J litestytes 5 MARCH GOES OUT LIKE A LION: SPRING COMES LATE JEN ST. DENIS photo While some parts of Canada have been experiencing warmer than usual temperatures, March in the Lower Mainland has been cold, blustery and even snowy. Above, the first blooms of spring struggle out of winter’s detritus. Below, the bee box near Langara College’s community gardens Dos and Don'ts of the working world Students give tips on staying healthy, working safely, and not getting fired By SASCHA PORTEOUS ith summer approaching many students will be look- ing for a job. The Voice can- vassed Langara students for their cautionary tales of working life. DON’T lie to your employer. Art history stu- dent Amanda Sy- mak found this out the hard way. “TI] told [my boss] that my mom was coming back into town and that we had a dinner to go to so I couldn’t work,” said Symak. “But I was really just getting picked up to go to a party in another town.” Once her employer found out about Symak’s dishonesty she was fired abruptly. DON’T rush. While preparing sandwiches on a re- ally busy day at the Coquitlam food court, business ad- ministration — stu- dent Carlo Verdol- aga had a bloody accident while try- ing to stay on top of his work. “T was cutting a sandwich and I happened to cut through my finger,” said Verdolaga. “It didn’t require any stitches but it was pretty bad. I bled all over the sand- wich.” DON’T work with family. While you might have the opportu- nity to work with family members, Ver- dolaga advises against it. AMANDA SYMAK Got caught in her own web of lies CARLO VERDOLAGA Sustained sand- wich injury “I worked with cousins and aunts, it’s not the way to go. Family members fight over other stuff besides work,” said Verdolaga. DO take work- place safety seri- ously. Business stu- dent Stefan Kekov- ic said the work- place can present hazardous _ situa- tions. ; ; Lifting heavy STAN Kexowe weights can be problem dangerous at times. Kekovic saw some risky instances while working at a Yaletown gym. “One guy, when he was squatting, didn’t put the clips at the end of the weights, [and the weights] rolled over and almost fell right on his friend.” DO wash your hands. The work place can be a breeding ground for germs, so. wash your hands regularly, said Studio 58 stu- dent Emma Mack- EMMA MACKENZIE enzie. Wash your hands “I worked at often on the job Rogers Video,” said Mackenzie. “The only problem with working there is people rent out movies when they are sick so that they are covered in germs and stuff like that. By the end of the day your hands are all filthy.” DO network. Kekovic said his first job at the gym taught him the importance of network- ing. “I still stay in touch with some of those people [I worked with] today,” said Kekovic. New site offers trusted place to get odd jobs Social media site Ayoudo connects users with too much to do with those who want to pick up some extra money By OMAR SHARIFF ove over Craigslist, a new web- ME: is now available for stu- dents as a safer alternative for posting and responding to job listings. Vancouver-based ayoudo.com was launched in January 2012. The site re- quires its users to login through their Facebook accounts to eliminate anony- mous postings and reduce the chances of people being scammed. “Ayoudo uses social media to help people help each other in a trusted en- vironment,” said Marie Chatterton, di- rector of community engagement at Ayoudo. The site can provide people with help for smaller, one-time jobs like rak- ing a lawn, getting pants hemmed or cleaning someone’s house. This type of work is especially help- ful for students who are looking for some quick cash without wanting the responsibilities of a full-time job. “It’s awesome for picking up a few extra bucks when you have some free time,” said Chatterton. “It’s easy to work around a busy student schedule.” The site features a rating system that helps Ayoudo users find trustwor- thy people to interact with. “Ayoudo is all about people helping each other and it’s our responsibility to make sure that everyone has a positive experience,” said Chatterton. Once someone completes a task for a user, the person who posted the task can then rate the worker out of five stars. The worker also has an opportu- nity to rate the task-poster. Heather Pound, a first-year arts and sciences transfer student, was in- trigued by the website and is interested in using it in the future. “T would definitely use Ayoudo be- cause it feels safer and less anony- mous,” said Pound. “And I know that it won't be a scam or scheme of some sort. “And it’s a lot more convenient to search the Internet and find thousands of job postings in one place instead of having to call each employer.”