Week Thirteen Announced - Researcher

This week I will be working with the language school here in Trois-Pistoles (C.A.F.E.L - Centre d'accueil et de formation en langues). This year is the schools 75th anniversary and is an awesome environment to be immersed in Quebec culture and learn the language. There are few different programs here. If you are a student I would definitely take a look at the MyExplore program in which you can receive a bursary from the government to take a five week french immersion session.

The town is looking to increase the amount of programs offered here throughout the year and so I will be working with the school to figure out how the best way to go about that would be, is it feasible, what time of year, etc.

As of now, next week I will be heading into Quebec city.

-Sean

What's Your Story?

I would like to start using oneweekjob.com as a platform for others to share their stories regarding 'One Week Job' type themes. I will still be blogging about what I am up to week to week, but I think by having other people contribute and share their stories, we can all learn from each others experience, share ideas, help others out, and open up a forum of discussion on different topics.

So as of now, if you would like to be a guest writer and contribute a post to the website, please send it to me in an email with the subject line: "Guest Post Submission"

The piece can be written any way you like and be of any length that you feel necessary. Tell us your story, what inspires you and why, what are you passionate about. Perhaps you are in the same situation as me; how are you going about finding your job, what scares you, what inspires you, what advice do you have.

Perhaps you are in a career that you love and want to share that experience with us, why are you passionate about it, how did you discover this is what you wanted to do, what advice do you have. Maybe you found the courage to leave an unhappy work situation and go after what you love doing, maybe you feel as though you are stuck in a rut and hate your job...

If you have a website, be sure to include a link so that we can direct people to your site and what you are up to. If you have a picture you would like to be included, send that too.

I look forward to hearing your story!

-Sean

Safety Goggles Are Back In Style

I spent the last couple of days working at 'Portes et Fenetres Bernier' (Windows and Doors Bernier) in Trois Pistoles, Quebec. It has been a pretty quiet week so far at the shop as there are not too many jobs on-going at the moment. Which is really nice though because I have a lot of work currently trying to get some articles done for my potential future column in the Globe and Mail.

Week Twelve - Framing: Windows and Doors


Tomorrow we are going out on the road to Riviere-du-Loup to make some installations. Here is a picture of me getting ready to hit the road.

Week Twelve - Framing: Windows and Doors


Working at a 'Windows and Doors' company made me realize just how many jobs are out there constructing random products that we use everyday. I was attaching a mesh screen to a window frame and thought to myself; there is a company who simply makes mesh screens. How one gets into that business to begin with, I have no idea, but somebody has to do it and I am sure there are quite profitable.

I am curious if they are enjoy what they do? Who knows, but I am sure it is a good story how the person who started the company saw a need for mesh screens so went and started a mesh screen business. With summer coming up and the mosquitos coming out, I for one, am thankful they did.

-Sean

Meet My PR Consultant - Carla Shore

Carla Shore logo sizedI was contacted several weeks ago by a media relations advisor from Vancouver, BC named Carla Shore. Carla has been nice enough to volunteer her over 15 years of experience in the communications field to help me out with organizing my media interviews, writing press releases, etc. It has been a lot of work trying to organize my jobs, how I am getting there, where I will be staying... on top of trying to organize interview requests and it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Carla contacted me at just the right time and was asking just the right price.

Her company, C-Shore Communications Inc., was started in 1998 and "offers expert public relations and writing services to create effective communications programs for private and public sector clients." I am really grateful that Carla has so generously donated her time to help me out, as it will allow me to focus more on my jobs, the experience I am having, and what I am learning in the process.

If you or your company is in need of media relations advisor, Carla is awesome! She is easy to talk to, very nice, polite, helpful, and great at what she does.

You can reach her through email at info@cshore.ca, by phone at 604-731-0975 or check out her website: www.cshore.ca.

Thanks so much Carla!

-Sean

Week Twelve Announced - Framer

This week I will be working with a framing company who makes, installs and repairs windows and doors. I am not too sure what exactly I will be doing there as of yet but I am sure it will involve some wood and building stuff so that is pretty exciting. When I was growing up I rarely helped my dad out around the house with construction type projects, so it will be nice to work in an environment such as this and develop some handy man skills.

The last couple of weeks I have been working with the editors of the Career section in the Globe and Mail and it looks like I will be contributing a weekly column to the paper throughout the summer. It is not absolutely certain as of yet, so I am kind of holding off on announcing it but I will know by the end of this week with a tentative start date of my first column running next Wednesday June 13th. I will keep you posted!

I am looking to be in Quebec city the week of June 17th and then into Montreal, so if you have any contacts, ideas for potential jobs or simply just want to meet up, give me a shout!

