Youth and Business

Stop Searching for a Career!

The word “Career” is not new to you nor new to me! You see the word “Career” just about everywhere in the workforce and on postsecondary school websites. You might think that only professional people have “Careers.” You might think that “Careers” involve deciding what to do for the rest of your life. The truth of the matter is that your search for a “Career” is over. You already have a Career, and it's about time that we dispel old myths about this important term and set the record straight, once and for all!!

The term Career is a continuous process of lifelong learning, growth and development in all aspects of YOUR life, whether it's paid and unpaid work, learning, and the range of roles we undertake throughout our life NOT just in work but also with family, in recreation and more! Career involves the balance of work experiences, community involvement, interests, hobbies, training, education and more, so much more.

The term Career is a life management concept encompassing a full range of YOUR life experiences. Therefore, each and every one of us already has a Career, a life filled with endless opportunities in work and outside work. And as you add life experiences to your backpack of life, YOU are literally building YOUR CAREER PATH!! YOUR LIFE PATH!!

Now, go online and check out my very good friend, Sean Aiken’s “One Week Job Project.”

The Importance of Hiring The Importance of Hiring Juniors and Interns Juniors and Interns

Halle Andrews

Why You Should Hire a Junior or Intern

In the growing technology industry, hiring young people is important in order to create a productive and efficient workplace environment. Although some companies believe they are high risk, hiring these new members can give back to the community. For some companies, juniors and interns are the most integral and fundamental part of an organization. Not only do internships provide job experience for new developers, but they can also add significant value to a growing company or business by sharing new ideas and advice. Companies with an extensive internship program can help educate younger employees while also growing as a team. In doing so, the junior or intern can help both the company and other employees. A thriving business is likely to have had its fair share of people they have taken under their wing. Without hiring these individuals, we would not be able to discover the potential future leaders of tomorrow.

What They Can Offer

Most juniors are fresh out of boot camps or university and are prepared to start their careers and put their newly developed skills to the test. The majority are open to learning the new programs or procedures of a new company and have the flexibility of an open schedule that many more experienced workers do not have. A new member joining your company can fit into many different roles that you may see fit. They do not have to commit to one assignment

at a time, but rather a multitude of varying jobs you need extra help to tackle. Juniors and interns are resourceful and can offer unique perspectives that differ from those who have been in the industry for years and are not as familiar with newer programs. If they happen to share their creativity and knowledge with others, it can provide an improved feel to an already developed company. Changing the atmosphere through their work also aids other employees in further developing their work ethic and productivity. Through these additions, juniors gain work experience and sky-rocket innovation by contributing with a new perspective. Simply including an intern in a brainstorming session can change how a company functions and approaches challenging problems. Notably, they are part of a community and add to the culture and diversity. Younger members can enhance the team as a whole.

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How They Benefit Others

Juniors have the opportunity to give just as much as they receive. In addition to offering new ideas, advice, and perspectives, they also have the capability to be creative and come up with new projects. Similarly, juniors and interns have developed time management skills and lessen workloads for other employees. Straightforward tasks can be assigned to interns so their colleagues have the freedom to put their energy into more complicated tasks. When an intern takes on some assignments, there is time for other projects to begin. If different members can work on more demanding projects, the junior then has their own space to learn while also completing tasks. By providing extra pairs of hands, the company a junior or intern works for can grow and become that much stronger.

Training a Junior or Intern

In the first few months, juniors and interns require plenty of training. When hiring and coaching these members, seniors are able to gain quality mentorship experience that helps them grow as developers. Having this involvement can be extremely useful because training a new member allows you to shape them into the person that will best fit your company. By teaching them what it takes to work at your company, they can understand what a mentor relationship can look like in real life. Having the chance to mentor a younger colleague helps establish better patience and resilience when working with others. Strong communication between colleagues encourages a healthy work culture and strengthens the bond between the junior and other employees. If senior developers have the opportunity to train juniors, they can discover new things about themselves and how they solve problems in the process. Motivating current employees can increase their leadership and adaptability skills, making them much more effective developers. Being able to successfully train a junior staff member can make them an ideal and wellversed senior staff member in the future.

How They Can Help Grow Your Business

Increasing the productivity of your company benefits everyone. When hiring juniors or interns, internships can heavily contribute to the growth of a business and how they are advertised to and perceived by others. Without internships, a company may be exhausted with too much work and responsibility. Being overwhelmed at a job may lead to a substantial decrease in the quality of projects if members are rushing to complete assignments. A team that takes on too many projects cannot be efficient. Hiring a junior or intern can reduce the number of tasks per person so other members can ensure their work is completed to the best of their ability since they no longer need to rush their projects. The more people you can hire, the more evenly the tasks can be divided. Knowing when your company needs some assistance shows you can be a practical and valuable leader.

