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Hello, everyone! For our new subscribers, my name is Anna Tulchinsky and I am the editor of this newsletter as well as all other stuff that gets published on the PulseHR website. If you find this newsletter interesting and helpful, feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues who are looking for a job and encourage them to subscribe.
Issue 16
April 22, 2003
C O N T E N T S:
1. Health related goodies
2. New developments in the US Immigration Law and their effect on the Biotechnology sector
3. How to look for a job like a true Canadian
4. Interesting links
5. Conference announcement
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Health related goodies
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·
Ode to e-business leaders and their initiatives
“Pharmaceutical eBusiness Today 2003,” a new report from ePharmaceuticals,
a division of Medical Broadcasting Company, examines the impact of the
“e-business experience” on the pharma industry. And although
it’s often been a rocky road for teams pursuing e-business initiatives, the
folks at ePharmaceuticals have discovered it’s led to an “e-business mindset”
that has positively benefited a number of pharmaceutical companies both on- and
offline.
In short, the study finds the following:
1) Within the last 12-18 months, some stand-alone e-business units have been reduced in size by as much as 80-90%.
2) The reported size of formal e-business units ranged from one to 24, with an average of seven people. In addition, the number of e-business professionals is likely to remain the same over the next 12-18 months, although, individuals may be reassigned to core business units.
3)
Budgets for e-business
initiatives in 2002 ranged from ...
·
Researchers determine fundamental mechanisms involved in immune response
Scientists from the Howard
Hughes Medical Instituteand their colleagues have unraveled some of the
fundamental mysteries about the genetic mechanisms that endow the immune system
with its ability to generate specialised antibodies (Abs). The researchers'
findings are published in two articles in the online editions of Nature
Immunology (10.1038/ni918) and Nature (10.1038/nature01574).
· Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) update: WHO report of April 22
Probable cause: The Hong Kong Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, in collaboration with eight other government agencies, has released the results of an extensive investigation of an unusual cluster of SARS cases concentrated in the Amoy Gardens housing estate. The investigation, which drew on epidemiological, environmental, and laboratory studies, has identified sewage contaminated with the SARS virus as the probable point source of exposure.
Update on cases and countries: As of today, a cumulative total of 3461 cases with 170 deaths have been reported from 25 countries on five continents. This represents an increase of 72 new cases and 5 deaths since the last WHO update. The deaths occurred in Hong Kong SAR (4) and Singapore (1).
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New developments in the US Immigration Law and their Effect on the Biotechnology
sector
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·
Focus on Careers - US Immigration Law and Its
Effect on Biotech
Summary:
Biotechnology companies in the United States often find foreign national
candidates they are eager to hire. These candidates might be students graduating
from American universities, research scientists working for other companies, or
individuals living abroad who do collaborative scientific work of interest to
American employers. Hiring foreign nationals involves interacting with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS, soon to be a different agency under
the Department of Homeland Security) and understanding a foreign national’s
right to work in the United States on a temporary basis (pursuant to a
nonimmigrant visa) and on a long-term basis (as a permanent resident).
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How to look for a job like a true Canadian
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I think it is worth while to continue the topic I brought up in the previous issue, i.e. difficulties faced by newcomers when looking for a job. Before I explain why I want to continue, I'd like to thank all of you who sent me their feedback last time. It's nice to know that someone does in fact read this newsletter!
I think the rest of you may be interested to find out that I got two opposite opinions: a few newcomers wrote to me and thanked me for my advice; a few Canadian-born users got somewhat offended on behalf of newcomers and told me that the newcomers do not need to be "mothered" and that my language is too sharp. How Canadian of them! And this is precisely the reason I want to dwell on this topic a bit more. If this topic has provoked such a high rate of responses (I know that people don't send their opinions unless there is something they care about!), let me talk about it a bit more, and I will then relate it to your job search.
One of the most characteristic Canadian features, as it is observed by both Canadians themselves and people from other cultures, is that Canadians very often get offended, that they are exceptionally sensitive (you almost can't call a cow a cow anymore; you have to say "large farm-raised hey-fed animal"). Canadians in general are very protective and always speak up in defense of those who, from their point of view, are being unfairly treated or judged. If you read newspapers, you'll see that almost every day someone apologizes for offending someone else, i.e. saying something which can potentially be interpreted as offensive, it does not even have to be a direct statement. If you are new to Canada, you will notice it a lot, later you'll get used to it.
