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As a Job Seeker, Handle What You Control First

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Impress Your Interviewer with Your Questions — Part 1

Job searching is frustrating.

You are waiting to hear back from employers.

You are waiting for approval on stuff.

You are waiting for answers.

You are dealing with corporate bureaucracies.

You are depending on recruiters, HR managers, and hiring managers to green-light you.

You are dealing with the consequences of decisions made due to “something” you could not control.

It amazes me how often job seekers complain about things they cannot control. Yet, when the ball is in their court, they are either slow, indecisive, or do not do their best.

Stoicism, a Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, asserts that there are things within our control and things outside our control. This delineation goes beyond merely classifying things or learning how to practice the Art of Acquiescence, whereby we accept and move on from what we have no control over. The Art of Acquiescence establishes priorities, which most job seekers lack.

A successful job search begins with identifying what you can control and controlling them. You will never be able to speed up an employer’s hiring process or if and when a hiring manager gets back to you. However, you can use your wait time to decide what you will do when they respond, along with continuing your job search. No amount of yelling or posting on LinkedIn “how the hiring process is broken” will force employers to hire you. You cannot eliminate the online forms many employers expect you to fill out before they consider your candidacy. (Yes, I know, the information is on your resume.) However, reducing your job search inefficiencies, such as creating email templates to send to potential employers, your network and others who can support your search will save you time.

Rather than beating your head against walls that will never yield, focus on what you can control. Handle this first. Prioritize getting your house in order, improving your processes, and dealing with what is up to you.

Some things are up to you, and some things are not up to you. It is that simple. I have said it in previous columns, and I will say it in this column, as a job seeker, you do not own the employer’s hiring process; the employer does. The most important thing you can do during your job search and throughout your career is to discern what is up to you and what is not, then focus on what is up to you.

Ignoring what is out of your control does not mean you do not care about an employer practicing, from your perspective, ageism or being biased against a particular race or gender. Getting a job is your top priority as a job seeker—keep your eye on the ball! It is in your interest to focus on what you can control while looking for a job rather than complaining about how employers hire, a practice that has become all too common among job seekers.

In the course of your job search, there are an infinite number of things you cannot control, the top six being:

  1. Job market trends
  2. Industry growth and demand for employees
  3. Unprofessional employers
  4. Increasing competition
  5. Judgments and subconscious bias
  6. The final decision

 

However, if you focus on the following controllable rather than all the uncontrollable, your job search will be considerably expedited.

 

  1. Your LinkedIn profile, resume, and cover letter.

The quality of your application materials is wholly within your control. Ensure your LinkedIn profile, resume, and cover letter are flawless, error-free, and populated with results-oriented statements. (e.g., “I increased my sales in 2022” versus “In 2022, I increased my daily number of outbound calls from 40 to 60, resulting in an 18% increase in sales.”)

 

  1. How well you prepare for an interview.

Preparation is key to a successful interview. Visit the company’s website to learn about its history and top executives. Review the company’s social media pages to learn about new products or current projects. Be ready to answer common interview questions and to ask the employer a few questions at the end.

 

  1. Your job search efforts.

According to Dr. Kazuo Inamori (1932 – 2022), who was known as the Buddhist Billionaire, success has a formula:

 

Success = Ability x Effort x Attitude

Kazuo’s success formula suggests that the outcome of our life, work, studies, hobbies, etc., is the product of three factors: ability, effort, and attitude.

Entirely in your control is the effort you put into your job search. The chances of landing a job are slim if you spend just a few hours a week searching through job postings and sending out resumes. If you want great results, take your job search seriously. Make searching for a job your full-time job.

Since there are numerous aspects of your job search that you cannot control, it is essential to take the things you can control seriously. When dealing with the things you can control, especially with respect to how you present yourself to employers, go above and beyond to stand out and impress employers.

_________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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