Saturday, October 20, 2007

THINK OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PER YEAR!

SEVEN KEY TIPS TO GET IN AND REMAIN IN THE SIX FIGURE WORLD.

ONE

If you are a recent graduate, don’t buy into the traditional salary increase mindset. You know the one: graduate university, get a position at 30-35K, work hard to get an increase to 50k after a few years. Find a way to management after 5 years and slide into the 75K level. Then, after 10 years of working like a dog, helping the company grow, make it into sr. level management at 100K and then hope like hell to stay there for the final 20 years. Retire. This is complete nonsense. Professionals from 25-35 should realize that with a tactical internal and external marketing strategy of their skills and a great intra-company career plan, they can make major leaps in career growth and income in this red-hot labor market.

TWO.

Learn to deal with ignore those around you that think six figures is a lot of money. The nay-sayers and that often include family and friends that attempt to rationalize why it’s too tough, or that you’ll have to forfeit your personal life and sell your soul for higher bracket incomes. Most people under six figures think that professionals in the higher brackets only chase money. Infact most high achievers that I deal with know that we” chase time not money”!

THREE.

You got to six figures with your drive and a plan to get there, but after reaching it, you must create and set higher income targets. You don’t stay at a 100 K by wanting to make the exact same amount next year. Shoot higher, two hundred thousand or go way beyond and start thinking and believing you can earn seven figures.

FOUR.

Start surrounding yourself and networking with higher bracket professionals. Unfortunately if you are the highest earner in your peer group, then it becomes more difficult to sustain the information edge and strategic edge to maintain and grow your income and career. I’m not saying ditch your friends, I’m saying find higher bracket collegues to support and exchange ideas with regularly.

FIVE.

It’s crucial to develop your network more than ever after making to the higher bracket of income. Companies looking for talent at this level need to see more than just education, skills and achievements. They want professionals that have built and can access and integrate their network within the growth plans of business. If you don’t have strong accessible network, then start building relationships to support and support you.

SIX.

You need to work on soft skills: likeability, candor, perseverance managing confrontation, duplication, emotional intelligence and more. These skills are extremely misunderstood and overlooked when assessed by mid-level hr. departments. However, these are the most coveted characteristics required to move up the corporate ladder.

SEVEN.

Consider who you take career advice from. Respectfully most people seek career advice from family, friends and acquaintances. These people might have the best intentions. But do they have the time, resources and expertise to dispense advice that you can use and implement? Will they be accountable to deal with the end-results of their advice? If one of your goals is to reach and remain in the higher income world then make sure you have fun with your family and friends but take career advice from an expert that been in the higher bracket and has helped other succeed.


Minto Roy
President
PCMG Canada/Careers Today Canada



/http://www.pcmgcanada.com/ / http://www.careerstodaycanada.com/ / http://www.pcmgexecutive.com/ www.mintoroy.net





SEVEN KEY THINGS TO KNOW TO REMAIN IN SIX FIGURES

SEVEN KEY THINGS TO KNOW TO REMAIN IN SIX FIGURES.

If you are a recent graduate, don’t buy into the traditional salary increase mindset. You know the one: graduate university, get a position at 30-35K, work hard to get an increase to 50k after a few years. Find a way to management after 5 years and slide into the 75K level. Then, after 10 years of working like a dog, helping the company grow, make it into sr. level management at 100K and then hope like hell to stay there for the final 20 years. Retire. This is complete nonsense. Professionals from 25-35 should realize that with a tactical internal and external marketing strategy of their skills and a great intra-company career plan, they can make major leaps in career growth and income in this red-hot labor market.


Two:



Learn to deal with ignore those around you that think six figures is a lot of money. The nay-sayers and that often include family and friends that attempt to rationalize why it’s too tough, or that you’ll have to forfeit your personal life and sell your soul for higher bracket incomes. Most people under six figures think that professionals in the higher brackets only chase money. Infact most high achievers that I deal with know that we” chase time not money”!


Three:



You got to six figures with your drive and a plan to get there, but after reaching it, you must create and set higher income targets. You don’t stay at a 100 K by wanting to make the exact same amount next year. Shoot higher, two hundred thousand or go way beyond and start thinking and believing you can earn seven figures.


Four:



Start surrounding yourself and networking with higher bracket professionals. Unfortunately if you are the highest earner in your peer group, then it becomes more difficult to sustain the information edge and strategic edge to maintain and grow your income and career. I’m not saying ditch your friends, I’m saying find higher bracket collegues to support and exchange ideas with regularly.


