APRIL 2013 | VOL.15 | NO. 7 JOBPOSTINGS.CACAREERS. EDUCATION. IDEAS. ALL OF IT.
yOUR JOB hUNT: SEARCh FOR A JOB USING UNCONVENTIONAL mEThODS Virtual distance degrees on the rise!
looKing to start Your oWn Franchise?
1 - 3 YEAR DIPLOMA PROGRAMS
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ACCOUNTING
ADVERTISING - MEDIA SALES
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COSMETIC MANAGEMENT
ESTHETICIAN/SPA MANAGEMENT
FASHION
FINANCIAL SERVICES
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USE YOUR DIPLOMA FOR ADVANCED STANDING IN A DEGREE PROGRAM, OR USE IT AS A LAUNCHING PAD FOR YOUR CAREER.
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DIPLOMASCAREER-LAUNCHING
APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA
TABLE OF CONTENTSFEATURES22 ThE RIGhT INTERNShIP We explain the good and not-so-good aspects of interning over the summer.
31 JOB hUNTING You know it can be tough to find the right job, especially amongst all the talented recent grads out there in the job market. We show you how to get noticed in the crowd!
37 STARTING A FRANChISE Creating an international brand isn’t exactly easy. We talk to entrepreneurs that have made it big all over the world to show you what it takes to go global.
INDUSTRy REPORTS14 IT’S CyBER wAR Computer security analysts fight cyber crime and internet terrorism to keep us safe from harmful viruses.
17 CLImBING ThE SALES LADDER Sales is on the minds of many business grads, but there are other positions in consulting to aid salespeople that are being created all over the map.
18 ADVICE ON ADVISING Even the rich need a helping hand. Find out how wealth management advisors coordinate assets and help in so many other ways in this booming industry.
20 ENGINEERING BUILDING BLOCkS Materials engineering is considered the foundation of other engineering disciplines. Read on to find out more about this highly desired field.
LEARN ABOUT07 CRUNChIN’ NUmBERS Wondering what it’s like out in the real world once you’ve graduated? While you’re looking for a job, check out these stats to help you understand what life after school is actually like.
08 SUCCESS STORIES Tyson Hubley, corporate account manager of Insight Enterprises, talks about providing technology solutions to clients, and how he got where he is today. Sponsored by Rogers Wireless.
10 INTERVIEw SmARTS Daniela DiPietro, program manager of campus and career programs at CIBC, asks “What is your 30-second commercial?”
12 STARTUP Bill Hennessey started Oxford Beach when he was in university. Through ambition and drive, it’s now a multimillion-dollar company.
41 mANAGING yOUR mINUTES We look at best practices for staying organized and productive.
42 A LITTLE NOTE FOR ThE wIN After an interview, the proven best way to seal the deal is to send a handwrit-ten thank-you note. (Who knew?)
44 ThE TRUTh ABOUT RRSPS We weigh the pros and cons of putting money into RRSPs at an early age.
46 EDU-mA-CATION Find out why more students are opting to study on virtual campuses.
JOBPOSTINGS.CA
JPTV Know what it takes to get into marketing? Want to become an accountant? What skills do you need to be a broadcast journalist? Find out at JPtv, Jobpostings’ YouTube channel.
CAREER-hOPPING BEFORE 30 Gen Ys are becoming known as the career-switch generation, since the average person under 30 has already had significant career shifts. Read on to find out why.
OPPORTUNITIES ARE EVERywhERE You might not enjoy your part-time retail job now, but those small retail beginnings can lead to a world of opportunity. We interview a few people that have made it big in retail.
NUTRITION AT ThE OFFICE Feeling tired at work? Tons of people are eat-ing incorrectly at work which leads to fatigue and lower productivity. We look into how to stay healthy on the job.
ThE NEw JP BLOG The Jobpostings blog is back with new student voices, as well as opinions directly from the editorial staff. Check it out to hear students’ thoughts on finding work, juggling school, and balancing commitments.
Jobpostings.ca is canada’s leading career lifestyle magazine for students and recent grads—but since you’re holding a copy, you probably already knew that. But did you know we’re also canada’s biggest job board for entry-level, internship, and co-op opportunities? no? Well, now you do.
You might have the brilliant idea and the goods to run a busi-ness, but don’t have all the know-how or funding. Business incubators are a unique way to grow your fledgling company.
INCUBATING yOUR START UP
27
JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013
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Jobpostings Magazine is published eight times in the school year. issue dates are september, october, november, January, February, March, april, and May. copies of jobpostings are distributed to over 105 universities and colleges across canada. contents of this publication are protected by copyright and may not be reprinted in whole or part without permission of the publishers. “energy and persistence conquer all things” - Benjamin Franklin
PUBLIShER nathan laurie [email protected]
ASSOCIATE PUBLIShER Mark laurie [email protected]
COmmUNICATIONS AND PROJECT mANAGER david tal [email protected] @davidtalWrites
EDITOR James Michael Mcdonald [email protected] @mcjamdonald
ART DIRECTOR anthony capano [email protected]
DEVELOPER Mishraz ahmad Bhounr [email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS raman nijjar, Julie skinner, christopher lawson, Jason schreurs, samuel dunsiger
NATIONAL ACCOUNT mANAGER Mary Vanderpas
EDUCATION ACCOUNT mANAGER shannon tracey
INTERNS Kim Wolfshout, Megan santos, Kate aenlle, angelina attisano, armand Kajangwe, arthy Kumarathasan
SChOOLINDEXIFC Humber, The Business School (Undergrad)
06 St. George’s University
26 Humber, The Business School (Postgrad)
40 St. George’s University
43 Humber, School of Media Studies and Information Technology
46 Humber, School of Media Studies and Information Technology
46 Centennial College
47 Brock University
47 Niagara College
47 Queen’s University
47 Ross University
47 American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
47 Sheridan College
47 University of Lethbridge
OBC Humber, The Business School, Public Administration
whOShIRING02 NAV CANADA
03 CIBC
05 The Home Depot
11 Target
13 Chair-man Mills
13 The New England Center for Children
15 The Investors Group
16 CSIS
21 Enterprise Rent-A-Car
30 Sun Life Financial
35 College Pro
GENERALADS09 Rogers Wireless
15 Insurance Institute of Canada
19 Media Job Search
36 Canada’s Luckiest Student
48 Insurance Institute of Canada
IBC Young Canada Works
JobClientAd #Release DtInsert DtLiveTrimBleedRelease InfoPubs
CI1HR1P34276CIBCP3427 – JOBPOSTMarch 15April Issue - Apr. 87.125” x 9.75”8.125” x 10.75”8.375” x 11”NoneJob Postings
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Notes
Art DirectorCopywriterAccount MgrStudio ArtistProofreaderProducer
Christina GNoneSylvia VAnne R.AngieToby S.
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“CIBC For what matters.” is a TM of CIBC.
Imagine working in a fast-paced environment, where you help clients achieve their fi nancial goals and assist them with their everyday banking needs. At CIBC you’ll enjoy an exciting sales and service career that is both personally and professionally rewarding, and that offers great opportunities for career growth.
As a CIBC Financial Services Representative, you’ll provide information about, and actively promote and sell, products and services that satisfy your clients’ needs.
Qualifi ed candidates must exhibit CIBC’s values of trust, teamwork and accountability; possess superior verbal communication and interpersonal skills; and be adaptable, fl exible and able to multi-task. Previous contact centre, sales or customer service experience is an asset.
BECOME A CIBC FINANCIAL SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE.
Students and recent graduates, let CIBC help turn your potential into success!
If you’re interested in joining our team, get details on opportunities at CIBC at www.jobpostings.ca/CIBC.
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editor’s note
04
The first time I searched for a job, I was 16. It was the spring of 2001—I just gave away my age!—and I was itching for independence, work experience, and a big chunk of change. I’d done the typical youngster jobs—babysit-ting, mostly—but wanted to get out into the real world and make my own money for... whatever it was I wanted to buy. (Probably something Pokémon-related.)
