DOCUMENTARY: Generation Jobless

KS and I love documentaries. We’re nerds like that. The internet is a great source for viewing free docs. CBC’s DocZone has some goodies and are especially relevant to Canadians. Ted Talks aren’t exactly documentaries but there are some interesting discussions on there. To me, the best docs are inspirational or open my eyes to a subject that I didn’t know a lot of about before. I’m not into docs that are overly negative or those that make me feel like I’m being brainwashed.

I recently watched a doc called “Generation Jobless” on CBC’s DocZone. The doc explores the struggle facing Canadian young people (25-30ish) when it comes to finding jobs. It highlights the high rates of unemployment and under-employment in this age group. Since this is my generation, this topic was especially interesting to me. People are calling us the “lost generation”... questioning whether we will be able to buy the baby boomers’ (our parents’) houses...worried that social programs will be not be able to funded in the future.

 

The doc discusses the potential causes of this problem: changes in technology and an unsteady economy. The baby boomers will eventually retire but their jobs are “retiring” with them. Also, when times are tough for businesses, they tend to not want to spend time/money investing in new grads. Another interesting issue is that there seems to be a complete disconnect between the university program acceptance numbers and the number of available jobs in the fields that these university programs are intended to feed into (ex. teaching). According to the doc, the key players – universities, businesses, and governments – are not doing enough to address this growing problem.

 

When I was in high school, I didn’t have a clue what career was right for me. I applied for five completely different university programs. When I think back on what led to my university program choices, it was pretty much by chance. I’m very lucky to have ended up where I am. Maybe the problem is that the focus in high school is on picking a post-secondary program and not focused on picking a job.

 

I personally benefited hugely from a co-op program at the university level. I wonder why co-op programs are not encouraged to more students and earlier. In my experience, the co-op program offered in high school was not promoted in general and especially not to students on the “university path”.

 

After watching this doc, it was clear to me that there are a lot of complicated issues in the areas of education and employment.  It’s worth a watch!

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/generation-jobless.html
 

Other interesting docs I’ve seen recently:

-          One day on Earth

-          Inside Job

-          The Invisible War

-          Chimpanzee J

-C

Nice Girls Don't Get Corner Office!

Bonjour,

 Having worked in the human services for 5+ years I wouldn't think of myself as a cut throat, business woman by any strech. If anything, alot of women today, myself included, suffer from what author Dr. Lois Frankel, refers to as the "Nice Girls Syndrom". Here are a couple of the common symptoms of the syndrom which prevent "nice girls" from winning the jobs, promotions and respect deserve as professional adult women.

• Not letting others know your accomplishments (too modest)
• Being too wordy to soften your message (in emails and meetings)
• Taking on Others work
• Emphasizing your femininity
• Going out of your way to make others feel comfortable
• Hesitating to contact others to collect favours and capitialize on relationships
• Having food around your desk (Unless you are Betty Crocker)
• Asking for Permission to do things  (do you really need that much supervision?)

Put all these small things together and they start making a big impact on your professinal credibility. Take a sneak peak of what this woman is all about. You'll be impressed.

http://www.nicegirlsjustdontgetit.com/   Her Website


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fmESzpfHCI   Youtube Interview ( Fst Fwd to 7mins  in video)

What have I done???

On a Thursday afternoon in January, I marched into the bank and purchased my first investment – mutual fund units. I was told that the transaction would be processed on Friday and I would be able to see it on my online banking on Monday.  So I did what any first time investor would do, I excitedly logged in to my online banking on Monday morning only to find that my hard earned $1000 was now only $998.76 - WTF?! What have I done?!

Now I have to confess that I damn well knew what I was getting in to. When choosing the right mutual fund investment for me, I confidently answered the Financial Advisor at the bank’s questions:

When do you plan on accessing these funds? When I retire – 30+ years.
Are you willing to accept more risk in order to increase your returns? Yes.
What % reduction in your investment will you tolerate before selling? 10% (Not sure how I came up with that...)

 

So why did I still get that sinking feeling when I saw that my investment had decreased in value? I guess because I’m such an investment newbie and need to learn a little patience. It’s now been about one month and the investment is no longer in the red. In fact, I’m quite pleased with how my little investment has grown.

 

What I’ve learned so far about investing:

Rule 1: Don’t check the value of your investment every day or you will drive yourself crazy.

-C

Animal Club Mondays

Welcome to the first edition of Animal Club Mondays!

Owning a cuddly cat or a rambunctious puppy would be so much fun: seeing them grow from a tiny puppy/kitten into a full grown dog/cat that can do tricks and follows commands…not to mention the unconditional love.

But…unfortunately they are also serious cash drainers, require A LOT of time and attention, and as an apartment-dweller, I would be forced to make the awful choice of either travelling down multiple flights to let the dog out to do his business OR letting him do it on a "pee pad" in my living room…lose-lose situation.

So until such time as I am financially, emotionally, physically (allergies) and socially ready to own a pet, I’ll have to settle for getting my animal fix by browsing pictures on the web, visiting pet stores, and cuddling with the pets of family and friends. Lots of love for: Beckham, Brady, Cooper, Dallas, Deacon, Loco, Murphy, Nina, Scout, Sydney, and Tuzo!

-C

Neeners

"Take us home with you"

Future Loco

Say Yes to Fresh!

Bonjour,

Its January.  We are all suppose to be cutting back on expenses and on carlories right? Lots of folks are loading their fridges with fresh fruits and vegetables to help beat the buldge. Although there are so many good receipes that use healthy fresh produce, putting all those good greens to use before they go bad is challenge for one person and can end up being a large waste of money :(

Solution?

 Ottawa Good Food Box, is a city-wide program where you can purchase a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables at wholesale prices by placing monthly orders. Boxes are available in 3 sizes: $10, $15, and $20 so you dont have to worry about buying too much or too little. Emphasis is placed on buying seasonal produce that’s grown as close to home as possible.

Its the perfect solution to make sure you eat more veggies and save money!

Link:
Ottawa Good Food Box

Help a Girl Out....

Hi!

Welcome to Saving Face: A Guide to Saving for the Single Income Earning Female. From trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends to simply paying that insane Roger's bill at the end of the month, saving solo can be a serious challenge for many.

With the new year around the corner, so comes the delivery of December's dreaded Visa statement. Cutting back on spending is probably one of the most common resolutions that we all swear to follow through with. From knowing when to spend and splurge or resist the urge to viewing time as money, you'll be sure to leave this page with a few new everyday savings strategies.

Its really amazing how a few small practical changes and in your spending habits can really add up. Stay tuned for more in 2013.


A Bientot!