You make an innocent joke of someone's size (God forbids!), and you are running a risk of being perceived as "promoting hatred" [the only safe way to do it is if you yourself happen to be overweight!] Whether you like it or not, it's something you should be aware of and get used to. Canadians are very sensitive to those whom they view as "helpless" and "vulnerable" and they often overreact when trying to protect these people. Unless you work for an official comedy show, you are better off not risking any of these or similar jokes, even if you think they are innocent and not offensive.
Another thing is your language, and I don't mean your grammar.
To start sounding like a Canadian, try doing this
exercise:
Warning: doing it a lot on an every day basis will (not "may", but will!) change
your mentality.
Here are a couple of examples.
Canadian English:
In the event of a second exam failure, chances are high that a student may be
expelled from the University.
Notice the passive voice in the second clause and intentional avoidance of a direct pronoun "you". By saying "you" in Canada, you are running a risk of potentially offending someone (in other words, someone will take it personally and get offended by you!).
Canadian English: Those who often come to work late may be moved to the end of the line for getting a promotion.
I think you got an idea of what I mean by saying "dilute" your language with probability elements. Using passive voice, as opposed to active voice, when expressing an opinion, especially a political or social opinion, will help Canadians understand your point of view better (in other words, it will keep you from unwillingly offending someone).
At the beginning, you may find this linguistic twist rather disturbing (for example: local water resources were severely polluted and it took a very long time to fix the problem, so the government officials expressed their “strong disappointment” with the speed of the recovery action….disappointment?), but later you will be glad that it exists: no one will ever tell you anything really negative, you will never be criticized, and your day will never be spoiled. If you screw up something really badly, the worst thing that will happen is that your boss will invite you in his/her office and will delicately tell you, in the nicest possible way, that you need to improve this or that. No one will ever call you an "idiot", "stupid", or anything along these lines (it is illegal here!). So get used to it and enjoy!
Now, you are probably thinking, how does all this yada-yada apply to my job search? How is it going to help me find a job?
It should help you with all your follow-up calls (you are making them, aren't you?) and your job interview. In particular, it would come useful when speaking with receptionists and when answering "negative" questions.
When speaking with receptionists, never say "when is your boss going to be back?" Instead, say "when would be a good time to try and call back, if you don't mind, of course".
During the job interview, do not say anything that can even remotely be interpreted as "potentially offensive" or "negative". If you feel that you absolutely have to say something “negative” (it can be very normal things that you had all the right not to like!), use the "reverse" technique.
· For example, if they ask you what it is that you did not like at your previous job, you may want to say
1) "There wasn't anything bad actually, but I guess (dilution) I'd have liked it more [reversal from negative to positive] if there were a cafeteria and a better variety of soft drinks.
2) “Well, there wasn't anything negative, really, but I guess I was hoping for [notice “hoping” - modesty!] more challenging and interesting assignments; that's why I am here, from what I know about it so far, this job sounds very interesting to me, it appears that my future responsibilities would allow me to learn new skills and advance the ones I already have, and that's why I am really excited about it".
Now, if after reading this newsletter, you feel "offended" for some reason, please re-read it again. I hope that you will be able to see that I am trying to help people with specific and practical advice (as opposed to general recommendations), and if it takes using straight forward language, so be it.
In the next issue, I'd talk about another social issue that I think is also very important for both native-born Canadians and newcomers in the job search. I'd like to talk about what I call "linguistic subordination" and when and how to implement it for your advantage.
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Interesting links
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·
Get Your Health the Natural Way
Check out the 10 basic rules of trophology or the science of food combining
(under the top menu ‘Food and Dieting’). All this makes perfect sense to me, but
can someone please send me real life recipes?
·
Cancer Prevention Measures
All right, I surrender already! More information on the natural way to
strengthen your immune system.
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Conference announcement
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·
XIX International Congress on Genetics
July 6- 11, 2003
Melbourne, Australia
The International Congress of Genetics is held just once every five years. This
year, a total of 280 elite, invited speakers will address the Congress. The
remarkable lineup of special guests and speakers at the 2003 Genetics Congress
includes eight Nobel Laureates:
· Sydney Brenner
· Peter Doherty
· Robert Horvitz
· H. Gobind Khorana
· John Sulston
· Susumu Tonegawa
· James D. Watson, and
· Eric Wieschaus.
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- The End -
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To give me your feedback or ask a question, write to me at anna@pulsehr.com. I personally reply to all questions in the hope that my information and advice will be of help to people seeking employment, i.e. means to advance in life while supporting themselves and their loved ones. If you send me an email and do not receive a reply from me within two business days, there might have been a communication error or our server may have rejected your email, in which case please re-send your message.
Anna Tulchinsky
PulseHR Co-founder
+1 (613) 231-6308
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