I found a resumé template at my school, beefed up my school accomplishments, and hit the pavement. Unknowing of the process, I handed out about ten before calling it a day. Perplexed that I hadn’t heard anything back in 24 hours, I went out a few more times be-fore finally landing my first glamorous job: the guy that flips burgers at a fast food res-taurant. (Sometimes I even got to make the sandwiches!) It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t
pretty, but I was proud to be earning my first paycheques.
Nearly 13 years later and I’ve had a pleth-ora of jobs, many of which had nothing to do with what I’m doing now. One thing to keep in mind (that is reiterated throughout the pages to follow) is that the jobs you take on as a teenager, during college or university, before you finally encounter your dream job, give you tons of skills and perspective that can be applied later on. Although flipping burgers was messy and fast-paced, I better learned how to work with a team. I learned how to take instruction, multitask, and fill out time sheets. Most importantly, I began to develop a strong work ethic, something all young people should be encouraged to have.
If you haven’t already guessed, this month’s issue is all about the job hunt. We’ve focused
on how to stand out amongst thousands of applicants, as well as how to start your own business, and some thriving industries you may consider jumping into. Kate looks into unconventional job hunt strategies, including new ways to brand yourself and search for a job. Megan investigates how to start and own a franchise, as well as the benefits of using business incubators to build your fledgling company. We also find out about computer security analysts, sales consultants, materials engineers, wealth management advisors, and much more.
Hopefully this issue gives you some ideas and ambition to be the most adept job hunter there is, in whatever field you choose. And if that job happens to be flipping burgers, well, flip them the best way you know how.
Happy reading!
FLIPPING ThE JOB hUNT AROUNDJames Michael McDonald
27 INCUBATING yOUR START UP 31 JOB hUNT STRATEGIES 37 FRANChISE yOUR BUSINESS
IF THE WORLD’S FRANCHISES WERE PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE THEY WOULD
CIRCLE THE GLOBE
6,500 TIMES
THE AVERAGE SURVIVAL RATE OF COMPANIES IN
CANADA THAT GO THROUGH BUSINESS INCUBATION HASSHOWN TO BE HIGHER THAN
80% AFTER 5 YEARS COMPANIES USE
SOCIAL-NETWORKING SITES
TO SCREEN POTENTIAL CANDIDATES
2/5
sources: cabi.ca, franchiseconsultantsinc.com, online.wsj.com
Because working here is about more than helping customers choose the right product. It’s about making a difference in our customers’ lives and their homes. We call it “unleashing your inner orange” and it’s my ability to tap into my inner potential to help them create a space worth calling home.
The first thing I do when I greet a customer is smile. It lets them know I’m there to help, and that I’m confident in my ability to make a difference in their projects—no matter how large or small, I know that my customers value my product knowledge and that drives me to go above and beyond to help them complete their projects. Through extensive training, tuition reimbursement and more, The Home Depot gives me the support I need to build a promising future.
– Jordan, Home Depot Associate
A variety of part-time and seasonal opportunities are available for college and university students.
We are committed to diversity as an equal opportunity employer.
Successful projects start with serious know-how. And a warm smile.
Apply online at homedepotjobs.ca/5762 or text HOMEDEPOT to 998899 for information on upcoming career fairs and opportunities in your area.
©2013 St. G
eorg
e’s University
WHERE WE STAND TEAcHiNg STuDENTS ouTSiDE THE uS HAS
lED To AVMA AccREDiTATioN iNSiDE THE uS
STARTiNg youR cAREER WiTH THE WiNNiNg coMbiNATioN of uS SkillS AND globAl TRAiNiNg
Will MAkE you STAND ouT
Grenada, West IndiesUS/Canada: 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 9 1280 sgu.edu/future-students • [email protected]
A V M A
A C C R E D I T E D
www.avma.org
APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA
crunchin’ nuMBers
07
CRUNChIN’NUmBERS
life after post-secondary isn’t as cookie-cutter as you thought it would be. due to job hunting, paying off student loans, and monthly expenses, your bank account is looking a little grim. We at Jobpostings have gathered some information to (hopefully) guide you in the right path to life after graduation. | By mEGAN SANTOS
1500
1250
1000
750
500
250
$0 BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PEI NS NL YT NT
$1,365
$556$651
$799
$642$637
$738
$931
$709
$613
$1,045
$884
AVERAGE HOME RENTAL COST OF LIVING PER MONTH FOR EACH PROVINCE AND TERRITORY
CABLE &INTERNET $78
UTILITIES $60
PHONE $70
TRANSIT $110
GROCERIES $225
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY COST OF LIVING IN CANADA IS $543/PERSON. SO WHERE IS ALL THIS HARD- EARNED CASH BEING SPENT?
10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 80K 90K0
IF YOU STRIVE TO BE ABOVE-AVERAGE, HERE ARE TEN CAREERCHOICES WITH HIGHER-THAN-AVERAGE STARTING SALARIES. KEEP THESE IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING YOUR MAJORS THIS UPCOMING FALL SEMESTER.
A 2012 SURVEY CONDUCTED BY BANK OF MONTREAL SAID 40 PER CENT OF THE 1018 SAMPLED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HAVE STUDENT LOANS.ON AVERAGE, STUDENT DEBT IS ROUGHLY
$27,000
THE AVERAGE STARTING SALARY FOR CANADIAN
UNIVERSITY GRADSBY GENDER
UNEMPLOYMENT RATETHE NATIONAL AVERAGE
7.7%
PEOPLE AGES 15–24
13.5%
sources: workopolis.com, monster.ca, scotiabank.com, cbc.ca
JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013 sPonsored BY rogers Wireless
success stories
08
How did you find your current position?
I graduated from Bishop’s University in 2004 and was fortunate to participate in their interna-tional exchange program with Deakin University in Australia. I guess I caught the travel bug so, upon graduating, I took some time to work and live in Japan for a year. Upon returning to Mon-treal, I began prospecting to begin my career. I found an interesting job posting online and ap-plied for the position of account executive with Insight. I thought “a Fortune 500 technology company with a global presence? Sounds good to me!”
What are you responsible for in your cur-rent position?
In my current role, my main responsibility is to provide technology solutions to our corporate clients. I spend my day understanding business challenges: working with internal specialists and technology partners to solve these business pain points for my clients, consulting and offering the appropriate business technology solution. The most challenging part of my job is ensuring that I can do all of this to provide customized solu-tions to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. At the core, this is a sales position that requires you to constantly build relationships and deliver on these expectations.
As I’ve progressed within the role, I have been fortunate to be able to go onsite to clients and speak with them face-to-face. This usually in-volves quarterly business reviews, project scop-ing, and opportunity generation with my team of specialists. I get to work with a variety of people on any given day at all levels, from the manager of IT to the CIO.
What is the most challenging aspect of your position?
Building communication skills and the ability to influence and persuade people is critical in this role. It also makes you realize that listening skills and presentation skills are a key part of improving your business acumen. Creativity is key in provid-ing the ability to negotiate and navigate through corporate environments. Especially when work-ing with larger clients, you really get exposed to complex business challenges and you are part of the solution. These skills and qualities help you win the confidence of the client and your peers.
Challenging yourself will continue to be a mea-suring stick of your success in this role. The role
possesses a tremendous opportunity to be edu-cated from the world’s top technology compa-nies. The difference is in how you use this infor-mation to apply to your client’s environment and the solution proposals you bring to the table.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
The one accomplishment I am most proud of in my current role is winning the Summit Club Award two years in a row, last year in St. Thomas and this year in Puerto Rico. This is an award given to the top performers in the company for attaining and/or exceeding their goals.
What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?
As I reflect on what it was like to graduate, look for a job, and get to where I am today, I think the best advice that I can give students is to be prepared but also be self-prepared. What I mean by that is to have a sense of self. What are you good at? What are you not so good at? Be hon-est with yourself because a full-time job requires time and effort and in a global economy of doing more with less, you need to really like what you are going to be doing everyday; you can only fig-ure that out once you really understand yourself.