Five:



It’s crucial to develop your network more than ever after making to the higher bracket of income. Companies looking for talent at this level need to see more than just education, skills and achievements. They want professionals that have built and can access and integrate their network within the growth plans of business. If you don’t have strong accessible network, then start building relationships to support and support you.


Six:



You need to work on soft skills: likeability, candor, perseverance managing confrontation, duplication, emotional intelligence and more. These skills are extremely misunderstood and overlooked when assessed by mid-level hr. departments. However, these are the most coveted characteristics required to move up the corporate ladder.


Seven:



Consider who you take career advice from. Respectfully most people seek career advice from family, friends and acquaintances. These people might have the best intentions. But do they have the time, resources and expertise to dispense advice that you can use and implement? Will they be accountable to deal with the end-results of their advice? If one of your goals is to reach and remain in the higher income world then make sure you have fun with your family and friends but take career advice from an expert that been in the higher bracket and has helped other succeed.




Minto Roy
President
PCMG Canada/Careers Today Canada
http://www.pcmgcanada.com/ / http://www.careerstodaycanada.com/ / http://www.pcmgexecutive.com/

GET INTO THE HIGHER BRACKET OF INCOME!

PUBLISHED IN HIGHER BRACKET.CA

VISIT WWW.HIGHERBRACKET.CA dedicated to publishing jobs and information for those professionals looking to earn higher level incomes.

Welcome to higher bracket.com I assume, by your visit to this site that you have a commitment or at least curiosity about positions over 100K. One thing you should know that’s an irrefutable fact.

Very few people make six figures and very few people will ever make six figures consistently.
It’s not because very few people have a talent to earn six figures. In fact, I have met thousands of professionals with the talent, education, experience that exceed those that earn six figures consistently. Most talented professionals simply don’t know how to enter this income bracket and remain consistently there year after year.

One hundred thousand dollars a year seems to represent the holy grail of income levels for most professionals. A validation to themselves, their peers and their families. A badge of recognition in the competitive workforce that you are successful and at the top of your game.
However, this income bracket symbolizes more just money. Personally it represents a level of lifestyle coveted by most people. A chance to live beyond the monthly bills and live a life full of options for you and your family.

Professionally it is viewed as validation by an employer that you are crucial to their organization. Within the company there is enhanced recognition your peers, exciting and important responsibilities are a daily part of your role, there is management opportunities and decision making capacity.

These perks remain elusive to the majority of professionals unless more people learn how to market themselves effectively. Having the right talent, experience and education alone is only part of the battle. An effective and competitive marketing campaign is crucial.
Competing for six figure position comes with an initial realization that this compensation represents the top 2 % of the paying jobs within an employment market. Therefore, looking to get into this market requires a different job search strategy as those being utilized by others making less than six figures. The other 98% of people conducting a job search.
Think about it. Would you market a Lada with the same methodology as Mercedes? Does Starbucks market its five dollar coffee with the same methodology as cafe that sells coffee for a dollar? How a product is marketed is immensely important to the perceived value by the consumer.

So if you are professional looking to secure at six figure position, then remember your the product in a very competitive and complex market. Appreciate that you are competing against other talented products for those 2% of higher bracket jobs. So what’s your marketing strategy? How are you going to differentiate yourself from the other quality products competing against you for the employer?

Most professionals market themselves with a document called a resume, typically a few pieces of paper that outline a jobseekers skills, experiences, achievements and education. A resume is most common form of marketing communications used by job seekers. A document filled with history about a candidates past. However, in speaking with thousands of hiring managers, I’ve come to realize that most are interested in what an employee can do for them in the future, not in the past.

A past history and accomplishments are of course important, but in reality candidates competing at this level are all very good and most great past work histories. A past focused resumes is a very ineffective way to set anyone apart and we know why people use resumes.
Everyone does it and no-one knows what else to do when job hunting.

Mercedes does not rely on marketing their automobile as only fast and with a good warranty. Simply because almost every car over 100K is fast and has a good warranty. Mercedes like all premium products recognizes that marketing given variables and common product features rarely help the consumer select their product.

Consider a simple marketing concept to your job search. If you are trying to divide yourself out from the rest of the market why use the exact same marketing strategy as the rest of the market and hope to be seen as unique? How can the end consumer (the employer), set you apart?

