Sequins and spandex not the thing to wear for a job interview

BY NEIL HAESLER, POSTMEDIA NEWS

Showing up for a job interview wearing a cat suit is going to get you a few laughs – maybe. But more likely it will get you thrown out on your pointy little ears.

OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in temporary placements, found in a recent survey that people show up for job interviews in a confounding array of costumes.

OfficeTeam asked HR managers to recount some of the odd attire they saw on applicants. Interviewers reported a stunning variety of people who didn’t seem clear on the concept of impressing a perspective employer.

Take the person who showed up wearing a blanket as a shawl. Or the woman wearing a skirt made of plastic. And, yes, someone in a catsuit.

Surrey bid to become an India film centre could prove a tough audition

BY FRANK O’BRIEN, BIV

The first thing Surrey has to do to become a centre for Bollywood films is to forget about Bollywood films, according to the only Surrey resident to produce a blockbuster within India’s movie industry.

“Bollywood is stagnated,” said Mike D’Souza, owner and executive producer of Silo Entertainment Ltd., a film producer with close links to India.

The “big ticket” in India films is the independent filmmakers who are more interested in international, contemporary themes than Bollywood’s muscular musical genre.

D’Souza, who produced the Bollywood hit Boom in 2003, added that Surrey should play to the strengths of the existing “world-class” Vancouver and Burnaby film studios if it wants to become a player in India’s $2.3 billion film industry.

Your personal brand – online and off – can help set you apart from other job seekers

POSTMEDIA NEWS

A no-name brand might be just the ticket for a bargain-hunter at the grocery store, but it doesn’t do the job in a job search – not when your own brand may be all that sets you apart from the crowd.

A personal brand “is the ‘X’ factor that differentiates a person from other job candidates,” according to consulting firm PwC Canada. It’s about knowing who you are, what you can do and presenting yourself online and in person in a way that supports and promotes that persona.

“It’s important for students to accurately portray themselves online as they would in person,” said James Davidson, talent acquisitions manager for PwC.

“Having a profile you wouldn’t be ashamed to show your parents on all of the major social networks – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google Profiles – is the first step in managing your online reputation.”

Avoid mistakes that have a detrimental effect on your wellbeing

KIM COVERT, POSTMEDIA NEWS

Losing a job is a punch in the gut at any age, but when you’re over 40 it tends to hit especially hard. At that age, you likely already have a family, a mortgage and car payments, not to mention a personal investment in the sense that part of your identity is wrapped up in being a person who works at a certain company.

Even when employees are overworked, over-stressed and on the edge of burnout in an unhappy workplace, it can be hard to lose the paycheque, purpose and connections that come with any job.

“The way people react to unemployment varies from angry and frustrated to sad and depressed. A few … are actually relieved,” said Stephen Laser, author of Out-of-Work and Over-40.