-Sean

Looking For A NiceJob?

A big thank you to everyone at NiceJob.ca who have come on board as a sponsor of One Week Job to help me out with my travel expenses!

One Week Job Sponsor - NiceJob.ca


If you actually know what you are looking for in a career, unlike myself, be sure to check out NiceJob.ca. Nicejob.ca is the first Canadian job search engine and the most popular, continually browsing companies' career pages for the most recent job opportunities.

It provides job seekers quick and direct access to thousands of jobs found on various employer websites saving all the time and trouble it takes to go to each site individually, or from traveling throughout the country changing jobs each week to see what's out there.

jobWings Careers is the founder of Nicejob.ca and is the Canadian leader in specialized job boards with 14. These web sites are all part of Publipac.ca, Canada's only niche job board network.

Thanks so much jobWings, I really appreciate your support!

-Sean

B I N G O !

I spent the week working at a resident care home for the elderly. It was not too exciting of a week, hence the reason for not posting more often, but it was great to spend some time with the elderly all the same. It seems as though the majority enjoy being there, comparing the experience to somewhat of a family, which was apparent. We had some interesting conversations about religion, love, politics, the weather, careers. I am not sure if they really understood what I am up to with One Week Job, but they were polite and supportive nonetheless.

Week Eleven - Trois Pistoles 016


The highlight of the week was without a doubt when the lady that I was playing bingo with won the big pot! Though I wasn't able to go on a shopping spree at the dollar store just quite yet because she neglected to split her winnings with me, oh well maybe next time.

Week Eleven - Trois Pistoles 019


If you happen to get MTV Canada (I am not too sure what channel it is), I have an interview next week Tuesday at 6:30pm EST if you would like to tune in.

-Sean

Week Eleven Announced - Caregiver

This week I will be working at "La Villa Des Basques," an old age home in Trois Pistoles, Quebec. I will be helping out around the home and spend time talking and playing cards with the residents. (I will be sure to brush up on my crib playing skills this evening or it could get quite embarrassing tomorrow!) Spending time at an old age home has always been something that I wanted to do, but have never done so. I think we can learn so much from the elderly, yet we tend not to take the time to ask the questions. This will be a great opportunity for me to do so and draw from their wealth of life experience while at the same time practicing my french!

It will be really interesting to hear their perspective on One Week Job and just on careers in general.

-Sean

Bienvenue au Quebec

I arrived in Quebec today after a rather long trip from Vancouver beginning at 7pm last night. I had a three hour lay over in Calgary and was able to meet up with a friend for a drink which helped break up the trip. It was difficult getting any sleep on the overnight flight last night and after arriving in Montreal this morning, I had to make my way out to the highway to do some hitch hiking to get to Quebec city. Things worked out well and I got a few quick rides and I am now in a small town 3 hours east of Quebec city called Trois Pistoles. After spending a few weeks back in Vancouver, I had started to become comfortable again in my home environment and it wasn't until I was saying goodbye and 'have a nice summer' to some friends the night before, that I remembered the journey that I have in front of me.

I am really looking forward to what lays ahead and am excited to find out where it will lead!

-Sean

Finding Congruence In The Workplace

I am on a journey to discover the point at which my skills, aptitudes, personality, values, and passions come together to formulate a career in which I would be happy doing; a certain point of congruence. The interesting thing is that with One Week Job, I am in that situation presently... except for maybe the skills part! I am constantly in a new environment, continuing to challenge myself every day, learning new things week to week, meeting tonnes of great people, I am really passionate about my message, and I am helping others. 'One Week Job' the career? Well, not likely as the gig doesn't pay too well;)

I think one thing we must remember is to continually assess why we are doing what we are doing, and if indeed we are enjoying it. One of the quotes that is on my bedroom wall at home is, "It's not what you do or how much you do, rather it's how you do it and why you are doing it" I think that we can sometimes lose direction of what we initially set out to accomplish. As I recently received in an email, we must often ask ourself when presented with a new decision; 'Can I draw a reasonably straight line from where I am, to where I want to go?'

The reason I have been thinking of this lately is that after coming home to Vancouver for a friends wedding and having a week off, I have been able to take a moment away from the whirlwind ride that I was on. With all the media attention throughout Canada the project has received and with the interest of turning One Week Job into a show, I have been forced to stop and think in order to re-evaluate my reasons for setting out on such a journey. I do not want to make it something that it is not, in that I have it all figured out and know exactly where I am heading. The reality is that I have no idea where this is all going to lead and by pretending that I do as a host of a show would only be defeating the purpose of why I began One Week Job to begin with.

