10 Tips to Capture Hot Candidates

Can your company improve the recruiting and hiring process? As the marketplace shifts to a candidate’s marketplace, companies are challenged to constantly analyze and improve their talent acquisition processes.

If a candidate has three offers, are you confident that they will take your offer?

Smart employers are beginning to realize that they must be willing to be innovative and move quickly to capture these hot candidates. Some successful techniques that we have seen employers use to capture star candidates include:

1. All interviews same day. Don’t force a candidate to come back twice if you can complete the evaluation in one day.  Efficient hiring processes demonstrate to a candidate that you are an agile, efficient company. That you respect and value their time. This gives the candidate a preview of what the processes throughout the company will be like.
2. Extend offers within days of the interview. How long do you really need to think about itJ
3. Signing bonuses.  A good alternative to raising the salary above a set salary band.
4. Free Tablets. It’s pretty cool to give the candidate an iPad when they sign up.  Cost low – impact high.
5. Working from Home privileges. A great way to demonstrate your commitment to work-life balance.
6. Flex Hours. Many companies have core hours when employees must be in the office but are flexible outside of the core hours.
7. Free beer. If you fill an open engineering position at Hipster, a startup in Silicon Valley, they will reward you with $10,000 in cash and a year's supply of beer.  http://bit.ly/ispZf3 
8. Have your stars interview star candidates. You need to bring out the top talent to capture the top talent
9. Know what the market rates are. Don’t try and lowball. If you know market rates it shows the candidate that you've done your research and you are willing to pay them what they are worth.
10. Gym Membership. A healthy employee is a happy, productive employee. Less sick daysJ

Empower the people doing the interviews to capture the top talent. Make sure they have the training and coaching to interview and sell star candidates on the opportunity to work for your business. Employers that can adapt and capture the best candidates will be more successful in the long run.

Related Articles

• IT Job Market 2011: Who's Hot?
• IT Job Market 2011: Is This a Candidate's Job Market?
• Canada's Summer Job Market is Sizzling
• Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
• Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

Written by:

Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

IT Job Market 2011: Who's Hot?

We’ve noticed a change in the kind of person our clients want to hire. It’s not enough to have the technical skills anymore. Our clients are looking for triple threats: IT experts with 5+ experience in a specific business vertical plus excellent people skills. 

It’s not just about coding in a cubicle anymore. Now employers are looking for technology experts with client-facing skills, adaptable people who can move from one team to another.  But people like this are in short supply.  Here are the top skills in demand in the Toronto GTA job market right now:

1. Mobile Programmers – J2ME, Objective C and Android – anybody with hands on experience can write their own ticket. If you are a college or university and you want to increase your placement rates, then teach these courses and give the power to the graduates.
2. Programmers with client facing skills – Consulting companies are hiring again. If you have OO skills and have experience working with a consulting company, you know you are in demand because you get calls all the time. If you have these skills and are looking for work call us at 416 364 2300 and we'll give you multiple opportunities J
3. Derivatives and technology – A deadly combination that makes you very much in demand.  As a candidate with a few years experience, these skills you will get 70K.
4. Solutions and Enterprise Architect – Being able to see the big picture allows these candidates to have the power. SOA consultants have the ability to design the fundamental 'architecture' of an application. The Enterprise Architect is especially sought after since they are able to architect applications that are compatible with many different divisions of an enterprise.
5. Government Experience – As much as the government says they will consider people without government experience, if you have this experience you can write your ticket.
6. Business Intelligence – So much data  is being tracked throught social media that people with the skills to analyze and help clients use this data are, and will continue to be, in huge demand.

These are the most in demand skills that we see presently. Everybody is trying to capture these candidates. In my next article I will reveal strategies that some companies are using to capture these candidates.  Stay Tuned…

Related Articles

• IT Job Market 2011: Is This a Candidate's Job Market?
• 10 Tips to Capture Hot Candidates
• Canada's Summer Job Market is Sizzling
• Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
• Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

Written by:

Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Could AI and RIM Cure Blindness?

Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer

Imagine.
What if there was an artificial intelligence that helped us distill the collective knowledge of the Internet into a Blackberry device that enabled a blind girl to see?