The million-dollar interview question is always “where do you want to be in 5 years?” I want to be in a role where I am driving business transfor-mation and making an impact for the company and myself. Being in that leadership role where I can enable people to be successful and assist in their development.
What advice do you have for students looking to land their first job?
Present yourself in a professional manner and communicate well. Your ability to make the hiring manager feel engaged and part of a good discus-sion helps you secure the job and/or further inter-views. Be true to yourself and don’t oversell your-self—people can see right through that. Always be able to speak to why you would be a good candi-date, based on what you know you do really well.
Just be true to yourself and also be able to ar-ticulate the value of what you are bringing to the table. The attitude of “what is in it for me” isn’t really an acceptable frame of mind when you are looking for job. Don’t get me wrong: making sure you and the company are a fit is key. However, you can’t enter an interview with that attitude. You have to enter the interview with the mindset that this is a partnership.
TySON hUBLEy
SUCCESS STORIESCOmPANy: insight enterprises inc. ___________________________
POSITION: corporate account Manager ___________________________
LENGTh OF EmPLOymENT: 7.5 years ___________________________
DEGREE: Bachelors of arts – honours Political science, Public administra-tion, Public Policy
PLAN FLEXIBILITY I UPGRADE ANYTIMEROGERS TECHXPERT TM I DEVICE PROTECTION
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3517_RCI_WIR_GWP_MagAd_8.125x10.75.indd 1 13-03-27 10:29 AM
JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013
interVieW sMarts
10
DANIELA DIPIETROPrograM Manager, caMPus and career PrograMs, ciBc
so you screwed up in the interview, huh? they asked the ol’ “What’s your greatest weakness” question and you answered with “cupcakes,” hoping to get a laugh. awkward. lucky for you, we have friends on the inside—recruiting friends (the people who’ll be interviewing you). it cost us a few favours, but they finally agreed to explain why they ask what they ask, and what the best answers are. it’s a cheatsheet for interviews. good luck!
What is your 30-second commercial? The reason I like this question is because everyone has a story but very few can answer it well. It is about how they structure and tell it. It really sets apart those candidates who have confidence, are self aware, and can show why they are a fit for the role they are applying for.
It forces a candidate to think on the spot and can throw them off-guard because there is no right or wrong answer.
People who do this well, who highlight their strengths, (what they are re-ally good at), and show how those strengths are transferrable to the role, demonstrate why they made the choices they made and how that has helped them grow and achieve their goals.
When creating your commercial, the main thing to remember is that you
need to communicate your main message clearly, quickly, on the spot, and under pressure to someone who doesn’t know you.
In the roles that I recruit for, selling your personal brand is crucial to building your credibility. Thinking on your feet, structuring your re-sponse, and keeping the audience engaged are key attributes for success.
Things to keep in mind• What do you want the listener to remember about you?
• Describe who you are. Think about some key words that would describe you and use them in your commercial.
• Explain what you do. State your value to the organization in terms of key results or impact. Come up with a tag line that allows the listener to understand how you can contribute to their team.
• Describe why you are unique. Tell the interviewer what you do that is different or better than others.
• Define your immediate goal. This is where it should be readily apparent what you are asking of them.
• Do not memorize this and recite it like a speech. It should be conversational.
• Lastly, be confident in your achievements. You are where you are because you have had some significant accomplishments. Share them and have fun doing so.
INTERVIEw SmARTS
© 2012 Target Brands, Inc. Target and the Bullseye Design are registered trade-marks of Target Brands, Inc.
Join our team. Expect the best.
target.ca/careers
There’s lots of excitement in storefor you as Executive Team Leader.We’re getting our Store Leadership team in place and are seeking ambitious people
who can create the best shopping experience for our guests. If you have a passion for
developing dynamic, sales-driven teams and are looking to grow your career, we can’t
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start uP
12
OXFORD BEACh
AmBITION, POSITIVITy, AND SUCCESS
it doesn’t Matter hoW Much You studY; You’re neVer going to reallY KnoW What goes into Being an entrePreneur until You get in and do it YourselF.
“I’m driven by ambition, so the goal was to cre-ate a reputable national player in the market-ing industry,” says Bill Hennessey, president of Oxford Beach, a leading marketing and events company based in Toronto, Ontario. As a busi-ness student at the Richard Ivey School of Busi-ness, Hennessey started the company with debt to pay down. Several years later, he has over 30 employees and his companies bring in $4 mil-lion in revenue each year.
Oxford Beach plans a variety of large-scale events, including a massive, countrywide St. Pat-rick’s Day event called St. Party’s Day. “There are 100 events happening across the country on St. Patrick’s Day,” he says, mentioning the event reaches 100,000 people. “It started two years ago based on the theory that there were no large-scale events on St. Patrick’s Day, yet St. Patrick’s Day is the day of largest consumption by 300 per cent.” With the signature event in Toronto and other events in Halifax, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, among other cities, it’s the crowning achievement of Hennessey’s company.
Hennessey’s love for events and marketing helped him jump into the industry, but not with-out his fair share of obstacles. “I think the most obvious challenge we had in the early stages was that you start a business,” he says, “you have the drive and the passion to make it successful, but it’s just that you’re doing the operations, you’re worrying about finance, you’re doing the marketing and promotions, you’re doing the customer service. You’re kind of the jack of all trades—you’re wearing five or six hats.”
It was this multitasking that developed him into an effective leader and manager, allowing the business to prosper. “One of my biggest take-aways over the past year or so is we’ve had some significant growth and have been able to add some top-notch talent. It really does get easier, and today I’m just steering the ship.” He says because of the company’s growth, he’s been able to add people to his team who are signifi-cantly more talented in their specific aspects of the business than he could ever be.
When he first started his business, Hennessey listed one such top-notch businessperson as a key inspi-ration. “The one on the top of my list—I actually interned with him for three or four months—is Anton Rabie, the CEO of Spin Master Toys. The energy that that guy sends to his team and to his employees is second-to-none. He’s just an all-around fun individual.” He mentions that due to this enthusiasm, Rabie has made Spin Master one of the top toy companies, with over $650 million in revenue and incredible growth.
With Oxford Beach thriving, Hennessey then looked to purchase another business. In May of last year, he bought RoyalPak, a cleaning prod-ucts company. When asked for his reasons for
By: James Michael McDonald
the jump away from marketing, he has a clear, logical answer: “The vast majority of smart business students, whom I went to school with, went into what I call ‘sexy businesses.’ They want to work on Bay Street, expense $50 din-ners, and wear a flashy suit all day. But if you look at the demographics, there are a tonne of baby boomers out there who are very under the radar and are extremely successful. For the most part, their kids don’t want to take over these businesses, so there are all these businesses that are coming up for sale with nobody who wants to take over them.” By playing smart, not flashy, Hennessey’s managed to capitalize on a business that is stable and has the possibility for growth.
Hennessey says work ethic, perseverance, and the ability to inject positive energy into the peo-ple around you are important traits in a success-ful entrepreneur. And if someone if thinking of starting their own business, he says, encourag-ingly, “just do it. Get off the sidelines and hop into the game. It doesn’t matter how much you study; you’re never going to really know what goes into being an entrepreneur until you get in and do it yourself. That’s how you learn and grow as an entrepreneur.”
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“Every day is different,” says Takeaki Chiji-iwa, principal consultant at Security Compass, when talking about what he likes most about his job. “It’s being up-to-date with the tech-nology, the new app, new application, or new buzz that’s interesting.” The need for comput-er security analysts and technicians in Canada is not only on the rise, but is also becoming more of a challenge in today’s battle against cyber crime. It has become increasingly more complex since the introduction of the com-mon computer virus in the early 2000s.