I think it would be beneficial if through video, people are able to experience the adventure with me; the uncertainty of not knowing where I will be the following week, how I am going to get there, being scared/excited when presented with a new and challenging situation, overwhelmed with the amount of work I have created for myself, seeing my ups and downs throughout, etc. yet staying true to the experience. In this way I think documenting the journey with a video camera would be quite beneficial in that it would be easier to bring people through the experience with me, allowing them to draw more from it and the lessons that I learn a long the way.

Okay, decision made, sorry for seemingly thinking out loud!

If there are some sponsors willing to get involved with this project to help out with equipment expenditures and to pay a small crew, an installment could be released each week in which a different company could sponsor it. It will then stay online with the companies logo who sponsored that weekly installment appearing at the beginning as well as a watermark in the corner throughout that episode.

I imagine it would look something like this, yet with interviews of my employers, my take on the particular job, what it takes to do this job, and what I am learning throughout the experience.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any other ideas!

-Sean

A Maclean's Magazine Newsmaker

I guess I have been making enough news with One Week Job that Macleans Magazine felt I should be labelled as one of their newsmakers of the week which I thought was pretty cool. The article was published in this past weekends edition. My best friends wedding on Saturday went well despite the weather not fully cooperating. I wasn't too sure if I would get choked up in giving my best man speech. I thought that perhaps I might get more caught up on doing a good job and how I was coming across rather than actually being in the present moment. Well there were definitely tears involved and I struggled to get a couple of the lines out, but overall I think that it was well received by everyone.

In terms of an update about what is happening with the potential production of One Week Job as a show, I am still trying to figure out the best way to go about it and decide how I want it to all work out. If you happen to possess a lot of talent with camera work/editing and looking for some adventure, give me a shout.

It was great to be back in Vancouver for my friends wedding this past weekend, though I am excited to be flying out to Quebec this coming Saturday. This week I am hoping to get some meetings done and sort out the production stuff before heading out again.

-Sean

Life As A Trade Show Exhibitor

I just spent the last two days working with SustiaNet Software Solutions at a Trade Show in downtown Vancouver. It was a great experience as I got to interact with many different people, learn a lot about selling (thanks Colin!), eat some great trade show food, and be entertained by all the interesting differing characteristics of Trade Show Exhibitors. They had a really cool sign made for the booth which you can see in the video below. Now if that doesn't entice someone to come and visit our trade show table, then I don't know what would!

Today we will be working on following up on the leads we received yesterday and then I am heading out to an island off the coast of Vancouver, Bowen Island, for my best friends wedding tomorrow.

I want to say a very big thank you to Howard, Colin, and Donna at SustiaNet, for so generously sharing their wealth of knowledge with me and for being so kind with me throughout the entire week! I look forward to purchasing the Consultation Manager software at some point in the future and putting it to good use;)

As for an update on production companies, not too sure what is going to happen as of yet and I am dedicating all of next week to figuring it out before heading out to Quebec next Saturday!

-Sean

Another Day At The Office

I finished my second day yesterday working with SustaiNet Software Solutions and I think I have quickly come to the conclusion that working in an office job is not quite for me. I think I could do it for a couple days a week but definitely not day in day out. I am realizing that I really need to get out there, do different things, and meet different people. Week Ten - SustaiNet Marketing 001I am lucky though in that the people I am working with this week are awesome and so that makes for a positive work environment which I am really enjoying. Yesterday I learnt about an amazing stakeholder data management software that SustaiNet sells throughout North America called Consultation Manager. I think any company could benefit from this software as it allows them to easily organize projects, record data, generate reports and communicate efficiently between team members as well as involved stakeholders. If it sounds like I am trying to sell you on it, it is because I am. It really is that good and definitely worth checking out!

Today I will be out at a Trade Show all day networking with municipal governments and getting some awareness out there about SustaiNet and their services. Should be a great learning experience and I am really looking forward to it. I will be sure to let you know if I make any sales!

-Sean

Here's To Not Settling!

Do you remember Erin who I met while I was working in Alberta a few weeks ago? Well, she sent me a quick email that said: "Hey Sean! So I quit my job on Monday (finally!!!) at 11:45am and at like 2pm I got a call for an interview for this job I applied for April 10th, had the interview today and got it an hour later!!! So I'm starting my passion next Monday and never settling again thanks to you! Cheers."

Great to hear Erin, go for it!

-Sean

PS - If you haven't yet, make your promise today.

Week Ten Announced - Sales & Marketing

Fresh off a great bachelor party weekend that finally came to an end close to 1:00am last night, I started Week Ten working downtown Vancouver at 8:00am this morning. Ouch! Somehow I managed to get out of bed this morning and made it to work on time, and will definitely be sleeping well tonight! SustaiNetThis week I am working with SustaiNet Software Solutions, "a distributor and implementer of web-based information management systems that are designed to assist organizations to efficiently manage the wide range of information gathered to achieve their environmental and social sustainability goals." Try and say that in one breath!

