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By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

© your polished resume got you
S the interview and your social skills
during the interview got you the
job. Now that you’ve got the job, here
are some tips to make the best of the first

stages.

¢ First impressions are crucial:
First and foremost, make sure
you show up on time and don’t
be the first to head out the
door as soon as work hours are
over. You made a good first
impression with the boss or the
human resources rep during
the interview, now it is time to
make a good impression with
the people that you work with
on a daily basis.

* Dress the part: Depending
on the job, what you wear
may be a crucial element to
the first impression. Start
conservatively and gauge what
others wear before you decided
to go out on a limb to make a

 

Me

Tips for starting the new job

 

 

statement.

* Get to know your co-workers:
Chances are the first couple
of days will be heavy on the
introductions. You will meet
more people on the first day
then you will in the first month.
It is crucial to remember names.
Make sure you clarify during
the introduction if you are
uncertain. It is always awkward
to have to ask someone who
you have been working with for
the last month what his or her
name is. That being said, there
are ways to find out names
without directly asking and
if you work in a place where
nametags are mandatory, you're
in the clear.

* Don’t be afraid to ask for
help: The only question that
is a dumb question is the one
that is asked repeatedly. Asking
questions shows that you are
keen to learn and to make sure
that you’re doing things right.

¢ Show your enthusiasm: The

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interview process may have
been long, and if we are talking
about a career, chances are you
have invested years of your life
in education in order to attain
this position. You were chosen
because you were the best
candidate, which is something
to be proud of. Show your
enthusiasm and remember, you
like what you do.

¢ Be prepared: Make sure you’re
ready with any information that
you may need to bring on the

 

first day. Depending on the job,
you may also need to read and
brush up on some material.

¢ Do your thing: You were
hired to do a job and do it
well—so do it. Remember to
perform everyday and that
each employer is a potential
reference for a future job.

Bottom line, show up everyday ready to
rock and you’re sure to impress, make a
good first impression and survive the first
stages of employment.

 

 

“Canada needs to make virtual water a reality” .

 

 

 

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4500

 

Beef

VIRTUAL
WAT

 

litres of water for
one steak (300g) of

 

 

By Knowlton Thomas

n the developing world, the average

amount of water drawn from tap is 10

litres per person per day. In Europe,
this number shoots to 200 litres. In North
America, this doubles even further to 400
litres. But this is only from the various
taps in and outside of one’s home— what
happens when you look at the entire chain
of production? What happens is that one’s
standard breakfast suddenly comes with a
price tag of nearly 3,000 litres.

For basic survival, it’s estimated that

a typical human requires less than three
litres per day, which means our daily

breakfast is three hundred times more costly
than our entire day could be. But modern
methods of manufacturing long ago erased
any possibility for us to survive on so few
litres. The simple fact is that humans in the
developed world consume a lot of water.
Not just a lot, but more than we have. On
the global spectrum, humans use water at
a rate of four per cent beyond its rate of
replenishment. And because only three
per cent of earth’s water is fit for human
consumption, and the majority of that is
locked up in glaciers, there isn’t a lot of
room to play around.

Canada, for one, is what could be a
considered a water-rich country. One might

expect that to be so because of all the snow
and ice we have chillin’ out, but that is
actually not the case. H,O above the ground
is relatively unimportant in this context. For
example, the Great Lakes are aptly named
but surprisingly useless—surface water
accounts for just three per cent of potable
and accessible water. The remainder sits

in underground aquifers, and this is where
Canada earns some bragging rights.

Our glorious country boasts one fifth
of the world’s fresh water, six per cent of
the world’s supply of renewable fresh water
and a magnificent abundance of cheap
and arable land. This combination of key
players puts us on a pedestal of potential.

With a well-designed strategy, Canada
could be a gold medalist in water exporting.
There seems to be a problem, though;
shipping giant tanks of water in trucks and
planes and boats (the irony!) is painfully
ineffective and far too counterproductive for
obvious reasons. Now, enter the concept of
“virtual water.”

Virtual water brings us back to
the daily breakfast and its net cost for
production all the way down the chain.
For something as simple as coffee, this
includes growing, cleaning, processing,
roasting, and brewing the beans. Then
there is the manufacturing and design of
the cup, sleeve, lid, etc. So, when you look
at the final product, there are dozens of
subcomponents that all required certain
amounts of “virtual water” to create. And
it is with this that Canada can market itself
a major water exporter. We don’t actually
export or trade water but rather agricultural
products with defined virtual water costs
to areas of the world that lack fresh water
resources.

This virtual flow of water beats
sticking suction pipes into the Great Lakes
any day and poises us to become a trading
powerhouse. The framework of virtual
water benefits both parties involved and
provides Canada with a surfeit of food,
energy, and water, allowing it to become
economically stable for the long run.
Canada needs to make virtual water a
reality!

 

 

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