Technology Use in the Workplace

Juniors and interns are highly skilled with technology. They are constantly connected and aware of what’s happening in the world today. Look no further than your junior or intern to determine changing trends. Young professionals are not held back by basic technology since they can pick up new techniques without much difficulty or struggle. Juniors and interns will be able to attract a younger and more technologyfriendly consumer base if that’s what your company is in the market for. With the current rise of social media through applications

such as Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn, interns can apply their skills to increase engagement and bring their creative ideas to the table. When hiring junior developers, less time is required to train them on specific programs a company may use. If a junior or intern has more free time, they will be ready to start getting things done and making progress.

How to Get Started

Hiring juniors and interns can be a rewarding process for the companies they work for. Having them on your team allows a company or business to gain more support and invest in its future. By creating a sustainable and profitable internship program the entire company gains perks - not just the people you hire. In order to find valuable employees who want to become a junior or intern, post job opportunities on a variety of platforms that work for you such as Indeed or LinkedIn. This way you can find a target audience and find exactly what you have been searching for. Plan your internship program along with some main goals and ideas beforehand. Further define what the position means to you and your company.

Juniors and interns help the team and provide contemporary talent for your business simultaneously. They are tech-savvy and will always be there to lend a helping hand for whatever you may require. A fresh and eager mindset could be just what your company needs. How could a junior or intern not benefit your company?

WITH CAREERS, EVERYONE WINS

As an educator, you carry a lot of responsibility.

Not only are you expected to teach today’s youth, you Not only are you expected to teach today’s youth, you also have a huge impact on their future choices and who also have a huge impact on their future choices and who they will become. CAREERS: The Next Generation offers they will become. CAREERS: The Next Generation offers support to help you do it all and do it well! We’re a nonprofi t organization that’s been working with schools since 1997 to enhance career exploration for students and facilitate paid internships. Off-campus education has countless advantages for students and schools. CAREERS simply supports you in maximizing the benefi ts – a free resource available to all Alberta educators.

WHAT WE OFFER

Presentations | Our team members are well trained to provide both in-person or virtual presentations that are tailored to your class and lesson plan. This includes information about different industries, occupations, and trends. Hands-on experience | We are well connected to industry. We match students to the right employers to create a positive, hands-on learning experience that benefi ts everyone. Internships can be done part-time during the school year or full-time over the summer. No off-campus coverage for summer? No problem! We have options to make every situation fi t.

Learn more! careersnextgen.ca

Telling It Like It is www.PeerGuidance.ca

This Issue of Telling It Like It is Features Advice to Young from the Community

Brigitte Legault – Community Manager Rainforest Alberta

I followed my heart and quit college to follow my heart and random interests! Haha! Then I spent my adult years in and out of university because I couldn’t get enough learning. I wish I had specialized in something sooner than I had. So, I guess the more palatable version of this advice would be, “Be open to ongoing learning. According to a Deloitte study, I read last year, and the ability to learn is the most sought-after skill post-pandemic (according to a Deloitte study I read last year). Learning doesn’t stop after high school or university. It’s a skill you have to keep honing throughout your life!”

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xViCf6wufUE&t=1s

Clifford Wessel Founder CTTCoach.com

For a young person to optimize their career choice, they need to identify four factors: interests, strengths, skills, and “what the market is willing to bear.” Interest is what motivates us and puts a smile on our faces. Strengths are the things we can naturally do better than most. Skills we learn at school and/or on the job. Finally, a young person must research the “marketplace,” and what it will pay for so they can finance their desired lifestyle. Our educational institutions and culture, in general, operate as if we were still living in the 1950s. For example, thinking in terms of “picking a/one career” isn’t helpful. It’s much better to develop a “career strategy.” To do this and seize the emerging opportunities of the future, young people need to find the sweet spot between the four factors mentioned above. I recommend completing a thorough Birkman assessment and working with a Career Coach to develop an overall strategy that serves the individual needs of the young person over time and being resilient in the face of the many changes to come.

Margo Purcell – CEO InceptionU Making career decisions can be both exciting and daunting at the same time. There is so much being said about tech and the digital economy, how do you figure out what your place in the future can be? For some of you, software development and programming

may be the pathway to take. If you find that you like solving complex problems, working in a team, seeing the whole and then diving into the parts and details to build a solution, then this could be the pathway for you. AND, software development is not the only pathway into tech. Who do you enjoy engaging with? What types of activities light you up? Do you like telling stories and communicating in a wide variety of ways such as verbally, visually or written? Tech marketing, customer success and product design are all roles that need talented individuals with a passion for tech where any digital skills you build allow you to contribute and bring value to the company.

