Applying to college or university is a chance to get out of your hometown and experience a new environment. It’s a scary leap from the safety of your home to a dorm room, but it’s worth it! When I applied to university, I refused to apply to any schools in my province because I didn’t want to make the ‘easy’ choice and stay in my comfort zone. It was the best decision I ever made for myself. Check out our top Five Canadian cities to attend post secondary.

Toronto:

If you’re not from Toronto, then you’ve probably heard that the people are snobs, that you’re going to get mugged or murdered and that you can’t afford to live there. It’s nonsense, Toronto is a fantastic place to live and go to school.

For post secondary you have the University of Toronto, Ryerson, York, Centennial College, George Brown College and many more!

But as a city, Toronto ROCKS! There is always a concert, a sporting event, a free art show, or a new bar to check out The variety of neighbourhoods means that the city can be anything you want it to be: Yorkville is fancy, Queen St. is trendy, The Beaches are quirky and China Town is swarming with adventure!

Montreal:

Montreal is absolutely gorgeous! Granted, I’ve only been to Montreal in the summer, but what a fantastic city! The people and buildings are charming and the food is amazing. McGill University has to be one of most beautiful campuses in Canada. Seriously, it’s like a castle. Montreal also boasts Concordia University and Vanier College among others.

Vancouver:

Vancouver is really interesting because it seems to have these absolutely clashing ideals and cultures…and it works. I remember walking downtown and coming across a continually changing stream of diverse people. As one of the warmest cities in Canada, full of lush greenery, it’s no wonder so many people are out and about at any given time. On one side you have the option of traveling to the mountains for hiking or skiing while on the other side you have the ocean with whale watching and beaches.

The environment coupled with prestigious post secondary institutions like the University of British Columbia and the Emily Carr University of Art + Design means you’ll be inspired and challenged.

Calgary:

Calgary is clean, clear and crisp. A cool fact about Calgary is that it gets a Chinook during the winter where the temperature rises above ten and you can bask in sunlight and warmth for a day!

The city spans a massive area (larger than Toronto but with a third of the people) and is mapped out like a grid. Whether you’re shopping downtown, or hanging out in the trendy Kensington area (with teashops galore!) you are sure to find your scene.

With the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and many colleges, Calgary is a great city to learn and play in.

Oh, and you get to wake up every morning, step outside and take in the mountains in the distance.

Halifax

Founded as a British Military Outpost, Halifax maintains a certain old world charm, though it is definitely a modern city. There are harbors and waterfront walks with charming restaurants and neat little shops specifically catering to tourists. There is also a growing indie music scene, with many of Canada’s upcoming bands coming from the area.

Besides the beautiful scenery, charming seaside and cool music scene, Halifax boasts two of Canada’s best Universities Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s University as well as many good colleges.

Sometimes you just need a day off from school. Whether you need a day to catch up on your schoolwork or just to relax, it’s common and it’s not the worst thing in the world. A day off once or twice a year is fine, a day off once or twice a week is not.

As a disclaimer, you should know that I was somewhat of an overachiever in high school. I took advanced classes, played on sports teams, acted in school plays etc. etc.  The fact that I had established a reputation as a ‘good kid’ was a huge factor in my decision process to skip and the consequences I faced. If you can’t justify a day off (ie. you don’t care about school and don’t want to go) then you probably don’t deserve one.

The following are our top five ways that people avoid school, and how my personal experiences with them have mostly been disasters…

5 The ‘Sick Day’

I’ve included the ‘Sick Day’ in the top five simply because it is the most common way to avoid school. We’ve ALL done it, either by making up an illness or exaggerating a real one. Your parents probably did too.

Maybe it’s just me, but faking sick has always been somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’ve complained that my stomach has been upset, and had a full-fledged flu by the end of the day, a slight cold has turned into a major sinus infection and I’ve either had to go to school legitimately sick or risk falling behind.