Hiring at six figures has also become extremely difficult for both sides of the hiring desk. Executive Managers have limited time to review resumes and don’t have months to screen candidates, they have hours. Managers are at the mercy of screening candidates through past focused resumes speaking very little about what they bring to their companies future.
It’s crucial that higher bracket professionals initially engage employers with future focused documents and dialogue. Marketing focused on the future. Do not rely on a resume of what has been done in the past. Market the vision of your future and you gain a definitive edge against their competition below and above six figures.

I will follow up with upcoming articles that will hopefully provide insights into getting in and staying in the higher bracket income. Articles related to constructing a value proposition, negotiating six figure salary packages, interviewing questions and answers and the mindset of what executive managers look for when they are hiring their next six figure employee.

The six figure world is truly a world of abundance, not merely about money, but about am abundant belief. A belief to share ideas and information to help others reach their professional and personal goals. I hope this insight propels your career and motivates you to achieve your next level.

There is plenty of room at the top.

Minto Roy
President & CEO
PCMG Canada Executive/ Careers Today Canada
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.pcmgexecutive.com
www.pcmgcanada.com

Saturday, September 22, 2007

THE TOUGHEST INTERVIEW QUESTION FACING YOU

The Toughest Interview Question: Facing New New Immigrants in North America.

If you are fortunate enough to get in-the-door of the right company looking to hire someone with your professional skills and qualifications then you will have to deal with some difficult interview questions.

The typical job interview takes about one hour; Sixty minutes of time that determines where you will spend at least 8 hours of a day, a crucial meeting that solidifies your professional identity and future lifestyle for you and your family in Canada.

With my experience of assisting thousands of professional immigrants with their job search, the questions that cause most anxiety relate to the lack of Canadian work experience. It’s extremely important that new professionals handle this question with a solid response.
Most professional immigrants arrive in Canada with a great education, years of work experience, lots of talent and a commitment to hard work. Yet lack the understanding of how to effectively communicate their value during a job interview. It’s vital that newcomers showcase that they DO HAVE the drive, skills and experience to take on a professional job similar to that of their home country.

Forget Interview strategies for this column. Here are some real interview answers to get you through the number one toughest question your will face. Practice these answers, memorize them and use them. This type of professional language will help you understand and respond effectively to the dreaded Canadian experience question:

Employer Question:

Why should we hire you, over other candidates with greater Canadian experience?
To answer this question you will need a plan or a rehearsed script. Think about famous actors when they perform in a play or a movie. They do so only after massive preparation. Every word, every pause, every facial gesture has been practiced. In fact, professionals in every field recognize when called to perform at a competitive level they must be ready. They practice until their responses to an important situation becomes second nature.

Treat your response to questions or concerns related to your lack of Canadian experience with the same degree of practice and performance. Rather than taking a defensive position with your answer, go on the offense. Turn the question into an opportunity that mirrors commonly held business concepts.

Here’s a script to rehearse.

Answer:

“We’re in a dynamic global economy, I understand you are (or want to be) a global company. A company that thinks and acts beyond Canada’s borders. My work experience has many common traits that you are looking for.” (Give a clear example at this point that matches their requirements.) Write down your own experience example and rehearse it before the interview. Practice over and over again, memorize and make sure you provide examples of experiences that match the criteria for their job description.

Here’s more dialogue for you to memorize.

“I also hope to assist with your companies initiatives locally and globally. Many Canadian businesses are realizing that more than half of their products and services are being bought by new immigrants. I hope with my multi-language skills and cultural understanding that I can help service and grow your customer base in new markets that are growing each year with the increase in Canadian immigration.

These responses will be extremely attractive to companies that are targeting their products into immigrant market segments. Your competition will not be able to compete with your language and cultural insights that match social demographic changes to Canada’s population. If you’re interviewing with a progressive company, there may already be plans underway to move their products and services global or at least local plans to reach growing immigrant communities in Canada.

I know most of your realize that you must commit to improving your English skills and practice every day. But go beyond practice and pretend you are an actor in a movie learning a foreign accent. You’re not trying to be fake when job interviewing, your simply trying to present full value of your potential.

You shouldn’t be relegated to low level entry jobs in Canada. If you’re a professional take responsibility for preparing and presenting yourself until you can answer well enough to present your skills and experience. Practice interview answers until you can quote them perfectly. Memorize, practice and face questions about your lack of Canadian experience with confidence. Become dedicated to your interview performance, like actors in-front of paying audiences. Because when your interviewing for a job, you are performing in-front of a paying audience, your future employer.