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=YQTFRdJCvyY&t=15s

Dan Olesen – Senior Program Coordinator at Careers

It is time that employers, teachers, parents and students stop the rhetoric of starting your career “from the bottom.” It implies that those in entry level positions are in a hole that they must climb or scratch out of to earn any self-respect. We can change the message and instead we can emphasize the importance of learning the culture of work, to develop key employability or soft skills in tandem of the technical skill development. Entry level roles help one evaluate career decisions and choices with those working professionals in the sector they are most interested in. Ultimately, it is the value and willingness to start… from the “BEGINNING!”

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=a5dTQivUncU Melissa Cao – Joy To Job

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” For as long as I can remember, I never had an answer. The personality quizzes were lacklustre; the career websites were overwhelming. I struggled to find a career that I was passionate about and felt pressured by this uncertainty - I was going into my graduation year and running out of time to decide. However, Joy to Job lightened that pressure by giving me a peek into careers from the perspective of passionate professionals. Joy to Job hosts webinars for students to ask and learn directly from professionals in career fields they are interested in. I found these webinars welcoming and genuine, made even more so by their student-led structure. After hearing various professionals fervently speak about their careers, I gained the confidence and motivation to pursue those areas. I was able to get a look into their career and journey from a realistic perspective - including the failures, moments of uncertainty, and lessons. In the 2021 Computer Science webinar, I vividly remember a panellist sharing his work in coding. He spoke with sparkling eyes, but also emphasized his burnouts. Furthermore, I realize that there isn’t a right or wrong decision. The unique experiences of each panellist have all carried a common theme - trust your passion and let your passion work. Although I am still not 100% certain about the career I chose, I am eager and determined to start my journey of self-discovery. I have Joy to Job to thank for this.

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=yQc0RoeT4nE&t=11s

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Youth Running a Business - What That Looks Like.

I’m Sophia Fairweather.

13 years old, a sister, daughter, student and business owner.

Ever since I can remember, I have had an interest in business. But as a young person who wants to get involved in business, learn about business, and run my own business…let me tell you I have faced multiple barriers. Here are a few things I hear on an ongoing basis. 1. “Just be a kid” 2. “You sound to rehearsed”

3. “Is this what you really want to be spending your time on?” Barriers I face:

1. I am not old enough to qualify for most internship grants. 2. I am too young to be considered for any job positions. 3. There are no grants, funding, coaching, or opportunities for young people my age who want to explore business and or run their own businesses.

Question to consider: “Why is a young person in business different from a young person in sports or music?”

Here is a look into how I spend my time: what I have been up to as a blossoming 13 year old business owner!

Recently I have been working on an organization called Key-Angels, where we are leveling the playing field for unappreciated youth in housing. I did this because of my own experience with housing and buying a property that was a 4 plex, which I got support from my Grampy on. Because in the Fairweather family we have always seen the importance of a home, and Financial Literacy. So passing on his knowledge he helped with the application, and allowed me to use his credit score and qualifying room, while I gave the down payment. The reason we went for a 4 unit, was because it is a good investment, while being a home. Because I can live in one unit, and then from renting the other units get 3,000$, and after expenses then 700$. This process of involving another person to allow me to have a home, and have access to stability and security from it. Inspired me to want to help others have this security, and not be stuck in survival mode which is very stressful. Stress I want to help ease, so right now we are helping the people that don’t have a Grampy to help them. Get into there Own First Home.

So we are connecting single parent and zero parent family youth to a donor with qualifying room. Then getting them to pool their resources into a home joined, and then the youth pays off the mortgage with help from the home until it can go under their name completely. An idea and cause which has helped 6 already, and admirable. But I have experienced while getting Key-Angels up and running that people push it aside or ignore it, because I am a youth. Because apparently youth are unorganized, and also I am not doing this from my own free will. Even though this is something I had my own experience in, and it’s a cause that I can go somewhere with and grow from. But because people look at my age then my merit, people are hesitant. Also when it comes to funding like grants or scholarships, they are often solely for High school students, and older. So me being now 13 and in Grade 8, I still can’t reach the resources I thought I could have by now. By all means don’t let everyone in, and you can be picky. But if my achievement or resume is better or as good as a High Schoolers don’t you think it should be looked at? If you’re trying to help youth… help youth. So to all the people out there saything “Just be a kid.” I am. In the process I am helping future me have less stress and still have fun, and I am helping others have fun and “ be a kid.”

“You sound to rehearsed” I want to make sure I am clear when I speak, so you understand that I did this, and I am not an unorganized youth. “Is this what you really want to be spending your time on?” Wouldn’t you want to help others, while sharing and spending time with your family, and making friends? Like other extracurriculars that expand your opportunities and future.

This is something I am building , and I want to start now. And Key-Angels is the way I found to do it, I am going to continuing to build it. So far since last summer I have been able to:

• Talked with Servus Credit Union about how they could connect Key-Angels to people with qualifying room that would be high enough.

