Immigrant Life Podcast

Spacious Solidarity is reframing for the new buzz word, "Social distancing". 

I'll like to give credit to Prof. Catherine Etmanski and Rae Abileah for bringing this beautiful mental work of Zahava Griss to my attention. It is what led me to dedicate an entire episode to this. I thought to emphasize the essence of social distancing in an episode because it is beginning to get to people. Staying home without an end date can be more disturbing than even the virus. 

So why do we need to exercise spacious solidarity?  When we maintain spacious solidarity, we save lives - Ours and that of others. I explained this more in the episode. However, when we come together as one, we will defeat this virus called Coronavirus. Everyday events continue to show me that covid-19 is a threat to humanity in humans. When we ill-treat and fight one another, the virus thrives. Evil thrives. Let's come together by giving one another space. This is why doctors and nurses are like the military men and women that we put in the line of fire of the enemy. This is our neighbor and fellow humans showing solidarity by going to work every day despite the risks. 

Our social culture is changing. Hi fives have become elbow bumps and foot fives. People can no longer give hugs, handshakes and french kisses. Metaphorically, covid-19 is a natural forest fire. It appears nature is self-cleansing but then new life will spring from the ashes. Painful for sure but in the end, that is what happens. We will arise with new mindset changes, new babies (coronials), new lives, new careers, etc. While fire rages, let's keep hope alive. 

If you are a person of faith like me - trust God and let go of your panic. Protect your mind. Negative mental programming is subtle. Shut down social media, the news station and whatever is the source of the negative news that comes your way. 

As we maintain spacious solidarity, lets remember T.J. Blackman, a wonderful lady. She said, "Maybe it's not as bad as it appears. It has been said there is a time for everything, and that everything has its season. It is always difficult to witness the seeming destruction of leafy green forests but it may ease our minds a little if we can remember that there are many cycles to the ecology of a forest, just as there are many cycles to life. It goes on, adapting, striving, and re-establishing itself on its own new terms. Even in the embers, there is a spark of new life."

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In this episode, I shared three stories – One. A completely drunk guy in a London train sang very beautiful and moving Christian worship songs despite his state of mind. Two. A popular very religious Christian brother that everyone knows so well falls ill was taken to the hospital and in an attempt to poke him and get him ready for drips, he shouts "Shopona (Sopona) o!". In Yoruba land, that is the god of smallpox. Yet this is a firebrand well-respected brother in a local church who does not believe in a lesser god. Three. I was in surgery at a time and had to be put to sleep and when the nurse woke me up in recovery, the first thing I said was "Oh, you are wearing a uniform and you don't even have wings! That means we are not in heaven”. She burst out laughing and said, "No we are in Calgary then called on a colleague to come and hear something funny."

Why did I go into all these? Crisis reveals your core values and beliefs. You can preach and sermonize people all you like but what you do or how you respond during a crisis reflects your true self. You can explain it away and say I am being unreasonable, thank you for that. It's my opinion anyway.

I have read online and listened to many people in western nations speak very derogatorily of refugees who flee war-torn countries for developed nations such as Canada, the US, France, etc. They respond to those people and speak to them like they did not know how to get their acts together like it is their lot and fault for being born in those countries as if they moved to their new countries because they are lazy or to simply exploit an economy that they never contributed to. These are people who ran away from war and pain and hunger and yet are calm and civil to others in their new home. I hope those people have a little feel of what war and instability feel like.

We are not even at war although facing a global threat and you are stockpiling, hoarding what is not scarce. Please stop it. And I know why you do it - you feel insecure. You feel out of control. Your heart is searching for safety, looking for a haven.

Hoarding is not the way forward. It only reveals your insecurity, selfishness, and insensitivity despite your best intentions. When we do this, we create systemic shortages which potentially lead to other problems. We create panic and uncertainty for others. I even heard that some people in the United States have started buying guns. Stop it! Trying to shore up for their insecurity. Stop it!!!

Buy just what you need. Retail stores will remain open. Manufacturing companies will continue to run. And even if such expectations change, we will be fine. We will live by new rules necessary for the times and seasons we are in. And we will all be fine. Buy just what you need.

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In order to succeed as a business owner, you need to (re)program your mind for success. The challenge comes with our default programming which flows from our families, friends, communities and the likes. It's so subtle, we hardly notice they are there as well as their limiting impacts. There are a lot of ways to get ourselves reprogrammed for success but a few things stand out from today's discussion with Jess Huffman: 

1. Change the questions you ask yourself at any point in time.

2. Change your immediate relationships. Stick with those who have already done what you are trying to do and those who are currently on the same journey with you. This is not necessarily in the same industry or line of business. 

