Author: Carol Irwin

career opportunities recent graduates

Career Opportunities for Recent Graduates

Carol Irwin

Look for Entry Level Positions in Sales and Customer Service

If you are a recent graduate and are uncertain where to start your job hunt, you may want to consider positions in sales and customer service. A job in sales or customer service can provide a great starting point for a young persons career. A degree of selling is involved in almost every vocation, whether you are pitching an idea, vision, product, service or yourself!

Look for positions in an industry that you find interesting. Do your research. Find out about the company, their products or services and their customers.  If you are lucky, you may land a job working for a company selling a product or service you are passionate about. Sometimes it may be the company’s philosophy or leadership that you admire,  or maybe it is the chance to work in an emerging market that you find exciting. Finding a connection between your skills and interests and the company is a good starting point.

A good sales person needs to be able to:

  • quickly and easily build relationships
  • ask thoughtful questions
  • listen – talk less, listen more
  • identify needs, solve problems and demonstrate value

Landing a job will be similar to making a sale – you need to first “sell” the employer and persuade them that you are an ideal fit for their team. Good luck!

Check out the Fusion Job Board – we are currently looking for an entry level inside sales person in Toronto – new graduates welcome! 

WSIB Rate Reform

Carol Irwin

Weigh in on Proposed Changes

The WSIB has introduced dramatic reforms that could change just about everything regarding how the Board classifies employers, assigns annual premiums and measures employer’s performance  from year to year. 

The WSIB Proposal includes the following key changes:

  • Introduction of the North American Industry Classification System. This will reduce the number of rate groups from 155 to 22. Each employer would be assigned a single class based on their predominate business activity.
  • Premiums in each of the 22 classes would be risk adjusted based on an employer’s last 6 years of claims experience and insurable earnings. Each employer would be placed into a risk band. This new system would replace the current experience programs NEER, MAP and CAD-7.

The first phase of the consultation process is on now until June 30, 2015. Read more about the reforms at Rate Framework Reform.

Implementing Bill 18 for Stronger Workplaces

Implementing Bill 18, Ontario Legislation Update

Carol Irwin

Bill 18, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, was passed in the fall of 2014. This legislation introduces a number of key changes designed to protect vulnerable workers and may impact your workplace. Information employers need to be aware of now:

Unpaid Wages

Removal of monetary limit and extension of time limits for recovery of unpaid wages effective February 20, 2015. Make sure your workplace follows current requirements under the Employment Standards Act for payment of wages, overtime, holiday pay, vacation pay …

ESA Poster

Employment Standards Act poster outlining worker rights must be provided to all your workers effective May 20, 2015. New employees must receive a copy of the poster within 30 days of hire. Available translation must be provided on request.

Unpaid Learners

Unpaid students and other unpaid learners must be provided with the same safety training, orientation and supervision as paid employees. This includes MOL Awareness Training for workers.

Minimum Wage Increase

Effective October 1, 2015 minimum wage will increase from $11 to $11.25 per hour.

Employers who use services of temporary help agencies:

Joint Liability for Unpaid Wages

Shared responsibility for unpaid wages (regular wages, premiums, holiday pay and overtime) between temporary help agency and employer effective November 20, 2015. Make sure your service provider complies with employment laws and is financially stable.

Reporting

New reporting requirements for temporary help agencies and the employers who use their services effective November 20, 2015. Employers must keep records of daily and weekly hours worked. Talk to your service provider.

Pension Plan Reform Ontario Canada

Proposal for New Mandatory Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

Carol Irwin

The Government introduced legislation to establish the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), Bill 56.

The Bill has passed 2nd reading and has been referred to committee for public consultation. If passed, the ORPP would be a “defined benefit (DB) type of plan” with joint employee and employer contributions. Participation would be mandatory, except for workers who already participate in a “comparable” workplace pension plan.

ESA Poster Now a Requirement in Ontario

Carol Irwin 6 Comments

As of May 20, 2015 all employees in Ontario must be given a copy of the Employment Standards Act Poster – “What You Should Know about the Employment Standards Act”.

Newly hired employees must be given a copy of the poster within 30 days of their start date. An available translation of the poster from the Ministry of Labour must be provided to employees on request. Here’s what’s in the latest poster:

Are Employment Contracts Necessary?

Carol Irwin

The employment contract is a useful tool for both employers and employees.

The contract should clearly define:

  • salary
  • hours
  • vacation
  • holidays
  • benefits, and
  • other conditions of employment.

Duties can be broadly outlined to ensure flexibility. Employers often use an employment contract to ensure they have greater control over termination and severance payments, should it be necessary to terminate employment.

Always have a lawyer draft your employment contracts and have them reviewed every couple of years to make sure they they are up to date, adhere to best practices, and are compliant with developments in termination, wrongful dismissal and relevant case law in Ontario.