National Edition - June 8, 2008  What type of employee are you? Find out with our personality tests. Jobboom visitors are now eligible for discount rates on e-Career Fit evaluations via our website. Check out the tests below - they're bound to pique your interest: - eCF Personal Styles Assessment : Discover your strengths, limitations and personal style. - eCF Work Values Assessment : Identify which values are important to you, then capitalize on them to land the perfect job. - eCF Entrepreneur Index : Find out if you've got what it takes to be your own boss. Newsworthy Rewarding careers let you have a life Some successful go-getters are slaves to the seven-to-seven daily grind. However, such a hectic workweek doesn't leave much time for going out on the town, hitting the gym, shopping at farmers' markets, playing Ultimate, meeting up with friends or dating. These overworked individuals have oodles of money and no time to spend it. In the worst-case scenario, they'll eventually snap and want their lives back. For those who have yet to fall into this trap, there are fulfilling careers out there that allow for a reasonable work-life balance. Individuals who choose life over work may need extra coping skills, including a higher tolerance for risk, entrepreneurial spirit and ongoing professional development. (Source: Yahoo!, Education) Cyberfinds IM proves useful Generation Yers rejoice! Instant messaging recently gained acceptance as a valid medium of business communication. Prior to this development, the keyboard clatter which accompanies online chit-chat was a dead giveaway that employees were yakking it up and goofing off with online contacts. Now, new research shows that employees who incorporate instant messaging into their workdays use it as a replacement for more disruptive forms of communication, such as face-to-face encounters and phone and e-mail contact. And, while instant messaging does lead to more frequent communication, the data also showed that conversations via this medium tend to be briefer, causing less interruption. (Source: : Science Daily) Trendspotting We want a friendly workplace "Money can't buy me love," crooned the Beatles. Well, it turns out that the cold embrace of a fat paycheque isn't a substitute for a friendly working environment either. According to a recent UK survey, fewer than half of all respondents said they would stay at their jobs on the basis of salary alone. The findings also revealed that having a good work-life balance and amiable relationships with colleagues are considered to be more important than money. As such, companies who employ the age-old “golden handcuffs” approach risk losing their employees to more flexible competitors. (Source: Daily Mail) Workplace Issues Demand for foreign workers on the rise There are far too many cabbies in Montreal and other Canadian cities sitting on higher education diplomas earned abroad, and some even hold degrees in areas like nuclear physics. Immigration has always been a cornerstone of the Canadian economy, but with many qualified construction professions approaching retirement, there is an unprecedented need for short-term, immigrant workers. (Source: Jobboom, Career Zone) Business Travail Business travel etiquette Business travellers are such a lucky bunch. Or are they? It seems that the perks which once made business travel seem so exotic and appealing have all but evaporated. Take this true/false self-assessment quiz to test whether you have a road warrior’s savvy. Will it be business, pleasure or both? (Source: Jobboom, Career Zone) Do you travel for business? To answer, click here. Are you… the competitive type? Ironically, according to “tournament theory,” the huge salaries earned by bosses are actually for the benefit of their employees. Tournaments are an integral and often invisible part of the workplace. Workers are frequently ranked relative to each other and promoted for being better than their rivals, as opposed to being good at their jobs. However, the widespread use of tournaments is telling of the frustrations of office life. Bosses who are grossly overpaid serve as role models to their employees, who work harder in hopes of being promoted and achieving the same success. (Source: Financial Post) June 8 – 10 Apprenticeship – Our Competitive Advantage Victoria, BC June 9 - 10 Taming that Monster under the Bed Calgary, AB June 10 – 11 National Aboriginal Trades Symposium 2008 Victoria, BC June 11 - 12 Western Workplace Health 2008 Calgary, AB June 16 Bio Career Fair San Diego, CA June 19 All About Advocacy Toronto, ON June 22 - 25 ICSB 2008 World Conference Halifax, NS June 23 - 25 Adult Learning Knowledge Centre National Symposium St. John's, NL June 25 Goal Setting and Staying Focused Montreal, QC June 25 Small Is the New Big Markham, ON June 30 YEC Scholarships Deadline Calgary, AB July 11 - 13 Young Men Adventure Weekend Vancouver, BC August 3 - 6 National Agriculture Awareness Conference St. John's, NL 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#