4 Being legitimately sick

Your friends may be jealous that you’re taking a few days off to get your wisdom teeth out, but they really shouldn’t be. I have not had my wisdom teeth out, but I’ve heard horror stories from friends who have:

One friend had hers out and was so hopped up on pain meds she couldn’t feel a thing. This was all good until she was at a restaurant with her father and started sipping on some orange juice. She couldn’t understand why people were looking at her in horror until her father sighed and said ‘honey, look down.’ Because she couldn’t feel her lips, she couldn’t control the leakage of orange juice and blood drooling out of her mouth onto the table.

Wishing you weren’t sick is worse than wishing you weren’t in school.

3 ‘Playing Hooky’

This is the worst way to avoid school, and I have done it a few times. One time in grade 12 turned out to be a fantastic afternoon that I don’t regret (Ferris Beuller’s day off anyone?), the other was a complete disaster.

I was the grade nine valedictorian (cool, I know) and before graduation all grade nine students were allowed to go on one of three field trips. I chose to go to the movies at the mall, and immediately ditched the movie / lunch to go shopping.

My less sly friends ditched as well, and their absence was noticed. What ensued was a massive search / lock down to find the ‘abducted’ students. Later, as they sat in the principal’s office, about to be punished, I knew they were going to take me down with them (it was my idea after all) so I had to turn myself in before they got the chance to throw me under the bus.

Luckily my reputation was golden and I got off with a warning AND a ‘thank you’ for my honesty. The girls? They got banned from their graduation ceremony.

2.  Scheduling Conflict:

This one takes prep work. You have to make up a fake appointment and then get your classmates to inform your teacher that you are absent because of the appointment. There are three ways that this can go wrong:

a. If anyone one who knows is not on board they can rat you out.

b. If your ‘appointment’ is for something serious it could cause your teachers to have concern for your well-being, thus extending the lie throughout the school year.

c. You could ask someone like me to cover for you and have them decide to have a little fun by telling the teacher that you are absent because you  ‘Were worried about hair loss and tried to glue in your Golden Retriever’s hair for extensions, freaked out, shaved your head and are currently either at a wig fitting or a meeting with the Humane Society.’ Yes, I’ve done it…and it was hilarious! Besides, my friend got over my betrayal pretty quickly.

1.  The ‘Mental Health Day’

The first time I heard this was when my friend in high school informed me that he would not be at school the next day because he was taking a ‘Mental Health Day.’

To my obviously stupefied look, he explained that a ‘Mental Health Day’ is a day where you can relax at home and catch up on your schoolwork on your own time. He was a high achiever in school and seemed quite disciplined and ‘by-the-books’ so I was surprised he would a) try to pull it off and b) actually pull it off.

I told my parents I needed a Mental Health Day, and it worked!

The conclusion:

Be honest. I was always a high achiever in advanced classes and my parents were proud of me for always challenging myself. When I was honest and said, ‘listen guys, I need a break, I’m too stressed/behind.’ They understood. I was able to leverage my academic success and hard work ethic along with my parents being pretty cool to get myself a day off.  What it came down to was a mutual respect between us.

After my failed attempts at hooky I learned to be open and honest. My parents respected my honesty, and rewarded me accordingly. If you’re going to skip, think twice about lying and scheming to do so. Believe it or not, your parents are your biggest supporters. Let them know what you need and they’ll likely follow through if you deserve it.

Just like with laundry, some high school grads haven’t learned about the joy of cleaning.

Okay, so most people hate cleaning. I, on the other hand, love it!

For me, cleaning is a form of stress relief. During exam time my room was always spotless. The reason being, a clean and organized environment calms me. If there is dirt and clutter everywhere, I have trouble focusing on what needs to be done.

Cleaning comes down to two areas: dirt and organization.

Dirt:

Dirt is the obvious part of cleaning. Clean it.

Cleaning is easy if you have a routine. If you’re like me (crazy) you clean every day when you get home. Now, to be fair, it’s not like I’m cleaning the house from top to bottom. By cleaning any mess I make every day, it really takes only a few minutes to tidy up each day and I never have to spend an hour or so during the week to do a huge clean up (just because I don’t have to, doesn’t mean I don’t do it by choice!).

