The Positive Pathfinder

Last week I got to facilitate a 2-day job search workshop for older workers. This is the third time that I’ve had the opportunity to lead such a workshop. In the 1st workshop I asked the group about the word “older” and there was a general consensus that they preferred to be referred to as “mature” workers. The issue about the words we use came up again in the 3rd workshop when I used the word “older.” One of the participants took issue when I used the word “older” and so I said what if I used the phrase “mature worker”, and that phrase was preferred over “older worker” No matter which phrase is used “older worker” or “mature worker”, we older folks aren’t nearly as different from younger generations than we are made out to be. Take me for example. I would describe myself as positive, collaborative, curious and having a servant’s mentality. (With a servant’s mentality, we don’t think we are above anyone else and we will do “menial” tasks like mopping t...

You just never know where a path might lead. When I was younger I embarked on a Human Resources path when I went to school at Seneca College for Human Resources Management. After graduating it was time to find a job and eventually I landed in the HR department at three companies: Johnson Matthey Limited, CCH Canadian Limited and Combined Insurance. I was a recruiter at CCH and Combined Insurance and tried to be the best recruiter that I could be. I’ve had 24 years of human resources experience. There have been two extended periods when I was looking for work. Most recently I was looking for a job for a year before landing a contract with the Ontario Society of Senior Citizens Organizations (OSSCO).   In the other instance, I was looking for a job for 2 years before landing a contract with Marberg Staffing. During my transition I took to subscribing to blogs and newsletters on subjects that interested me like the job search and future ...

I invite you to the launch of my new blog web site on the Blogger platform! I call my blog “The Positive Pathfinder.” You can find my blog here (URL = thepositivepathfinder.blogspot.com).  I wanted to expand my social media presence. I wanted to learn something new. And I wanted to set up a portfolio of my posts where I could direct potential employers to. After pondering 72 names over 2 days, I decided on calling my blog “The Positive Pathfinder.” First I’m a positive guy.  Also, I’m at a stage in life where I feel like I’m in flux. Don’t quite know what I’ll be doing, but I know I want to pursue some interests of mine, like setting up a blog web site (done) and taking an improv class (done and in progress). I am positive that I am not the only one who feels like they are in flux and so I am excited to continue to share my thoughts and experiences with you and to draw inspiration from your thoughts and experiences as well....

I am a Human Resources Professional In Transition. I am a Relationship Builder who is good at building relationships.   ( You may be thinking to yourself:  “Relationship Builder”?  Hmmm…sounds vague, what exactly does that mean and aren’t all HR professionals “good with people” anyway? ) I share some of my thoughts on building relationships. The Servant’s Mentality  – This concept was mentioned in one of Jacob Morgan’s podcasts.  Mr. Morgan is a futurist and author of “The Future of Work.”  I admire his work.  You can check out his web site  here .  In a workplace context, the servant’s mentality describes a leadership style where a manager takes on  a mentor, coach or enabler role rather than a command-and-control style with his/her direct reports.  The manager’s role is to “serve” their direct reports by helping to remove barriers that may stand in the way of their success.  I would like to add ...

I am a Job Seeker in Transition.  The Job Search Process reflects both the best of times and the worst of times for a Job Seeker.    Take for example a networking meeting (quasi job interview) that I attended the other day. I thought I sucked at this meeting, because I talked too much (the worst of times).  Upon reflection, that was probably the best networking meeting that I attended (the best of times), because I learned something about myself. I was asked a question “What are you passionate about?” This is a deep question to be asked at 9:00 in the morning.  It’s asking what are you really interested in and excel at.  After letting this question percolate overnight after the meeting,  I realized that I am really interested in and do a decent job with relationship building.  At a previous employer, I chaired four permanent committees.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that is o...

In a previous post “ With a Little Help From My Friends (Part 1) ”, I mentioned Whitney Johnson’s networking initiative where if you were interested, she would randomly pair you up with someone in her network and you could network with that person via Skype.  The purpose of the initiative was for two people to help each other.  For example, maybe you can help that person by opening up your network and introducing that person to someone in your network. I volunteered to participate in Ms. Johnson’s networking initiative, because as a job seeker I want to meet new people.  What does "networking" mean to me?  You become quite practiced in striking up a conversation with people you don't know.  I try to connect with people on a personal level.   I like to learn something about the person and identify common ground.  Maybe I’ll ask a question or maybe I can talk about something from my experience that coincides with the conversational flow...