Mark Shalagan, reseller at Your Sales Team Online (YSTO), a multi-line distributor based in BC, believes the introduction of spyware is the new form of cyber crime and internet “terrorism.” Unlike the typical computer vi-rus, spyware is meant to be malicious without your slightest knowledge.
“It’s logging your keystrokes without you knowing. It’s stealing your identity. It’s feed-ing that data back from your system down
through the internet, and people are sort of monitoring what you’re doing without you knowing,” he says. YSTO caters to small businesses and companies and Shalagan re-sells security software called Emsisoft from Quebec-based distributor Multi-Visions.
With the increase in online activity comes the rise of computer crime. The role of a security technician will also become more of a chal-lenge as the cyber war against hackers contin-ues. Erez Zevulunov, president and director of operations at MIT Consulting in Toronto says that from his perspective as a software develop-er, a technician’s role is going to be increasingly demanding in the future. “I think the demands of security applications, encryption applica-tions, various types of services and products will be on an incline quite significantly over the next several years because it’s very much in its infancy on a defending side,” he says.
As large companies have more sophisticated security and software, Zevulunov believes small businesses will suffer the most, thus leading to the demand of security experts like those at MIT Consulting. “We already see that as an increase in business because every-body is telling me that ‘I need better browser protection, I need a better firewall,’” he says.
The main responsibility of a computer se-curity technician is to protect businesses and companies of all sizes from the vulnerabilities that reside on the internet. Some companies, like Security Compass, have taken their job
further by incorporating ‘ethical hacking’ into their services. “We essentially hack but we hack ethically, meaning that we work with the client to hack maybe their financial systems or their web applications and see if there’s way to prevent some of their controls,” says Chijiiwa, who is also the company’s practice lead for web and mobile application testing. Ultimately, the technicians are able to hack business computers in hopes to find security issues before online criminals and without the involvement of the police and FBI.
As the war against cyber crime increases, so does the need for security analysts and tech-nicians. Chijiiwa says curiosity is the most important quality to have to succeed in that role. “Curiosity goes a long way especially with what we do. It’s really how you start interacting with it and trying to understand ‘if I change this, how does the system react?’” he says.
“With any university or college students that are interested in this field, I think it’s just a matter of picking any favourite technology and trying to understand it more from tak-ing a look underneath the hood rather than seeing what’s presented at the top layer.” An education or background in developing and coding is also crucial to understanding how an application is built, finding its weaknesses, and improving it for clients. In today’s society, which is heavily built through electronic ser-vices, security technicians and software will always be needed to protect its businesses and consumers. | Megan Santos
KeePing the online World saFe With
coMPuter securitY analYsts and technicians
cYBer War
14
iMages: © istocK.coMJOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
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CSIS. SMART CAREER CHOICE
WANTED: IT PROFESS IONALS
Graduating with a business and economics degree or an MBA opens many doors, yet en-tering the real world can be a daunting task when there are so many options available. Sales is on the minds of many business grads, but there are other positions in consulting to aid salespeople that are being created all over the map. The fast-paced, ever-changing, competitive industry of consulting sales is something they may not have considered.
“Long gone is the image of the sales guy being the smug guy,” says Robert Lanoue, partner within Deloitte’s corporate strategy practice. “Salespeople are now very analytical, strate-gic; they understand their customer base, and the product and services.” With the increase in innovation and technology, companies are becoming more focused on the customer and profit, which is where consultants come in.
According to Glenn Yonemitsu, CEO at the Canadian Association of Management Con-sultants, when entering the consulting field it’s important to remember you’re not providing clients with a tangible service but rather an in-tangible promise to provide your knowledge.
“A consultant is always brought in because the client doesn’t need the expertise on a full-time basis,” he says. “They need some specific ex-pertise to help them effect change or help set something up or improve the process.”
Consultants are hired by a company for any amount of time to help develop their sales force. That said, the needs by each company differ greatly, so consultants have to be versatile.
“Every organization has a different need,” he says. “One of the really important things you do at the start of an engagement is spend a lot of time coming to an agreement in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish.”
This field isn’t for someone who needs a rou-tine. As a consultant there are constantly new projects, some of which last a few months longer than others. You have to be able to learn on your feet, be open to working at cli-ent sites, and like to travel.
“Almost every company in the world that’s for-profit, and even a lot of not-for-profits, all have to generate revenues,” says Yonemitsu, mean-
ing the majority of companies could benefit from hiring a sales consultant. This means no shortage of work and lots of opportunities.
“You come in quickly as an expert”, says Aly-son Gampel, associate director, graduate em-ployment at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Ontario. “But that function and industry may be fairly new to you.” As a con-sultant you have to learn about the industry and the tools needed to help each client. It comes down to putting what you’ve learned academically to practice. A successful candi-date must be intellectually curious, good at problem solving and teamwork, adaptable, humble, and an agile learner.
Gampel states the trajectory of an individual in consulting sales is as follows: start as an an-alyst at the junior level, move to a consultant position where you manage analysts, evolve into a management role and become the key contact on projects. After that, a manager can finally be promoted to partner, when in-dividuals are responsible for sales. They take the lead on projects and coordinate a team of managers, consultants, and analysts.
Each firm looks for something different: indi-viduals that have specific skill sets, specialties, and personalities that will mesh well within the firm. Consultants primarily have degrees in business, engineering, and mathematics. Gam-pel adds she has also seen individuals with non-traditional backgrounds, such as those with a degree in the medical field or a PhD in music.
For example, Deloitte’s Corporate Strategy Practice recruits graduates with a business de-gree from schools like Western University, Uni-versity of Toronto, and Queen’s University. Individuals enter the field as business analysts for three to four years and then become con-sultants. To move further, consultants can ei-ther get a graduate degree and become senior consultants or continue to move up the ladder.
In consulting you’re always building your skill sets, so you’ll never get bored. “When you see the client or company improve because some of the ideas you had in your head,” says Yonemitsu, “it’s an extremely rewarding and satisfying job.” | Raman Nijjar
ThE SALES LADDER IS wORTh CLImBINGcorPorate sales consulting oFFers oPPortunitY and groWth
the sales ladder
17iM
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adVice on adVising
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iMages: © istocK.coMJOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
If you had five seconds to name a famous fictional financial advisor, could you do it? Now, try to think of a friendly fictional finan-cial advisor. (Tough, isn’t it?) Characters like Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge don’t exactly make the best mascots. The truth of the matter is finance is fun, and the finan-cial management business is booming! So, it should come as no surprise that recruiters in the wealth management industry are looking for dynamic, flexible, outgoing young people.
Banks are becoming competitive in asset management, which is why we’re seeing an increase in job opportunities. When the re-cession hit five years ago, the public learned that the economy can be volatile. Unan-swered questions about retirement plans, ris-ing healthcare costs, and unexpected expens-es were a shock, which lead people to start creating financial strategies.
According to Brent Allen, regional director with Investors Group in London, Ontario, people have started taking the time to make sure they understand their financial situation. More importantly, they realize that they can’t do it alone. “You really need someone to sit down with you and build a detailed, written financial plan that is flexible.” Circumstances can change, and wealth management advi-sors help their clients adapt to stay on track.
Speaking of change, Allen has seen mortgage rates fluctuate dramatically over the past de-cade. “[And] we didn’t have a tax-free savings account when I started in 2004, but they in-troduced it in 2008. The people coming into our industry must be willing to embrace ongo-ing learning because every year, every budget, something comes out and you have to con-tinue to retain and upgrade your knowledge.”
The most in-demand position in wealth management is financial consulting, and it’s more than just negotiating numbers and figures. Stocks and trades may make up the transaction side of the business, but financial planners are in the interaction business. “We really deal with the people—their emotions, goal planning, goal setting, and answering more complicated questions like where to in-vest your money.”
Allen adds that working for an independent planning company means you build your own practice and, in turn, create your own sched-ule. Young financial planners have the added bonus of being able to build their client base over multiple generations. That’s something that a tenured senior advisor simply can’t do.