Let's say that this AI could see through any firewall and had unlimited access to everything on the Internet. It claimed that its primary intention was to improve the net happiness of the world. Then it demonstrated its goodwill by comparing the results of every study and presented a cure for cancer?

Big Brother?
That AI would be immensely powerful. More powerful than any government. Would the benefits outweigh the risks? I wonder.

Wonder is the title of a novel I just read by Robert J. Sawyer. It's the third book in Sawyer's WWW series. It's a sci-fi page-turner with philosophy, politics and Canadianna. Much of the action revolves around the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo.

The heroine is a blind teenage girl who regains her sight with the help of an AI named Webmind, a Japanese doctor, the Perimeter Institute and a Blackberry (nice plug for RIM). Caitlin goes through some of the typical teenage things like high school dances. But her connection with Webmind puts her in front of the United Nations and at the center of a major world transition. Need I say more? You gotta read it :)

Who Really Controls the Internet?
This book makes you question the limits of technology, smartphones and who really controls the Web. I kept asking myself, should somebody or some organization control the Internet?

The Internet as a Political Force
This novel reminds me of how often social media has headlined in the news lately. Facebook recently signed a deal with the largest social networking site in China. How about President Obama's appearance at Facebook HQ for a Town Hall meeting. Many countries are attempting to limit or control information flow but people still find ways to coordinate protests online.

WWW Equals Hope
What I liked most about Wonder is how it explores the potential of the collective of the World Wide Web to make the world a better place through crowdsourcing. What would happen if the Internet woke up and became a conscious of itself? Let's hope that AI would be a synthesis of the best that Web has to offer.

Related Links

• Robert J. Sawyer's Website: SFWriter.com
• Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
• Love What You Do
• iPad vs. Playbook Debate Revisited
• Comparing Apples to Berries: 4 Reasons Why I Pick the PlayBook
• Who Do You Love, BlackBerry Torch or iPhone

Written by:

Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

7 Segment Changers and Predictions for Tech in 2011

Hold onto your hats (or should I say wallets) because we’re in for some big changes in 2011. Here are seven up and coming technologies that recently caught my eye:

Mobile Wallets

Smartphones are going to begin a whole new market segment called Mobile Wallets. Will our cellphone become our new credit card? Recently Google bought mobile payment startup Zetawire. The NFC chip, which will allow for mobile payments, will start to be put into all mobile phones during 2011. The newest Nexus phones come with the NFC chip. According to TechCrunch, Apple was recently looking at purchasing BOKU, another mobile payments startup. But I believe the real revenues will come in 2012 in the Mobile Wallet world.

Square

http://www.squareup.com/ – The NFC chip is big, but I think that the most exciting development on the horizon for smartphone commerce is Square.
 
This product was created by Twitter co- founder Jack Dorsey. I believe that Square will revolutionize the way credit card payments are made. Square is a plastic attachment for cell phones (only iPhone and Android so far) that creates a sophisticated POS (point of sale) for all businesses. 
 
Square will allow anyone to accept credit card payments without contracts or monthly fees. According to Square, this small device is free with a 15 cent/transaction fee. Here’s a video on how Square works - http://techcrunch.com/2009/12/01/jack-dorsey-square/.

Paypal Bump

Money will be transferred between phones by bumping two phones together. Here’s an entertaining video (good British humour behind a great app) that shows this Paypal Bump and the iPhone application in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9RNJ2yywuk 

Quora

Quora – http://www.quora.com/ - is hot in Silicon Valley and I believe that 2011 will be the year it will make it big outside the “Valley.” The executive team that heads things up on the technology side all come from Facebook. They know more than a thing or two about social networking. Quora gives you the ability to follow topics and questions as well as people. It defines your profile by interests, not just by people you know. While Twitter and Facebook are also trying to create this interest graph, Quora is designed from the ground up for interest graphs. Check it out to be ahead of the social curve. Here’s a 60 second social media profile on Quora - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fa0klZu68U

IPO Comeback

During the last two years we haven’t seen many successful IPO’s. This will begin to change in 2011. Recently Telsa stock has been skyrocketing. Kayak and Skype have announced that they are going public. Companies such as LinkedIn, Zygna and Groupon have intentions to go public. Everybody is speculating whether Facebook will go public. They raised 500M on a 50B valuation so Facebook may be able to wait a while before they go public. Recently there has been a lot of money on the sidelines in the technology realm. Many technology companies are profitable before going public unlike the more reckless investment model that characterized the “dotcom bubble.”

