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Advertising Manager/Associate Publisher - $40,000.00 plus Location Across Canada and the United States

Enermodal Engineering

Employment Opportunities Want to make a difference in the world? Put your values to work with Enermodal!

- create greener buildings and communities
- commit to work that you are passionate about
- leave a smaller ecological footprint
- enjoy co-workers who support your values
- learn from peers who are industry leaders

Enermodal’s People
- a love for a fast-paced consulting engineering environment
- a background in engineering or architectural/construction technology
- understanding of project management and ability to read construction documents
- highly effective communication and social skills

Enermodal’s Culture
- green lifestyle incentives
- LEED AP exams covered by Enermodal
- profit-sharing and merit-based rewards
- office social and sports activities
- a flexible and innovative work environment
- opportunities to shape corporate culture and “green” our activities

Current Openings:

MANAGER of MECHANICAL DESIGN,GREEN BUILDINGS (Kitchener, Ontario)

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS ― GREEN BUILDINGS (Kitchener and Toronto, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta)

ENERGY ANALYST (Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta)

COMMISSIONING PROJECT ENGINEER (Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta)

Please send your resume, a cover letter detailing your professional aspirations and references to the email address shown below. Your application will be carefully considered with respect to the position for which you are applying and our current business needs. We thank all applicants for applying; only those individuals chosen for an interview will be contacted for further discussion.

Please send resumes and references to:
Enermodal Engineering Limited

650 Riverbend DriveKitchener, ON N2K 3S2

fax: 519 743 8778

email: jobs@enermodal.com

Half of working Canadians have trouble fitting in at work: Poll

New IPSOS Reid survey shows one in three feel dragged down by negative atmosphere

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 21 /CNW/ - A new poll by IPSOS Reid suggests that half of working Canadians have trouble fitting in at work and one in three find it difficult to concentrate at work because they are dragged down by a negative atmosphere.

"Workers aged 18 to 34 are much more likely (37 per cent) than those aged 35 to 54 (30 per cent) or those aged 55 or more (20 per cent) to believe they're dragged down by a negative atmosphere at work," says Sean Simpson of IPSOS Reid.

The study also indicates that 50 per cent of working Canadians don't think they always fit in well at work. More than one in 10 (12 per cent) say they feel like an outsider, with 9 per cent saying they don't fit well 'within their workplace's culture,' and another 3 per cent think they are complete misfits, saying they 'hate' the culture and 'don't fit in at all.'

"Younger workers are also more likely to be disappointed with their work experience than those who are older," says Simpson. "Among those under 35, more than a quarter (28 per cent) say their experience is worse than they expected versus just 10 per cent of workers 55 and older."
Gail Rieschi, president and CEO of HR services firm vpi Inc., says employers should place a higher priority on hiring people who are a good match with the corporate culture, as well as having the technical qualifications for the job.

"While most people are hired for their hard skills, a bad fit with the corporate culture can often lead to dissatisfaction at work," says Rieschi. "It is critical that employers pay close attention to how well potential candidates will fit within the organization, not just their experience and
skills."

Rieschi offers some advice to help employers hire people who will fit within the organization.

1. Know your company's personality
When employers know their business personality and organizational values, they can better understand what kinds of people will work well within the company. "The most effective way to identify your organizational personality is to conduct an objective assessment, carried out by a third-party evaluator," says Rieschi. "Employers can also do self-assessments by developing a questionnaire that can be completed by employees at all levels aswell as by a sampling of clients." Questions should centre around decision making processes, work routines, organizational procedures and dress code among others. Once the questionnaires are completed, the responses can be used to develop a working document that defines the company personality.

2. Determine employee suitability
Once organizational values are clearly known, situational interview questions designed to measure fit can be developed that are unique to the organization. There are also many commercially available assessments that can help identify job candidates' work values and work personality and measure them against those of the organization. Work simulations and work trials designed to identify work values, rather than just technical competency, can
also help the selection process. Rieschi says employers should pay close attention to how young people are affected by a negative workplace given the large numbers of older workers retiring in the next 10 years. "The battle for talent has already started and it will only intensify in the coming years," says Rieschi. "Young people entering the labour market will increasingly have many work options. To attract and retain talent, employers must be attuned to their needs and understand if they fit well within the organization."

