We have moved the Action Centre to the IAM District 78 Offices at

557 Dixon Road, Unit 102
Etobicoke, Ontario
M9W-6K1.
Just west of Martingrove

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Phone (416) 255-2828
email–info@iamarvin.ca

Our new hours will be Wednesdays and Thursdays
9:30 – 4:30

Drop by and check out our new digs.

Joanne has informed us that she will be leaving us at the end of July, as she has found full time employment.

Joanne Polubiec - Coordinator

We wish her much success in her new career. We owe our success to Joanne’s tireless efforts and talents, not to mention her caring attitude towards each and every member of the Action Centre.

Please drop in and  say goodbye to Joanne before she leaves. She will be here at the centre on the following dates.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Again on behalf of the committee,the Peer helpers and our membership we would like wish Joanne success and happiness in this next phase of her life and beyond. She will be missed.

We have approximately 81 people that signed up for our Employer Outreach Program. This program focuses on targeting perspective employers as a group. We have sent out flash drives to 5 companies so far. Although we would like to have sent the flash drive out to more companies it has been quite difficult to find companies that are looking to hire.  We will continue to look for companies to send the flash drive to in hopes that some of you may gain employment from these efforts.

The intention of putting together a flash drive to send to perspective employers was to help each of you with your job search efforts as a group, but we are also very serious about helping you with your individual job search efforts.

To help you as an individual we have set up many services for you to utilize. We have an Employment Counsellor coming in once a week to meet with you one on one to help you focus on your job search, point you to invaluable resources and even contact employers on your behalf. We have a resume writer that comes in once a week to help you tailor your resume to a specific job posting or field. (You can get as many resumes done as you like) We are also offering a wide range of training workshops to give you skills that you will need to get a job and to be ready for the interview process.

We have found that many of you that have signed up for the Employer Outreach Program have not been coming into the action centre to get help with your individual job search needs. Because of this we are concerned that you may not be as aggressive in your own job search efforts as you could be and may be solely relying on the Employer Outreach Program to find a job. Because of this we will be removing resumes of individuals that have not come into the action centre to work with our counsellors or attend workshops.

We want to make every effort to make sure you are getting the best service possible. If you would like to continue to have your resume sent out on the flash drive it is very important that you call the action centre to make an appointment to see the Employment Counsellor.

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10AM to 6PM.

Action Centre Update

We would like to take this opportunity to give you an update on the status of the Action Centre. As you may have heard we did get a six month extension, and we couldn’t be happier to be able to support you for a bit longer, but this will be our last extension.

We feel that it would be in everyone’s best interest to take full advantage of the services the Action Centre has to offer before the end of August in anticipation of the contract ending.

Below is a reminder of the services available at the Action Centre.

We are helping you as an Group

• Employer Outreach Program – The objective of this program is to research and contact employers that are hiring and send them a marketing package with resumes from workers in transition that have been utilizing the Action Centre. We will be working hard to promote the skills you have to offer them and opening opportunities for interviews and jobs.
• Targeting Employer Workshop – This two part workshop is designed to help workers make a plan for their job search efforts, including
  • What to consider when targeting employers
  • Putting together a list of preferred customers
  • How to get organized
  • Planning your week
  • Website for targeting employers
  • Using the Scott’s Directory

We are helping you as a Individual

• Resume writer to help target your resume
  • to specific type of job
  • type of industry
  • a specific job posting
• Counsellor to meet with clients one on one to help target employers and focus your job search efforts
• Job board in the action centre and on our website focused on jobs that will appeal to the type of work you are searching for

Job Readiness

We are helping you to be job ready by providing you with a number of workshops that will give you skills that you will need to be successful in your job search as well as prepare you for the interview process.

• Introduction to Computers
• Introduction to Word
• Introduction to the Internet
• Targeting Employers Workshop
• Interview Skills Workshop/Mock Interviews
• Employer Testing Workshop

If you would like to sign up for a workshop, call the action centre.

Please take full advantage of what we have to offer you! We look forward to hearing from all of you!