There is a trade show Wednesday and Thursday which I will be attending as a trade show exhibitor on behalf of SustaiNet. I will be generating leads, meeting with potential conference attendees/customers, attending conference sessions, learning about community consultation and stakeholder engagement, and learning about post trade show follow-up.

Everyone at the office have been really welcoming and are very nice so it should make for a great week!

More later, but time to get back to work.

-Sean

Gill Deacon Show Cancelled

I found out today that the Gill Deacon show on CBC Television was cancelled due to poor ratings and so I won't be flown out to Toronto in a couple of weeks to do the show. They were going to have me on the show and film me doing all sorts of various jobs around the CBC Studios from being a Janitor to Show Programming, yet since the show has been cancelled it is no longer going to happen. It's really too bad as I was looking forward to it - also because I need to get out to Quebec after my best friends wedding on May 19th and so that would have gotten me well over half-way there at no cost! Anybody have a jet plane and plan on heading out that way sometime during that week?

In other news, I was recently contacted by a production company out of Ottawa, Ontario about the possibility of turning One Week Job into a show. It is something that I had in the back of my mind and now that I am in Vancouver for a few weeks, I am going to look further into talking to different production companies about the possibility. If you have any contacts/ideas with any production companies and wouldn't mind passing them a long to me, I would really appreciate it!

My job for this week is planning my best friends stag, writing my best man speech, meeting with some contacts about One Week Job stuff and generally trying to get myself organized before heading out again. If you are in Vancouver and want to meet up, give me a shout!

If you haven't done so already, be sure to read this post and sign your name!

-Sean

Dead Air And Day Dreaming

I had an interview with CBC Radio in Vancouver, BC yesterday which turned out to be quite hilarious. I guess it had been a while since I was back in Vancouver having to drive into the downtown area and so underestimated the time it would take. I was running just over 5 minutes late for my in studio interview. When I arrived I was a little out of breath and rushed, but had a few minutes to relax before the interview. I suppose I did too good of a job relaxing and as the host was in the process of introducing myself, One Week Job, and asking me a question, I must have began dreaming because when I came back to reality I heard only the last words of her question: "...everything Sean?" And she had an expecting look on her face patiently awaiting my response.

I had absolutely no clue what the question was and so responded with, "yeah everything," in hopes that she would continue on with the next question. I found out from some friends later that the question was something to the effect of: "Sean is trying to figure out what he wants to do for a career, and is so doing everything. What do you mean by everything Sean?" To which I responded, "yeah everything."

Dead air followed and the host stared at me with a perplexed look on her face leading me to believe that I had not answered the question correctly. I still had no clue what she asked me and so decided I would take another shot at it and just began talking about the last few jobs that I have had, finishing my sentence with, "so yeah pretty much everything."

Once I stopped day dreaming the rest of the interview went well, although I wish I had recorded the interview as I would love to hear the opening again! Haha:)

Week Nine - Lake Louise 051I am back in Vancouver now for three weeks as my best friend is getting married May 19th. If you have any job offers for me in Vancouver for the next few weeks or simply want to meet up, give me a call or send me an email.

The week after the wedding, the Gill Deacon Show on CBC Television is flying me out to Toronto for the show and then from there I am off to Quebec and further out East! Anybody know any lobster fisherman?

-Sean

Saying Goodbye To Lake Louise

After spending the month working in Alberta, I am now back in Vancouver for the month of May. My best friend is getting married in a few weeks so I needed to come back into town. Week Nine - Lake Louise 035I had an amazing week at Lake Louise Resort! I was so warmly welcomed by everyone and I immediately felt part of the team. The resort has such a positive atmosphere and it became obvious after only a few days why employees and skiers come back year after year. I met some great people over the course of the week and then yet again it was time to say goodbye when the work week was done. I am going to have to figure out a way that I can keep all these people I meet throughout this journey in my life somehow.

Week Nine - Lake Louise 031The season wrap-up event, Spring Episode, was awesome. It was great to be a part of the events team and see how an event such as this all comes together. I like the idea of focusing on one project with all of your energy for a period of time, seeing it through to its' fruition and then moving on to the next project. I think that it is something I will have to incorporate into my career somehow.

Thanks so much to all the management, staff and everyone with Resorts of The Canadian Rockies - Lake Louise for having me for the week. I am so glad I was able to work in such a great work environment with amazing individuals and experience first hand the beauty of the surrounding area.

I will definitely be seeing you again!

-Sean