About vpi Inc.
vpi Inc. is a leader in employment facilitation services with a comprehensive range of results-focused solutions to maximize employee productivity, manage disability claims and assist individuals find employment. Founded in 1988, vpi is one of the fastest expanding companies of its kind with 32 offices, and more than 180 full-time skilled experienced professionals across Ontario. The company has a strong record of effectiveness including 98 percent client satisfaction with all employee selection services; 95 per cent of outplaced clients achieving new employment within 12 weeks and 90 percent of disabled workers successfully reinstated. For more information, visit http://www.vpi-inc.com/.

About the survey:
The online poll was conducted by IPSOS Reid from August 21 to August 26 among 1,013 Canadians, of which 540 were currently employed. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, for the entire sample, and +/- 4.5%, 19 times out of 20, for the sample of workers.

Research and business leaders gather in Toronto - look to innovation and "jobs of the future"

TORONTO, Oct. 10 /CNW/ - Research and business leaders are gathering in Toronto early next month to explore the impact and potential of next-generation innovation and "jobs of the future" at the CANARIE and ORION National Summit.

Global innovation guru Dr. John Kao is among a prestigious roster of distinguished leaders coming together at "Powering Innovation - a National Summit" at the Metro Toronto Convention Center November 3 and 4.

Kao, dubbed "a serial innovator" by The Economist, is a leading authority on organizational transformation and digital media. Kao draws on his experience teaching at Harvard Business School and his appointments at the MIT Media Lab, Yale College, and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.



Former University of Toronto President Robert Birgeneau, now Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, returns to Toronto as opening keynote to set the stage for the conference, and address the importance of innovation and cross-border collaboration in research.



The conference is hosted by ORION and CANARIE, Ontario's and Canada's advanced research network organizations which link scientists, researchers and innovators across the province, country and around the world. Cybera, Alberta's Cyberinfrastructure for Innovation organization, is contributing significantly to the planning and staging of the national Summit.



The conference is expected to bring up to 250 delegates from universities, colleges, research facilities, centres of excellence and other organizations - including government and industry.



"Developing innovative solutions for tomorrow's problems is an objective around which we all can rally," says CANARIE President and C.E.O. Guy Bujold.



"Our conference program is designed to inspire the development and encourage the use of network tools by Canada's researchers, educators and business leaders."

"We have invited some of the brightest minds in the country to come to the Summit and challenge them to take full advantage of new and emerging e-science technologies that are driving innovation, scientific discovery and jobs of the future, here and around the world," says ORION President/CEO Phil Baker.

Other keynotes include the President of Internet2 Doug Van Houweling, the President of the Ontario College of Art & Design Sara Diamond, host of CBC Radio's Spark Nora Young, Delvinia Interactive's Adam Froman, and Ron Dembo, President/CEO of Zerofootprint.

Delegates will also engage with experts from e-science, virtual organizations, network-enabled platforms, the greening of information technology, visualization technologies, teaching and learning in a web 2.0 universe, and commercialization of innovation.



The Summit also showcases advancements at the cutting edge of research, from high-definition holographic printing, to IP-based television platforms, to research collaborations using world-leading optical networks like CANARIE's and ORION's that quickly transmit massive amounts of data in seconds across Canada and around the world, allowing our researchers to participate fully in international collaborations.

The Summit will also give delegates a first look at national scientific research projects that help position Canada among the world's leaders in many fields, from global-scale high performance computing, to cancer research, to climate change simulation.

The summit is made possible by the generous contribution of our sponsors, including gold sponsor Juniper Networks; silver sponsor SHARCNET; bronze sponsors Bell, the Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning Program; Cogent Communications, Colleges Ontario and IBM; and partner sponsors Atria Networks, Auto 21, Cybera, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Ontario College of Art & Design, Polycom, Tech Media Reports and Ryerson University.

Learn more at www.orioncanariesummit.ca

Leading Employers Aren't Resting: Winners of the 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition are Announced

TORONTO, Oct. 2 /CNW/ - The authors of the annual list of Canada's Top 100 Employers have released their 2009 winners and this year's results are remarkable. "Even amid the market uncertainties we've seen over the past year," says Managing Editor Richard Yerema, "forward-thinking employers are redoubling their efforts to improve working conditions for employees who help them weather these economic storms." The result is an exceptional list (shown below) of employers that lead their industries in attracting and retaining top talent.

Now in its 9th year, the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition recognizes employers that are industry leaders at attracting and retaining employees. The competition is organized by Mediacorp Canada Inc., the nation's largest publisher of employment-related periodicals and online directories. To develop this year's Top 100 list, Mediacorp examined the recruitment
histories of over 75,000 employers across Canada that it tracks for its popular job search site, Eluta.ca. From this initial group, Mediacorp invited 10,000 of the fastest-growing employers, plus 6,000 other companies and organizations in industries that Mediacorp editors wanted to examine more closely, to apply for this year's competition. Employers were asked to complete an extensive application process that included a detailed review of their operations and HR practices. Over 2,000 employers started this year's application process.

