IT’S amazing the stuff they never ‘ teach you at school. Somehow I sat ‘through a year of Latin but nobody ever taught me how to go through a job interview. Until now. By Douglas Broome -, Contributing Writer Recently 1 joined a job club, a place where ‘you receive formal instruction and practice in the right way of going about a job search, 1's been a revelation. Han interviewer says, “Tell me about yourself,” you're not supposed to gaze blankly and say “I dunno.” You're not supposed to Iminch into a 15." minute recounting of the high'points of your. : ‘epic life. And you're definitely not supposed - to say, “However did you dream up such an idiotic question?” . "Nope, none of those, When an jniterviewer ’ says “Tell.me about yourself,” you give a 30- . second appraisal of how your work history, : job attributes and personal interests mesh _with the needs of the employer, Perfectly 7 simple, Perfectly logical. “Pve also learned from the job club that : there are many outstanding people looking for jobs, and that talented immigrants still see Canada as a land of opportunity. “return to,” Lonsdale resident Roger Burrows has a degree in biology from Dathousie University. An avid naturalist, he conducted resource * inventories for four national parks in Atfantic Canada and wrote a three-volume series called Birding In Adantic Canada, He was also the publisher and editoz of Decks Awash, a magazine whose bimonthly issues described the life of Newfoundland’s tural areas and outports, When the magazine failed in the face of a devastated Newfoundland economy, Burrows came west to B.C., “a place Lalways meant té he says. Alan Bearder now calls Lynn Valley home after earlier stints in Britain, Singupore, Australia, ‘Germany and Haly — to name just afew. ; He's an engineering graduate of King’s College, Cambridge ~— one of the oldest col- leges at one of the world’s best universities — and of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Bearder came to North Van last December to join his wife Vivienne, who works at the | B.C. Cancer Agency. He retired from the British Army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel because he foresaw his business “downsizing in a major way,” he cemments with a chuckle. In his army work he was an executive engineer in charge of large infrastructure pro- of finding a job jects such as pipelines and was also trained in the rehabilitation of disaster areas, He's vol- unteered his expertise with the North Shore’s emergency services. Mikhail Kanartchev came to Canada from Bulgaria tast June along with his artist wife, Marina, and their four-year-old son Cyril. Formerly a manager at a national research institute and tecturer at the University of Sofia, he has advanced degrees in physics und extensive experience in computer model- ing in earth sciences, geophysics and clima- tology. Kanartchev describes the immense changes sweeping Eastern Europe as “a revo- lution without war. [t's a fantastic fact in human history. It's the reconstruction of soci- ety.” But the reconstruction has also led to much economic hardship, and Kanartchev says that it may take a decade for anything near normalcy to be restored. He learned about Vancouver from a pro- gram about the city’s aquavium shown on - Sofia’s French-language television station. The decision to emigrate wasn’t easy, the thoughtful scientist says. There's a balance. You say ‘OK, | will lose this for the future of this.” The first work he found in Vancouver involved the essence of capitalism — com- puter modeling for a mutual fund. Dear Editor: Bulgaria was blessed with a peaceful rev- olution, but in former Yugoslavia the change has been bloody. Although she professes no interest in poli- tics, interior designer Ruzica Jovanovic feels unguish for her country. In practical terms, economic sanctions against Serbia have meant the loss of her international clientele, and last November she came to Vancouver to join her son Alexander, a forestry student at UBC, : A graduate of architectural and economics colleges in Belgrade, Jovanovic has been the interior design manager for some prestigious projects including the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, the Yugoslav Embassy i in Paris, and new department stores in Russia, “Before this crazy war,” she worked as 4 designer across Europe, Africa and the Middle Eust. Each morning at nine J go to Landell and Associittes, the job-search firm, Gathered . around the table is a microcosm of the world, 11 people with compelling human stories. If you are an employer who could use some of the remarkuble talent assembled around that table, the number is 689-8148, By the way, my name is Doug Broome. . ‘ I'm a researcher, writer and journalist with a record of getting the story and getting it right. I'm looking for a challenging job. ; shters defended. Thanks for fundraiser support | ’ On March 27, the firefighters W. Van firefig ‘Dear Editor: ; ~ “Re: Trevor Lautens column, “Friday, April 15. I take exception to Mr. Lautens’ cynical phrase, name- “firefighters who rarely fight fires.” I would suggest ‘that he ‘spend a typical day with any of the four firehalls to gain’ an apprecia- ‘tion ‘of what it means to be a fire-- ‘fighter in West Vancouver. ‘To: ‘begin with, the firefighters . are often the first at a medical emergency since they are geograph- ically closer'than most ambulance | Stations. For this reason he would be well-advised to record his near- - est firehall number as well as 9-1-1. It might save his life. In addition, West Vancouver firefighters are among the best any- where for their involvement in fire classrooms and malls. It is also a fact that many volunteer their time _ and money to support charities such as the Children’s Hospital. Perhaps Mr. Lautens needs a few good fires to justify their exis- tence, but for me I am happy to know, they are close at hand and on duty day and night. George M. Barton ~ On March 25 and 26 the fire- fighters of West Vancouver held their 1994 fundraiser for multiple sclerosis (MS) at Park Royal Shopping Centre’s north and ‘ south malls. As our members enjoyed a fantastic response from. the public, I would like to thank . Park Royal and the hundreds of generous citizens who joined us presented the MS Society with’ over $4,400 in donations, -which surpasses last year’s total by.over $1,000. Well done to all,those who enabled us to help the MS Society. f Jay W. Brownlee - we West Vancouver. Firefighters? Union. / IAFF Local 1525. prevention programs in school - North Vancouver to help combat this disease. . ‘Introducing the flexible and friendly 20/20 Mortgage. If you love your house but hate your mortgage ask Hongkong Bank of Canada for help. One good. ' idea is a bi-weekly payment schedule. [f you get paid every two weeks it really makes sense. Hongkong Bank of Canada has lots of good, simple ideas to help you get a mortgage you can live with. Like our 20/20 pre-payment options ~ 20% of the balance on the anniversary date or increase your payments by 20% annually. Choose weekly, _ semi-monthly, bi-weekly or other payment “options. We're very flexible and will work harder to be your mortgage lender. Let us help you save time and money witha flexible 20/20 Mortgage. Mail or fax us this coupon. We'll help you get a flexible mortgage you can live with. 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