For those who know me, Video games are a passion of mine. I've loved them since the first time I made a tiny plumber cross the screen and crush some mushrooms. I have always seen them as a constantly evolving work of art. Video games are a media that surpasses movie and literature because you have direct impact on the story. You are not just there to follow with your minds camera, but to experience events in either first or third person, and have your inputs and actions drive or even engineer the story. One franchise that proves this concept is Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda, a franchise spanning 35 years, 14 consoles and 27 games, and has taken storytelling to new heights with a protagonist that never speaks. 

Note: We will never speak of the CD-i Zelda games, so the protagonist is still silent. 

​The story itself is fairly simple in nature. A young hero, Link, is tasked with saving a kingdom from an unknown evil, typical referred to as Ganon, and is supported by a princess, Zelda, with her knowledge and wisdom. In the majority of the games there is also a reference to the mythical triforce: the light that grants the user a wish to shape the world however they see fit. The triforce is named after the three components: Power, Wisdom and Courage. In the game, the hero, Link, represents courage for his willingness to face evil and never turn down a challenge. Wisdom is represented by Princess Zelda, who the legend is about. Her ability to know what's best for the kingdom and seek out the hero are allow her to lead her kingdom through the coming ordeal. And lastly, Power is represented by Ganon, an even born of malice and anger that looks to consume, control or destroy the world, depending on who he possesses at the time to move his plans forward. 

Video games have a unique place in storytelling. They allow a type of interactivity that movies and literature cannot provide. I recently subscribed to Apple Arcade and discovered the game, A Fold Apart. The game follows two people in a relationship who are separated by distance due to work. One character moved to the big city for work; the other remained in the town where they met. The game explores how the couple deals with the impact long distance has on their relationship. The game is played using paper as a storytelling instrument: You fold the screen in an origami fashion to connect paths and bridges in order to move the characters forward in their story. The story is told through streams of text messages and thoughts that express the couple emotions. It also shows how miscommunications happen when the couple are limited to text messages. The stories told in A Fold Apart gave me an unexpected insight and ‘unfolded’ the ambience of the Human Resources profession.

I have a question to all HR Professionals who are reading this article right now: Have you ever tried to use your Employer Assistance Program (EAP) through your benefits provider? Not just provided the brochure when asked, or attended a webinar on the benefits package, but actually tried to access the services that are offered through the provider?

I was recently in a position of trying to access mental health services for myself through an EAP, and I have never accessed a more confusing process before. I've administered benefits for hourly employees for over 3000 employees in both Canada and US and was led to believe that these systems were streamlined to be easy to access. I have been experiencing heavy feelings of anxiety and dread lately, and since it persisted for a longer duration than normal, I knew I have to reach out for support. I am thankful that my colleagues, and family recognized the shifts in my behaviour to help me move forward with seeking help.

​So, you’ve landed the job, started your first day, and right away you are handed a laptop and an iPhone for company use. I.T. was gracious enough to remember to provide you with all the logins you need, and you begin the set-up process to that you can get to do the work being paid for. Before you get neck deep in logins and passwords, here’s 3 things you should know about company issued devices and your privacy;

​That first day of work can always be intimidating. You show up 15 minutes early, despite the fact your boss won’t show up for another 20 minutes, prepped and ready to start your new career. You have no idea where the bathroom is, and your too afraid to ask, so you avoid all forms of liquid until you find it. You can’t figure out the copier, you’ve already locked your account and can’t find IT to help, and you key to the parking garage wasn’t set up, so you have wait to follow someone out.
 
Well I’m here to tell you that it does need to be so bad! We expect HR to prepare everything for us, and although they want to provide your everything to be success in your new job, they may miss a couple things with the heavy load they carry.
 
So, here’s a quick check list of three things your need to learn on your first day of work!

At some point in their life, everyone will encounter the interview process whether when applying for a job or going on your first date, you will be berated with questions designed to get to know you and extract information. You probably spend most of your time preparing for these questions, making elaborate stories to questions such as “What’s you biggest weakness?” Or “Where do you plan to be in 5 years?” (Both questions are indications of a bad interviewer, by the way).

However, the most important question that an interviewer asks you will be “Do you have any questions for me?”. This is not only your time to shine but also your opportunity to learn more about the person or company that you are going to be working for soon. If you get the role, you should know what you’re getting into.
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Here are 3 questions you should always ask an interviewer at the end of an interview.

Since the early 20th century, the resume has been the standard on which employers judge perspective candidates worthy of joining their ranks, and since the dawn of the modern PC, the Word template for resumes has been used to “impress” recruiters. While this resume template has your five main points of contact that we all believe recruiters want to see, it doesn’t stand out next to the hundreds of applicants a job positing can garner.

On average, a recruiter takes 3 seconds to review a resume before moving on to the next or putting you in one step closer to getting a phone call for the pre-screen. With that in mind, here are 3 ways you can spice up that jumble of word salad of your greatest achievements that you call your resume to make it worth a recruiter’s time;

Quick show of hands, who has heard the saying: You don’t leave the company, you leave the boss? It’s an adage in management and leadership that describes the impact managers, supervisors and foreman have on their people. Even if a company has all of the perks in the world, people will still leave if they don’t like their boss.

In today’s world, the average time a employee will remain with a company is between 2-5 years. The perception is that the younger generations lack loyalty and are bored easily. However, in our line of work, we see it more than ever that employees will cross the street for $0.50 raise or some other small incentive, which is why we need to engage our people to get them to remain with us long term. Here’s how generational thinking impacts us as an organization.

In September of 2015, I was giving the opportunity to work in another part of the country for my company and help establish the Human Resources department in the new location. It was a chance that I jumped at, as I recently graduated with my degree in HR and was excited to flex my experiential muscles and use that expensive education. The nice thing about being young and inexperienced is that you don't know what to expect, and the expectation is that you will be able to handle whatever gets thrown at you. Well, let me give you a few tips on what I learned about traveling for work, and how to prepared yourself for a very turbulent time. 

Last week, it was announce by our new Premier that minimum wage would be increased to $15 an hour by 2018. This is an incredible raise for those of us who are on work on minimum wage, and a significant blow to business who rely on cheap labour to keep their business running.  While it needs to be recognized that minimum wage is not the solution to poverty, it elevates some of the burden that many face in our financial lives. Here is my report of minimum wage being raised back in September to $10.20, and how that minimal increase was almost a waste of time for most people. A quick note; going from $10.20 to $15 an hour while working 40 hours a week mean a weekly increase of $192 before taxes.