10May.
Healthy Eating Contributes to a Healthy Mind!

By Marcie Klein, Manager, Mental Health Support Services

The Ometz Mental Health Collective Kitchen program provides skill-building opportunities and the tools necessary to make healthy choices, both nutritionally and financially. The goal of the collective kitchen is to provide information and hands-on support to help individuals living with mental illness gain skills and knowledge in; meal planning, budgeting for groceries, developing healthy eating habits, and learning to prepare low cost nutritious food that is also delicious. Group members share the responsibility for menu development, shopping, and preparation of food for weekly meals which they sit down to enjoy together.
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7May.
Do I need more than one version of my resume?

Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

This is a question that we hear often, and the answer is “Yes you do”!

If you look at the job descriptions for the positions you are applying they most likely all sound a little different. That is because they are all different organizations/companies with different needs looking for a variety of skills although be it in the guise of a similar role. Here is a good example:
Company A is a dental office is looking for a receptionist. Some of the tasks will include, answering the phone, greeting people, booking appointments and managing their social media presence. For this position, Social media experience is probably going to raise the attention of this employer, as would be some healthcare office knowledge. This would be experience you want to highlight.
Company B is also looking for a receptionist. They are a Real Estate Office. Tasks will include answering the phone, booking advertisements, and creating open house brochures. Some graphic design and media knowledge is important to this employer.
These two companies are both looking for receptionists with similar but different skill sets. You may have all these skill sets, but you are going to position them differently on your Resume for each application. Why? Each employer will be looking for key phrases/words and you don’t want to bury those somewhere in the Resume or risk not including them at all. So, yes you need more than one version of your Resume to maximize your chances of being noticed by the employer. This is key!!
For more Resume guidance visit, www.cv-writing-course.com

25Apr.
Ometz celebrates National Volunteer Week

By Janice Heft, Manager of Volunteer Services

It’s National Volunteer Appreciation Week, time to celebrate and thank our volunteers for the support they provide to our clients and to the staff at Ometz. Without their assistance we could not accomplish all that we do. But of course, this appreciation begins from the moment a dedicated volunteer walks in through the door, and it lasts throughout the lifetime of the person he or she helps.
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18Feb.
Why Managing Your Online Image Is A Must

By Genee Latreille, Online Image Management Workshop Facilitator

Have you ever Googled yourself? If so, did you take the time to really analyze the results and filter out any negative representations? Studies show that upwards of 86% of employers will look up job search candidates online, either in a search engine or social media site. And nearly half of them have refused a candidate because of what they found. But it doesn’t stop there: even those with comfortable, permanent positions in companies have been fired over online activity. A quick search of the words “fired over Facebook” turns up countless stories of people who have lost their jobs due to their comments or behaviour found on the internet.
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12Feb.
Championing school perseverance and protective factors with “Kids Can!”

By Rosa Caporicci, Program Coordinator, Kids Can!

It’s a very striking number…24.8%. That number represents the percentage of high school students on the Island of Montreal who drop out. The good news is that that number can change with the right strategies in place. In the spirit of Hooked on School Days taking place between February 11-15, Ometz would like to acknowledge the efforts of community partners who are endeavouring to bring that number down to zero.
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8Feb.
You don’t know everything! 6 reasons to contact an experienced job search professional.

By Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

It often surprises me that many young people and not so young people resist consulting professionals.

I met an old friend while out doing some shopping last week, while we briefly tried to catch up holding our heavy grocery bags, like most conversations the conversation went to “so how are your children?

She proceeded to tell me that her son graduated from a “high- in- demand” field, and surprisingly one year later, he is still unemployed. By default, my radar went up and I began to pose the usual battery of questions which ultimately led to “tell him to send me his CV perhaps it needs tweaking”! That same week the CV arrived in my inbox. The verdict? Clearly this young man had never consulted a sound CV resource. This CV was not going to get him through any door let alone get read. I replied with some broad suggestions for improvement along with an invitation to contact me.
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17Jan.
Is fear of writing a Resume holding you back from starting your job search?

Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

By Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

Because people know I am in the employment/career industry, very often people approach me to talk about job search. Of course the conversation usually leads to “Resume talk” and what becomes glaringly clear is that there is a great deal of fear connected to writing a Resume.
I really do get it! When people think about Resumes, a picture of formal sounding words, arranged very precisely on a piece of paper comes to mind. This formal sounding formatted document has the sole responsibility of landing that interview. Many people don’t know what to include in their Resume, and find it difficult to explain what they did in their jobs. No small feat and yes it could be daunting when thought of in that way. I am going to put your mind at ease. Yes, it is a crucial job search document, but you can do it, and I suggest that you do so one-step-at-a-time!
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9Jan.
Dig Deep Not Wide

By Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

For many out there, I suspect that you may also be experiencing some of what I am talking about.

Now that I am making a concerted effort to be active on Social Media, I find that I am becoming overloaded with loads of available information and resources. The more I learn, the more I want to learn, and this is truthfully resulting in major information overload. There are not enough hours in the day to follow all the subjects and the newly acquired networks I have amassed.

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2Jan.
Albert Einstein knew about job search too!

Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

By Lori Rubinger, Director, Training and Special Projects

Don’t start the new year burned out by repeating the same job search behaviors ;when the results clearly indicate that change or updating should be your first plan of action!

Albert Einstein said that insanity is repeating the same things and expecting different results. Well, with job search the same philosophy applies. even though job search is often a numbers game.
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10Dec.
Put your best value proposition forward

By Sharon Bishin, Corporate & Employability Trainer

In the world of sales and marketing there is a concept called “Value Proposition” which illustrates why a prospect should buy something from you. Whether it is:
• safety (a type of car)
• taste (a specific food)
• fitness (an exercise tool) or
• relaxation (a vacation trip)
you have to describe the BENEFIT from acquiring this product.
Well, guess what? In job search, YOU are the product and you have to convince a potential employer how they will benefit from hiring you.
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