In reviewing each employer's application, Yerema and his editorial team
reviewed eight key areas:
(1) Physical Workplace;
(2) Work Atmosphere & Social;
(3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits;
(4) Vacation & Time Off;
(5) Employee Communications;
(6) Performance Management;
(7) Training & Skills Development; and
(8) Community Involvement.

These criteria have remained consistent throughout the nine years of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

The editors' internal grades for each of these eight areas - with supporting reasons - are now published on Mediacorp's popular job search site, Eluta.ca. "Publishing detailed reasons for selection," says Publisher Anthony Meehan, "is a distinguishing feature of the Canada's Top 100 Employers competition. Besides providing transparency, it allows other employers to discover what these special organizations are doing - and to emulate these best practices."

In choosing the finalists, Yerema and the editorial team considered how each employer compared to others in its industry and region. This year's list includes large and small employers from a range of industries, offering varying benefits and working conditions. What is common to all winners is that each is an industry leader: from architectural firms to community housing
agencies, the employers chosen this year are leaders in their industry in attracting and retaining quality employees.

"This year was the most competitive since starting the Canada's Top 100 Employers project almost a decade ago," says Yerema. "We received a record number of applications from employers and our benchmarks for the areas we consider have increased in all industries and regions. These employers are leading the nation."

2009 WINNERS - CANADA'S TOP 100 EMPLOYERS (Below are the construction related companies)
Aecon Group Inc., Toronto ON
FSC Architects & Engineers, Yellowknife NT
HOK/Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Toronto ON
Jacques Whitford Ltd., Dartmouth NS
PCL Construction Group Inc., Edmonton AB

See complete list here: LINK

Sneaky 'daylighters' risk firing by working extra jobs

(LifeWire) -- Brian, a 30-something salesman from New York City, uses bathroom breaks to handle the demands of his second job. The bathroom stall becomes a secret cubicle for his other job as a mortgage broker. He sends e-mails, checks his voice mail and makes appointments.

"I have a certain lifestyle, and I need a certain amount of money coming in," he says.
Brian isn't alone. Many Americans are squeezing two jobs into one shift -- moonlighting by day, as it were -- as a hedge against a sagging economy or to maintain their style of living. While hard data on this below-the-radar economy is anecdotal at best, business coach John M. McKee, the author of "Career Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success," confirms that he has noticed an increase.

Shoehorning a second career into the same shift as your primary job is tricky -- and ethically questionable. Some workers do it with the approval of their superiors. But many do it in defiance of company policy (the main reason most "daylighters" interviewed preferred to remain anonymous) frustrating managers and human-resource executives.

"When you are employed for a firm, 100 percent of your focus should be spent working for that company during regular office hours," says Debbie McGrath, the founder of HR.com, a Web site for human-resources professionals.
Brian reasons that he's on top of his day job, so why not strive for more? Even at conventions with his workday boss, he says, "I'll be standing right next to him making a deal."

The work-work balance
Throughout a string of occupations, mortgage brokering has always been Brian's labor of love. "I feel like I own it," he says. But its unpredictability -- he says he can make anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 a month from his alternative endeavor -- made him seek steadier employment.

His sales gig earns him about $80,000 a year. The combination of the two provides him with three or four nights a week of lavish dining (with a bar bill three times the food bill), several vacations abroad and an apartment in New York City. He's also blessed with a girlfriend, he says, who understands his workaholic ways.

But he doesn't think his boss would be so understanding. Nor does Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach in New York. "As an entrepreneur and former corporate manager, I think transparency is incredibly important between a manager and staff," she says. "And I think honesty is incredibly important."
Ancowitz recommends carving out time for another business on one's own time. "I wouldn't sneak around," she says. "Our reputations follow us."
As for the rationalization that once one's desk is clear, anything goes, she says, "My feeling is that there is always something helpful to do, even if you're a temp."
Getting the OK
If you're determined to squeeze out a second career on company time, McGrath, of HR.com, says it is acceptable to ask permission to perform other work during office hours, provided the time is made up. That can be tricky, though. Unless it's charitable or company-related work, Ancowitz cautions, the request might irk the people who sign your checks.