I was the Chair of the United Way Committee at Combined Insurance for six fundraising campaigns. I loved serving on the Committee for the camaraderie and for being able to play to my strengths! One of my favourite things to do was to play disc jockey and to select music for our United Way events.  For the United Way Kick-Off I selected music that was upbeat or inspirational. I played Santana’s “Foo Foo” that is very upbeat.  I played Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” as it is inspirational. One of our fundraisers was an International Pot Luck Lunch.  At the Pot Luck I played ABBA’s “Take A Chance On Me” as ABBA was popular among employees. I introduced the Gipsy King’s “Volare” to employees at the Pot Luck.   Music is very evocative where it can take you back to a certain place and time.  When I think of these songs I think about the happy times that I had on the United Way Committee.  We had fun as a C...

I chaired (or co-chaired) four permanent committees at a previous employer:  Joint Health and Safety Committee, United Way Committee, FISH! (Social) Committee and the Recognition and Awards Committee. As a Job Seeker, I’ve never been asked in an interview what I learned from chairing those committees. In this post, I would like to share what I learned. I learned how to work really well with people and how to collaborate.  Here are some thoughts about adapting to a collaborative environment: 1.  Step up in some situations and take the lead, or let someone else take the lead in other situations – I knew what I did well and so I stepped up in certain situations. Examples:  I liked to present, so I would volunteer to present at the United Way Kick-Off.  I liked to plan, so I would draft a plan for all the elements that would go into our United Way campaign.  This plan served as a springboard for further discussion and refinement.  ...

I’m happy to say that my LinkedIn network is quite international, and so I suppose that anywhere you live in this world, if you tune in to the news, there will be things that will make you sad or think it’s all bad news today. All of us can use a laugh now and then. In the spirit of sharing I would like to share what I find humourous or at least makes me smile. The Three Stooges always make me laugh.  If you like The Three Stooges, maybe you’re like me in that we can be silly at times.  And sometimes it’s good not to take ourselves too seriously!  Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!  (Video Credit: Don Williams)    In the Toronto news, two capybaras escaped from the High Park Zoo.  The news media has been very good in reporting sightings of the capybaras (I’m not kidding!).  To me, this story makes me smile.  The capybaras look very cute.  They’re from the rodent family.  Obviously we hope that the capybaras find their way ho...

I watched a movie on video yesterday called “Hello, My Name Is Doris” with Sally Field.  I would describe this movie as a dramedy where instead of boy meets girl and boy falls in love with girl, the movie turns things around where girl (Sally Field) meets boy (Max Greenfield) and girl falls in love with boy.  I liked this movie!  You can read a movie review from Variety  here .   One of the elements in the movie was Facebook where girl attempts to connect with boy on a personal level by going on Facebook and finding out about his interests.  The girl finds out that one of his interests is a particular electronica band.  By happenstance, the band would be playing at a local club, and she goes to the club in hopes of meeting the boy.  This reminds me about networking.  During face-to-face networking we try to find common ground.  We ask questions to find out what a person does, where they work or went to school.   We s...

We connect with people on LinkedIn all the time. But to me not all connections feel like a "real" connection. I suppose there has to be an emotional underpinning in order to feel connected with someone. In my posts I’m open with my emotions, and I suppose that the emotions expressed in these posts are connecting with some people.      I read certain people’s posts and it connects with me on an emotional level or I sense we share a similar worldview.   Sometimes I even ask to connect with that person on LinkedIn because I feel connected to that person in the words that they used.     To help connect with people on a deeper level, I go to one-on-one networking coffee meetings.  What I take away from these meetings is a shared experience where we got to know each other a little better in the moment.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed each and every networking coffee meeting that I’ve been to in the last fe...

Liane Davey is the Co-founder and Principal at 3Coze Inc.   The vision of 3Coze Inc. is “to change the way people communicate, connect, and contribute so they can achieve amazing things together.”  Ms. Davey’s web site can be found  here . I read Ms. Davey’s blog post this morning called “ How smart is your team ?” I was so excited to learn that according to early research, the #1 predictor of how smart a team is is “equality of participation” in meetings (and that no one person dominates the conversation in meetings).    I strongly relate to the phrase “equality of participation”, because I personally experienced this kind of interaction in a work context.  When I was at Combined Insurance, I chaired meetings (approximately 135 of them) for the Joint Health and Safety Committee, United Way Committee, FISH! (Social) Committee and the Recognition and Awards Committee.  Working on committees with terrific colleagues was th...

