Re: My Work, My Education

The careers and jobs featured in your newspaper are more or less the ‘cookie cutter’ variety. With a larger reader base, you need to consider the implications of this. As a second generation Asian myself, I know it is still a rather daunting task to enter the workforce. Our parents make us study endlessly and often times it feels like our heads are buried in the sand. Realistically, many Asian students only know of these ‘cookie cutter’ positions. So, why not offer them more variety?
My suggestion to you is to feature more specialized careers.  For example, everyone knows about pharmaceutical sales. Don’t get me wrong, this career is stable and exciting but sales is not for everyone. On the other hand, not everyone knows about the more specialized positions within a pharmaceutical company, eg.a Health Economist. This is a position that your readers probably have never heard of – it is person who is responsible for quantifying ‘health’.  From personal experience, I can tell you it’s a highly analytical and requires a lot of patience (Oh yes, did I mention that it’s a lucrative career because it’s extremely specialized?)

Robert Chou,
MBA Candidate,
Assistant Product
Marketing Manager,
Bayer Healthcare Canada

Re: Beauty wants to save teens, March 9, 2007

I have watched the courage of Nazanin Afshin-Jam, on behalf of her namesake in Iran’s prison. I have high praise for such compassion and determination. Let us raise our voice and join Nazanin’s bravery and put pressure on the barbarity of Iran’s lack of justice for their youth! 

Esther McIlveen, Journalist
Richmond, BC

Re: Editorial: Affirmative Action, March 9, 2007

I have a few comments to make about your recent editorial:
1) “Half of visible minority participants educated outside Canada felt employers didn’t value their foreign credentials as highly as Canadian diplomas, degrees and certificates.”
Comment: Even degrees from Stanford and Harvard...two Indian Canadians working with me here in Washington DC had degrees from these institutions...then again, not sure whether color of the skin mattered.
2) “They were twice as likely to feel this way as their white/Caucasian counterparts who had studied abroad.”
Comment: Perhaps a white person’s degree from Harvard or Stanford is more valuable than a visible minority’s degree from those institutions...now this is racism.
2) “Affirmative action programs like Hancock’s are an insult to visible minorities. Our message is simple. Recognize our credentials not our colour.”
Comment: Easier said than done.

G.C.Raj,
Washington DC

It is easy to appreciate your concern about affirmative action but the concept that there are people who don’t get hired because their credentials are not recognized is much too simplistic. Where ever you go in the world your credentials must be able to be validated, they must be shown to be equivalent to those required in the local jurisdiction and you must be able to prove your skill set using the language of that jurisdiction.
I have been on the hiring end and interviewed too many who claimed a skill set that could not be confirmed either through reference or through testing.
Be prepared to prove your credentials are the equivalent in whatever jurisdiction you expect to find a job. I don’t know of any employer who turned down someone who could validate their abilities through demonstration.
Where I worked, colour was never an issue but we did not accept credentials that could not be verified AND confirmed through testing.
 
William F. Bush,
Financial Industry,
Vancouver

Re: Feed the Homeless Campaign 2007,
March 9, 2007

There is another homeless campaign taking place on March 31st, 2007, food and drinks are to be prepared at Khalsa Diwan Society, New Westminster BC (Wood Street) at 2:00PM. If there is anyone that would like to donate food and drinks please phone Jatinder Singh on 604 866 5432 or Nikki Bachu 604 649 1490. Thank You!

Indy Panchi, Realtor
Vancouver BC

It is really nice to see our community coming together and doing something positive. Sikhs lately have been depicted in the media in such a negative way. It is really nice to see the true Sikh spirit of love and sharing. This is such a good cause and something to really be proud of. Good job guys and much continued success. 

Sukhi,
Accountant,
Surrey

Re: Do we want a revolution?

Lately, there are disturbing news reports on the invasion by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) soldiers of depressed areas not only in Metro Manila but nationwide, harassing residents, asking them silly questions and directly telling them not to vote for members of the party-list candidates running in the mid-term local and national elections.
If massive cheating in this coming political exercise by the Arroyo government cannot be stopped, the people might revolt and fresh blood will spilled on the streets not only in Metro Manila but also nationwide.

Mike Moreno
Richmond, BC