Cliff Demarest is the managing principal of Consilium Wealth Advisory. He specializes in assisting affluent clients with estate planning, credit work, bill payments, even vacation planning. “We go in and we find small, tiny things like credit card fees, better cell phone plans, better places to buy all the materials for the lavish party they’re having,” he says. “Even the wealthy overspend.”
Wealth advisors handle accounts in the multi-millions, making this a pressure-filled career. In order to reduce the stress involved, mitigat-ing risks as a team is of the utmost importance. “You need to be a collaborative, team-orient-ed person,” says Demarest. “The most promi-nent feature of that is sharing the stress and the workload with a series of other people, but you also create plans for what you’re doing on any one project or any one client.” He adds that by showing people these plans, showing the progress, and getting feedback, others feel reassured which alleviates stress overall.
Each client has different needs, so you have to adjust accordingly. Demarest finds that his firm often goes above and beyond for high-profile patrons. “Quite frankly, [some of our] clients have businesses and many times they’re not social media savvy. We train them, and some-times their people, on how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many times we design websites for people and connect them with ex-perts.” While it can be a time-consuming pro-cess, he says clients appreciate the extra effort.
Demarest recommends picking up the Wall Street Journal (or the Report on Business in the Globe and Mail as a Canadian equiva-lent) to get a sense of what’s going on in various markets. As for education, there are plenty of options. “The degrees that people look for today in financial services are the CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts), the CFP (Certified Financial Planner), and then the most recent one (and gaining popularity very quickly) is the CPWA (Certified Personal Wealth Advisor).”
But it’s not about academics alone. He also suggests studying economics and applying for an internship with a brokerage firm, money manager, or bank. A finance background is definitely an asset, but it’s not the only thing potential employers are looking for.
Allen says he looks for well-rounded team players, those with resumés that include extracurricular activities and volunteer ex-perience. Also, student job fairs are great for getting your foot in the door, but you should avoid being too casual. “Have a firm handshake, say hello, introduce yourself, tell them that you’re looking at their firm, and that you’re interested in what opportunities might be there.” | Julie Skinner
SOmE ADVICE ON ADVISINGhelP Plan Futures With BooMing career oPPortunities in Wealth ManageMent
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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013
20Building BlocKs
iMages: © istocK.coM
Have you ever wondered why certain materi-als are used to create stuff ? Who decides that oil pipelines should be made of carbon steel, or that high-strength, low-alloy steel should be used for truck frames and rail cars?
Materials engineers are the people who create and innovate materials like metal and minerals to ensure that they’re of the highest-quality and are appropriate for the product they’re being used for. This basically means that materials engineers specialize in understanding specific types of materials like ceramic and plastics, and develop, process, and test them. This is es-sential to the process of selecting which mate-rials to use in important products like aircraft wings, as well as everyday products like golf clubs, tennis rackets, and skis. The job market for metallurgical and materials engineers has seen growth in recent years due to trends in the primary metal manufacturing industry, and because everyone needs products made of all sorts of different kinds of materials.
According to Benjamin Hatton, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, the job market for materials engineers is an interesting one to be a part of because there isn’t just one sort of industry or company that would hire a materials engineer. “Where materials engineers end up can be in many different kinds of com-panies because every company, more or less (if they make something), needs somebody on their staff to be looking at the materials involved, or how to improve it or test it, for quality control or sustainability,” he says. “So a lot of companies and a lot of different industries will take materi-als engineers. I know people who have gone to all kinds of different industries that they didn’t necessarily start out aiming for.”
Glenn Hibbard, associate professor in UofT’s materials science and engineering department, agrees. He says that many students in the uni-versity’s program find work in a wide variety of industries: “aerospace companies like Bombar-dier and Pratt & Whitney; electronic materials manufacturers like Celestica; nanotechnology companies like Integran; mining companies like Barrick Gold; manufacturers like Magna or Texas Instruments; or, more traditionally, metal-lurgical companies like ArcelorMittal Dofasco.”
While in school, an apprenticeship or co-op program may be valuable for students thinking of becoming materials engineers. “I think that apprenticeships are excellent to get some sort of hands-on experience,” says Hatton. “I think
you really learn a lot more about how a job re-ally works and what kinds of things are impor-tant or interesting when you’re actually there.”
UofT offers their second- and third-year students a chance to participate in a Professional Experience Year, a paid internship program that spans 12–16 months (which gives students an aver-age salary of $44,000). It gives students a great opportunity to “get practical ex-perience during the course of their under-graduate degree,” says Hibbard.
Carol Brouillet, university relations advisor at metals and mining corporation Rio Tinto, says that when looking for a candidate for a materials engineering apprenticeship or internship, companies often look for stu-dents who “are serious about their studies. (so they should have a good GPA), are pas-sionate about the industry, and ideally, speak another language,” which, she says, opens up opportunities for people to find work in other countries.
Brouillet also says that along with prepar-ing for a career in materials engineering through practical experience, students need to keep in mind that the demand for materials engineers often stems from remote locations. “I find that a lot of students who are studying materials engi-neering [after they graduate] want to work in big cities,” she says. “The crucial thing for them to know is that if they want to work in this industry, they will most likely need to work in a remote location.” This is the reason she says it’s important that students are passionate about what they do because they may be required to do it in a place that they wouldn’t ideally choose to go.
“I think it’s the most interesting [form of engineering] because it’s the founda-tion for everything else. It is actually a really cool discipline” says Hibbard. “Every other type of engineering de-pends on the materials available to them. It’s an enabling discipline. We [materials engineers] are kind of the ones who are behind the scenes and help the other disciplines do what they do.” | Kate Aenlle
BUILDING BLOCkS OF ENGINEERINGindustrY Pros talK aBout What MaKes Materials engineering an exciting career
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[email protected](416) 284-4805
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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013
the right internshiP
22
Once exams are done, some lucky students and graduates get to jet off to exotic locations for some rest and relaxation before starting their lives in the ‘real world.’ Most students and new grads, however, must immediately begin the daunting task of trying to navigate their way through what seems like an endless list of internship opportunities, with hopes of finding the holy grail of post–post-secondary education: full-time employment.
More and more, it is becoming common practice for students to look for an internship as opposed to paid, full-time work, because many available full-time positions require years of experience in the field. The hope then becomes to gain relevant experience through an internship, with the possible added bonus (fingers crossed) of a modest stipend. Unfor-tunately, not all internships are paid, which can seem irrelevant if the work experience can bring you closer to finding full-time work elsewhere.
But how do you decipher which internships are actually relevant and valuable to have in order to get closer to attaining your career goals, especially when the term “intern” can mean anything from a four-month contract to run errands and do menial labour to ac-tual on-the-job training from industry profes-sionals? The truth is, not all internships are created equal, and we’re here to help you sort through them so you can make the right choice when internship application season—formerly known as summer—arrives.
While there are lots of good internships out there, there are still certainly some that could use a bit of improvement. Ian Metcalfe, for-mer intern from Toronto, shares an uncom-fortable and unrelated-to-his-career-path in-ternship experience which involved spending a day looking for size 13F sneakers for their boss’ mother who had elephantiasis feet. Met-calfe was given clear directions that he could not come back empty-handed. Although he did eventually find said footwear, he was still later fired. The tale might seem scarring, but was shrugged off by Metcalfe as being “pretty funny.” If only all bad internship experiences could be laughed off.
There are plenty of disheartening intern tales, like being made to retype and rewrite a “to-do list from a piece of notebook paper four different ways: into excel, as a word doc, onto individual post-its, and then re-written in my neater handwriting” for their boss. These experiences that leave the intern without any new, relevant work experience, or any sort of compensation for doing the menial tasks they’ve been assigned, is one of the reasons why Claire Seaborn, chair of the Canadian Intern Association, founded the organization in 2012.
“[Founding the organization] wasn’t some-thing that I planned to do at all,” says Sea-born, also a second-year law student at the University of Ottawa. That is, until she real-ized that, “there isn’t really any advocate for unpaid/interns in Canada, and that the issue isn’t very well understood. A lot of people are not aware of the legal aspect of unpaid internships or about the rights that interns have.”