Battle for TV

The way we watch TV will continue to change in 2011. Apple has launched AppleTV that streams movies amongst other things. But competitors such as Google and start-ups Boxee, Hulu and Roku are going to throw a few punches in the battle for your TV viewing. This battle will create a giant market for apps that could rival the billion dollar smartphone app market.

Tablet Market

In 2010 we saw the arrival of the iPad that has created a new technology segment called the tablet market. The iPad is awesome. I'm sure Apple has an even more awesome iPad 2 in store for us. Can Apple's competitors come up with a credible product to compete with the iPad in 2011? Will the new version of the iPad leave the competitors in the dust? One thing is for sure, we will see many new competitors in the tablet market from Google, Dell, Samsung, and RIM to name a few.

It is going to be a very exciting year! By the end of 2011, I believe that Square, Mobile Wallets, Quora, IPO’s and the battle for TV are going to change the way we think about our technology and business.

What are your predictions for 2011? Which technologies and companies are you watching?

Related Articles:
Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010's Nice List?
Welcome to Toronto Silicon Valley North
Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

Tim Collins

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North

A tech revolution is taking off right here right now in Toronto. What does that mean for you and me? It means exciting work opportunities and fierce competition for creative technical talent.

Why are companies such as EA, Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Disney, Facebook, Twitter and Google partnering with and buying Toronto tech companies?

1. Excellent People – Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook says it best, "We have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people."
2. Great Schools – Toronto has access to a wealth of talent being produced in schools like Waterloo (Masters Program in Technology Entrepreneurship), University of Toronto, Sheridan College, Queens University, and many others which have world renowned Technology and Engineering programs.
3. Community – Toronto has a community of young tech entrepreneurs who are building word class companies and networking at camps, informal meetings and through social media sites like Sprouter.
4. Government Tax Credits – SR & ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development). “SHRED” gives millions in stimulus dollars to small and medium sized businesses. CEO of Polar Mobile, Kunal Gupta, says he “briefly looked at outsourcing to India or China but between the talent and the tax credits, we realized it was cheaper to do it in Toronto.”
5. Extreme Labs creates an environment for developers to build companies and follow their dreams. They run a very cool training program for young entrepreneurs who are given $5000 and during a 12 week session create products that are presented to a group of VC’s and investors (Dragon’s Den Style). The three companies that were successful last year raised 1.5M.
6. Funding – Money is becoming more available to entrepreneurs. Companies such as Tech Capital, RBC Ventures, Blackberry Partners Fund, Extreme Venture Partners and Growthworks are investing millions in technology startups.
7. New Devices – This tech trend has staying power. Smart phones are selling more rapidly than PC’s. Tablets will gain market share as the price point comes down over the next 6 months. Apps are driving sales of these devices.

Let’s look at some of the recent amazing success stories of Toronto companies:

• Polar Mobile – 6 million downloads of their apps – Sports Illustrated, Time, Food Networks, CNN, CBS, NCAA Sports, and 500 new apps to come for Microsoft
• Five Mobile – custom apps for Rogers, Disney and Sony Pictures – one of their apps for the The Score has over 6 million downloads
• Rypple – just raised 7M – their software integrates smartphones and office email
• Extreme Ventures – invested in 14 tech start ups – 250 staff – one of their companies BumpTop recently sold for a rumoured 35M to Google
• Sysomos – allows corporate clients to analyze Twitter and Facebook conversations – sold last summer for 35M
• Endloop – fantastic app called iMockups that gives developers a template for developing apps on an iPad – all object oriented

Toronto is an exciting place to be right now if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you’re interested in app development. We are fortunate to have a number of these companies as our clients.

