Tausi Insider

Photo : metamorworks ( Shutterstock ) So you’ve aced the interview so far: You had the perfect anecdote for every question, you honestly but tactfully admitted your weaknesses, and you made the interviewer laugh. You’re ready to ride off into the sunset with this job, but then the interviewer gives you the floor to ask your own questions. What should you ask that’s going to make you look smart and knowledgeable, interesting and memorable? While the questions you ask during an interview might not get you the job offer on a silver platter, they can definitely move the needle and leave your interviewer feeling more confident about potentially adding you to the team. This is a chance to show that you’re thinking carefully about the opportunity and set you apart from other candidates, as well as learn information that will actually help you decide if you want to join this company. I’ve heard all kinds of advice about The Perfect Question to ask (“ask about success metrics so they know ...

Photo : fizkes ( Shutterstock ) No matter where it happens—whether it’s at a family holiday gathering, the office, or among friends—being on the receiving end of a highly personal question can be jarring. Sure, the person asking the question could be well-intentioned, but their request for information that you’d prefer not to share can catch you off-guard (not to mention cause you to be annoyed or upset). As satisfying as it may be to tell them that it’s none of their business, that’s not always the best option. Fortunately, the folks at Talking Points for Life have put together a list of canned responses to help get you through situations like this. Here’s what to know. How to answer intrusive questions We first learned of the Talking Points for Life website from the Recomendo newsletter , and after exploring it a bit, thought it would be the perfect time of the year to share some of their strategies for responding to those prying questions that tend to arise when catching up w...

THE QUESTION I was recently promoted to a managerial position and part of my responsibility is to deal with angry customers. I am able to stay calm while altercations are happening and find them a solution, but I find it incredibly stressful. I love everything else about my new role, except for this. I don’t want my supervisor to think I’m incapable of my new responsibilities. What should I do? THE FIRST ANSWER Erin Gray , senior vice-president of customer experience, Endy, Toronto Great question. After working within the customer experience world for more than two decades, I hope I can extend some advice that will alleviate the stress that comes with dealing with angry customers. If you’re a person with high levels of empathy (like me), then managing irate customers is more of a challenge, because you’ll likely feel the emotions they’re emitting more so than a less empathetic person. However, early in my career, I learned that a naturally empathic character can be a superpower in de...

B.C. Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman speaks during an announcement at Burns Bog, in Delta, B.C., on June 29, 2020. DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press A British Columbia judge has tossed out a lawsuit that accused the B.C. government of violating its own rules to account for greenhouse gas emission targets. In dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club of British Columbia, Justice Jasvinder Basran finds the environment and climate change minister has “reasonably complied” with the Climate Change Accountability Act. It requires the government to publish annual reports outlining progress toward emissions targets for 2025, 2040 and 2050, but the Sierra Club alleged both the 2021 report and the oil and gas sector target for 2030 didn’t include that data. Basran agrees the case represents “an appropriate legal question” because wording of the act indicates the legislature “intended for these reporting obligations to be enforceable by the courts,” but he says...

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva attends a session at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images The year ahead looks better than feared for the global economy but remains fraught with risks including escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and the emergence of a transatlantic trade war, the World Economic Forum’s final panel concluded. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the Davos audience that what had improved was the potential for China to boost growth and that the IMF now forecast Chinese growth of 4.4 per cent for 2023. While that was likely to prompt the IMF in coming days to upgrade its current forecast of 2.7 per cent growth for the year ahead, she cautioned against expecting any “dramatic improvement” on that figure. One risk tied to China’s re-opening, with its potential to heat up global demand and prices for energy, was that it triggered a new wave of infl...