So, before going off to find your dream in-ternship, and hopefully your dream job not long after, we thought we’d give you some tips to ensure that you gain valuable experience from your chosen internship.
GET ThE SPECIFICSIt’s always good to read and re-read a job posting before applying to ensure that you can be well-prepared to be interviewed by a po-tential employer. But what about once you’re actually being interviewed?
“Potential interns should ask their employer about the duration of the internship,” says Seaborn. “A lot of people just take internships for an indeterminate amount of time; if the
employer is perhaps promising a paid posi-tion in the future, try to get a specific period of how long you have to work unpaid before you’re going to start to get paid for that work.”
In addition, you should make sure to have a clear outline of the kinds of tasks you will be doing. While “it’s really important that people get on-the-job training, because it’s really, really helpful,” says David Macfarlane, col-umnist for the Toronto Star, he suspects that if students aren’t careful, they can be easily taken advantage of by their superiors. “It’s [internships] really regarded as a kind of free labour by a lot places that don’t really have much interest in educating the intern,” he says, which unfortunately leaves interns feel-ing like they’ve been taken advantage of.
EARN ThAT mONEy (mAyBE)Everyone wants a paid internship, but not ev-eryone is going to get one. The best thing to do is try and take advantage of the internship you do have, and make it work for you.
“My younger brother did an unpaid intern-ship for the Comedy Network in Toronto, and his internship was a month long,” said Sea-born. “He received school credit at Queen’s University, which was great. He wrote docu-ments, sat in on meetings, and did lots of in-teresting things. He really felt like he learned from the industry, and he was also asked back the following summer for paid employment” She said that aside from leading to a paid po-sition, an internship like her brother’s is an example of what a truly successful internship experience should be, because it was educa-tional and gave her brother an opportunity to learn new skills. Skills which, if he weren’t hired on the following summer, he could take to another potential employer.
it’s the end oF the Winter seMester: do You KnoW What You’ll Be doing this suMMer?
iF You Feel liKe You’re not getting the exPerience that You hoPed For (eVen iF it is a Paid internshiP), should You leaVe?
PICkING ThE RIGhT INTERNShIP
APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA
the right internshiP
23
This is the reason why Seaborn isn’t discour-aging young people from taking on an unpaid internship. Before you skip over all of the unpaid internship ads, Seaborn suggests tak-ing advantage of your internship by asking employers if they’re willing to let you shadow them to see their day-to-day activities. “Don’t be shy to ask the employer if you could help draft something for them or if you could re-search something that interests you, if you feel like your work isn’t giving you the experience that you were hoping to get,” she says.
kNOw whEN TO GOIf you feel like you’re not getting the experi-ence that you hoped for (even if it is a paid internship), should you leave? It may be hard to bid adieu to an internship, with all of its promise of experience and knowledge, but if you haven’t signed a contract, “you would have no reason why you need to stay at that place of employment,” Seaborn says. “I don’t think people should feel required to finish the duration of their internship, as long as they give some sort of notice.”
Macfarlane agrees. “Really, life’s too short. I don’t think you have to be rude, and you don’t have to be abrupt about it, but I think you should let it be known that this isn’t working out the way you’d hoped it would, and that you’ve got all sorts of other things you’d like to be doing, and get on with other things.”
No matter what sort of internship you get this summer—paid or unpaid—“There’s really no point sitting in a job where you’re putting filing cards in alphabetical order or something like that, if it’s not providing you [work experience],” says Macfarlane. “Some-times just being in a workplace provides you with insight, and you have to take that into account. It may be that the job you’re doing isn’t teaching you much, but just being there is teaching you something. But if that’s not even happening, then I think you have to look for something that’s going to be profitable, whether it be actually profitable, or at least, experientially profitable.” | Kate Aenlle
it’s the end oF the Winter seMester: do You KnoW What You’ll Be doing this suMMer?PICkING ThE RIGhT INTERNShIP
Paid internships are harder to find than unpaid internships.
TO BE, OR NOT TO BE (A PAID INTERN)
Paid interships don’t always translate to minimum wage.
You are essentially a contract worker paid minimum wage.
You are more likely to find a job after a paid internship.
If you feel unhappy, it is much easier to leave.
You are essentially a volunteer, which is fine... I guess
Unpaid internships are easier to find than paid internships.
The obvious con you’ve been waiting for: no wages.
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business.humber.ca/postgrad
1O WAYSTO LAUNCHYOUR CAREERFIND YOUR NICHE WITH A POSTGRAD IN BUSINESS.
Advertising – Media Management
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Event Management
Fashion Management & Promotions
Financial Planning
Global Business Management
Human Resources Management
International Development
Marketing Management
Public Administration
MaKing the cut: the hoW-to on landing a sPot in a Business incuBator
By: mEGAN SANTOS
You’re a student with a creative mind and a brilliant business plan. You believe in it, and others do too. The endless research and sleep-less nights have prepared you for the Dragons’ Den. Well, not the CBC show we were all thinking of, but rather something called an in-cubator—a different yet resourceful approach to kick-starting your business.
A business incubator is a specially designed program that provides office space, services, and support resources for start-up businesses. To simplify, it can be compared to the literal definition of an incubator: an enclosed appa-ratus providing a controlled environment for the care of premature babies. Understand the concept now? Business incubators provide nur-ture and care for early-stage businesses through office space and close mentorship over a period a time, depending on the program. Essentially, an incubator’s role is to improve the chances of a business’s success past its start-up stage.
As interested as all of you idea-booming en-trepreneurs might be right now, it is important to remember that business incubators aren’t drop-in classes. Hopefuls need to go through a competitive application process where their ideas are carefully measured and judged before consideration for acceptance. Some business incubators request a small entrance fee for ac-cess to their services, particularly office space, while others take a small percentage of equity from startups.
TechStars, a business incubator notorious for its extremely competitive admittance rate, is one of the most prestigious incubators in the world. With its acceptance rate of less than one per cent, only 14 savvy business startups will make the cut out of nearly 1,500 hopefuls. Ul-timately, the cut will hurt, but the goal of all incubators is to guide only the best-of-the-best young businesses and increase the likelihood of it staying in the market.
So, young entrepreneurs, do you think you’re ready now? As of today, there are well over 100 business incubators in Canada, which have for-tés in a number of industries from technology to fashion. Before you commence your search for the perfect incubator, you must take the proper steps to ensuring your application isn’t overlooked. Here are four helpful tips to check off your list:
haVe a Business PlanFirst thing’s first: a plan is a strict requirement. This doesn’t mean an idea scribbled on a piece of lined paper with your most important points highlighted in fluorescent yellow; it must be a
thought-out and researched plan that covers all areas of your proposed business, in detail of course.
INcubes, a Toronto-based technology accelerator, has a rigorous three-step application process, which includes an initial application and custom-ized questionnaire wherein hope-fuls have the chance to pitch their business ideas. An adviso-ry board then examines it until a new cohort of entrepreneurs is formed. CEO and founder Ben Zlotnick explains the im-portance of experience and an innovative plan.
“We want to make sure that they work as a team, and if they’re in a very specific sec-tor, that they have experience coming from that area,” says Zlotnick. “Rather than being like ‘oh this is a great idea and I would love to do it,’ if they really have no backup from that, then why are they the right person to do that?”
Jay El-Kaake, CEO and co-founder of Sweet Tooth, a business-to-business soft-ware company, explains the importance of creating an idea that’s not only likable, but something the public would actually use.
“If people are actually using what you’re say-ing will get used,” says El-Kaake, “then you’ve taken a leap now ahead of millions of other people who have ideas and very smart brains.”
