jobs Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

On Goal Setting and Making Magic Happen

Paula — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:52:00 +0000

As a writer and a business person I have always been invested in goal setting as a means of keeping myself accountable and moving forward. For me, this works. The year that I levelled up my freelance writing and carved out more time for pitches and bylines, I made good on those goals. Here’s how. Over the course of a career I have at times been employed on staff at magazines and newspapers. As a staff writer sometimes, the goals were obvious: get the gig as a columnist. (Which I did for a bit as a business writing columnist.) Or get the job as a beat reporter on the court beat. Later as a freelancer, it was about the magazines that I sought to be published in. For instance, a byline in a major Canadian magazine right after starting a family. That magazine byline was a goal I set for myself and never once stated out loud, but I believed it. Believe it. Take the steps to get there. Do the work and if you are struggling then find a mentor or an accountability partner to help with goal setting. Define Goals Define the goals and then articulate the path to getting there. You don’t necessarily need to share the goals with the world, unless you want to, but you should identify them and write them down. For me, this is the trick. Say it, state it, find a way forward confidently and with purpose. Some people might call that manifesting. Doesn’t really matter what term you choose as long as you stick to the plan and make it happen. Goal Setting as a Path to Self Improvement This goal setting worksheet will help you get started, some sure to follow the instructions and download now. Just click on the link below and print it out. It is a clean link and easy to print. Sometimes writing things down helps too. Goal Setting Worksheet located below. Ask yourself what’s important to you this year? Is it more bylines in a wider variety of outlets? Maybe it’s getting a full time job or perhaps it is getting fit? There are several useful fitness trackers and 30 Day Challenges here if you are of that mind. Here’s an example of my own: the year I told myself I will get published in the Globe and Mail and Today’s Parent, I did it out of sheer determination. Why and how? Well, by putting that out into the world I began to manifest it and move forward with intention. Sometimes Things Evolve and Goals Change How are you goal setting this year and what are your goals? Sometimes goals evolve and that’s okay too. Life isn’t black and white. Recalibrate as circumstances change. Hitting targets faster than you intended? Maybe it is time to build new ones.

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5 Tips to Help Teens in a Challenging Job Market

Paula — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 23:14:05 +0000

The job market has always been a competitive place. In today’s society, that’s even more true. Going to college, or university, is a start, but companies look for other things besides a college degree. These days they are searching for someone with an extra edge or skill. It’s almost become essential to have a second language too. So what can you do to give your teen a toehold in a challenging and rapidly evolving economy? Short of finding the job for them, or Here are a few things that can give a teen an edge for college, and later, in a competitive job market. Standing Out in a Competitive Job Market College and university degrees are great. They’re the foundation for a good future, but it takes more than a college degree to land a great job. Today a huge portion of the job market has a degree or two. In fact I was recently reading a book about the Jobs Crisis that was eye opening to me as a parent of teens. Employers look for something that makes a candidate stand out. There are things your teen can do to give them an edge in the job market after they graduate college. Volunteer Volunteering is a great way to score points with a college and with employers. Volunteering shows an attitude of service and an ability to work well with others. It also shows that an applicant cares about something other than themselves. There are plenty of volunteering opportunities available to your teen if they look around in the community. Check hospitals, nursing homes, local food pantries – anywhere where extra manpower might be appreciated. Maybe your local area has a volunteer fair. That can be a great way to find a volunteer position that is a good fit for your teen. Also as a side note a great benefit of volunteering can be the networking and connections too. At the start though it’s also about generating experience and references. Study I know. This is so played out, but it still holds true. A great GPA in high school translates to a better chance of your teen getting into their college of choice. A great GPA in college shows employers that your young adult knows their stuff and that they were committed to their degree. That can send a message to employers that your recent graduate will be just as committed to their new job. Connect with an NGO Connecting with an NGO (non-government organization) is a great way for your teen to gain an edge in the future job market. Much like volunteering, being a part of an NGO shows a commitment to helping others and to something larger than themselves. For an even better boost, your teen should look for an NGO associated with their chosen field if they’ve decided on one. In fact, most things should filter through that lens. Extracurricular Activities Not only do extracurricular activities help your teen get into college, they give them an edge in a competitive job market if they remain active through their college years. Just like extracurricular activities show a college that your teen is well rounded, they show potential employers that your graduate is more than just what they learned in college. No matter what job market your child is headed into, they’re always more attractive applicants if they are interesting. Learn Another Language The world is more of a melting pot than ever before, so knowing more than one language can be a big leg up in a competitive job market. Even if an employer isn’t actively searching for a bilingual candidate, having that skill could open up other opportunities down the line. It also opens up the job your son or daughter is applying for by showing their potential employer that they have something to offer that others don’t. The Job Market is a Little Like the Thunderdome Two (or more) applicants enter. One applicant gets the job. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and the job market is no different. If your teen wants to ensure that they’ll have an edge down the line, they need to start thinking about their future now. The five suggestions above are just some of the ways that your teen can ensure they have an edge when they enter the job market later. This post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. A purchase via one of the links means I receive a commission.