Action Points

• Talk to us about the possibility of working for one of these companies. Email us at cooljobs@stafflink.ca.
• Join the conversation and network with entrepreneurs. Join Sprouter, a Twitter-like community for startups and entrepreneurs, and answer the question “What are you working on?”
• Read more about the tech revolution in this November 2010 Toronto Life Feature Article "Download My App" posted by Kunal Gupta of Polar Mobile:

Tech Kings - Toronto Life Article

   

Related Articles

Top 10 IT Skills in Demand in 2010
Canada's Summer Job Market is Sizzling
10 Job Networking Strategies to Consider if You're a Newcomer to Canada
The Job Market Longtail

Written by Tim Collins Stafflink.ca
timc@stafflink.ca
www.twitter.com/stafflinks
www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Comparing Apples to Berries: 4 Reasons Why I Pick the PlayBook

As a self-proclaimed “crackberry”, I was thrilled when Mike Lazaridis announced the arrival of the Blackberry PlayBook. As a Wilfrid Laurier Alumni, I have seen the excitement that RIM has brought to the town of Waterloo, Ontario and Canadian’s in general. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t spent a few afternoons playing with Apple’s “PhotoBooth” application or playing with my friend’s iPhones. However, I’ve spent more time napping with my Blackberry, admiring the flurry of RIM buildings on Columbia St, attending career fairs at RIM Park and BBMing my friends when I spot our local celebrities Mr. Balsillie or Mr. Lazaridis out for lunch.

So why would I rather purchase a PlayBook than an iPad?

1) Flash Flash Flash
Although Steve Jobs has made a gallant effort at eliminating Flash, I think it is here to stay. Flash is a wonderful tool and Blackberry embraces it. Virtual training, tours and demos are just some of the capabilities that Flash makes easier. In addition, Adobe has integrated Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR apps on the PlayBook. This creates a large opportunity for PlayBook application development – how exciting!

2) Video Conferencing
The corporate crowd will appreciate this functionality. With iPad’s lack of camera, the PlayBook takes the cake on this one, providing users with two cameras and an HDMI hook-up. Need I say more?

3) The Specs
Some would criticize the PlayBook for its size (7 inches compared to the iPad’s 9.3 inches). I think the smaller size provides a perfect balance of convenience and readability. Plus for a small package it sure has impressive hardware. The PlayBook sports a dual-core 1GHz processor (the iPad only has a single-core) and 1GB of RAM (double what the iPad packs).

4) Local Support
Why wouldn’t I support the products that my friends and family help produce? RIM employees are my hometown heroes. RIM has provided over 26,000 jobs to Waterloo residents. Many of my classmates specifically attended school in Waterloo in hopes to score a job with RIM. As a Canadian, I feel an obligation to cheer on the efforts of a company that has completely transformed a local economy.

Whether you want to attribute my love of RIM product’s to the years I’ve spent in Waterloo, the endless job opportunities they have provided my friends or the plain fact that they make a magnificent product – I am and will always be a fan of the “Berries”.

Related Articles:
Who Do You Love? Blackberry Torch or iPhone?
Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010
Love What You Do
Why Is It So Difficult to Unplug From the World

Written by: Michelle De Rubeis, Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions Ltd.
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis

Canada’s Summer Job Market is Sizzling

The technology job market is hot this summer. Check out this recent headline in the Huffington Post: Need A Job? Try Canada, Where Hiring Is Booming And Home Prices Are Rising. The article mentions that with a population that’s one tenth the size of the US, Canada created 10,000 more jobs than the USA last month.

Summer is typically a slow time in the job market. Not this year. The Canadian economy created 93,000 jobs in June according to Statistics Canada. The new jobs are primarily in Ontario and Quebec. In June Ontario added 60,000 new jobs and Quebec added 30,000 new jobs

We focus primarily on IT job placements at Stafflink. The majority of new hires we were involved with in June and July came from financial services (primarily banks and insurance companies), software and mobile companies. For hard-to-find skill sets like J2ME, Derivatives or Android our candidates have been receiving multiple job offers. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen this level of competition for candidates.

The new jobs Stafflink has been working to fill are evenly split between permanent-fulltime and contract. Compare that to 12 months ago when 90% of the job orders we received were for short term contract opportunities.

I believe that this strong job market will continue. Why? How can we ensure our continued success?