Minto Roy
President / CEO
PCMG Canada / Careers Today Canada/PCMG Executive
Vancouver, British Columbia
www.pcmgcanada.com
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.pcmgexecutive.com

Saturday, July 21, 2007

An Open Letter to all Canadian Employers. By Minto Roy

An Open Letter to All Canadian Employers.

I realize the job market is red-hot and recruiting talent has never been so difficult.
Managers across the country speak openly about their frustration with recruiting hardworking, professionally educated, skilled talent for their company’s growth.

But on the other side of the hiring desks, thousands and thousands of qualified immigrants are under-employed or unemployed and continue to struggle to find professional work in their field. This vast untapped well-educated, hard-working, labor-force is right in-front of your eyes.

However, our eyes can deceive us.

At first glimpse a new immigrant’s resume brings massive confusion; “ never heard of the university,” “never heard of their previous employer,” “ don’t really know much about the country or culture,” “probably has weak English skills,” “no Canadian experience.” I realize that most hiring managers lack the time and resources to properly screen ANY candidate, never mind a candidate that has no common ground and comes from a city that they have never heard of. Your company however, must recognize and validate what is not on the resume and overcome stereotypes of the immigrant labor force. Consider the value of the professional that is right in front of your eyes. What you see can your company a huge advantage in this tight labor market.

Make sure you see these 5 things about the Professional Immigrant Labor force.

First: Canadian Immigrants come prepared to work.

They have no-choice, this is not a vacation. They bought a one-way ticket.

Try this, go to the airport, and buy a ticket to another country. Land with $10,000 and set up a place to live, buy furniture, place your kids in school and then see how quickly you want to find work and create stability and professionally identity.

Second: Professional Immigrants come pre-screened.

Your tax dollars have set up rigid screening criteria for new immigrants to enter Canada. They must possess and credibly prove their education and experience. The government has already acted as a first level HR screen for your business. Furthermore, the education standard and academic competition in many foreign countries result in creating top level international students. These bright minds are ready and hungry to become a part Canada’s international growth.

Third: Cost-Effective Hires, A Huge bargain for your company.

The vast majority of professional immigrants under-market and under value themselves. They just want a chance to prove they can do the job. To prove they have the right qualifications. They are driven by a need to be identified professionally in their new county. Making a salary commensurate with their current market value in a skills labor shortage market is the last thing on their mind. Many small to medium size companies, can add; MBA’s, PHD’s, from internationally recognized institutions to their corporate profile at a fraction of the cost. Tell that to your share-holders!


Fourth: New immigrants work very hard.

Most immigrants do not come from a country where 9-5 is the norm. I have assisted many new immigrants that worked 50-60-70 hours a week as routine. This work effort is further fueled by their pride not to disappoint their new employer, themselves and their family here and in their homeland.

Fifth: New immigrants will increase your business growth.

Internally for your business, adding culture and information from another part of the world can only bring growth and exciting diversity to your current staff.
Externally, your company will have ability to communicate and talk to customers, suppliers and partners in different languages. The company has the capacity to increase its local reach and position your brand and products into new cultural communities, cities, new countries.
Think about your business growth. Is your company selling more and more each year to new immigrants? If not, then you’d better jump on the band wagon. There is no greater consumer group coming to Canada every year that needs EVERYTHING. This means hundreds of thousands of new customers for your business.

I urge Canadian Employers, look beyond the words on the resume. Look beyond your perceptions or stereotypes of professionals immigrants. The major solution to the labor shortage is right in-front of our eyes.

They are just waiting for you to see.

Minto Roy
President
PCMG Canada / Careers Today Canada /PCMG Executive
www.pcmgcanada.com
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.pcmgexecutive.com

Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Canadian Immigrant Magazine / Partners with Toronto Star Media.!!

