Attend a Career Fair Tuesday, October 22, 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Campbell River Community Centre, 401- 11th Avenue. Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with local employers looking for a great employee just like you! For more information see this week’s hot sheet.
Explore a multitude of industries with Human Resource representatives from health care, human services, finance, education, tourism, hospitality, recreation, construction, beauty, transportation and more at the Employment Expo Job Fair at the Florenece Filberg Centre in Courtenay, Friday, October 18, 12:00pm to 4:00pm. For a list of attending employers and more information see this week’s hot sheet.
Micro-Enterprise Your Talents
Self-employment may strike fear in some people, especially if you are a person with a disability, but it does not have to be that way. We all hear stories about entrepreneurs that work 24/7 and do everything in their business, but that is not for everyone. Hire yourself by turning what you enjoy doing and are good at, into a business to earn an income. A micro-enterprise gives you the flexibility to work around your personal and lifestyle requirements, develop skills, gain independence, and feel a sense of purpose.
The first step is to determine if a micro-enterprise is a good fit. Find out what situations you thrive in and what supports and skill sets you might need other people to provide. Make a list or ask people that know you really well, what they think you could do and how they can help you. If you uncover business ideas that you think might be a fit, it’s time to go into greater depth exploring them. If you are not going for a business loan, you might want to consider a lean start-up approach.
“Lean Start-Up’ is an approach that ‘favours experimentation’ over elaborate planning; customer feedback over intuition; and iterative design over traditional ‘big design up front’ development”’ (‘Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything’ by Steve Blank).
The Business Model Canvas is a great tool to evaluate your ideas and make a choice. Not sure what that is? Here is a 2-minute video explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s
If you are unemployed and need to work part-time, give us a call and perhaps our local WorkBC staff can help you work through this discovery process.
Resources:
Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP)
https://www.communityfutures.ca/edp
The Launching Pad: Exploring Micro-Enterprises for People with Developmental Disabilities (includes success stories)
https://employmentforall.ca/content/what/selfemployment/MicroenterpriseGuide.pdf
Self-Employment Program (SEP) for PPMB & PWD
Tell us about your business/organization and what makes you stand out as an employer?
We are a chartered professional accounting firm located in beautiful downtown Parksville, BC. We offer a full complement of personalized accounting and income tax services to individual and corporate clients. We place great emphasis on delivering an exceptional customer experience for each and every client. Since our inception in 1982, we have gradually grown our client base by hiring exemplary people with top skills and training, by keeping current on global and local changes that affect the way we do business, by actively listening to our clients, and by always going the extra mile. We are proud of our well-earned reputation in the community as a firm known for its exceptional calibre of work, professional integrity, and expertise.
Our team is a progressive group of accounting professionals who love our work. We support employees’ professional development, and believe in providing opportunities for growth within the company. We know that our staff is what makes our firm stand apart, and our work environment reflects the value we place on our people.
How many employees do you have?
We currently have 17 employees consisting of chartered professional accountants, accounting technicians, articling students and administrative staff.
What do you look for in a new employee?
We’re looking for an enthusiastic self-starter who is able to work independently or as part of a team, in a progressive, fast-paced environment. In addition, we look for the following skillsets at all levels of our staff:
What advice would you give someone who wants to work for your organization?
When considering an application for one of our positions, take the time to familiarize yourself with who we are and what we do first to ensure the type of work is well suited to you and your career aspirations. It is equally important to us the we are the right fit for our employees as it is for them to be the right fit for us.
Do you anticipate hiring in the next 6 months? If so for what types of positions?
Yes, we are currently looking for candidates for an accounting technician and accounting student position and intend to hire as soon as possible when the right candidate comes along.
What is the best way for someone to apply if they are interested in working for your organization?
Applications can be sent to me, Leanne Souchuck, by email Leanne@mcgormanmaclean.com or applicants can fax their resume and cover letter to 250-248-4504 to my attention.
