Home / Andrea Yu – Toronto Freelance Writer

The Globe and Mail • 21st February 2020

Job title inflation can be harmful for employees and organizations

What happens when job titles are used by employers as a talent attraction, or retention, tactic? An appealing job title becomes a bargaining chip for companies without funds to back up a lucrative role.

The Globe and Mail • 17th February 2020

Clothing reseller Lorel Grad: Poshmark 'isn’t a side hustle anymore’

"I remember when I reached 10-grand in sales and I was, like, “Wow.” It was consistently three-grand a month for the first bit and now I'm making four-grand a month."

TheStar.com • 4th February 2020

Here’s how to pull off the velvet sofa look — even on a budget

Velvet sofas particularly, have steadily gained momentum over the last five years, says design consultant Liz Le of Stylegarage furniture store, on Ossington Ave. “We’re seeing it being more broadly embraced,” Le said.

Toronto Life • 30th January 2020

Internet Famous: Why 21-year-old illustrator Amanda Rach Lee dropped out of business school to do YouTube full-time

I quickly realized business school was not for me. I decided to do YouTube 100 per cent and see where it goes.

The Globe and Mail • 24th January 2020

Can personality testing improve retention and reduce turnover?

Assessment tools are not only beneficial for their ability to gauge a candidate’s personality fit with a team but they can also be an indicator of their future performance.

Toronto Life • 23rd January 2020

Internet Famous: How cake decorator Laurie Shannon (a.k.a. the Icing Artist) bought an $800,000 home with her YouTube earnings

Some cakes take a ridiculous amount of time to film, as long as five days. Sometimes we shoot for 16 hours a day.

Escapism TO • 21st January 2020

Winging it: Big Island, Hawaii

Home to 10 of the world's 14 different climate zones, Hawaii offers an abundance of opportunities to cozy up with nature.

Toronto Life • 14th January 2020

How James Hobson (a.k.a. The Hacksmith) brings in six figures a year building superhero props on YouTube

Suddenly, we were a mid-sized channel that was making money off YouTube ads. Sponsorship deals started rolling in from companies like LG, and Google.

Foodism TO • 14th January 2020

Flavour of the Week: Lapinou

Lapinou bills itself as a “neo-bistro” serving updated French recipes inspired by Ontario’s best ingredients. Chef Jamie Ullrich goes to lengths to source ingredients like Canadian fife wheat for Lapinou's sourdough.

The Globe and Mail • 13th January 2020

Canadian True Crime’s Kristi Lee: I didn’t expect to get to 'a point where I would be able to monetize the podcast’

Kristi Lee is an Australian-born Torontonian behind one of Canada’s top independent podcasts.

Toronto Life • 10th January 2020

How Mitch Moffit (a.k.a. AsapSCIENCE) got 9 million followers making science videos on YouTube

The revenue we were making allowed us to bring on more people and create more videos. By 2017, we’d assembled a team of six people.

The Globe and Mail • 6th January 2020

Q&A with Real Housewife Ann Kaplan

As a single mother, Ann Kaplan started iFinance Canada, a small consumer loans business. But Kaplan is better known as one of the Real Housewives of Toronto.

The Globe and Mail • 23rd December 2019

Fashion Santa Paul Mason: ‘I never knew about this minor celebrity stuff.’

Model Paul Mason became an internet sensation in 2015 after his campaign with the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto as a stylish Santa went viral.

Toronto Life • 13th December 2019

A look at Terra Lumina, the Toronto Zoo’s trippy, multisensory nighttime walk

Terra Lumina, a new multimedia experience at the Toronto Zoo, transports visitors 80 years into a future, a time when balance is restored on the planet.

Toronto Life • 12th December 2019

The best places to skate in Toronto this winter

The only upside to the coming onslaught of freezing temperatures: skating season. We’ve found the coolest skating trails and rinks in the city to visit this winter, all of which are of free to use.

The Globe and Mail • 9th December 2019

Q&A with ethical hacker Dustin Heywood

Dustin Heywood, also known by his online handle EvilMog, began hacking into computer networks as a teenager in the mid-1990s. Now the 36-year-old is using his hacking skills for good.

The Globe and Mail • 6th December 2019

How to avoid employment scams

'Financial agent’ job scams are on the rise. “The victim’s job is going to be to receive payments, take that money out and convert it to bitcoins to send it back to the company.”

Escapism TO • 19th November 2019

Meet the females transforming Okanagan Valley's wine scene

Winemaker Severine Pinte honed her craft in France, where an old man’s club of winemakers still prevails. But she fell in love with Oliver-Osoyoos, where she was encouraged to create and explore.

The Globe and Mail • 18th November 2019

Sarah Casorso: ‘You collaborate and you work it out to get the job done’

A Q&A with former professional women's hockey and Niagara-based head brewer Sarah Casorso.

The Globe and Mail • 8th November 2019

Looking to hire Gen Z? Try Instagram or video ads

“Companies forget that candidates are choosing us just as much as we’re choosing them. They do research, they look at reviews, they go to our Instagram page, they watch our Instagram stories.”