Can excessive tatoos affect a person's career? 

By Serene Zawaydeh
There is an increasing wave of tatoos on the streets in Canada. Tatoos are reaching the neck, full arms, legs!

In addition to tatoos, and piercing, big round circles that make the lower part of the ear grow into a big circle.. I don't know what these are called.

What are the prospects of employment for people who have all the above tatoos and earrings? Are they risking their future employment to specific sectors that don't mind having all the tatoos?

I really wonder about the reasons behind having all of the body tatoos. Is it to bring attention to the individual? The only reason that I can think of is having attention. However, when so many people are getting tatoos, it's difficult to be distinguished for something specific, other than having the tatoo.

I haven't seen excessive tatoos in the financial industry.

Would the decision to hire a person, for example, in a bank or a financial institution, be affected by the fact that they have a full body tatoo or round circles in their ears?

Could there be additional screening questions, on whether the person has tatoos if this is the case?

Are there any national surveys, asking about the reasons behind having all these tatoos, and linking the results to the person's career and the prospects for professional development?

If this is the case, maybe getting excessive tatoos might be reconsidered.

Following is an image that I saw and I am reposting it.

High car insurance fees in Ontario...Is driving in Ontario more risky than driving in other countries? 

By Serene Zawaydeh.

Car insurance fees are very expensive in Ontario. Especially for someone who doesn't have previous driving experience. Insurance on a $5000 car can cost $5000 for a newcomer. Getting a drivers license is not something that everybody can afford, especially since finding a job takes some time.

Someone who has prior driving experience, needs to learn new rules for driving.

Traffic lights exist in order to manage who goes when, and who should stop, and when.

However, in Ontario, I keep wondering why the red traffic lights, does not necessarily mean that you should stop. And more importantly, the green traffic lights, do not mean that it's your turn to go.

Case 1: At an intersection, when the green light turns green, the cars actually have to stop in the middle of the intersection, and have to keep on waiting for the cars that are going straight, and then when the road is clear, they can go ahead. Sometimes, the light might be green, but you actually have to stop until all the cars pass, and at some points the traffic lights turn red. It is at that point, that you can pass. In this case, the car had to stop on the green light, and passed on the red light. The green does not mean "go", and the red does not mean "stop". When the red light doesn't necessarily mean "stop", and going on red is actually something that is just fine... and when the green light doesn't really mean go, and it actually means you have to wait.. the red light and the green light lose their "value"... This definitely increases risk on the road.

So what is the alternative way of going to the left on an intersection? The alternative is using a green light arrow, which signals that the driver can go to the left at that time. However, in Ontario, the green left arrow is rarely seen, and it quickly changes back to the "general" round light which is not necessarily for going to the left.

Case 2: The second case in which the red light doesn't mean stop, is when you want to go to the right. You can go right on red. In this case, the red traffic light, also does not mean "stop". However, it is imperative to come to a complete stop, and not to do a rolling stop. If  the driver doesn't come to a complete stop, they can fail the driving test.

Case 3: The third case is actually risky for the pedestrians walking in the streets. When it's time for the pedestrians to cross the road, the traffic lights are also green for the cars that want to go to the right. The cars actually have to wait for the pedestrians to cross the road, who cross the road at normal speed, as it is their right of way. The drivers have to wait for the pedestrian to pass, after already waiting for their turn, waiting at the red light. I attended a stand up comedy show, and this was actually one of the funny situations that the comedian described... the comedian described the driver while waiting for the pedestrians to cross the road.

Case 4: On the highway, the drivers are supposed to drive at 100 km per hour. Driving at 80 km/h would be driving at low speed, increasing risk of getting into an accident. Everybody is supposed to drive at high speed. Driving slower would mean that the cars would be uncomfortable with the fact that this driver is on the highway. However, during the high traffic times, the cars just wait on the same highway, at which the speed limit is 100km/h, and everybody has to live with it. How come driving at 80km/h was not ok, while just waiting on the highway without moving is ok?