A healthy (not crazy) routine is of course to clean your house once a week.

Dust/wipe all of your surfaces, vacuum the carpets, sweep the floor, Windex the windows and mirrors and make sure your dishes are all clean and put away. It’s that simple.

You don’t need a ton of supplies either:

-Vacuum

- Broom with dustpan

- Mop and bucket

- Cloth

- Windex

-Surface cleaning spray (Lysol) / cleaning solution

-Dishwasher / dish soap, sponge and drying rack

-The Mr. Clean magic eraser works great in bathrooms!

Forget the rest of the fancy powders, scrubs and potions, clean is clean and the newest ‘super elixir’ can’t get your floor any cleaner. If you’re on good terms with your roommates you might want to create a cleaning schedule to divide up the tasks.

*Note: Create it together, not like the comment on this post…it will not go over well if the schedule appears without everyone’s input.

Organization:

There are some people (i.e. my college roommate) who, every time they start cleaning their room, seem to feel like it gets messier as they move their clutter from one place to another while ‘cleaning’. This is simply because they are unorganized. Each object in your house needs a specific space to belong. If you don’t have a specific space, the object floats around, collecting more lost objects, until your floor is cleaned off and your bed disappears under a pile of junk that you have set aside as you cleaned to deal with once you’ve finished.

If you read my tax post you have some idea what to do with that junk. TOSS IT!

The truth is, disorganization might not be dirty, but it is messy.

You can’t see the dirt if your stuff is covering it up. Alternately, you can’t see how clean your house is if your stuff is all over those wiped surfaces, vacuumed carpets and swept floors.

I have no idea where I got my ‘clean gene’ from, it certainly wasn’t inherited.

When we were younger my brother had a sign on his bedroom door that read:

‘The floor is the biggest shelf in the room.”

For years I couldn’t tell you what colour his carpet was.

Thankfully, we never shared a room.

Some people just don’t get how to do laundry.

Usually those people don’t know how to do laundry because they’ve had someone to do it for them.

It’s actually not that hard!

The Process:

Start by separating your clothes into lights and darks.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I NEVER separate my lights and darks. Every season when I switch out my clothes I say to myself “This is the season you grow up and take the time to take proper care of your clothing.”

Then I shrug my shoulders and just put everything into the washing machine.

Separating your lights and darks helps keep your lights from losing their crispness, or so I hear.

To freshen up your whites, run a hot wash with equal parts (one cap full) bleach  and detergent. Make sure to add the bleach to the water and allow it to mix in BEFORE you add your clothing. This will ensure that you don’t have bleach spots all over your favourite shirt.

Remember, bleach is strong stuff so don’t use too much. One time I had a stain and let my shirt soak in a bowl of bleach over night. When I went to take it out, all of the threading had eroded and the shirt fell apart.

If you don’t separate your colours, make sure you wash on a cold setting. I usually make it a ‘light’ rather than a ‘heavy’ wash because I think it has less wear on the clothes and they still come out just as clean.

A ‘hot’ or ‘warm’ setting will fade your colours (and could transfer the darker colours onto your light clothes.

The time to use a ‘hot’ wash cycle is when washing your bedding. Think about the amount of time you spend in your bed. You probably spend more time in your bed than you do in your clothes and you wash it less frequently (kind of gross). Wash on ‘hot’ to make sure it’s completely clean.

The frequency:

How often you wash your clothes is really up to your own personal taste.

If you are a neat freak like myself, you may wash your clothes after every wear. The pros of this are that you will have clean clothes. The cons are that your clothes will wear down faster and you are not treating the environment very well (washing uses water and energy).

If you are a dirtbag, you probably just do a ‘smell test’ and wash when needed. I’m kidding! You’re not a dirtbag… probably. The truth is that not washing your jeans for a long period of time isn’t actually that dirty. A kid from the University of Alberta wore his jeans for 15 months and found that there were no more bacteria on the jeans than he’d found after 2 weeks. Also, the bacteria found were harmless to human health.