• Innovation. Our clients are developing new products and product lines with innovative research and development that is helping to drive the increase in new jobs, mostly in the technology sector.
• Stable banks create a secure environment for new business development and growth.
• Education. Schools need to offer the courses people need to develop the skills that the current economy demands.
• Diverse workforce. Multiculturalism is our strength. Employers who value qualifications from other countries gain access to a larger talent pool. Having people with diverse backgrounds at the table brings more creativity and innovation.

Go Canada! Canada is poised for continued success and strong job creation because of our diverse, well-educated and innovative people.

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/need-a-job-try-canada-whe_n_640555.html
http://www.thestar.com/business/markets/article/834018--tsx-closes-up-on-jobs-data

Related Articles:

Top 10 IT Skill Sets in Demand in 2010
The Future's So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades

Its Time to Spring Forward

The Job Market Longtail

Tim Collins, President and Founder,

Stafflink Solutions Ltd

http://www.stafflink.ca/

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Why is it so difficult to unplug from the world?

Funny enough I sleep with my Blackberry on my pillow beside my head. Constantly bombarded by media and current events. Why do I do this? Is it the need to be “just in time” or do I truly enjoy being plugged into the rest of the world?

Recently I took a trip to Jamaica for my honey moon. I made a deal with my wife that I was only allowed to check my BB at night. The first few days I went through withdrawal. It was odd not carrying the extra weight on my hip and not constantly checking emails. I was forced to interact with the rest on the world face to face. I could not pull my BB out to check emails while waiting for lunch or in an elevator or any instance where I was not stimulated for 30 sec.

Don`t get me wrong. I truly value and love my BB and the ease and profitability it has brought me over the years....I guess my challenge is that I feel so dependant on a device that it supersedes being a convenience and a business tool and becomes a necessity/dependency. I don`t know how many times my friends have told me I would die without my BB or iPhone! What did people do before smart phones!?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that technology is a fantastic and wonderful thing that makes our lives easier and more convenient. But there has to be a balance. You need to unplug your brain from the barrage of media and social networking. Every once and a while we should leave our Palms, iPhones and Blackberrys in the safe in our hotel room, lay on a beach and watch the sunrise.

Ryan Ayres, Technical Recruiter

Stafflink Solutions Ltd

http://www.stafflink.ca/

ryan@stafflink.ca

www.linkedin.com/in/ryandayres

Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

The technology job market is indeed recovering. I'm happy to report that many of the companies that reduced their staff over the past 18 months are now hiring. In the last quarter we've seen a significant increase in job orders. Why? I see two major factors: the stability of Canadian banks and the rise of the mobile industry. The trend during the recession was to cut new development  and merely maintain systems. But we're seeing a turn around. Opportunities with mCommerce and the mobile industry are driving new product development. This drives the demand for people with the skills to push the new technologies forward. Here are the top 10 skills we're recruiting for today:

1. J2ME - Mobile Developers with Java API's - Many Blackberry apps are written with J2ME. Demand for this skill set is stronger than supply. Schools are only beginning to offer it in their curriculum.
2. Android Developers - The Google muscle along with the rapid rise of the Adroid phone market share is creating a strong demand for Android developers.
3. C# programmer analysts - Many companies are adopting complete Microsoft solutions with the Visual Studio of products. This is due to the strength of Microsoft's sales team and a lower price point than most competitors.
4. Objective C programming language used for iPhones and iPads. Many people are developing iPhone apps in their basement but our clients want people who've developed large scale apps for major corporations.
5. Data Warehouse Specialists - Demand for this skill is increasing as companies learn that they can cross correlate data about customers. That's why all the stores want to put you in their database.
6. COBIT - security specialists
7. QA Testers with QTP and LoadRunner
8. Mobile Business Analysts
9. J2EE/Weblogic specialists
10. Project Manager/Project Coordinators

Tim Collins, President and Founder,

Stafflink Solutions Ltd

http://www.stafflink.ca/

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Love What You Do

Blackberry's new tagline Love What You Do reminds me of how much I love my work and my Blackberry. It also reminds me of how much I admire what Research in Motion has done for Canada. They've created jobs for over 10,000 Canadians for one thing.