Sweet Tooth had its big business push when they were a part of an incubation program at the Acceleration Centre in Waterloo, Ontario. Just a short year after their acceptance to the program, Sweet Tooth, whose purpose is to de-velop loyalty programs for e-commerce busi-nesses, raised $2.3 million in financing—not a bad start for a group of 20-somethings from Waterloo.
incuBators Want More than Just a good idea“The idea is the least important,” says El-Kaake when describing the most crucial factors young entrepreneurs must review before con-sidering an incubation program. As contrary as that sounds, it’s really what goes on behind the scenes that can make or break your idea.
“You have to have a strong team. It’s usually comprised of an engineer, a leader, and de-sign,” he says. “It allows the product to move
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forward, because you can’t market it or sell it until the product is actually built.”
A solid team will be the foundation where that brilliant idea of yours can flour-
ish. It isn’t always about teaming up with your closest friends, although
those who have had friendships in the past were proven to have a slight advantage over business partners who have not. Instead, it’s important to build the team around those with a common positive goal and an overall strong team dynamic.
Secondly, El-Kaake ques-tions: “If you put anyone who is creative in a room, they’ll come up with a million ideas, but are they ideas that people are willing to use?”
He then proposed the idea of a floating chair. (Genius, right?) It
sounds a lot like a product every-one would craze over at its launch,
but would likely amount to nothing in the end. Try to avoid any chance
of your product or service becoming a fad by ensuring it remains marketable.
“Are they ideas that people are willing to pay for?” El-Kaake asks. “If they’re willing to pay for it, then you’re solving a problem in the world.”
Revenue is key to the success of any business, but can only accumulate if it’s a good enough service to make people buy into it. The 24-year-old Sweet Tooth co-founder adds that incuba-tors are keen on supporting businesses that could potentially solve real-world problems, thus came the elimination of the floating chair.
haVe an oPen MindNegative Nancies are not permitted in business incubators.
Ultimately, your startup’s goal is to learn how to make it in the real world. With that, a con-stant positive attitude is required. Before click-ing the submit button on your screen and wait-ing for the callback from the incubator, you have to realize the crossroads that may come with the experience.
“One of the important things, from hearing from the startup businesses, is a lot of them say ‘I’ve developed this great game, now how do I get this to market?’” says Alice Lee, project manager for the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at Toronto’s George Brown College.
Lee observed this as one of the biggest strug-gles teams come across while at the incubator. “They’re so focused on finessing the product that they don’t always know how to take it after they’ve developed it.”
While this continues to be a pressing issue for some startup businesses, Lee says part of the role of the incubator is to help them along the way. What’s needed in return is an open-mind-ed entrepreneur.
INcubes CEO Ben Zlotnick refers back to the team dynamic and asks startup businesses to reevaluate their colleagues. He says bumps and bruises will happen during the process, but to always ensure a solid group of people are work-ing behind you.
“If they are the right people on the team then you now have the ability not only to create lots of potential for yourself, but you are now able to create jobs within this community and with-in this economy,” says Zlotnick.
reMeMBer, little things countSure, you have an education in web develop-ment with the highest GPA in your graduating class, but sadly a career won’t always be wait-ing for you after you’ve shaken the Dean’s hand and walked off stage. Daniel Saks, CEO and co-founder of AppDirect, says his company looks for extracurricular activities when re-cruiting for their incubator program.
“One of the key things for students, especially early on, is to show that outside of school there are a lot of things that are motivating you,” says Saks.
That can mean anything from joining a sports club to volunteering in an engineering group to a enrolling in a developer’s class. The Ontario-born web developer strongly recommends that students pile on their activities outside of aca-demics to stand out from other applicants.
When the time comes to send that revised busi-ness idea, Saks suggests students think about long-term potential when selecting an incuba-tor program. There are a countless number of incubators across the country, so Saks advises to find a place with more stability, one that is thoroughly trained and venture-funded.
“One of the concerns I have for students going into an incubator right away is that if it fails, you’re in a tougher spot to be recruiting for jobs in the future,” says Saks.
Once the final review of these four steps is complete, you’re ready for that big-kid push into an incubator program. | Megan Santos
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aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.caiMages: © istocK.coM
UNCONVENTIONAL JOB hUNTING STRATEGIES
aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.caiMages: © istocK.coM
UNCONVENTIONAL JOB hUNTING STRATEGIESWe’ve all heard the tales of the lucky ones who walk up to big-league employers, ask for jobs, and just get them. are these stories simply urban legends, keeping our hope alive that, one day, we too will find full-time employment with the company of our dreams?
recently, an article in the Business insider talked about how one young man crafted a blunt, honest, and clever cover letter in the hopes of getting an internship with a finance company. By writing things like “the truth is i have no unbelievably special skills or genius eccentricities, but i do have a near perfect gPa and will work hard for you” and “in all honesty, i just want to be around professionals in the industry and gain as much knowledge as i can,” he got a favourable response from multiple finance companies who appreciated his unique way of trying to find a job—and, more importantly, wanted to hire him!
hOw TO STAND OUT FROm ThE
CROwD AND LAND ThAT JOB!
By: kATE AENLLE
JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013 iMages: © istocK.coM
32JoB hunt strategies
wOULDN’T IT BE NICE IF wE COULD ALL BE ThIS LUCky?Although the idea of having a full-time job offered to you seems appealing (and, frankly, a little miraculous), finding your dream job isn’t just about getting lucky; it’s about getting noticed and hired for your talents, skills, and experience. But how do you get noticed when employers are flooded with a sea of resumés from candidates that are just as qualified as you? David Perry, author of Guerilla Market-ing for Job Hunters 3.0, says that the biggest mistake people make when looking for a job is “to go looking for a job.” In an age where we quite literally have unlimited resources at our finger tips, it may be wise to think outside the box when trying to find that perfect career.
“The easiest way to find a job is to figure out what you want to do, who you want to work for, and then get them to call you,” says Perry. Sounds simple enough, except most people still venture into the tradi-tional send-your-resume-and-cover-letter-to-a-potential-employer route, and don’t know how to just get employers to call them. He says that to get ahead and stand out, people shouldn’t scrap their cover letters and resumés. He says that people in search of a job need to make themselves accessible for potential employers who are now using the Boolean method to find candidates.
According to Perry, the Boolean method, (or a Boolean search), is a tool that employers are using to find best-qualified candidates for
positions that they need to fill within a com-pany through keyword searches online. They started to search for candidates this way when the recession hit because the job hunt became exponentially more competitive.
Once job opportunities became harder to come by, companies who advertised job openings were bombarded by thousands of resumés and there just wasn’t an effective system to sort through the constant flow of resumés submitted for a select few job oppor-tunities. Although “they still had jobs, they stopped advertising them,” says Perry. This is why “the simple way to find a job—fast—is to make sure you’re online, whether it be Linke-dIn, Zoominfo, or Facebook. Make sure that you can be found using the keywords an em-ployer would use to find someone that’s got your skill set. Then you’re answering the phone rather than leaving another jumbled, fumbled voice message for an employer who’s not going to call you back.”
Like Perry, Ian Greenleigh, manager of con-tent and social strategy at Bazaarvoice, knows the value of having an online presence. He found his job simply by being connected on-line. “I got my job using a Facebook ad, point-ed at the employers at the top of my list,” he says. “Three weeks later and [having spent]
less than $200 in total, I had multiple of-fers.” This is the sort of creative approach that employers are looking for.
The idea of using this type of strategy came to him after reading a blog post about another job seeker named Grant
Turck who had used Facebook ads to find employment. Greenleigh thought it could
be an effective way to find a job and, after a meeting with Turck to go over his strategy, he went forward and started a targeted Face-book ad for the kind of job he was looking for. In addition to the ad, Greenleigh also put a ‘Hire Me’ page on his blog with a link to his advertisement on Facebook.
The experience, to Greenleigh, was inspiring. “Even before the first click, I felt a renewed optimism. I was doing something different, something only a handful of people had tried—ever.”