See? It only SEEMS dirty!

That being said, the dude admitted to storing them in the freezer to keep them from smelling.

I suggest washing more frequently.

Dorm Etiquette

If you move into a dorm, you face a bigger challenge than cleaning your clothes…you face the challenge of other people cleaning their clothes.

Looking back on my first year I can think of many times when I was furious over someone else’s washing habits.

Some students would leave their clothes in the wash for days!

This is not okay and it backs up everyone else’s laundry time… very selfish so don’t do it!

That being said, people should be allowed a few hours to do their laundry.

A lot of times I would find notes left on machines from an angry student who’s laundry had been removed from the machines while they were gone. It feels like a complete violation of privacy when a stranger manhandles your unmentionables.

If you’re moving to a new place or residence, try to get a place with either lots of machines, or your own. I swear someone must have washed their cat for all the hair I found in a machine once… gross.

It makes you wonder how clean your clothes are getting after all.

Other Laundry Tips:

Make sure to wash new clothes that are brightly coloured only with darker coloured clothes. New items are far more likely to bleed and you don’t want to ruin your other stuff in the machine.

Wash jeans (especially dark denim) inside out. This will help the colour fade less in each wash.

Invest in a detergent for darker clothes – though it might be a little extra money it will help keep your black stuff looking black rather than grey.

Pay attention to instructions! I usually ignore those “dry clean only” labels but they’re there for a reason! I’ve ruined many a sweater and shortened the lifespan of many clothes because I just say “to hell with it!” and throw everything in the machine. If you invest in nice clothes, take care of them. They’ll look better and last longer.

Elastic is heat sensitive so if you have spandex or lycra in your clothes (yoga pants for instance) avoid at all costs putting them in the drier. Extreme heat will vastly weaken the strength of the fabric and they’ll get holes or threadbare much faster if you do anything other than hang dry them.

Invest in a drying rack! University laundry machines are often coin operated or cost money. If you always hang your clothes to dry, you’ll save a bundle. My university drier cost two dollars a load. Let’s say I did laundry every week over the course of four years – that would have cost me over four hundred dollars for something that you can get done for FREE! Save your dollars for books and beers not lame-o laundry.

The study noted:

“Child psychologist Shane Gallagher of Cambridgeshire Educational Psychology Service in the U.K. surveyed 239 teens (128 boys and 101 girls) aged 11 to 16 and their parents. The teens were asked about their experiences with bullying online.”

“The results showed a strong positive correlation between being cyberbullied and cyberbullying; those teens who said they had been victimized were more likely to say they’d been perpetrators as well.”

I find this interesting, but not surprising.

Sure some people have probably read this and thought it would be peculiar that someone who had undergone a negative experience would later project that same experience on another, but let’s face it; sometimes the easiest way to divert negative attention is to pass it along to someone else.

It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. I remember, between grades seven and nine, when the most popular people were also the meanest. I’m ashamed to say that I fell prey to this same cycle of putting others down as a tactic to keep the attention off of me.

But things change.

I changed quite quickly when I realized that my own bullying stemmed from insecurities. It’s so easy to tear someone down and so difficult to apologize to that person for it when you realize how bad your behavior was.

I was glad that I got out of this negative habit early when the high school mentality shifted and suddenly it wasn’t cool to be mean anymore.

It’s good to remember that anything put online has the potential to stay there forever – and that ugly behavior can follow you. So take this study as a reminder that bullying is cyclical and should be avoided in any form.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s always great to see a teacher with a sense of humour!

It turns out someone out there still thinks Vin Diesel is cool? I must have missed the memo, but apparently the supersized mini-me/ Mr. Clean wannabe is still considered cool enough to be racing cars, blowing things up and spewing lame lines as if he’s reading them off the back of his hand.

