Informational Interview An informational interview is a short conversation with someone who already does work you are considering. Labor-market data can tell you pay and demand. This conversation tells you whether the day-to-day job matches what you imagined: how they got in, what they wish they had known, and whether the career still fits. You Read More…

Hidden Job Market The hidden job market is work that gets filled without ever appearing on a public job board. Employers often hire through internal promotions and employee referrals because a known candidate is faster, cheaper, and less risky than advertising and screening strangers. For job seekers, that means many roles already have a preferred Read More…

Heuristics Heuristics are mental shortcuts the brain uses so it does not have to weigh every option from scratch. They save time, but they also skip a full check of the facts. Cognitive psychologists call the fast, automatic version of this System 1 thinking, as opposed to slower System 2 reasoning. Cialdini (1984) showed that Read More…

Halo Effect The halo effect is a bias where one positive trait spills over, so people judge unrelated traits more kindly too. Psychological research has focused on attractiveness. Chaiken (1979) found that attractive presenters were about one-third more persuasive even when the underlying argument stayed the same. Listeners rated them as more honest or capable, Read More…

Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) A guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) is a savings product you buy at a bank or similar institution. You lock in a sum of money for a set term, often from a few months to several years, in return for a stated interest rate. People choose GICs when they will not need Read More…

Gross Pay Gross pay is everything you earned in a pay period before any deducations are taken out, including wages, salary, overtime, and commissions. It is the number on an offer letter or hourly rate multiplied by hours. It is not the amount that lands in your account. When preparing you monthly budget base all Read More…

Foot-in-the-Door Foot-in-the-door is a persuasion sequence: a small request first, then a larger related one. After the first yes, people want their next action to match what they already agreed to, so the second yes becomes more likely. Marketers use this with free trials, quizzes, and samples before the purchase. The same pattern shows up Read More…

Focus Group A focus group is a qualitative research method where a moderator leads a small group discussion to learn why people react to a product, message, or idea. The sample is small, so depth matters more than statistics. A moderator can probe hesitation or emotion that a checkbox survey would miss. One-on-one interviews serve Read More…

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is the federal agency that protects you when you deal with a bank or other federally regulated financial firm. It enforces consumer-protection rules, including that fees must be disclosed clearly and that you must be treated fairly. If a bank hides charges Read More…

Fintech Fintech, short for financial technology, refers to app-based and other digital companies that offer payments, investing, or banking-style services. In the United States, these apps made it easier to send money and invest, often with low or no account minimums. Money sitting in a fintech app is not automatically FDIC-insured the way a bank Read More…

Exclusive Agreement An exclusive agreement is a contract that limits who a supplier or retailer can deal with. It might stop a parts supplier from selling to competitors, or stop a retailer from stocking rival brands. Companies use exclusivity to raise barriers to entry and make it harder for rivals to compete. That is a Read More…

Employment Insurance (EI) Employment Insurance (EI) is a federal program funded by payroll premiums. While you work, it is a required deduction on your pay stub. If you lose your job, those contributions can qualify you for temporary benefits. Your employer sends a Record of Employment so the government can decide if you qualify. In Read More…

Product Launch Tests Desirability, feasibility, and viability are three tests a business should pass before it launches a product. Desirability asks whether customers want it: the product solves a real problem (problem-solution fit). Feasibility asks whether the company can actually build and deliver it, including suppliers, storage, and shipping. Viability asks whether it can make Read More…

Cost Leadership Cost leadership is a competitive strategy of winning customers by keeping prices lower than rivals. It usually depends on mass production, high volume, and supply chains built to cut per-unit cost. It is different from competing on uniqueness or custom work. To hold that low price, the company usually makes thousands of the Read More…

Component Part A component part is a finished item for one company that becomes an input in another company’s product. The chip in your laptop is a finished good for the chip maker and a component for the computer brand. When AI companies, car plants, and phone makers all need the same chips, that part Read More…

Commitment (Consistency) Commitment, also called consistency, is a persuasion principle: people want later choices to match what they have already said or claimed to be. Once you call yourself a fan of a team, idol, or creator, later asks feel like tests of that identity: merch, limited drops, “real fans do this.” A parasocial bond Read More…

Collective Bargaining Collective Bargaining is the process in which a union negotiates pay, benefits, schedules, and other job terms with an employer for a group of workers, instead of each person bargaining alone. If talks succeed, the result is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a binding contract that covers the group. If the CBA conflicts Read More…

Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort people feel when their actions do not match what they have already said or done. Marketers use small, voluntary, public commitments because backing out later creates that discomfort. A shopper who says “yes” to a short quiz or a free trial is then more likely to say yes Read More…

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a mandatory public pension funded by payroll deductions. Your employer withholds it from each paycheque as a statutory deduction, listed with income tax and EI, to help fund retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. If you work in Quebec, the same kind of deduction is called Read More…

Chartered Bank A chartered bank is a government-licensed bank that takes deposits and makes loans. In Canada it is a Bank Act category, not a nickname. The Big Six (BMO, CIBC, TD, Scotiabank, RBC, and National Bank) are the main examples and hold most banking assets. Credit unions and caisses populaires are member-owned and separate. Read More…