I confess:  I am a Job Seeker. A certain perception comes to mind when you tell someone that you’re a “Job Seeker in Transition.” I’m not exactly sure what that perception is (because no one has really told me), but I’m here to tell you about the positive qualities of a Job Seeker. We are resourceful .  We feel like a number in an Applicant Tracking System, one of many candidates.  And so, we do things to get an employer’s attention like calling, sending an e-mail or even writing a post on LinkedIn! We are empathetic.   We know what it’s like to be a job seeker, so if you hire us as a Recruiter, we will be kind to candidates and treat them the way that we would like to be treated.  After all the candidate with whom we are tweeting or talking to can be a potential star employee or happy customer with the company. We are resilient .  At some point in the process, our job search feels unproductive.  I think back to one of my ...

Strange to say, but being a Job Seeker In Transition does have its benefits. For example,  being a Job Seeker allows you time to reflect.  I am a Human Resources Professional, and so it’s not too much of a stretch in imagination to think that I might find myself working as a Recruiter at a company that wants to disrupt its recruitment processes.  If I were working as a Recruiter, I’d focus on engaging with candidates. Recruiter Contact.   I think it would be helpful if I could have my name attached to the employer’s web site either in the Contact Us or Careers section.  As much as I’d want to promote the employer brand, job seekers want someone to connect with at an organization to have an initial conversation.  Job Fairs.  I would be happy to promote the employer brand and talk to all Job Seekers who drop in to the booth.  After all there may not be a position at my company for a particular Job Seeker, but the Job Seeke...

I am a Job Seeker in Transition.  This post is about reframing a situation and branding yourself, and I make reference to a Gordon Lightfoot song for good measure!     I would like to start off by admitting that I don’t have a smartphone.  I used to think this was a huge disadvantage.  Everyone but me is in the modern age and using a cool app for this and a cool app for that.  Then I picked up a book by Sherry Turkle called “Reclaiming Conversation…The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.”  In this book, Ms. Turkle talks about people who prefer to communicate online by texting, emailing and sharing on Facebook.  She suggests that we have lost the art of conversation and being empathetic with one other. But as the title of the book suggests, there is hope that we can reclaim conversation!    Now here’s me without a smartphone.  I enjoy engaging in face-to-face conversation.  My brand is...

I am a Job Seeker in Transition and a positive person by nature.  I was having a conversation over lunch the other day with my new friend.  It’s exhilarating to engage in  a free-wheeling conversation where you are thinking on the spot and bouncing ideas off each other.   When you engage in conversation you create new ideas and are creative in the process.  I recommend reading Sherry Turkle’s book “Reclaiming Conversation…The Power of Talk in a Digital Age” for a further conversation about conversations. We talked about a lot of things.   For example, when was the last time you told something positive to someone?  In a corporate context, companies may wish to establish a recognition culture where employees and managers get to recognize each other daily for doing things that exemplify company core values.  It would be incredibly motivating for an employee to receive recognition and from a company standpoint ...

I believe that I can always learn something from everyone I meet.  And, I meet people from all walks of life.     All of us quickly form an impression about someone we have just met.  Unfortunately, the impression may be that we have nothing to learn from that person.  If we can overcome that hurdle,  we may be pleasantly surprised that we can learn something from that person. I facilitated meetings for four committees at a previous employer.  My mindset was that everyone whom I worked with on these committees had something of value to contribute.  Everyone could take their turn and provide their thoughts on the agenda item at hand.  People were encouraged to provide their thoughts if they seemed reluctant to offer their thoughts.  These meetings were an excellent experience because creative ideas came out of these meetings and all sides of an issue were examined. Continuing with the same employment experienc...

In 2014 one of my new LinkedIn connections at the time suggested that I write a blog. I thought I didn’t have anything to write about, and so I filed that notion on the back burner. A year later, in December 2015,  I thought that I needed to re-invigorate my job search and so I re-visited the suggestion that was made to me, and I wrote my first LinkedIn post called  “Call Me Maybe.” To date, that has been the most popular post with 88 likes, 28 comments and 16 shares! Which brings me to the main purpose of this post… I would like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who has liked, commented or shared one of my posts.   I feel your support, and it is very much appreciated.  I am humbled by the fact that there was something in one of my posts that spoke to you enough for you to like, comment or share…that is AMAZING!  As a job seeker, you want to establish a “brand.”  I think of myself as an HR professional/HR di...