Oh wait, this isn’t a new movie, it’s the fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise: Fast Five.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vinny isn’t the only one along for the ride, Paul Walker is back as Brian O’Conner along with many of the franchise’s past characters like Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar.

And because Vinny just isn’t enough meathead for one movie you better believe that Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is back too! I figured The Rock’s career was over after his last masterpiece “Tooth Fairy” but I was wrong. I smell what The Rock is cooking, and it smells like wasted time…and cabbage.

If your reading this far, you have probably noticed that I haven’t explained the plot. That’s because I don’t need to tell you that the crew can’t decide if they’re good guys who do bad things or bad guys who do good things – all they know is that they’ve got the need for speed!

It’s the theme of every movie in the bunch.

Seriously though, the gas junkies are in Brazil this time around, running as fugitives (colour me shocked). When a job goes haywire they realize that battling against a corrupt businessman could buy their freedom. Somewhere along the line The Rock gets involved.

Fast Five takes place before Tokyo drift (a good way to suddenly have the original characters again) but I was pretty sure this franchise ran out of gas on the second film.

If you want the skinny on Vinny, click here!

Let me tell you about my tax mistakes so that you can learn from them:

My first year doing taxes was a disaster. I was going to university in Ontario, and from Alberta. I thus had my Alberta tax booklet sent to me by my family and also received an Ontario tax booklet.
As a student I figured I didn’t make a lot of money and thus taxes would be easy!
Now, being a non-hoarder, I had thrown out any and all receipts (including my T4 from a summer job) and thus was faced with a million boxes, no data and no concept of what I was doing.
This is the point where I should have gotten help. I did not.

First lesson learned, keep your receipts and financial documents. You can even claim transit expenses!

Instead I estimated numbers (which I tried to manipulate to give me a higher return).

Manipulating your numbers is apparently (definitely) illegal.

Also, I accidentally separated all of my pages from both booklets and had to lay them on the living room floor to organize a ‘Tax Puzzle.”

Only use one booklet, the Canadian government does not appreciate it if you mix provincial taxes.

The Canadian government also doesn’t appreciate when, if you don’t have the information needed, you include letters indicating that your calculations are probably right base on your estimates.

Speaking of calculations,

The Canadian government doesn’t appreciate it when you do calculations incorrectly (i.e. bad math, rounding and ignoring the complicated sections).

After I had completed the puzzle, I neatly stacked the two booklets worth of pages, my letters and then threw in some shopping and grocery receipts (scrounged from the bottom of recent shopping bags in the recycling bin) for good measure. I then crammed it into an envelope and mailed it off. This took me six hours.

A long while later I did not receive the thousands of dollars I was positive were coming my way.

Instead I received a letter. It described my many, many mistakes, and showed me what I would really be receiving (a fraction of what I thought). At the end of the letter the Canadian government politely advised me to not attempt to do my own taxes again and strongly urged me to find professional help in the future.
Naturally, I threw it all out.

Do not throw out your past tax returns. It turns out you need them to do the next year’s taxes!

This led me to a very awkward conversation with a government employee the following year when I phoned to find out the information I had thrown out:

Me: “Hi! I need a bunch of info because I threw out my tax return.”
Lady: (Clearly not listening) “I’ll just need some information from your last return to verify who you are.”
Me: “I threw it all out and have nothing.”
Lady: “Are you serious? Why would you throw it out?”
Me: “I don’t like clutter.”
Lady: “I can’t give you any information without those numbers.”
Me: “Your system is clearly flawed if I need to know the info I don’t know to find out that same info.”

…much more argument ensues where she stressed that it was I who was clearly flawed…

Lady: “You are supposed to keep each return for three to five years, I don’t know what else to tell you.”
Me: “Well I didn’t keep it, how about I just give you estimates and if they’re close you’ll know it’s me?”
Lady: “Uh…no. You know, this is really irresponsible of you. You need that information. You better not throw out this year’s return!”
Me: “I won’t have a return if you don’t give me that info!”
Lady: “ I’m not doing that. You’ll have to fill out what you can and send it in, and then you’ll get instructions.”
Me: “So…just my name then?”
Lady: “(Sigh) Sir, I cannot help you.” CLICK.

