Cost Of Living Calculator

“Moving to British Columbia, or planning a move within B.C.? Find vital Cost of Living information using this dynamic and easy-to-use tool. Simply select your location and occupation information and the calculator will display cost of living results for that location. Our calculator will also compare your estimated expenses with your income to determine if such a move will be affordable based on your lifestyle and family makeup. The tool also allows you to compare different communities or regions to help make informed decisions.” Here’s a screen shot of the Cost Of Living Calculator on the www.WorkBC.ca website.  Try it out today!

WorkBC Tools

WorkBC is the place to get connected with government funded back to work assistance.  Take a look at this screen shot of all the “WorkBC Tools” that they have available for BC job seekers.  Also notice that they have “Live Chat Support” to answer the questions you might have.  Explore the www.WorkBC.ca site today!

What’s a Mother’s Work Worth?

In honour of Mother’s Day I started to think about all the things I juggle as a stay at home mom and work from home consultant. The list is endless, from cooking to cleaning, to writing articles to balancing the books, I have to do it all. I sometimes joke with my husband that if something should happen to me he would be need a lot of life insurance to replace me. So what do you think the work a mother is worth? Vishal Kumar shares his thoughts and a couple infographics populated with data from Salary.com to show what the working hours of a mother is worth. http://v1shal.com/content/what-is-a-moms-work-worth-infographic. What are your thoughts?

This post was written by Miranda Vande Kuyt, a blogger for the My ESC website and a mother of three. Find out more about Miranda through her website: http://mirandavandekuyt.wordpress.com.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Have you heard of the term “emotional intelligence”?  This refers to your ability to recognize your emotions and those of others, understand what those emotions mean, and respond to them.  There is a lot of information available about what emotional intelligence is (also known as EQ or EI), but how does it affect your career?  Quite simply it predicts how well you perform at work.  Dr. Daniel Goleman, leading psychologist in the study of EI, suggests that EI is the strongest predictor of performance and success at work, even stronger than IQ.

Psychologist differ in what they believe makes up EI but they all boil down to four main skills:

• Self-Awareness: the ability to identify your emotions and interpret what they mean
• Self-Management: the ability to use and control your emotions in healthy ways
• Social Awareness: the ability to notice and understand how others are feeling
• Relationship Management: the ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships with others

How emotionally intelligent are you?  There are a few quizzes out there that can help you understand where you might be:

• http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ei_quiz/
• http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm?
• There is also the BarOn EQ-i test that can be administered by a licensed practitioner.

The results of these assessments might have you excited or worried.  But, don’t fret emotional intelligence is a learned skill.  It can be learned at any age and at any stage of life.  For more information about emotional intelligence you can visit these websites or try your local library for resources on the subject.

• http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq5_raising_emotional_intelligence.htm#what
• http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_59.htm

This article was written by Miranda Vande Kuyt, a blogger for the My ESC website. Find out more about Miranda through her website: http://mirandavandekuyt.wordpress.com.