3. Challenge your beliefs by asking yourself: What if everything I ever believed was wrong?

4. Document everything you ever dismissed as impossible and decide to do that thing. This exercise opens up your mind to the freedom and power in your mind. 

5. Intentionally change your mindset to ensure it aligns with who you are meant to be - your future and not who you are now. 

6. And lots more...listen to the full episode. 

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Working Remotely: 5 Key Things To Consider

1. Your employer (if you work for others) policy must support this or at least your employer/manager needs to approve it.

2. Your type of work needs to support working remotely e.g. you cannot be a car mechanic or a surgeon and dream of working from home. It just does not work.

3. Do you have appropriate hardware and software tools that support remote work? It goes without saying that at a minimum, you need a suitable laptop, reliable and hi-speed internet access, phone, comfortable desk, and chair in order to work remotely.

4. Self-discipline: Working remotely is largely a trust arrangement. For sure, some organizations try to track their employee's minute by minute work when remote - but it is counterproductive and needless. As an employee or contractor who works remotely, the normal perks of the lifestyle mean you have flexible working hours but you must be disciplined enough to get your deliverables out the door! If you are trusted then deliver on that trust! Having a schedule has worked for me a lot.

5. Your personality type: Are you the type that must-see or touch someone else in order to get into the work mood and stay productive? If this is an absolute must, then don't bother.

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Do you need a doctor's note in order to take sick leave?

Let's find out.

Before I answer that question, let's lay a few facts on the table.

1. Subject to applicable government labor/health laws, any organization can make any policy as it deems fit.

2. Provincial laws differ in their approach to this question or policy so you need to be familiar with yours.

3. You need to be familiar with your employment contract.

Any concerns with asking for a medical note for missed time from work or days when an employee calls in sick? Yes, I have a few:

1. It speaks of distrust. If you don't believe that your employee knows when he or she needs to take a rest and heal except a doctor confirms it, then you probably need to check your policy.

2. It costs money. Medical notes are not always free. Some can be free (only because the patient is not personally paying for it but somebody is) and some are charged. In addition, to get the note, an employee will need to drive or take public transport to the clinic. If the employee earns minimum wage, this becomes a big deal.

3. Some employees may choose to not go through the hassles of getting the medical note and rather continue to work. These folks pose more risk to the establishment by being infectious if the illness is such or by having workplace injuries. This becomes a bigger problem in the workplace.

4. It creates an avoidable burden on the healthcare system. When a sick and infected person who can heal by staying home stays in the waiting room in order to see a physician for a medical note, anyone else in the same waiting room with a weak immune system is put at greater risk of contracting another infection or getting worse. In addition, it takes a longer time for patients who really need to see a physician to access the life-saving service that they deserve.

5. It might take the sick employee a longer time to heal since the person likely spends healing time in the clinic instead of at home. This also directly impacts the organization.

What's the answer?

You SHOULD NOT need a medical note in order to take a sick leave subject to provincial and labor laws. Personally, my position is that unless your manager or HR is concerned with your pattern of absence (in which case I expect them to approach things differently), you need not be asked to provide a sick note. And if your organization has this archaic law, enforces it and doesn't see a reason to change it, you probably need to look for a different employer because there is no trust.

 

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“A Players are self-motivated, work for passion, and find purpose in the process itself.” - Rick Crossland

Who is an A-player?

My parents raised myself and siblings up focused on two cardinal points - character and competence. The character first - then competence. Those two things are the cardinal points for being successful in life and becoming responsible citizens in the community. For me, if you have those two, you are an A-player. You are a person of integrity (who you are when no one is looking), you have empathy and are great at what you do. You don't make excuses. You miss it, you own up and don't blame others for your own errors. They motivate and inspire others, are open-minded and would even go beyond the normal tenets of their jobs to ensure the team or organization gets the results it desires.

In his book, "The A-player", Rick Crossland defines an A-Player in six different ways:

1. An employee who is in the top 10 percent of their profession on an industry-wide basis for the salary paid.2. A person on your team whom you would enthusiastically rehire.3. The employees at an enterprise who drive all the profitability and growth.4. A person of high integrity who delivers on commitments.5. The employee every organization covets.6. The employee who fits your company culture and models your core values and behaviors.

So how should organizations treat them? Like demigods? No.  Appreciate them, reward them, praise them, pay them right, acknowledge them.

According to David Wayne Handley (a Facebook user having a common friend with me), "'A-Players' know their worth and are always working on themselves to improve. You must have enough discernment to reward and promote them before they ask for it. They would rather seek their desserts elsewhere, a risk, for certain, but they wouldn't be A-players if they didn't take risks. The moment you take their contribution for granted, they're gone." 