There are those who are upfront about their dual employment. One 23-year-old former cocktail waitress used her San Francisco job site as a base for pursuing her graphic design career. She says her supervisors didn't care as long as she sold a certain amount of alcohol.

"Towards the end it became like my little office," says the woman, who asked that her name not be used to avoid any full-disclosure Googling by prospective employers. "I wasn't sneaky at all. I blatantly worked on my laptop and talked on the phone with a client when my shift was slow."

Sandra Boston, a 44-year-old Brooklyn, New York, day-care worker, has been squeezing in two jobs for the past several months. As her preschool-aged charges nap with an assistant watching, she has the go-ahead to make phone calls to set up real estate appointments for later in the day, she says. She makes the calls in such a way that no further communication is needed -- the client either shows up or doesn't. Then she arrives at her real estate office around 5:30 p.m. "By the time I get to the office, I can show two or three apartments," she says.

McKee, the business adviser, believes the trend is being fueled by older workers not able to replace the income of an earlier single job and younger ones seeking to ease into a new vocation. He says "daylighting" can fill aspirations with the cooperation of a boss, but warns of the toll it could take. "A life with only work and sleep can become very unsatisfying," he says. "This can become demotivating and may result in an individual -- who had previously shown high energy and good future potential -- becoming flat."

No such concern yet for Brian, the hard-charging salesman who is so secretive that his mortgage broker associates have no idea he toils 9 to 5 at another job, he says.

It's a living -- twice over. But, sighs Brian, "It's really tough."

The vast majority of Canadians wish they could go back to school to improve their skills: Monster poll

MONTREAL, Sept. 29 /CNW/ - An overwhelming majority of Canadians responding to a new Monster.ca online survey say they would go back to schooland hit the books this fall if they could.

The new online survey involving 1,144 Canadians asked visitors toMonster.ca the following question: "Do you wish you could go back to school toupgrade your skills this fall?" A remarkable 87% gave a thumbs up to the idea of returning to theclassroom this fall - if only they could. Among the positive responses, 58% said going back to school would "helpme achieve my career goals." Another 29% who said yes to school also admittedthat they were not learning anything in their current job. The remaining 12% of respondents - or about one in 10 - said no to areturn to school, saying they are satisfied with their life and work.

"Learning, improving skills and expanding your horizons should be alifelong calling and it is interesting to see just how clearly people come torealize and understand that once they are in the workforce, earning a livingand trying to get ahead today," said Monster Canada vice-president of salesand general manager Peter Gilfillan.

"We like to say at Monster that it is never too late to aim higher, reachfarther and dream bigger. Creating a more fulfilling life can involve goingback to school full-time or part-time, or taking evening courses. Fortunately,there are plenty of options today for people to consider if they are ambitiousenough to go for it."

Putting yourself on a more fulfilling path is not as hard as you mightthink, says Monster life coach Robin Sharma, who offers these helpful hints onhow to keep growing both in life and on the job in his Monster.ca article TooBusy Making A Living:

Make the Time to Think. In this hectic day and age, we seem to be toobusy to think. Can you recall the last time you thought deeply about themeaning of life and the legacy you hope to leave. Saying you are too busy tostop and think about the way you are living is like saying you are too busydriving to stop for gas - eventually it will catch up with you.

Be a Person of Action. People who have built richly rewarding lives arepeople of action. Contrary to popular opinion, knowledge is not power. It isonly potential power. Knowledge has value only when it is acted upon. Trulyfulfilled people act on what they know. They act on their goals, doingsomething small each and every day to advance them. And they act on theirdreams rather than spending their lives waiting for something great to happen.

Simplify Your Life. Management guru Peter Drucker once noted that "Thereis nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done atall." The wisest and most dynamic people of our world have cultivated thehabit of spending their time only on those activities that are important. Toall others, they say "no". Take an inventory of what you do in your days andget rid of all the time wasting, life draining pursuits.

Live in the Moment. Life is a gift. Yet too many of us spend our liveschasing that pot of gold on the horizon rather than enjoying the rose gardenthat lies in our backyards. To jump start your life, begin to savor life'ssimpler pleasures. Watch the sun rise. Read a great piece of literature orrelax to a great piece of music. Dance barefoot in the rain or study theintricacy of a spider's web after it has rained. Every day offers up gifts ofnature to those who have the wisdom to notice them.

Visit Monster.ca to read the complete article Too Busy Making A Living,as well as Reinvent Your Life, by Lisa Epstein, and others that offer insightsand advice on life and career management.