Luckily my father in Alberta (who had been sent my return first and forwarded it to me at school) remembered the next week that he had photocopied my return for his records.
Now, I save my returns…and get someone to do my taxes for me.

If you can learn anything from my struggle with taxes it’s that you should reach out for help and prepare all year long.

Tips that have helped me:

Keep a tax box/drawer/folder:

Designate one place that will be safe and memorable to store all of your tax-related information. Make sure to keep receipts for things like tuition, books, rent, donations made to charitable causes*, public transit passes, and of course any T4 slips. As soon as you get ANYTHING that you think MIGHT be related to taxes, place it in this box. It’s far better to have too much documentation and too much information to sift through than to have thrown out something really important (I learned the hard way but you don’t have to!).
*Hint: if you made a donation or two but don’t think you saved your receipt, try doing a search in your email – these receipts are often delivered electronically in a PDF format so you might have automatically saved online. Even if you only donated 20$ throughout the year, it’s worth claiming

Plan ahead:

Though taxes are extremely frustrating and everybody hates them, there is potential for taxes to be good – when you get your return, that is. There are things you can do throughout the year to ensure that you get the most out of your tax return, like contributing to an RRSP savings account for instance. Even though as a student it’s hard to think about saving, if you can contribute anything at all to an RRSP you will get more money back at tax time. The catch is that you have to think at least a year in advance so plan ahead to really reap the benefits.

Mailing Address:

When I was in university I moved a few different times and I was between my school address and my home address depending on the time of year. It will help you a great deal if all of your tax-related information is mailed to one place. So think twice when you provide your mailing address to your school or employers, as they will certainly have important tax-related info to get out to you eventually. Decide on a mailing address that works best for you and is most consistent. For me, it was my home address because I knew that would remain constant the longest and any important information was already being mailed there.

Doing taxes online:

A few friends of mine have successfully completed their taxes on their own online (Which is what the guy who files my taxes for me does). If you are going to try this, keep your eye out for an access code that gets mailed to you a few months before tax time. It will say on the letter something along the lines of: keep this four-digit access code to complete your taxes online. (http://www.netfile.gc.ca/ccsscd-eng.html) This is an easy thing to throw out or misplace so be sure to include it in your tax box to avoid angry telephone conversations with miserable tax authorities.

Good luck, happy taxing and feel free to leave your horror stories!

Chat about it here

Okay, so maybe three Top 5’s in one!

During a job interview you could be asked many different questions, some easy and some not. Generally, the questions can be split into three different categories: your Past Experience, Current Skills and Your Future With the Company. We’ve included the top five common questions from each category.

Past Experience

Q      Tell me about your past employment.

A      It goes without saying that you will be asked about your prior work experience. Make sure you know EXACTLY what you have written on your resume because missing a date or responsibility will make you look like you were inflating your resume. This is your chance to show off everything you’ve done in a past job. The best answer shows how you relate those past responsibilities to current ones you would have at the new position.

Q      What was your biggest accomplishment in your past job?

A      A question about accomplishments is a great opportunity for you to share a ‘success story’ during the interview. This story is something you can rehearse beforehand that will explain how you succeeded and how it benefited the company in your last job. If this question isn’t asked, make sure you try your best to share your ‘success story’ anyways.

Q      What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?

A      Before you jump into discussing how bad a former employee or your boss was, stop. Now is not the time to burn bridges. Instead, discuss an instance where you were challenged but found a solution where everyone won.

Q      What do you expect from a supervisor?

A      This is a tricky question. If you say you want to be micro managed then you’ll appear to lack initiative. If you say you like complete independence then it may come off like you aren’t a team player. Try to balance your answer and emphasize the value of communication from a supervisor to ensure a task is done efficiently and correctly.

Q      Why are you leaving your job?