Loving What You Do is the challenge we all face, whether we're washing dishes or trouble-shooting code. Is the answer to quit your job and chase a dream? Is that what the founders of RIM did? Blackberry's success has nothing to do with quitting and everything to do with commitment.

Stay True To Your Vision. Mike Lazaradis and Jim Balsille had a big dream when they started RIM. They developed and sold their vision for push email  before most people were using email. Apple had not even invented the iPod.

RIM faced many challenges including a well publicized patent dispute. Even now RIM is being attacked by forecasters who question whether the Blackberry can compete with the iPhone and Android phones. But their track record proves that they have the creativity and commitment to meet the challenges no matter how enormous or expensive. Countless Canadians are counting on RIM to do whatever it is that do to keep surprizing us with awesome solutions.

Rod McQueen's Blackberry: The Inside Story of Research In Motion  is essentially about having dream and sticking with it. Now RIM employees well over 12,000 people, is Canada's foremost technology leader and is a leader in the worldwide mobile communications market. Apparently loving what you do has a lot to do with commitment and persistence.

"Love What You Do" is a challenge: Enjoy your work. Do work you can be proud of. Stay true to your dream.

The more you give, the more you get is an essential marketing principle. It applies to career development, relationships, real estate, business - everything. If you can't be in the job of your dreams right now then love the job you're in.

Love what you do right now and you'll be well on your way to your dream job.

Tim Collins

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Google Goggles: Mobile Phones with Eyes

Google's latest innovation in search technology is big. They've developed a visual search application called Google Goggles.

Essentially you take a photograph with your Android phone and then use the photo to initiate a Google search and learn more about what's in the picture.

Why is this big? This visual search app will change the way searching is done on mobile phones. It gives your mobile phone vision. An Android phone with Google Goggles can process visual information. It potentially gives you immediate access to everything the Internet knows about the image.

For the past few years a fleet of Googlemobiles have been continuously snapping photos for Google Street View. Now they are busy collecting even more images to expand the reach of visual search.

Apparently Google Goggles works well with stores, business cards, restaurants and books. It's useful for business people. You can photograph a business card and quickly enter it into your contacts and click on the number to call them.

Imagine taking a picture of restaurant and linking to reviews, the menu and information about other restaurants in the area. Google has an extensive list of books as well. You can take a picture of a book while browsing at the book store and get reviews and price comparisons.

It looks like Android with Google Goggles is going to compete with the iPhone market. Google is saying that there will soon be over 1000 Android apps available.

Check out video clip about Google Goggles at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4

Tim Collins
Stafflink.ca
timc@stafflink.ca
www.twitter.com/stafflinks
www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins

Canada’s Wireless Industry

Recent studies have shown that Canada’s wireless industry is one of the most expensive in the world and yet one of the most inefficient.

The big three: Rogers, Telus and Bell seem to be able to add fees to your bill for things they call "government regulations". One almost needs a PHD to read and understand a phone bill. We were excited to hear that the Big Three would have some competition in 2010.

It seems logical that more competitors would bring prices down and perhaps even make the hieroglyphics they call a bill more readable. We will see soon.

If you are negotiating for a new phone plan these days the Big Three will give you more rebates than in the past. But why should we have to negotiate buying a phone like we are buying a car. Just give me the best price without me having to negotiate and I will be very happy.

A recent ruling by the CRTC has challenged whether or not Gloablive, one of the companies that is supposed to compete with the Big Three, will be able to go ahead. The concern is Globalive’s foreign ownership.

Globalive has hired hundreds of Canadians and is ready and setup shop here to compete with the Big Three. I am told that they are more ready than some of the other new competitors. (Globalive is not a client of our firm).

My question: If a foreign owned company can create hundreds of jobs for Canadians and create more competition for some of our own firms is this a bad thing? I recognize that I am simplifying this analysis. But I know this much for sure. Most Canadians are in favour of creating more jobs for Canadians and having cheaper wireless services.

The government is now getting involved on the ruling on this case. How do you think the government should rule on this? Should the wireless industry be regulated by government? Do we need more competition in the wireless industry? Should new wireless firms be required to be Canadian owned and operated?