Because they have the data. Sadly they have a problem with liability when they recommend it. But we are looking for ways they can fund this, and be helpful. Which my connection there has been and continues to be!

• I am talking with government MLA’s, MP’s,

and City Councillors of my area to see what organizations they know helping 18-25 people we can get into housing. Also what grant and other payment methods are around, to use as a downpayment. • Probably one of the best is I reached out to

Kardia Communities which is a company that does the same process for housing. Key-Angles simply targets 4,5,6 unit houses not duplexes, and 18-25 youth. • I had a meeting with Kardia Communities

Founder and Head of Marketing to see how I can join, work alongside them, and learn what

I can. A meeting with others is currently being scheduled!

• Lastly a lot of research, learning, and fund-

raising. One thing is I have been looking into the Alberta Job Grants program so that joining

Kardia is easy, and also how Key-Angles can grow. Also joining and talking with people on how to gain money, and making a budget. What’s Possible is a youth in business with support, and positivity\fun\experience coming from it. If I think I want to build or dive into something why not support it, why do people understand this in the Entertainment industry and not in much else. I understand you want me to be a kid, but I also am stretching and coming out of that age, and getting ready for independence and my future. If you want to support youth and the future. Support me.

Key-Angels

Empowering and Educating the underprivileged to achieve stability through investing in a home FIND OUT HOW…..

https://key-angels.com/ Key-Angels is a process that I am growing that helps youth in single parent families or without guardians buy their first home. Our goal - Help solve the housing crisis, and get them out of survival mode. Then support them achieve: Stability, growth beyond basics, and have the opportunity to access a home!! Key-Angels.com

RE/MAX IREALTY INNOVATIONS// Deloris Walker Helping you find the perfect community.

518 9 Ave SE Calgary T2G 0S1 phone: 403.815.0429 email: dwalker1@remax.net Call today and let us find your dream home in the perfect community.

Making Mortgages Easy for First Time Home Buyers

Meet the Founder:

My name is Alex Wilkinson. For as long as I can remember, I was very different from others. Inefficiencies in processes are often very obvious to me, and I have a weird drive to improve everything that can be improved. I have tons of lists for product ideas and improvements that I'm meaning to get around to someday. That pretty much all there is to me. It looks like a complex behaviour, but really I'm like a bee simply travelling from flower to flower - the difference is I then attempt to fix the flower - and hopefully for a tidy profit. I was doing startup stuff before I even knew that's what it was called. Luckily, over time, I have had some successes.

Meet Houski

Houski is the fastest and easiest way for Canadians to buy their first homes. In a literal sense, Houski is building the first and only fully automated mortgage brokerage. Houski was created January 1st, 2021, by co-founders Alex Wilkinson (CEO) and Warren Wilkinson (CTO).

Q & A with Alex

Why did you start houski?

I created Houski because the way Canadians get mortgages is one of the most painful, widespread processes remaining. I became a licensed mortgage professional 7 years ago with the sole goal of fixing the process. Houski enables homebuyers to buy a house in minutes, rather than weeks. It gets your documents for you, it advises you on the fly, it gets you an excellent deal every time - it's the process I want to exist to do my own mortgage stuff. Right now Houski is mainly geared towards people buying their first homes, but we'll expand that out to refinances over time. We're also trying to make Houski much more friendly and approachable. For some reason financial transactions are treated with an aura of seriousness that makes them even more stressful. We want to create a friendly

I am an award winning audio engineer.

I am a jack of all trades, my skill set includes everything from mortgages to robotics.

Everything in Houski and all related materials so far are built by either my brother or myself. All design, all marketing, everything!

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environment where it's ok to ask any question you want, and that you're not expected to know everything. We don't really want our customers spending months researching mortgages just trying to ensure they get a good deal. We want people to trust Houski to do all of that for them, so they can spend more time living their lives, and less time worrying about their mortgage.

Why is Houski the better choice over the standard bank/mortgage broker -

Houski is better for the same reason Ford's assembly line is better. By creating an opinionated process, we can ensure things go smoothly and get done quickly. Currently the process of getting a mortgage is different between virtually every broker in Canada. At Houski, every homebuyer gets the same high quality experience. Our automation and AI technology also allows us to reduce costs significantly, and many of those costs can be passed onto the homebuyer, to keep money in their pocket.

What has been your biggest challenge so far as a start up?

The biggest challenge as a startup like ours is making technology in an antiquated industry that is still understandable and accessible. It's easy to make something amazing, but people won't use it because it's just too much of a change from what they're used to. Too alien. You need to always be considering the principle of MAYA, which stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable, as coined by Raymond Loewy.

Another challenge is simply creating an actual mortgage brokerage at the same time. Starting a mortgage brokerage is tough by itself, in terms of getting initial clients, and creating word of mouth to continually attract clients - imagine doing that and building a startup at the same time. It'll keep you busy