Community Employment Resource Centre
What’s
Inside?
Feature Article: Your Laughter Profile
Quote of the Month
Feature Article: Job
Insecurity Blues
Resources
Personal Goal of the
Month
Ask a Wise Woman…
Your Laughter Profile
Check out your laughter profile by answering
these questions
1. During
an average day, I laugh out loud, smile or giggle:
a) Once or not at all
b) Two or three times
c)
At least once an hour
d) Constantly, I’ll have to look into this
2.
When I am alone and read, see, hear or think of
something funny, I:
a) Smile to myself
b) Laugh out loud
c)
Laugh out loud and find someone with whom to share the
funny thing
d) Take a cold shower
3.
In the past year I can remember:
a) At least one time I spent at least a whole minute laughing
b) At least two to five times I spent a whole minute laughing
c)
More than five times I spent a whole minute laughing
d) I can’t remember – what was the question?
4.
I laugh at myself:
a) Never
b) Sometimes
c)
Often
d) Only when I am not in the room
5.
When I’m around other people, they laugh and joke:
a) Never
b) Sometimes
c)
Often
d) I never hang around with other people; they might laugh at
me!
6.
When I hear people laughing at their job, the first
thing I think is:
a) I wish I could get paid to goof off
b) I wish I knew what the joke was
c)
How wonderful that they are having a good time, I think
I’ll join them
d) That it’s Saturday and I shouldn’t even be here
7.
I do silly things on purpose (wear strange buttons,
make funny noises) to see how others will respond:
a) Never
b) Sometimes
8.
When faced with a daily crisis (the dog peed on the
rug, I missed the project deadline, my daughter needs brownies for school NOW!),
I respond with a laugh:
a) Never
b) Sometimes
c)
Often
d) Only if it’s someone else’s rug, deadline or child
9.
The people I spend most of my time with:
a) Leave me feeling drained and depressed
b) Don’t really affect my attitude
c)
Make me laugh a lot
d) Usually steal my lunch money
10. I
can name:
a) One thing that makes me laugh
b) Two things that make me laugh
c)
At least three things that almost make me laugh
d) My closest relatives
Scoring
your laughter profile
Give yourself the following
points for each letter: a = 0, b = 1, c = 2,
d = 3. Then add them up to obtain your total score.
If your score is less than 5 you are suffering from humour malnutrition. Someone probably told you to “Grow up and
get serious!” and you did. To find
humour in daily events, start slowly and convince yourself that humour is an
acceptable emotion and one that is healthy when used regularly.
If your score is from 6 to 15 you occasionally have a good laugh, but your life lacks
humour. Remember, laughter is like exercise – you have to do it regularly to get
the benefit. You are able to express
humour when you find things funny, but your goal now is to try and find humour
in the things that usually make you angry, annoyed or irritated.
If your score is from 16 to 20 you are humoursly fit.
Not only do you approach life with the right amount of humour and
benefit from it; you also probably make other people’s lives more enjoyable.
If
your score is 21 to 30 you’re downright silly,
aren’t you? Don’t stifle those childish
instincts! Sure they told you that the
class clown would never go anywhere in life. But they were wrong! Look at Robin Williams! He’s taking it to the bank!
Quote of the Month
“Wellness is the loving
acceptance of yourself.”
~ John W. Travis
Job Insecurity Blues
Re-entering workforce difficult for those aged 55 to
64
by
Brian Daly (The Canadian Press)
Rachel Pineau doesn’t want her
age to work against her as she looks for a job after a six-month hiatus, but
she believes the prejudice is there.
The 56-year-old former business- woman plans to change careers after
five years at the helm of a promotional firm that catered to Quebec
artists. Pineau shut the firm down last
year and, after several months of reflection, decided to do something she hadn’t
done in years – ask someone else for a job.
She acknowledged that despite ample experience in business, community
and public relations, she’ll probably raise a few eyebrows when she shows up
for job interviews.
“Statistics
have shown that older workers who are displaced have more difficulties in
reintegrating the labour marker,” says Andre Vermette, a spokesman for Human
Resources Canada. Bouchra Klaoua of the
Montreal Women’s Centre said some employers are reluctant to hire females
nearing retirement age because of the perception that time has passed them
by. “Older clients (often) tell us that
employers won’t hire them because they’re over 50”, he says. “It’s a sort of age prejudice”. Michele Piche, a Montreal job counselor,
said age bias, whether real or simply perceived, can be devastating to an older
woman’s self esteem. “We have clients
who … have bought into it by saying ‘I’m too old at 55’ and this leads to panic
and insecurity,” said Piche.
Facts
about Canadian women aged 55 to 64, who were part of the workforce in 2001
(Statistics Canada, Human Resources Development Canada)
·
Number of women in labour force: 612,200 (employed or unemployed)
·
Number of employed women: 577,700
·
Number of unemployed women: 34,500
·
Future: By
2011, number of women 55-to-64 age group is expected to increase to 2.2 million
from 1.48 million. At the same time,
fewer younger workers will enter the labour market
·
Barriers to hiring older workers: Employer
prejudice, lack of job search skills, high wage expectations and lack of
mobility
Try to remain positive when you are looking
for work and project confidence in all you do.
Check out the books listed below.
Resources
Life was Never Meant to be a Struggle by Stewart Wilde
Being Happy by Andrew Matthews
Personal Goal of the Month
Look for the humour in
life’s moments.
Ask
a Wise Woman …
Dear Wise Woman:
I have been out of the formal workforce for
more than 7 years while I stayed home raising my children. I want to look for a job now, but don’t know
where to start. Help!
From Francine in Bewdley
Dear Francine,
Many women make the choice to stay at home
to raise their children – you are not alone.
My first suggestion is for you to pick up the September and October
issues of the CERC newsletter. There is
an article (parts 1 and 2) in the newsletters that talk about the very issue
you raise. The next thing I would suggest is that you go to CERC and talk to
one of the staff members. You can also
use the Bewdley outreach on Tuesday mornings.
CERC can help you with your resume, cover letter, job searching on the
Internet and developing your interview skills.
Plus, there are many very helpful resources in the community to get your
started. You can go to a Starting
Points Session held through the Help Centre in Cobourg. If you want to do some
“testing” (match your skills and interests to jobs) you can use the Choices ™
Program at CERC for free. You will also
find out what other agencies offer testing by attending the Starting Points
session.
How do you contact a Wise Woman? Email:
cerc@cercnorthumberland.com