 

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A lot of truths have been communicated in the name of autocorrect and a lot more havoc will be wrecked because of the same but no matter what happens, you are responsible for what you say. ~ Dapo Bankole

Autocorrect is one of the modern-day automation functionalities meant to make our life easier and make us more efficient. However, we've all become victims of the very things we created to serve us. The bottom line; you are responsible for what you say via any medium - email, SMS, social media private chats, public posts, WhatsApp, etc. If it has your name on it or your account name on it, you said it. Therefore, spend time to check, recheck and double-check!

Enjoy this episode!

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Entrepreneurship is attractive. Everyone dreams of living in the Maldives while money just flows into our bank accountS without us doing nothing. Well, how real that thought is will be discussed another day. But at least we know a lot of us immigrants dream of having our own businesses. We dream of that day when we will finally be "FREE" - have no more care about nothing but our own business. And truth be told, we try. We play it safe and start a side hustle. Some jump off from the proverbial plane without a parachute and grow their wings coming down. Others like me get pushed out and are forced to swim or sink or crawl back into the familiar.

Regardless, we all start the adventure only to realize that becoming an entrepreneur is a journey, a process and the transition is even more painful in the mind than we ever thought. Moving from an employee to a self-employed person or even an employer is no joke. It requires a TON of work, acceptance that A LOT of things that don't work are a normal part of the journey. Worse still, our biggest battles as entrepreneurs are INTERNAL. War of the mind. An unending battle between the mental conditioning that we grew up with and what the life of an entrepreneur really entails. This is the real deal. If truth be told, the lives that we change and the money that we make through the products and services that we offer as entrepreneurs are not what makes us entrepreneurs. It is the daily journey itself that is our reward as entrepreneurs. The new us who emerges through the daily battles is our most valuable reward!

Jess Huffman and I have therefore partnered to bring to first-generation Canadians, the “Entrepreneurial Mindset Series” where we aim to help everyone (even if you are working for someone or an establishment) overcome the loneliness, fear, indecision, and self-doubt of the entrepreneurial journey thus easing the stress of striking out on your own as a business owner. It will be insightful, practical and fun!

Watch out for a new episode every Monday!

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I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there. ~ Richard P. Feynman

Can I tell my interviewer that I don't know the answer to a question? Yes, you can. And you should. Here's why.

You can find my reasoning and true-life stories in the full episode.

Episode duration: 21:35

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“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want something.”—Randy Pausch

It's okay to use flattery words to describe what you did, what you do or your achievements. It's also okay to sprinkle or embed keywords and keyword ideas that you lifted from the job description. That is expected and that is the standard if you want to gain entry to most Canadian establishments. Because certain roles have way more applicants than the number of available spots to be filled, employers now use what is called ATS - Applicant tracking system to filter out those whose resumes do not match.

So when do targeted resumes become a lie? When you are unable to demonstrate your ability to do what you indicated on your resume. Then you lied. If you didn't do it, it should not be on your resume. It's that simple but I know that when you are under pressure for a good-paying job, it can become complex. Regardless, stay on the side of the truth! Every time.

A little about ATS systems

Some people think the function of the ATS is to highlight the matching candidates. Yes, in theory. In reality, a significant part of its function is to weed out candidates who do not qualify. Once that is out of the way, the hiring manager and team now have a good opportunity to spend time looking through what is left of the lots. So it saves them time and makes the hiring team look good but not you...especially if the ATS gets on your case by filtering you out! Yes, this happens more time than you'll care to know! But that is just a test of your commitment to getting a job!

What do you need to do in order to beat ATS systems? I found the answers on a blog post by a company called Jobscan. Actually, you can use the company's software to optimize your resume for a specific job description. Head to https://www.jobscan.co/

Here are 9 ways to beat the ATS*.

Carefully tailor your resume to the job description every single time you apply.

Optimize for ATS search and ranking algorithms by matching your resume keywords to the job description

Use both the long-form and acronym version of keywords (e.g. “Master of Business Administration (MBA)” or “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”) for maximum searchability

Use a chronological or hybrid resume format (avoid the functional resume format)

Don’t use tables or columns as they often cause major parsing errors

Use a traditional resume font like Helvetica, Garamond, or Georgia

Don’t use headers or footers as the information might get lost or cause a parsing error

Use standard resume section headings like “Work Experience” rather than being cute or clever (“Where I’ve Been”)

Save your file as a .docx if possible

Source*: https://www.jobscan.co/blog/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-applicant-tracking-systems/

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