Action Centre Extension

The Action Centre has been extended until the end of August.

We are still offering full services, workshops and the Employer Outreach Program.

Please take advantage of the Action Centre while we are still here.

What are transferable skills? Simply put, they are skills you have acquired during any activity in your life; jobs, classes, projects, parenting, hobbies, sports, virtually anything that are transferable and applicable to what you want to do in your next job.

Many of you are currently looking for work and some of you have found part-time jobs or are working through agencies. You may even be transitioning into a new career. Whatever your situation is, you all need to know what transferable skills you have to offer to a potential employer.

Evaluating your skills is a very important part of every job search. Being able to effectively communicate your skills to a potential employer is equally as important. Yet, many of you have difficulty with both.

We can help you with this. We are offering a Transferable Skills Workshop here at the Action Centre.

This workshop will help you to discover what your Transferable Skills are.

Please call or visit the action centre if you would like to sign up for this workshop.

” Success is hidden under a rock of hard work. Keep digging with patience; it’s up to you, only.” – Pravin Dhikale

We have been out of work for some time now, so it is only natural that our job search efforts are flagging. The longer one is out of work the harder it is to stay motivated. So maybe now would be a good time to ask yourself some questions.

• Do I find myself  just sitting around the house hoping for the phone to ring?
• Am I putting enough effort into looking for work, or could I do more?
  
• Am I prepared for an interview?
• Am I prepared for any testing that an employer may ask me to do?
• Do I know how target the employers or the types of jobs that I would like?
• Are my computer skills good enough?
• Is my resume getting me interviews?
• Do I need help getting myself refocused and motivated?
  

We here at your Action Centre can help you with finding the answers to these question as well as providing solutions to help you re-energize your search for that job that you want so badly. You could sign up for one or more of the workshops offered here for free at your Action Centre, you could book an appointment to see one of our councillors, join our Employer Outreach Program, or come in and talk to one of the Peer Helpers. Your Peer Helpers are in the same boat as you and understand what you are going through.

” On a quest to start a new life, you will face a lot of challenges and uphill battles that will try to bring you down. Fears will arise that will make you stumble and the only way to stop them is to face them! As a friend, I would like you to know that life will knock us down but we can choose to get back up. Remember, always, be strong. Root that in your heart.”
Kiplimo Chemirmir

We would like to extend a  thank  you on behalf of our members to MTCU for their continued generosity.

Please remember that the end will come faster than you expect, so don’t delay in making use of the services offered to you here at your Action Centre.

Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried. Author Unknown

The centre is nearing the end of it’s mandate. Are you ready for life after the centre. Remember that all the services offered  to you here at the centre are free of charge . After the centre closes you will have to pay for the services that you need.

Again are you ready?

• How is your resume working for you? Are you sending out resume after resume and getting little or no response?
• How are your computer skills? Basic computer skills are a must in todays workplace
• Are you confident and ready for those job interviews? Proper preparation can make these easier to handle and increase your ability to get that job.
• Do you know of a company that you would like to work for or a part of town you would like to work in etc? We can show you how to target that employer or how to find a job in your neighborhood.
• Do you know how to use to the internet to look for work online or to research a company prior to an interview? Doing some research on a company before an interview will help you answer many of the questions that the interviewer will ask you.
• Are you prepared for any testing that an employer may ask you to do? Many employers use some form of pre-employment testing,so having some test taking skills is vital.

If any of these questions  apply to you, then you should hurry down to the Action Centre, call or send us an email to discuss your needs with us or even better sign up for one or more of our excellent workshops that are offered free of charge to all our members.

Remember we will not be here forever!!!

Our roster of workshops include:

• Introduction to Computers
• Introduction to Microsoft Word
• Introduction to the Internet
• Interview Skills
• Mock Interviews
• Targeting Employers
• Employer Testing
  

There are a number of questions that interviewers like to use, how you answer them can determine whether you are successful or not. In this post we will cover ten of the most common of these questions. You should practice these and other questions often.

1. Tell me about yourself ? The most asked question in interviews. You need to have a short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and… continued