In addition to the above, the driving distances in Ontario are long. As the distance travelled increases, the risk of having an accident increases.

Case 5: The first driving test is the written test. One can drive with another person in the car who has 4 years experience with a G license. You have to wait for one year (or 8 months) and then go for the G2 test (driving in the residential areas). This rule is fine for a teen ager who has their parents teaching them how to drive. However, this rule does not take into consideration that people who move to Canada, do not have someone to drive the car with them. A mother would have to keep the car parked in the garage, while her husband is away. A single person moving to Canada,  would not have anybody to drive the car with them.

Case 6: After passing the G2 test, the person can drive on the highway on their own. One year after getting the G2 test, the person can go to the G test, which is driving on the highway. They need to be confident of their driving, and once they are confident, they can go for the G test, or the test on the highway.

Since having the G2 license enables the driver to drive on the highway, there are a lot of people who already have the G2 license, and are driving on the highway. These drivers, need time to get the training they need, in order to pass the G test, which includes driving on the highway at 100km/h.. or even higher, as the person has to drive at the speed of the traffic. If the person is not sure of themselves, they would drive at lower speed, which means going back to case 5. A person driving at lower than 100km/h would be annoying other cars. However, the person is allowed to drive with a G2 license. This means that there are a lot of people with a G2 license who are driving on the highway.

If a person is already driving on the highway, why would they need to do a test after getting comfortable with driving on the highway? driving on the highway already? Getting the G license would enable the insurance company to give a lower insurance rate. However, if they cause an accident, the insurance rates go up.

The ministry approved driving schools give 20 hours in class, and 10 hours on the road. The 10 hours on the road would be for driving in residential areas. They are not for driving on the highway. This means that the people have to learn how to drive on the highway on their own.. thereby  increasing risk on the road, as they can't drive at the high speed right away.

The following rules are used in other countries, in which insurance rates are lower than in Ontario.

• A red light means that you have to stop. You cannot go right on red.
• You don't have wait in the middle of the intersection with the light being green for you. In oder to go to the left, there is a green arrow that signals that it is time for you to go to the left, or to the right.
• The cars don't have to wait for the pedestrians to pass when the light is green for them. This is because the pedestrians get the green light when it is time for them  to pass. During this time, the cars do get the green light this direction.
• If a driver wants to drive at low speed, they can drive on the right hand side of the highway. The cars on the left hand side of the highway go fast.
• There is no rule that says that you can drive only if you have someone who can drive with you. Either you can drive, or you can't drive. The written test does not enable you to drive. You can drive when you pass the test. 

I wonder if re-engineering the traffic lights system in Ontario, and adopting some of the rules that are common elsewhere, could reduce the waiting times at the green lights, reduce risk on the road, and consequently reduce insurance rates.

This article was written by Serene Zawaydeh. (serene.zawaydeh@gmail.com).

Hire Immigrants in Canada’s First Group Meeting Concludes with Uncovering Hidden Gems

By: Serene Zawaydeh, November 4, 2013

Two years after "Hire Immigrants in Canada" LinkedIn Group was started, the group had its first meeting. The meeting was at Eaton Centre, and took place on November 3, 2013, and was scheduled between 4:00 and 6:00 pm. The LinkedIn Group and the meeting were organized by Serene Zawaydeh, who established the group on October 29, 2011, a few months after moving to Canada from Jordan. Serene has been initiating discussions on the job market, and would like to find solutions that will enable immigrants to keep progressing in their careers after moving to Canada. The LinkedIn group attracted 508 members as of November 3, 2013. Information about the Group meeting was announced on LinkedIn, and Twitter, and Facebook. EventBrite was used to announce the meeting and to communicate with the attendees.

6 people attended the meeting, and it was an interesting discussion. Following is an overview of some of the points discussed, in addition to background information about the participants who were accepted to have their information mentioned in this review.

