A tax break for all Canadians is here

📰 Featured

🏦 The Liberal government survived third Conservative non-confidence vote. NDP saves the day, again. (CTV News)

🤖 Cohere, an AI startup backed by NVIDIA will build an ‘multibillion-dollar’ AI data centre in Canada with financial support from the Canadian government (they are also hiring!). (Yahoo)

🚞 Calgary’s unemployment rate is skyrocketing - and it’s not because of layoffs, there are simlply way too many people moving to the city. (CBC)

🧑‍✈️ Air Canada follows WestJet - they will too charge for carry-on luggage. Starting January 3, 2025, Air Canada will implement new fees for basic economy passengers on flights within the U.S. and Canada. Fees for the first carry-on bag will range from $35 to $65 and the Canadian government is not happy. (Yahoo)

🫙 Canadian unemployment is at the highest level sine Jan 2017 at 6.8% . The statisticians blame the population growth and insist that the job market still remains healthy - we just need for jobs to catch up with the population growth, or slow the population gowth down. (Global News)

🥳 GST/HST Holiday is coming this week.

..and here’s how to Make the Most of the GST/HST Tax Holiday

The GST/HST tax holiday is a welcome break for holiday shoppers starting Dec 14 all the way until Feb 15th. While some publications state the tax break will not make any difference - but we say that any dollar saved is a dollar I can use for something better than tax!

Heres where you can save thanks to tax cuts:

1. Food and Beverages

• Groceries: Most food items, including fresh produce, dairy, and pantry staples. (Most groceries are tax free already)

• Takeout and Earing out: Dining out or ordering in qualifies.

• Non-Alcoholic Beverages: Soft drinks, juices, and other non-alcoholic drinks.

2. Children's Essentials

• Clothing and Footwear: Apparel and shoes designed for children.

• Diapers: Includes disposable and cloth diapers, as well as training pants.

• Car Seats: Safety seats for children are covered.

• Toys and Games: Items like jigsaw puzzles and 🕹️ video game consoles.

3. Reading Materials

• Physical Books: Printed books, including novels and educational materials.

• Printed Newspapers: Daily and weekly newspapers.

4. Seasonal Items

• Christmas Trees: Both real and artificial trees.

• Decorative Trees: Similar festive decorations.

5. Miscellaneous

• Safety Equipment: Items like smoke detectors priced under $250.

• First Aid Kits: Comprehensive kits for home or travel use.

According to a NerdWallet survey, Canadians plan to spend an average of $698 on gifts. Those purchases alone could translate into savings of $35 in GST or up to $91 in HST if you’re in Ontario.

Combining the tax holiday with Boxing Day sales could lead to even bigger discounts on big-ticket items. For example, a $1,300 PlayStation 5 bundle in Ontario could save you $169 in HST alone.

Happy shopping!

🧑‍🎓 How to do interviews well

Early in my career, I was once told I rambled too much in an interview.

I didn’t love hearing it, but they weren’t wrong—and I appreciated the honesty.

Here’s why rambling can hurt your interviews:
→ It can make you seem unfocused.
→ You (or the listener) might lose the thread of the main point.
→ Long-winded answers can get boring and the listener will lose attention.

Here’s what helped me cut the rambling and get straight to the point:

1. Use Cheat Sheets
   I kept quick notes on key stories I wanted to tell in an interview to stay on track. My main background information, my success stories, situational questions I knew they’d ask.

2. Use STAR Method
   Using the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) helped me structure answers clearly. It’s the single best method to make sure you provide good valuable answers.

3. The Rule of Three
   I limited responses to three key points, making answers easier to follow and remember.
   Example: "Three skills I bring to this role are X, Y, and Z." OR “Here are three things I did in this situation” OR “There are three things I am most proud of in my career”

4. Pause with Confidence
   I practiced embracing short pauses to gather my thoughts—it’s better than filling the space with fluff. If it feels awkward to pause, have a bottle of water nearby, you can always disguise the pause with the need to take a sip of water.

5. Keeping it short
   I aimed for 60-90 second answers to stay concise and relevant. Longer answers increase the risk the listener will lose attention.

6. Practice on Video
   Recording my responses helped me refine both my delivery and body language. It is even better if you can practice your interview skills with someone you trust.

7. Pre-Planned Key Messages
   Before interviews, I outlined the core skills or experiences I wanted to highlight.
   Example: For a tech role, I’d focus on 1) problem-solving, 2) team collaboration, and 3) technical leadership.

If you want an alternative way to practice your personal pitch, sign up for our Resume Bootcamp where we will develop and practice your pitch together!

🍰 Timbits

🤑 MEC is offering up to 65% off, including 40% off Patagonia.

🎁 Best Buy has up to $660 off iPads

📲 Top 9 Apps every Canadian must use for smarter financial and professional life

📦️ 25% of Canadians have had their mail package stolen. Watch out.

💵 7 seemingly smart money decisions that aren’t actually good decisions.

🦜 Want to connect with other newcomers? Fill out this form to get matched!

🍰 Event alert: job fair in Calgary.

Don’t miss a Job Fair in Calgary on Dec 18th:

💼 Jobs Highlights

Got a job posting you’d like to promote? Fill out this form

📌The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, has 10 roles open in Project Office, Engineering, Communications, Safety and Risk.

📌 Cohere, an AI enterprise platform, is hiring for remote roles for Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian and Chinese Data Annotators.

📌 Bento, Canadian fast food sushi brand, has 30 positions open across Canada in food service, food production and warehousing.

📌 Float, a Canadian business banking platform, has 20+ roles across sales, finance, product, design and marketing.

📌 Canadian Solar, has 20 jobs open including Jr Analyst, Sr Project Manager and Coordinator, Procurement Coordinator and Accounts Payable.

📌 Oxford Learning, a Canadian tutoring company, has 50+ roles open in Part-time and Full-time tutoring and teaching for Math,English, French and Science

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