only thing you must do! Maybe it's time to move to a new industry, or get out of the "rat race" and substitute quality of life for additional income. The Self-Employment Benefits - Ottawa could tide you over while you set up a business. Take into account those professions that are growing fast.

There's a mushrooming new consultancy field serving job-searchers, particularly in hi-tech and computing, since the old method of sending out batches of resumes does not work so well any more. CERC - Community Employment Resource Centre - offers free services to the employment seeker in Kanata. Try Indeed, Peter's New Jobs, Workopolis, HotJobs.ca and Ottawa JobShop as modern ways of finding your vocation. For everything from career coaching to starting a business, visit Career Booth.  Procom is a company that may be able to assist IT staff looking for new opportunities in today's turbulant world of high-tech job-switching. Vitesse is a re-skilling company that works in association with the OTI and other groups. Kanata Kareer Group is a self help group with twice-weekly meetings and expert speakers for laid-off high-techies.

Jobs in the federal government: visit jobs.gc.ca
Public Service wide Opportunities in Compensation
In 2005, an Interdepartmental HR Capacity Building Working Group was established and a capacity building plan was jointly developed by departments, agencies and central agencies that addresses the full range of sustainability, health and knowledge transfer issues.
As a component of the HR capacity building work, a major capacity building effort is underway across the compensation community. This initiative is focusing on emerging demographic and sustainability challenges. In support of the capacity building effort, a current and future needs assessment of the compensation community was recently completed by the Compensation Capacity Building Working Group. It highlights the importance of renewing the ranks of compensation professionals in the public service of Canada. As many of you may recognize through recent experience, significant vacancies exist in compensation across the public service.
Accordingly, and on behalf of departments and agencies throughout the public service, the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC), the Public Service Commission (PSC), and representatives of the Compensation Capacity Building Working Group, as mandated by the Human Resources Council and the PSHRMAC will manage a recruitment initiative seeking internal and external applicants having the education and experience to help replenish our ranks and successfully support the evolution of the compensation function in the public service.
On January 8, 2007, the jobs.gc.ca web site will feature a job posting for AS­01 positions. As noted, the positions will be available to external and internal applicants. We will also be advertising through professional compensation associations and community colleges across the country.
For more information on how to apply, please consult the PSC website (jobs.gc.ca) on January 8th. Did you know that middle eastern countries are hungry for education? Canada already provides some of it. In Qatar, the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar employs Canadian lecturers to staff this diploma-issuing facility which draws students from surrounding countries as well as Qatar.

If jobs are scarce in the discipline that you have been engaged in hitherto, maybe you should consider a completely different field and a new career. Now could be the right time to chose an area where staff are in short supply. This could mean you need retraining. That could be given by the company you join, or you may have to retrain yourself.  Algonquin College in Ottawa offers over 1,400 training and development opportunities, as listed in their guide "The Source." Call them at (613) 727-9797 or 888-305-3880.  Algonquin also holds an annual Career Networking Fair to match employers with potential employees. If you need retraining for a new career, CareerTrack may have the answer. Or for sales training and success training, Your Own Personal Business University may meet your needs, and it's cheap!

In the world of computer project development, from project leadership to software development the demand for quality people has never been higher, and Eagle Professional Resources specializes in matching applicants to the many jobs available. Check out Job Joy by George Dutch for vocational advice. Don't forget the job ads in your local paper, and papers dedicated to employment, such as the Brockville-based Employment and Business Journal. Human Resources Canada offices (used to be called UI Offices) are now computerized, using their Job Bank system for matching supply and demand in many careers, and you can access the same system from the comfort of your home. If you are laid off, remember to register with a UI office immediately. Well-meaning folk who delay this more than may not be able to apply. The rules in the Ottawa area are that for UI benefits to be backdated to the date of lay-off, an application must be submitted within 4 weeks of lay-off. Otherwise, benefits will normally only be paid from the date of the application.

In January 2001 a group of more than 100 senior engineers were "let go" from a single department within Nortel. Their engineers applied recruiting strategy in reverse, advertising themselves for hire individually or as a package deal, using print, Web and a "recruiter palooza" event in the Corel Centre on January 22, 2001. The success of this event has attracted other companies to continue to use this same site for similar exercises,

If you are graduating from university, or high school, you should first provide yourself with some feedback about your key skills and values. Check out the Internship website run by Career Edge which offers hundreds of internship opportunities, and they are changing all the time.

Networking is an important job-finding strategy. Never throw away a business card, and let people know that you are in the market. If you believe you have something to offer a particular company, call the local VP (not H/R) and ask for a meeting. . Interview skills and resume styles have changed considerably in the new economy.

Investors Group is currently interviewing for a rewarding career helping people with their financial decisions.

The Youth Resource Network of Canada gives info on work experience opportunities, summer job programs, starting your own business, overseas travel and study, and on-line job banks. The Youth Employment Services Bureau of Ottawa Carleton provides opportunities for 16 to 24 year olds which can be viewed at www.needajob.org.

If you are choosing an industry to work in, choose one that's expanding, and select a well-managed expanding company within that industry. In the Ottawa region, we have some of the best hi-tech companies in the world. Expanding industries include software, communications, health, financial services, the environment, and all providers of consumer products to the baby-boomers. Even superman won't make good money in a contracting industry. It's really important to study trends.

Some people build leverage into their income. They earn from the efforts of others. Some home-based businesses contain leverage potential, particularly those in consumer product distribution.

If you are a new immigrant in the Ottawa area, you should contact the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, OCISO. They can help with job finding and matching your skills with qualifications demanded by Canadian employers. TRIEC is a similar organization serving Toronto.

Selling as a career.   About 97% of the population believe that selling is not something they would want to do and/or (b) they wouldn't be good at it. This leaves 3% picking up some of the best paid jobs, AND getting much more job satisfaction than they expected. It seems we were all imprinted in school that selling is somehow bad, having been previously told by our parents not to talk to strangers. And that's too bad. 65% of North Americans earning $85,000+ are in sales. They know that around 60% of people who buy, first say "no" up to five times before saying "yes," so they don't see the negatives as rejection.

Sales training teaches you so much about human relations and a better philosphy of life. Everyone should have the privilege of sales training. In the best companies, everybody sells. If you don't yet believe this, clear some of the cobwebs out!

In todays world of relationship selling, networking should be a natural part of business and of life. Whether you want to build relationships as part of your "love thy neighbour" philosophy, and / or as a win-win approach to sales, marketing and commerce in general, networking is a pleasurable way to do it. (And it will work best if you have both these aims in mind, and don't use an initial networking contact to sell anything, but to learn about the person you are talking with.) Like everything in life, you'll be able to do it better with help from an expert such as Michael Hughes of Michael Hughes Consulting and Training Services of Orleans, Ontario, tel 613-824-5334.

If you need sales training (and it certainly is not a skill that people are born with), I would recommend Sales Force Training & Consulting Inc. in the Eastern Ontario area. Also, Sam Spataro's company, Visioneering Group, runs sales training courses on a more individual basis. You can e-mail Visionairing Group at vgigrp@cyberus.ca, or telephone them at 613-591-8673.

If you don't seem to be having much success finding a job, there may be a reason for it. Get help!.

If the regular commercial world is not beckoning, have you considered the huge non-profit and charity sphere? Visit Charity Village

Finally, instead of working for money, first check if there's some waiting for you in the bank. There's millions unclaimed out there, including dormant in Swiss Banks. You can make a start looking right now!.