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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 19 ,2 02 0 | 8 ASK THE PROFESSIONAL 33 Main Street South Acton, ON L7J 1X3 Tel: 519-853-1330 Fax: 519-853-4645 Email: Mark@mchlawyers.com Mark Hilliard Mackenzie Chapman Hilliard Barristers and Solicitors The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice. We work for you. legal matters Q A REAL ESTATE LAW What is the role of the deposit? When you're making an offer to purchase a property, you need to pay a deposit to secure your offer. The deposit provides security to the seller that you are serious about purchasing the property and that you would be able to complete the purchase on closing day. If the deal is firm, and the purchaser fails to complete the purchase, the vendor would be entitled to keep the deposit as compensation for taking the property off the market for a period of time. It is important that if you are making an offer to purchase, and you require financing, you ensure that the agreement of purchase and sale is conditional on you obtaining financing. There may be pressure for you to waive that condition in order for your offer to be accepted, but in that case you are risking your deposit, among other possible damages the vendor may be entitled to sue for if the deal does not close. If you can afford to lose the deposit, you may not be concerned. But sometimes it can be a sizeable sum, and if you cannot afford to lose it, it may not be worth the risk going firm with no financing secured. 905-877-8500 •www.devereauxcemetery.ca A Final Gift to Your Family Main Office: 600 Spring Gardens Road, Burlington Owned & Operated by The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Hamilton in Ontario Cemetery Address: 12337 17th Side Road, Georgetown Prearranging your burial or cremation is the last gift you can give your family. It releases them from having to quickly make decisions in their time of grief. It also frees them from the need to pay costs associated with your cemetery arrangements. Contact one of our family counsellors to discuss your wishes and options. with the online hiring pro- cess," said senior branch manager Misty Knight. "We're working with them through interview prep on video platforms." While VPI's office re- mains closed to the public, Knight and her staff have been busy hosting events like virtual job fairs and online workshops, cover- ing topics such as digital literacy and occupational research. They're also helping connect those who need computers with re- sources through the Hal- ton Hills Public Library. With no clear end in sight yet to the pandemic, COVID-19 concerns contin- ue to shape the way some people look for work, said Knight, such as those who don't want to be in close quarters with others on public transit or parents keeping their children home to do online school- ing. "Job seekers are turning away from geography-spe- cific opportunities and are much more open to remote work." But this might not be an employment option avail- able to everyone. A lack of access to technology is a big challenge that some lo- cal residents have to over- come, said Tracy Cunning, vice-president of employ- ment services with Good- will, which has career cen- tres in Burlington and Oak- ville. "With a lot of young peo- ple who were in school now receiving online education, there's a fight for the family computer and internet bandwidth. Those people who are lower on the socio- economic scale are being more adversely affected because they can't just go out and buy another com- puter or increase their in- ternet service. And in some cases, they don't even have a computer at home." She noted that Good- will's career centres are now open to the public again and provide resourc- es like computers and pho- tocopiers for job seekers. So what are the job op- portunities like out there at the moment? According to Cunning, it depends on what line of work you're seeking. "There are actually quite a number of fields that have grown and con- tinue to be strong through the pandemic," she said, pointing to areas like logis- tics, health care, food man- ufacturing, grocery stores and cleaners. "They're very much in demand and grow- ing. But there are other po- sitions that still haven't re- covered fully and may not for quite some time, like restaurant and customer service positions." Many of the available jobs are entry level or high- er-end positions, noted Cunning, leaving a large group of people trapped in the middle as either under or overqualified. "They may need to look at re-skilling for future oc- cupations," she said, add- ing there are initiatives such as the province's Sec- ond Career program avail- able to help people in this position. Those who are on the hunt for a new career have been turning to people like The Resumé Pro's Kate Teves for help. The Milton woman, a former recruiter, began offering resumé writing and interview coaching services near the start of the pandemic and has been busy helping peo- ple who've lost their jobs in hard-hit fields such as re- tail and entertainment. "These people had the same job for many years, and now they can't find an- other position in their in- dustry," she said. "It's a matter of finding those transferable skills that are important across all indus- tries -- such as people management, customer service and inventory counts -- and transferring them over to other sectors that are doing really well. E-commerce, warehousing and logistics are thriving right now with everyone online shopping." Teves suggested those who are looking for work should stick to the most im- portant details in their re- sumés and practise job in- terview questions before the big moment arrives -- something that's often hap- pening by phone or video call in today's pandemic job market. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As the pandemic presents unique challenges for job hunters in Halton and beyond, we turned to local experts to find out more about employment prospects in a COVID-19 era and how residents are adapting. NEWS Continued from page 1 MID-LEVEL POSITIONS HARD TO COME BY "It's a matter of finding those transferable skills that are important across all industries." - Kate Teves