About one month ago, I started pondering upon creative ways to provide FSL training without having to waste time on the road… Both winter and the public transit strike were getting into me! I never was a patient driver in the first place and being stuck in the traffic, feeling like a prisoner in my own car, took its toll on me quite fast! Usually all you need to turn an idea into reality is a little push… well… sometimes a push that brings you to the edge! So… two very frustrating circumstances helped me getting organized.
Of course, I did not act on impulse… If I were about to add a new service, I had to know who I would target (being all over the place is not my cup of tea!) . Then I thought of Jay’s current situation… a young man who had applied for a job within the Public Service, had taken the three SLE tests in order to meet the language requirements of the position, had missed the B level in oral interaction and written expression and had been given a three month reprieve so he could be re-tested again.
Someone like Jay is left to himself… he has no one to turn to for help… no one will give him a hand by providing him with useful information and tips… The first time he took the tests, he had no clue at all!… It was only once he faced the music that he realized he could not do it without help the second time. He knew he would have to prepare seriously… because those tests are anything but easy! And, on top of everything, he really wants this position!… Passing the tests is now a matter of life or death… I truly believe that people in the same situation feel as if they had a knife on their throats…And it is at this precise moment that the proverb “la fin justifie les moyens” takes its true meaning.
Therefore Jay had no choice, but try and find whatever help available… he was looking for information on the government tests when he landed on my blog. Is it by accident that my blog is always the first entry on the first page of Google Search (and not the PSC official site) when people are seeking info on SLE tests? Nope!… It is only because a blog is not static the way a traditional website is (especially one that is hardly – or never! - updated and probably not search engine optimized)… and I write posts on that topic on a regular basis: posts that are accurate, relevant and filled with tips and information. No wonder why most searches bring people here… my posts produce lots of Google juice!
Finally, when he found my site, Jay had some hope… he had found someone who knew exactly what he needed to achieve his required level and had many years of experience training civil servants. Unlike the latters, he had to pay for his training and he could not afford to waste money on something that would not bring him where he had to be… and I planned his training according to his budget… I would never take advantage of people’s hardship to try and make more money!
Jay was the typical product of French immersion schools: in his twenties, more or less rusted in French and in desperate need of a good refresher/brush-up… On the other hand, people like him are a dream to work with… they are witty and re-learn very fast. After two months, he made real progress… and I am convinced he will get his B when he will be re-tested in early March.
Thanks to him, when I started working on my new project, I decided I would target people like him… people who applied (or wish to apply) for a job within the Federal Government and need to be tested in French… people who are not living in Ottawa and, because of that, cannot find someone familiar with the PSC criterias/testing tools who can teach them to the tests.
I finally launched my new service Saturday, January 24: virtual FSL training… a modern way to teach people long distance with the same environment of face-to-face sessions and same access to learning materials. In less than 24 hours I had two requests: Luna, in Montréal, who was in a panic since she had to re-write his written expression exam on January 29 and needed some help in grammar… and Saul, in Winnipeg, who is scheduled to take his oral test on February 10 and felt he needed a good brush-up since he has to get a C… I provided Luna with as many grammar tips/explanations, links and exercises that I could in 24 hours so that she would have barely enough time to start a marathon of learning, reviewing and practicing before her test… I assessed Saul’s needs on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had our first online simulated interview… I think it was depressing for him: he was expecting a 45 minute chat on any topics… yet, that evening, he found out that the exam he would have to take is very structured and does not address any other topics than work related ones. In order to make sure that he would know exactly the format and the content of the oral test (so he could prepare accordingly), I sent him links to the PSC website where he will get this type of description. I think we will have to work very hard in the next few days before his test… but I am confident that he will get the targeted level… Besides Luna and Saul’s requests, I got many inquiries from lots of people in the same situation: not living in Ottawa, having to take the three SLE tests in order to qualify for a job interview and feeling helpless…
My questions are… why am I the one to provide these young individuals with basic information regarding the PSC SLE tests?… Why do the Departments requiring that these people be tested not provide them with some kind of a complete information kit or guidelines, so that they know what to expect and do prior to the exams? Why is nothing ever transparent? It is like sending those kids directly in the lion’s den “bats-toi pour ta vie ou crève!”