A      Also not a time to burn bridges. By all means, don’t gloss over the fact that you’re leaving for a reason, but put a positive spin on it. Maybe you want an environment where you can grow? Maybe you’re passionate about a new field? At all costs: Don’t. Mention. Money.

Current Skills

Q      What is your greatest strength / weakness?

A      For this question make sure your strengths are not arrogant and that your weaknesses are actually strengths. An example could be that your greatest weakness is that you’re somewhat of a perfectionist and can get consumed with a single task until it is done perfectly. Be honest about your strengths though, you’ll be asked to showcase them if you get the job.

Q      How do you handle stress and pressure?

A      This is where you want to say that stress motivates you and that when you are stressed you prioritize your tasks and get what is due first done first.

Q      What are your salary expectations?

A      I HATE this question. An employer usually already knows what they are going to offer you. Asking what you want is kind of a dirty question. If you answer too low, they will certainly underpay you. If you answer too high it may take you out of the running. The best way to answer this is to quote what equivalent jobs are paying (give a wide range) and explain that you are negotiable.

Q      Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?

A      Also a difficult question. If you know that the job is a team job or an individual job then gear your answer towards that. Of course, backtrack with examples of how you worked well in the opposite environment. If you don’t know about the job environment, be honest. You’ll have a better time working in the environment you prefer. It never hurts to say that you are flexible as well and can adapt to whatever situation best suits the task at hand.

Q      If you know your boss is 100 per cent wrong about something how would you handle it?

A      I think this question should be answered in a way that shows you are honest and want the company to succeed. I would say: “If I were 100 per cent sure, then I would respectively approach the boss with my concerns and ideas privately. Because I would want what is best for the company and I would hope my boss would appreciate someone looking out for him/her.”

Your Future With the Company

Q      What interests you about this job?

A      This is a good time to discuss the potential of advancement or increased responsibilities and the aspects of the job (travel, type of industry, passions etc.) that attracted you to apply.

Q      Why are you the best person for the job?

A      The best response is one that relates your past experiences and skills to the current job requirements. This will instill confidence in the interviewer that you can perform the job effectively.

Q      What do you know about this company?

A      Hopefully you’ve done your research. You should know as much as you can about the company (If it’s a restaurant, know the menu. If it’s a marketing company, know their clients. If it’s a retail store, know the style of clothing and their ongoing promotions etc.). Rather than talk forever about everything you know, explain that you’ve researched the company thoroughly and that your favourite aspects of the company are______, because _______. Hopefully these aspects will be easily related back to some of your strengths and experience.

Q      What can you contribute to this company?

A      This question should have the same answer as “Why are you the best person for the job?” because what you can contribute to the company is what makes you the best person for the job.

Q      What is good customer service?

A      Most fields include at least some aspects of customer service. Good customer service is about communication and surpassing the needs of clients in the most efficient way possible, and thus is relatable to most jobs.

You’re going to get some different questions from time to time, but if you can answer these, you’ll be prepared to answer anything!

The Set-up

You’ve sent your resume out a hundred times and finally someone has called you for an interview. Congratulations!  You’ve made it past hundreds of other applicants, but you’re not in the clear yet. An interview is your one shot at employment with that company and thus it’s important to prepare thoroughly and make the best impression you can.

First Impression

First and foremost, arrive 10-15 minutes early. On time for an interview is early. You might want to do a ‘dry run’ to make sure you’ll get to the location on time and without stress. By the same token, don’t arrive any earlier than this because the person (or people) interviewing you is probably very busy and they set your interview time for a reason – because that time works for them! If you arrive too early this could inconvenience them and leave a negative impression.

Upon meeting your interviewer, having a confident handshake, making eye contact and using a person’s name goes a long way in showing manners, confidence and maturity. Make a mental note of the person’s name so that you can use it again when you leave. This is a small gesture but it shows that you’re paying attention and that you care about the process. If more than one person is interviewing you, try to remember their names as well (this can be tricky, but do your best!). Names will also come in handy again with your follow-up email or phone call (more on this later).