Paul was the first to find Serene at the Food Court in Eaton Centre, and started with the saying….It takes 2 people to start a meeting!

The first task was a geography test... finding where the other person's country is! Jamaica and Jordan were not easy to find! Once Jordan was found, it was easy to find Palestine. India, Russia, were the easy part!

Paul has been in Canada for 30 years, and his passion with taxes started at 14! Paul knows a lot of details about taxes. He has his own business at home, and is very diligent in his work. He reviews the taxes for the past 10 years.. and he is always up to date with the latest changes in taxes that come up in July. His objective is to refund more money for his clients. There was a case of a single mother, and Paul identified refunds of $15,000 as she's been a single mother for 11 years. As for commuting, it's from bed to home office.. and has a lot of coffee meetings at Tim Hortons. The discussion on taxes was a hot topic, as everybody had some questions, and Paul was there to answer. The discussion went on!

Dr. Sarath said a very important fact: A lot of work is outsourced to India. However, when doctors, engineers, and highly educated professionals come from India to Canada, they cannot find a job!

Dr. Sarath practiced medicine, and worked with patients, in addition to working with drug safety. He is a medical doctor, and is now working part time in clinical research. He worked with Novartis as well. He was advised to remove his MD from his resume to apply for a position that did not require MD. He went through several exams to apply for a position, and did well at them, and then was told after a month, that another person was selected. He was told that he doesn't have relevant education. It could be a good to check out colleges outside of Toronto, in case there might be other opportunities. Moving to another provide was also mentioned. However, that also means initiating a job hunt in another location, while the school year has to be taken into consideration.

Dr. Leena is also a doctor, and has a Master's degree in dentistry and specialization in dentures, and was an assistant professor in India. She is now at home, and couldn't find a job yet. Even a position as a dentist's assistant is difficult to obtain. Dr. Sarath and Dr. Leena moved to Canada in June 2013 with their daughter. Their immigration process was very quick, and took just 9 months to get the permanent residency.

The issue of doctors or engineers driving cabs was also brought up. While patients have to wait for months to get a meeting with a specialist, immigrant doctors cannot practice their profession. Meanwhile, the human body is the same regardless of a geographical location...if a person is sick in one country, and a doctor can cure them over there… why would the same doctor not be qualified to cure a person in Canada?

Mona worked for over 17 years in the banking industry, and was Depute Branch Manager at an international bank in Qatar. After moving to Canada, she realized she didn't want to pursue banking anymore and wanted a change in career. Instead, she started pursing the Media industry. She found her passion in Media Production and said that she was fortunate to have the advantage of circumstance that introduced her to the world of Media Production, and realized right then that this was what she wanted to do.

She immediately pursued her passion and as a starting point, she's currently offering video transcription service of documentaries and interviews as an Independent Freelancer. She also helped a friend who is also a Freelancer in the Media business and currently working as Director of Development, in critiquing scripts written for movies and are currently work-in-progress. Mona said she loved this type of work that is giving feedback on scripts written for motion picture and television production and would like to pursue that further and grow career wise in Media production. She volunteered for Luminato, Toronto Art Festival and was part of a special project of interviewing new Canadians at the Canadian Citizenship Ceremony that took place in June 2012.

Now that she found her passion and working as part time, unfortunately, there is no constant flow of work in Media and most of the time, she has no work to do. She understands that having no Canadian Certificate in Media will make it extremely difficult for her to land a job in this industry unless work/introduction/reference comes from close friends and network. She decided that she would continue to pursue work in Media, while looking for other jobs where she can use her expertise in providing outstanding customer service, having worked in a service industry before. She tried stores like Indigo and Shoppers Drug Mart, but without luck till now.