Canada Student Grants and Loans Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans are federal student aid. You apply through your province or territory of residence, not a separate federal form. Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut use their own systems instead. Grants do not have to be repaid. Loans do, but since 2023 Canada Student Read More…

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is the federal tax agency. You file your federal return with the CRA and use its online account for refunds and benefits. Quebec residents still file federally with the CRA, plus a provincial return with Revenu Québec. The CRA will not demand gift cards, crypto, or Read More…

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a federal Crown corporation that, among other roles, provides mortgage default insurance. If you borrow more than 80% of a home’s value, federal rules require this insurance from CMHC or a private insurer. The insurance protects the lender if you default; Read More…

Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) is the federal agency that insures eligible deposits if a member bank fails. Coverage is automatic, up to $100,000 for each eligible category of account at that institution. It covers deposits such as chequing, savings, and GICs. It does not cover stocks, funds, or Read More…

Bursary A bursary is student aid you do not have to repay, given mainly because of financial need. Schools and governments both award them. It is not a loan, which you pay back, and it is usually not a scholarship, which is based on marks or talent. In the United States the same idea is Read More…

Big Five Personality Traits The Big Five personality traits are five spectrums psychologists use to describe personality: conscientiousness, extraversion/introversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and neuroticism. Most people fall somewhere between the extremes of each trait. The model does not tell you which job to pick. It helps you predict where you will feel energized, drained, Read More…

Basic Personal Amount The Basic Personal Amount is the federal income threshold below which you owe no federal tax on employment income in Canada. It is a tax credit, not a cash payment. If your income is under this amount, you may still have other deductions such as CPP and EI, but you do not Read More…

Bank of Canada (BOC) The Bank of Canada (BOC) is Canada’s central bank. It is not a chartered bank where you open a chequing account. It supplies cash when banks need it and helps guide interest rates across the economy. Those rates affect mortgages, student loans, and the cost of borrowing for households and businesses. Read More…

Auto-Deposit and Direct Deposit Auto-deposit and direct deposit both put money in your account without a paper cheque, but they are not the same. Direct deposit is how an employer or the government pays you on a schedule, using your institution, transit, and account numbers. Auto-deposit is an Interac e-Transfer setting: if you have it Read More…

Authority Authority is a persuasion principle: people tend to follow someone who looks like a credible expert when a decision feels risky or unclear. In marketing, it shows up as titles (Dr., CEO), uniforms, certifications, seals, and endorsements tied to the product. The cue is the appearance of expertise, which may or may not match Read More…

At-Will Employment At-will employment is a U.S. rule under which an employer can usually fire a worker, or a worker can quit, at any time for any legal reason, without advance notice. It is common in private non-union jobs. Union contracts often replace it with just cause, which requires a valid reason and a fair Read More…

Assessed Financial Need Assessed financial need is the gap a student-aid program calculates between what your education costs and what you and your family are expected to contribute. Federal aid in most of Canada is meant to cover up to 60% of that amount; your province or territory is expected to cover the rest. Need Read More…

Artisan Production Artisan production is a way of making goods that relies on skilled labour, small batches, and close attention to detail. A custom furniture shop that builds one table to a client’s measurements is an example. It is the opposite of mass production, which uses assembly lines to make large volumes of standardized products Read More…

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software employers use to collect and screen job applications before a person reads them. It scans resumes for keywords from the job posting. If those terms are missing, a qualified candidate may never reach a recruiter. That is why matching your resume language to the Read More…

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) Annual percentage rate (APR) is the yearly cost of a loan expressed as a single percentage. It is designed so you can compare offers more fairly than by looking at a simple interest rate alone. In Canada, the criminal interest-rate cap is measured in APR. Related Lessons

Alternative financial services Alternative financial services are high-cost, non-bank products people use when they need cash quickly, including payday loans, instalment loans, pawn loans, title loans, and rent-to-own contracts. They can look convenient, but fees and interest are usually much higher than at a bank or credit union. They are not a substitute for a Read More…

Aide financière aux études (AFE) Aide financière aux études (AFE) is Quebec’s student-aid program. If you live in Quebec, you apply to AFE rather than the Canada Student Grants and Loans program. Aid can include repayable loans and non-repayable bursaries. During full-time study, the Quebec government pays the interest on an AFE loan while you Read More…

Active Listening Active listening is a workplace communication skill: you hear the other person fully, ask clarifying questions, and repeat back what you understood before you reply. It is the opposite of “listening to reply,” where you rehearse your answer while the other person is still talking. The goal is accuracy, not waiting for your Read More…

A/B testing A/B testing is a live experiment that randomly shows people version A or version B of a page, price, or message, then compares which one gets more of a desired action, such as a sign-up or sale. It is a primary-research method. Unlike a survey or interview, it measures what people actually do, Read More…

RIASEC Model John Holland’s framework that groups people and workplaces into six types; Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. The idea is that a closer personality-workplace fit usually means people stay longer and perform better. Click Here for our lesson on Career Development and Pathway Planning