Margaret Schwartz, Author at Placemaking 4G

Apr 26 2023

Sounds like you’ve got a Masters Degree in Lived Experience

April 26, 2023 / By Margaret Schwartz

Are degrees still relevant? We might argue, not always. Job-posting data shows that between 2012-2022 companies in Canada reduced university degree requirements by 13%. Imagine if more companies rated candidates based on talent and skills rather than solely on academic qualifications. Well, they’re starting to. Companies like Apple and IBM no longer require a college …

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a laptop sits on a desk with a bouquet of dried flowers, a cactus and a a cup of pencils on either side of it. A job description is shown on the laptop monitor.

Mar 13 2023

10 ways to make job descriptions more holistic and accessible

March 13, 2023 / By Margaret Schwartz

We’ve reached an exciting milestone: with over 100 clients to date, we’ve produced upwards of 150 opportunity briefs (job descriptions) to attract candidates. We are appreciative when job seekers and colleagues alike trust us to receive their ideas, and open our eyes to ways we can improve a candidate’s first experience with us. More often …

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5 smiling P4G contributors are shown in front of a yellow and dark grey background with white text above them that says The Myth of the overqualified candidate

Jan 25 2023

The Myth of the Overqualified Candidate

January 25, 2023 / By Margaret Schwartz

In almost every search we conduct, there are always a handful of candidates whose experience and education alone transcend the requirements of the role. When this happens, we often hear: “They will get bored and leave within a year.” “They will have expectations that we can’t meet!” But what does it actually mean to be …

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white text on a blue background reads "What We've Learned About Acknowledging Land with Brady Paul. On the right, there is a photo of Brady with long hair and a button up shirt in front of a yellow background.

Jan 12 2023

Land Acknowledgements: Making them Meaningful

January 12, 2023 / By Margaret Schwartz

Most events we go to today – webinars, conferences panel discussions – lead with a land acknowledgement. All too commonly, these are read off re-used sheets of paper, directed by a teleprompter or the first template found on a google search. But less commonly, do we see them come directly from the heart. This is …

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In a dark blue bubble on the left, white text reads 8 shifts employers can expect in 2023. On the right, behind a light blue background are two cropped images of women, Margaret and Robynne, who work at P4G. Margaret is wearing a red flower patterned shirt. Robynne is wearing a black long sleeve. There is small yellow bar along the bottom that says brought to you by Margaret and Robynne

Dec 28 2022

9 Shifts Employers Can Expect in 2023

December 28, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

9 Shifts Employers Can Expect in 2023 To better equip HR teams for the evolution of work, we’ve compared findings from 7+ reports anticipating both gradual and major shifts that employers can expect in the coming year. Based on the findings and our own intersecting experiences, we share our top 9 suggestions to help hiring …

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Nov 8 2022

Workplace Wellness: From Surviving to Thriving

November 8, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

Workplace wellness strategies for the post-pandemic world As Nova Scotians continue to process trauma from the events of the past two and a half years, the prioritization of employee mental health continues to gain momentum. Earlier this month, Karn Nichols, Executive Director of Canadian Mental Health Association, NS Division (CMHA) and Bradley Daye, Co-Founder and …

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Jul 27 2022

Pay Transparency Drives Pay Equity

July 27, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

The 12.6 % wage gap between racialized, university-educated, Canadian-born people and their white peers didn’t just happen by itself (this means on average, racialized workers are making 87.4 cents for every dollar earned by a white worker). Organizations are typically built in a way that upholds inequity. In our industry, we consistently hear stories from …

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Jul 6 2022

We are Humans, not Resources

July 6, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

Shifting How We Talk About People at Work Human Resources. Something about it has always struck us as off putting. When you really think about it, it’s a dehumanizing way to talk about people. Resources are things we extract, categorize and add a price tag to – things like oil, water and energy. If we …

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Mar 24 2022

The Now of Work is Human

March 24, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

For a while now, theorists and economists alike, have been preparing us with great anticipation for the ‘Future of Work’. Something many of us have envisioned as an artificial intelligence takeover – a real-world ‘I Robot’. News flash: this ‘future’ is here. And it’s unfolding as we speak. While we know that over a quarter …

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blue musical notes reach a yellow background with right-aligned text reading Let's Stop People Who Fit In

Feb 26 2022

Let’s Stop Hiring People Who “Fit In”

February 26, 2022 / By Margaret Schwartz

“They don’t fit with the dynamic of our company culture.” “They fit right in.” “We are looking for the perfect fit.” You often hear organizations talk about finding the ‘right fit’ to join their team. While usually well-intentioned, we’ve come to learn on the P4G journey that this perspective can cause more harm than good. …

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