What to wear

A lot of stress concerning that first interview involves what you should wear. After all, your first impression is visual. Dress for the job that you’re going for, and maybe even more formally than the position requires. For instance, if you want to be a waiter at a nice restaurant, a dress shirt (with a tie if you’re a guy) and nice pants with dress shoes would be appropriate.

You probably don’t want to wear a full suit to an interview at a movie-rental store, as it would be going a little overboard. Instead, pressed pants and a dress shirt show that you’re serious enough to handle any responsibilities associated with the position, but still welcoming.

If the job is in a more structured or corporate environment, definitely opt for a suit if you can.  It is always better to be over-dressed.

Jeans and t-shirts are generally considered no-nos. Unless you’re applying for a creative position where they want to see your personality, try to avoid really casual or everyday wear.

Note to girls: try not to over-accessorize. Lots of jewelry, bright make-up and nail polish can be distracting and give the impression of immaturity. Less is more when it comes to interview outfits.

What to Bring

You are going to want to bring with you (in a briefcase or portfolio):

-       Your resume

-       Past examples of your work (if it relates to the job)

-       The job posting

-       A small notepad

-       A pen

-       Your references and their contact information in case your interviewer asks for this on the spot.

That’s it. Don’t bring coffee, or a snack and make sure your cell phone and iPod are turned off. You don’t have a desk yet; so don’t bring stuff to fill it.

It goes without saying that you will be bathed, well-groomed and your clothes will be clean.

The Questions:

During the interview you could be asked many different questions, some easy and some not. Generally, the questions can be split into three different categories: Your Past Experience, Current Skills and Future With the Company. We’ve included five common questions from each Category with answer points here.

Remember to stay calm. The person interviewing you may seem a little scary, but they are a person too, and were in your shoes at one point. You may feel like you’re on trial…and to be honest…you kind of are. Think about it this way, if you are hired, it’s going to cost time and money to train you. An employer is taking a gamble when they choose to hire someone. Your interview is when you have to prove that you’re worth the risk and the money it will cost them – you are competent and will be a delight to work with but they don’t know that yet, so show them!

Take a deep breath, relax and answer everything clearly and concisely. You don’t need to tell your whole life story, but you do need to answer the question fully and make sure they know why you’re a good fit for the position.

Also, while you’re answering their questions be sure to make eye contact with the person (or people) interviewing you. There’s nothing worse than giving the best interview in the world to the wall or the floor. Eye contact shows confidence, trustworthiness, politeness and competence – And it’s easy, so do it!

AND ONE MORE THING…

As well as answering questions, there is one more thing you need to prepare for before an interview – asking questions! In most serious job interviews the interviewer will give you a chance to ask any questions at the end of the meeting. ALWAYS ask something. If you don’t have any questions at all, it will demonstrate a lack of interest or preparation. When you are researching the company, brainstorm a couple of things you’d like to know more about just in case.

Some good examples of general things to ask are:

How would you describe the office/workplace culture?

What is your management style like? Is it very hands-on or do things operate fairly independently?

Will there be opportunities for me to branch out into other departments from time to time to learn other aspects of the business?

Avoid asking about vacation days, salaries, raises, benefits etc in the first interview. You will have an opportunity to find these things out at a second interview or upon agreeing to take the position. You want to give the impression that you’re interested in the job regardless of these factors. After a second interview or upon being offered the job, you will have an opportunity to find out more about these important details.

The Lasting Impression:

Whew, it’s all over. You shook hands, politely said ‘thank you’ and walked out of the door. It’s all over and the ball is in their court now.

Nope!

You have one more chance to make sure your impression lasts – the ‘Thank You” email or phone call.

As it is your last chance, use it wisely. A generic ‘Thank you for the interview, Sally” will not do.

Instead be specific of your experience: “ Hi Sally, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to interview me earlier today. Your explanation of ______________ gave me a greater understanding of the role of _____________ and has left me with a very positive impression of______________ and my ability to perform successfully within the company.”

From this point on, cross your fingers.

Good Luck!