Torstar Media Group buys The Canadian Immigrant Magazine

In April 2004, when the first issue of the Canadian Immigrant Magazine hit the streets, we got an overwhelming response from readers, advertisers and people interested in Canada's growing diversity. We had only been in Canada for five years, yet Sabrina and I dug deep into our meager savings to build the magazine to where it is today, often stretching our personal lines of credit, maxing out our credit cards and re-mortgaging our house several times.
Our biggest strengths were, and still are, an incredible team led by my wife and myself. Margaret Jetelina, our editor, and Morena Zanotto, our art director, went beyond any normal job description, often sacrificing family time to have the product out on time. The result is a magazine that has grown every month. Recently, we added Alla Gordeeva, our business development manager, Kexin Liu, our bookkeeper, and Josephine Wong, our ad creator, to our growing team.In the years since we began, we have had direct feedback from our huge readership about how the magazine spoke to them. How it inspired them to succeed. Last year, in association with Ashton College, we launched the Lilian To Scholarship for Immigrants, giving immigrants $25,000 worth of education free. Earlier this year, we launched the Top Employers for Workplace Diversity awards.In spite of all this growth, I always felt that to effect true change in immigrant lives, we had to grow beyond B.C. We had to be a national magazine. We started looking for a partner who would help us in doing so, and we have found a meeting of minds in the Torstar Media Group. Based on the bedrock of principles laid down by the late publisher Joseph Atkinson, the group has similar social values to ours. The Toronto Star also has the most compassionate view of immigrants and their struggles in a new country.We started the dialogue and were happy to see the media company's enthusiasm for our magazine. We, therefore, took a decision that the magazine would grow tremendously with them as partners.On November 30, we transferred ownership of the magazine to the Torstar Media Group. The changes include the launch of a Toronto edition in the new year and then a Calgary edition. We will also have increased circulation in B.C. Being a huge newspaper and magazine powerhouse (the Toronto Star is Canada's largest circulated daily), we will have access to their enormous resources as well. What will not change however is our team. Sabrina and I will continue, as will our team. Thanking the various people who have helped us along the way is hard because there have been so many! My advisory board, the advertisers, volunteer writers and various associations supporting us, as well as our suppliers -- Doug Candy of Coastal Web Press and Roy Kingsmith of NDA, who extended much needed assistance to a struggling magazine.It becomes difficult to speak about growing the magazine without talking about the family. Several times it was my son and daughter who did deliveries and helped in all the office work. My wife, Sabrina, was and is the single biggest strength I could have had in this endeavour, working late nights on bookkeeping, ad controls and sacrificing social outings to be at the office on weekends. I could not have done it without them.I must also acknowledge the huge assistance from business partner Minto Roy of PCMG Canada for his support, trust and friendship, but most of all for believing in us and the magazine.In closing, I have one more thing to say: it was never about ownership; it was always about making a difference in immigrant lives. I believe this change will do exactly that with a larger canvas!

Posted by on December 3, 2006 7:47 PM

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Vancouver Football How a Winning Streak Gone Bad Help Your Career

Life’s Work

Viewpoints on Careers and Workplaces from HR Expert Minto Roy

Minto:

I was talking to a man the other day, early-40s, professional, talented, but obviously way off his game after a reshuffling in his company left him packaged off, the shock of sudden unemployment a body blow to his self worth. Something about his presentation – or really the shadow of what I could see his presentation probably used to be – made me think of this BC Lions season. They went 11-0. Undefeated for, if you’ll pardon the pun, the lion’s share of the year. Every sportswriter in the country started talking about their magic, their legacy, calling them one of the best teams ever to play the game. And it looks like they started to believe their own press. They got complacent. They thought they were invincible. They thought the talent and skills that got them their success would be enough to keep it. But the other teams in the league were working while the Lions were basking in the glory of being unbeatable. And then they got beaten – four times in a row – falling to 11-4.

The people I work with who find themselves in a sudden career downturn have a lot in common with athletes who go off a winning streak.

When you lose your first game, it’s a fluke. You’re a winner, after all. You shake it off. When you lose the second, you begin to doubt yourself. At the third, panic sets in. If a fourth loss hits, a lot of people lose themselves. They start thinking like losers and there’s no turning back. It’s no different in your career. Send a few resumes and no one calls, no big deal. Come second or third in an interview, move on. Three, four, six months unemployed? It’s a long hard road back to confidence and professional net worth.

And that’s where a good coach comes in. I hope ___________ (Lions coach’s name) is kicking his players’ butts about the need for constant improvement and relentless hard work. And I hope he’s playing them reel after reel of game tape from those first 11 games to remind them who they really are. By the time this goes to print, we’ll know whether the Lions are 11-5 and still lost or 12-4 and they’ve found themselves again. They need to get the team that fought hard and drilled the fundamentals and believed in themselves back out on the field. Winners don’t always win. They just never stop fighting and they always come back.

Are you a winner in your career? Are you constantly playing your best game? Do you have Plans B and C ready for the inevitable day when the game changes and Plan A isn’t good enough anymore? If not, it might be time to get a coach in your corner.



Minto Roy offers Vancouver’s leading edge career development services through the Premier Career Management Group, and hosts Careers Today, a weekly radio show on CFUN 1410 AM, every Saturday from 3-4 pm. Please visit www.pcmgcanada.com and www.careerstodaycanada.com.