National Edition - November 19, 2006  When a little help can be a great deal All the buzz about microcredit makes nanotechnology seem so passé. It's a Nobel-Prize-winning concept and an alternate financing system for the poorest segments of a population, which are often overlooked by commercial banks. These small loans help the lenders to bootstrap themselves into small business without anteing collateral or having to pay the local loan shark usurious interest. Last week, the Global Microcredit Summit took place in Halifax to significantly less ridicule than the inaugural event five years ago. (Source: Halifax Chronicle Herald) When workers turn into 'turkers' The Mechanical Turk was an late 18th century automated chess playing machine that toured Europe and turned out to be a ruse… yet still baffled Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin, alike. Now, Amazon's Mechanical Turk is a site that dispatches online tasks to an army of freelance Internet users. It's becoming the ultimate contingency plan for people looking to make extra cash outside the confines of a formal job, like the kind where you have to get dressed up and go into an office. (Source: The Christian Science Monitor) The call of the wild? Offshoring and the outsourcing of call-centre jobs to India has the youth of Bangalore running amok with disposable income and leading lifestyles that contradict traditional Indian values, according to the country's conservative elders. Monthly paycheques for India's call-centre workers are ten times higher than the national average. These nouveau riche say the salacious rumours about their overnight shifts are being spread by the jealous who missed out on this breakthrough employment opportunity. (Source: Reuters) 'Future Home' adds ease to living for everyone As the North American population ages and retires, it will create opportunities for those still at work, both in terms of vacated positions and emerging business sectors that will cater to the aging population's needs. "Universal design" is an example of the latter. A Baltimore-area Future Home showcases these architectural and interior design solutions geared to making the daily household routines of the elderly and disabled as user-friendly as possible. (Source: NPR) Ask the right question Common job-hunting wisdom dictates that you lob a handful of questions at the interviewer to appear interested and informed about the employment opportunity at hand. However, a job interview isn't just a one-way street. Your part in initiating dialogue begins with these questions, which come in one of three styles: flexing your brain, turning the tables and figuring out what's next. Knowing your cues and inserting the right type of question is a major part of giving a job-winning performance. (Source: Business Week) Do you have the gold standard of good manners or are you a lout? Britons are known for extremes in good and bad behaviour, however North American executives with international roles are jumping across the pond and flocking to finishing schools. • For international executives navigating the minefield of corporate politics, help is at hand: impeccable British manners can clinch that big deal. • An etiquette expert recently launched a weekend house party at a Scottish castle for businessmen, academics and diplomats. • The weekends involve traditional country house pursuits such as clay pigeon shooting, bridge and formal Scottish dancing. • Participants are tutored in the finer arts of charm and proper etiquette, all in the name of good business. (Source: Independent Online) November 20 Jobline Marketing Business/Career Fair Burnaby, BC November 20 - 21 BioNorth 2006 Ottawa, ON November 22 Canadian International Executive of the Year Award 2006 Toronto, ON November 23 Aspect Youth Strategies Conference Vancouver, BC November 30 Enterprising Non-Profits Grant Application Deadline Province-wide, BC December 4 - 5 Patent Protection in Biotechnology Montreal, QC December 5 Fraser Valley Education & Career Fair Abbotsford, BC December 7 Vancouver Island Education & Career Fair Victoria, BC January 23 - 24 Wireless Cities Summit Toronto, ON January 28 - 31 2nd Annual National Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise Vancouver, BC Suggest a career-related event NOTICE: Jobboom and its sponsors do not necessarily endorse the opinions conveyed in the articles selected for this e-zine and do not assume any legal liability in consequence thereof. Comments: info@jobboom.com Research and editing: Austin Macdonald #noDossier#