Sending resumes online was not an effective method of finding a job so far. Through networking, volunteering at conferences and attending networking events, Serene was able to find her first job in Canada. It was an internship in technology transfer and commercialization at a university. The contract ended after 15 months. Her second job hunt is taking longer than the first job hunt, despite gaining "Canadian Experience". At the third stage of the interviewing process for a position, an interviewer wondered why she should be hired for a position that can be filled by a fresh graduate, although she should have a manager position. She did not get that position.

Serene’s MBA studies were in French; she has Electrical Engineering background; and completed level 1 of the Chartered Financial Analyst program. Her career has been focused on research, analysis, and delivering reports with research findings. She researched markets with limited research coverage. She worked in telecom market research for 4 years, and conducted equity research and financial analysis for 3 years. She authored over 100 reports with research findings that integrated French and Arabic translation skills. She conducted patent search for engineering innovations while working in technology transfer. She seeks to find the right people to research questions.

The processing time for the immigration applications, varied widely…from 6 years for an application submitted in 2002; to 5 years for an application submitted in 2004. Both of these applications were submitted in the Middle East.  Meanwhile, an application submitted in 2009 from India, was accepted within 9 months.

Moving to Canada is a tough choice. The first thing an immigrant does when they decide to make the move, is quitting their job after progressing in their careers following years of education. After moving to Canada, it turns out that finding a job requires a lot of networking, as 80% of the jobs are not advertised. Once a contract job ends, the job seeker goes back to job hunting again. There is a lot of competition in the job market, with online a single job posting receiving thousands of applications. Jobs are posted internally, and if a candidate is not found, posted externally.While software products are used to scan the resumes for key words, referrals have a competitive advantage.

There is a gap between the immigration policy and what the immigrants see on websites regarding the need
for highly skilled professional with high education, and the realities of the job market . The immigrants are eager to utilize their knowledge and experience to keep on progressing in their career.

Toronto has a high cost of living. The low wages for entry level positions does not cover the living costs. Not only is the rent high, but landlords request an annual lease, and proof of work, which is not possible without having a job. Immigrants move from having two cars per household in their countries, to high car insurance rates that make owning a car unaffordable. Public transportation is the solution for a single person, but is not sustainable for a family.

The need to find Plan B, such as establishing one’s business is one of the solutions. There are a lot of start ups in the market. Commission positions are popular, whether for financial services, or even for multi level marketing companies in which businesses attract clients through word of mouth. Claiming business expenses when filing taxes is a positive point for the self employed.  Plan B, however, is not always the best solution, and some people, still seek a full time position.

The "Hidden Gems" part of the meeting uncovered what distinguishes every person. Integrity, frankness, singing, math, multitasking, being multilingual, and finding the right people to answer questions! Every person got a blue "Gem" and a little white one, as a reminder of the importance of distinguishing themselves from others in order to success.

Mona quoted a saying and that '80% of success is showing up' and strongly believes in it. Showing up in this meeting, will hopefully enable her, and other immigrants, in finding their next opportunity soon.

During the Macro Economics course in my MBA studies, my professor kept on repeating, “Il faut travailler”. It is imperative to work in order to achieve economic strength on an individual level and a macro-economic level. Unemployment means a loss of productivity, and needs to be resolved.

Following are the profiles of participants in the meeting referred to in this review. Please do not hesitate to connect to them for potential opportunities.


Mona Massaoud, Freelance Transcription, Finance Professional
ca.linkedin.com/in/monamassoud

Dr. Sarath Ravipati MD, Dip Diabetes, PG Clinical Research
ca.linkedin.com/pub/dr-sarath-ravipati-md-dip-diabetes-pg-clinical-research/9/a16/415

Dr. Leena Ravipati, Dentist

Paul Samuels, Tax Professional
ca.linkedin.com/pub/paul-samuels-dfa-tax-services-specialist/53/50/217

Serene Zawaydeh, MBA, B.Sc. EE, Research Professional
ca.linkedin.com/in/serenezawaydeh/
This article was written by Serene Zawaydeh (serene.zawaydeh@gmail.com)