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Johan’s Story: What Becomes of Sponsored Children in Colombia

Paula — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 03:42:27 +0000

Johan Espinosa has been linked to World Vision for most of his life. He was sponsored at the age of five and grew up to be sponsorship coordinator in Bucaramanga, Colombia where I visited recently with World Vision Canada. His journey from sponsored child to inspirational leader building futures for sponsored children in Colombia is nothing short of remarkable. His story is a beautiful illustration of what becomes of sponsored children in Colombia. One of Three Brothers Espinosa was one of three brothers. They lived with both parents and their father worked, but they were still barely getting by. When you are poor, you often live a life that is anchored deeply in the present. It is difficult to dream when living day to day. Harder still to imagine a future. Childhood sometimes protects you from knowing any other way, any other reality. Espinosa remembers feeling happy as a child, being cared for and loved. His family shared what little they had with friends. “When I was five. I remember there was a lot of need in my neighbourhood. We were three children and though we were happy we didn’t have any opportunity to dream, to study or be better.” And Then Life Changed Then World Vision arrived. His world changed. It opened up. Sometimes hope and pride arrives mysteriously, and literally, looking like bunk beds. Something so incredibly simple and commonplace for many of us. But for Espinosa it was the start of a life transformed. Before the bunk beds, they were three boys sharing a bed. “World Vision arrived and we had a chance to dream. We got benefits that were so important for us. It was so important to get the bunk beds. I had a sponsor and I started writing my sponsor and taking part in various activities in the community. We were each so happy to be involved in the activities World Vision put on in the community.” The Need Throughout the week that I stayed in Colombia and travelled throughout the country visiting several ADPs (area development programs) I learned over and over that many children had no books, or uniforms to attend school. I have told some of those stories already in this series, but this is the story of child sponsorship and how it changed one life again rippling through the community to become a tidal wave of change that transforms many. Each time I have heard the personal stories I am overwhelmed to learn how much one sponsored child impacts this country. The team in Bucaramanga is the greatest illustration that lives are altered forever by sponsorship. On a day when I heard half a dozen personal stories about child sponsorship and the impact it has had on each of the current local World Vision workers, I was left speechless, often teary eyed and humbled. Overwhelmed wondering how to retell these stories that are so impactful in person. Johan’s Story Espinosa, for instance, was one small child in a country where there are millions displaced and living in poverty. He was sponsored and he grew to become a leader in his community, building something so unique inside World Vision Colombia that it struck a chord inside an office at World Vision Canada and prompted me to fly here to see it for myself. Espinosa sits as head of the very department through which his letter might have passed years ago, starting at his home and ending in his sponsor’s mailbox. He and his Canadian sponsor exchanged letters often, and the department he now heads is a vibrant space filled with young people who also were all once sponsored children. A Photograph Brought Us Here It is the photograph of this group that has lured us here. What are the odds that this many former sponsored children should all end up working together in the same office, and then go on to each sponsor a child themselves? Truly, a magnificent thing to see this group interacting and talking about the incredible responsibility of handling the correspondence between sponsor and child. It is something we don’t give thought to even when we are already sponsoring children back home in Canada. The work here in this department is very much a labour of love. Each one of these young people speak of poverty replaced with hope and responsibility to give back. Bucaramanga This city, Bucaramanga, Colombia is at once both the richest spot I have ever seen due to the people working here inside World Vision and the poorest community I could ever imagine. Asomiflor, a community where an ADP has just started here is startling and sad. It is this contrast that defines Bucaramanga. Rich in people, but poor by geography, history and circumstance. “I am so thankful for World Vision,” says Espinosa. “I am a byproduct of what I received here as a boy.” Espinosa is now married, a leader in this region and a father of two boys, ages 10 and 3. He sponsors a girl in Medellin and has also had a chance to meet the little girl he sponsors. Medellin is one of the areas worst hit by domestic heroin use. Our Journey While we are here we have visited Cali, Bogota and Santander de Quilichao. Santander de Quilichao has the second worst domestic heroin problem in all of Colombia. Medellin has the highest rate of heroin use. Although the narco-trafficking problem of years gone by has been effectively battled, a quieter domestic heroin issue has grown. It threatens young people the most as gangs sometimes prey on children as young as ten offering them free heroin and showing them how to use the drug, then turning on them as they become addicted forcing them to earn money by whatever means necessary. The Ticket to Success Education and sponsorship are the biggest weapons in the daily battle to keep Colombia’s youth healthy and steer them out of a life in drugs, crime and gangs. “I think there is a real need to contribute to the life of a boy, or a girl. It is needed. When I look back on who Johan was then and who he is now I am very grateful and thankful. Through World Vision, I had the chance to meet the Lord, and to meet my wife. I think I will continue working with World Vision for life.” This is what becomes of a life when someone else believes and supports and nurtures it through World Vision Canada. This is What Becomes of Sponsored Children in Colombia. And this too is quite simply what a child can do given the chance to dream. Please keep reading all my stories from the trip with World Vision Canada. You can read more: Part 1: The Briefing Part 2: Where Hope Lives Part 3: What a Soccer Ball Looks Like Part 4: When I Sponsor a Child with World Vision Canada Part 5: Two Hands Are Enough Part 6: The Strength of Women in Morales Duque. Part 7: The Importance of Uniforms in Sports For More Details About World Vision Canada: For more information visit the main World Vision site. You can also follow World Vision on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/worldvisioncan/ and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldVisionCan I travelled with World Vision Canada as a guest so I could tell these stories. I am sharing more stories this week and next. Join us for a twitter party with World Vision Canada on November 19th at 8 p.m. EST. We are talking about the World Vision gift catalogue. Ask me how you can schedule a sponsored chat or twitter party.

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