It frustrates me and I cannot help it… I have to do something for those people!… I just cannot leave them there and watch them drowning… And I think they know how concerned I am, no matter how hard I push them! I will stand by them and will not let them down… And I am happy, knowing that I can help more people with my new service, since I am not limited to Ottawa... “Sky is the limit!”…
“Les folies sont les seules choses que l’on ne regrette jamais”…
Oscar Wilde
There is a “Real” Need out there!…
About one month ago, I started pondering upon creative ways to provide FSL training without having to waste time on the road… Both winter and the public transit strike were getting into me! I never was a patient driver in the first place and being stuck in the traffic, feeling like a prisoner in my own car, took its toll on me quite fast! Usually all you need to turn an idea into reality is a little push… well… sometimes a push that brings you to the edge! So… two very frustrating circumstances helped me getting organized.
Of course, I did not act on impulse… If I were about to add a new service, I had to know who I would target (being all over the place is not my cup of tea!) . Then I thought of Jay’s current situation… a young man who had applied for a job within the Public Service, had taken the three SLE tests in order to meet the language requirements of the position, had missed the B level in oral interaction and written expression and had been given a three month reprieve so he could be re-tested again.
Someone like Jay is left to himself… he has no one to turn to for help… no one will give him a hand by providing him with useful information and tips… The first time he took the tests, he had no clue at all!… It was only once he faced the music that he realized he could not do it without help the second time. He knew he would have to prepare seriously… because those tests are anything but easy! And, on top of everything, he really wants this position!… Passing the tests is now a matter of life or death… I truly believe that people in the same situation feel as if they had a knife on their throats…And it is at this precise moment that the proverb “la fin justifie les moyens” takes its true meaning.
Therefore Jay had no choice, but try and find whatever help available… he was looking for information on the government tests when he landed on my blog. Is it by accident that my blog is always the first entry on the first page of Google Search (and not the PSC official site) when people are seeking info on SLE tests? Nope!… It is only because a blog is not static the way a traditional website is (especially one that is hardly – or never! - updated and probably not search engine optimized)… and I write posts on that topic on a regular basis: posts that are accurate, relevant and filled with tips and information. No wonder why most searches bring people here… my posts produce lots of Google juice!
Finally, when he found my site, Jay had some hope… he had found someone who knew exactly what he needed to achieve his required level and had many years of experience training civil servants. Unlike the latters, he had to pay for his training and he could not afford to waste money on something that would not bring him where he had to be… and I planned his training according to his budget… I would never take advantage of people’s hardship to try and make more money!
Jay was the typical product of French immersion schools: in his twenties, more or less rusted in French and in desperate need of a good refresher/brush-up… On the other hand, people like him are a dream to work with… they are witty and re-learn very fast. After two months, he made real progress… and I am convinced he will get his B when he will be re-tested in early March.
Thanks to him, when I started working on my new project, I decided I would target people like him… people who applied (or wish to apply) for a job within the Federal Government and need to be tested in French… people who are not living in Ottawa and, because of that, cannot find someone familiar with the PSC criterias/testing tools who can teach them to the tests.
I finally launched my new service Saturday, January 24: virtual FSL training… a modern way to teach people long distance with the same environment of face-to-face sessions and same access to learning materials. In less than 24 hours I had two requests: Luna, in Montréal, who was in a panic since she had to re-write his written expression exam on January 29 and needed some help in grammar… and Saul, in Winnipeg, who is scheduled to take his oral test on February 10 and felt he needed a good brush-up since he has to get a C… I provided Luna with as many grammar tips/explanations, links and exercises that I could in 24 hours so that she would have barely enough time to start a marathon of learning, reviewing and practicing before her test… I assessed Saul’s needs on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had our first online simulated interview… I think it was depressing for him: he was expecting a 45 minute chat on any topics… yet, that evening, he found out that the exam he would have to take is very structured and does not address any other topics than work related ones. In order to make sure that he would know exactly the format and the content of the oral test (so he could prepare accordingly), I sent him links to the PSC website where he will get this type of description. I think we will have to work very hard in the next few days before his test… but I am confident that he will get the targeted level… Besides Luna and Saul’s requests, I got many inquiries from lots of people in the same situation: not living in Ottawa, having to take the three SLE tests in order to qualify for a job interview and feeling helpless…
My questions are… why am I the one to provide these young individuals with basic information regarding the PSC SLE tests?… Why do the Departments requiring that these people be tested not provide them with some kind of a complete information kit or guidelines, so that they know what to expect and do prior to the exams? Why is nothing ever transparent? It is like sending those kids directly in the lion’s den “bats-toi pour ta vie ou crève!”
It frustrates me and I cannot help it… I have to do something for those people!… I just cannot leave them there and watch them drowning… And I think they know how concerned I am, no matter how hard I push them! I will stand by them and will not let them down… And I am happy, knowing that I can help more people with my new service, since I am not limited to Ottawa... “Sky is the limit!”…
“Les folies sont les seules choses que l’on ne regrette jamais”…
Oscar Wilde