Sites like meetup.com are also a great tool to get yourself noticed by potential employers. Meetup.com alerts you to social and network-ing events happening in your area that are geared towards your field of interest. With a few clicks of your mouse, you could be receiv-ing email notifications of networking events that you can attend, which could potentially
the siMPle WaY to Find a JoB—Fast—is to MaKe sure You’re online, Whether it Be linKedin, ZooMinFo,
or FaceBooK
APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAiMages: © istocK.coM
JoB hunt strategies
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lead to connecting with an employer and find-ing a job.
Don’t underestimate the power of utilizing the many online tools are your disposal. Green-leigh discovered how beneficial online resourc-es were to his job hunt, and he says, “what I found was a social side door, a way around the barriers that pose constant threats to our for-ward progress.”
Barriers to finding your dream job don’t stop with the thousands of other people who are also in search of their dream jobs. In fact, sometimes, before you even encounter the competition, you have to battle it out with yourself first.
“College students often drown in the job search because they lack direction. If they pick a des-tination and start swimming there as hard as they can, they’ll land an offer,” says Alan Car-niol, creator of InterviewSuccessFormula.com. He says that after students have asked them-selves tough questions like ‘what do I want to do’ and ‘who do I want to work for,’ they should also consider changing their attitude to-wards the job hunt.
“In practical terms, college seniors need to stop saying ‘I need a job, any job. Someone please help me.’ Instead, they need to say ‘I really want to try working in xyz industry, doing abc job. I should reach out to alumni from my school who work at those places and ask all of my family and friends who they might know there as well.’”
He also understands that this is sometimes easi-er said than done, so he suggests thinking about the things that interest you most, and trying to figure out how that may fit into a career in an industry you want to work in. “Remember, you aren’t married to your first job and can always switch later,” he says.
Roy Cohen, a career counsellor, executive coach, and author of The Wall Street Profes-sional’s Survival Guide, agrees with Carniol. “Convey your passion for what you want and make sure you can show why you want it. En-thusiasm that is directionless serves no purpose and is a waste of time.”
How do you convey that you’re passionate about a career? “Focus on how you can distin-guish yourself,” Cohen says, “and make up for lack of experience through additional training and certifications. Often, older employees are less committed to professional training and de-velopment, so what you lack in hands-on experi-ence, you offset through continuing education.”
For recent grads who can’t quite picture going back to school just yet, John Francis, president
of Theonera Inc., suggests taking a less radi-cal approach and starting by fine-tuning your resumé and cover letter in order to appeal to potential employers by doing something a little bit different. “Offer potential employers some-thing like a PowerPoint presentation or a video resumé,” he says. “Those things have a much greater chance of getting you noticed and hence getting hired.”
However, if you want to stick to something a bit more traditional yet still stand out, Perry says that resumés and cover letters do work, but “most candidates forget that the purpose of a resumé and cover letter is to explain to the em-ployer, ‘Here’s what’s in it for you [if you hire me].’ A big mistake students make is that “when they go looking for a job, in a cover letter, they say, ‘I, I, I. Me, me, me.’” He says this often proves to be ineffective because employers want to know how hiring you will benefit their com-pany, not how their company will benefit you.
“You start your cover letter and swap out the I’s and me’s, and replace them with you’s and you’re,” he says. “For example, instead of writ-ing, ‘I would like an organization where I can advance and use my six months of experience in project management at Dairy Queen,’ you say, ‘You will benefit from my six months experience in project management at the Dairy Queen.’”
Scott Vedder agrees. “Instead of writing a resu-mé that reads like a job description, be sure you use specific examples to quantify what makes you a great candidate.”
Now, what happens if you’ve put the new job hunting strategies you learned to use and you land yourself an interview? Perry suggests treat-ing your job interview as if it were a blind date that someone was setting you up on. Basically, get to know your potential employer during your interview.
“Ask some preliminary questions like, ‘Who are you?’ ‘What’s this all about?’ ‘What’s the oppor-tunity about?’ ‘Why did you call me?’ ‘Why do you think we’d be a good fit?’” He says that by doing this, you encourage the employer or re-cruiter to tell you what’s in it for you. “So rather than you fumbling all over yourself, you’re now forcing the employer to tell you about the job,” he says. “And it changes, psychologically, the dy-namic between candidate and recruiter, or can-didate and employer. Now suddenly, you’re on an equal playing field, and you end up having a discussion about the opportunity or a discussion about their needs, as opposed to you trying to
adding any part of your experience that was amazing
defining points, places, dates, and things in your experience
show numbers that quantify and prove your past successes
Be sure to mention the dollar value of your contributions
Finally figures that easily show growth and results
!@#$%scott Vedder, author of signs of a great resumé, has created a method to remember exactly what to include in your resumé. “i like to say that your resumé
should be full of !@#$%.”
JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013 iMages: © istocK.coM
pitch yourself or pigeonhole yourself into that opportunity.” Cohen says, “When you have an interview, go above and beyond to show that you are committed and hard-working. For example, if you interview with a hedge fund to be a junior analyst, prepare an analysis to show how you think and how smart you are.”
Even with all of the job hunting tools and ex-perience you have on your side, there may be times that finding a job in your chosen indus-try proves to be difficult. If you’ve explored all the different avenues for your job search and are still finding less than desirable results, don’t be discouraged. Perry says that perhaps looking for an internship could be a fantastic idea, “providing that the internship is with one of the companies, or within the field that they eventually want to work in.”
Interning may also be a good idea if you’re looking for a job, but are unsure of what you want to do. Internships give you a chance to
explore different industries you feel you may be interested in working for, and you may even be able to turn an internship into an of-fer, or at the very least, extend the internship so as to establish a meaningful relationship with the hiring manager who can provide a strong reference while you expand your skill set. “Volunteer for the heavy lifting. No task or request is too small or too mundane,” says Cohen. “Your goal as an intern is to accumu-late valuable hands-on experience, establish good will, and to build your resumé.”
It’s important to note that there are many, many ways to go about your job hunt because oftentimes people stick to one method that they may have learned early on, and then feel
discouraged when that method doesn’t work for them. You shouldn’t be afraid to explore different methods to find what you’re looking for because the creative way you find a job not only shows your potential employers that you’re a resourceful and smart candidate, but also that you’re passionate enough about your career to explore unconventional ways to find a job. No matter what strategy you use to find a job, however, whether it be through a Face-book ad, networking events, or a video resu-mé, the key is to stay positive and keep your mind focused on your ultimate goal: finding a job. As long as you keep your end goal in your sights, you will have a successful hunt, and hopefully the career you’ve been dreaming of.
INTERNShIPS GIVE yOU A ChANCE TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT INDUS-TRIES yOU FEEL yOU mAy BE INTERESTED IN wORkING FOR, AND yOU mAy EVEN BE ABLE TO TURN AN INTERNShIP INTO AN OFFER
JoB hunt strategies
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TURNING yOUR BUSINESS INTO A FRANChISE
Business Franchising
37
By: mEGAN SANTOS
“It was really an idea that came to me in an odd place; it was at a McDonalds drive-thru,” says Brian Scudamore when asked how he got the inspiration for what is now 1-800-GOT-JUNK? back in 1989. The junk-hauling found-er says he noticed a pickup truck lined up in front of him with “Mark’s Hauling” inked on the truck’s plywood side panels. “A week later, I bought myself a pickup truck and formed a company called The Rubbish Boys.” However, Scudamore’s transition from The Rubbish Boys to 1-800-GOT-JUNK? wasn’t anything near an overnight success; it was a 10-year process from local business to North American franchise.
Oftentimes, entrepreneurs pitch their great ideas hoping to open up shops all over the country before establishing a business that’s proven to succeed. According to President and CEO of the Canadian Franchise Association Lorraine McLachlan, she finds this troubling. “One of the hallmarks of franchising is that you are dealing with a proven concept,” she says.
ProVe itSo you have your concept with the dream of turning it into a franchise one day. That day won’t be tomorrow, but with the right idea, team, and resources, it increases the chances of that dream becoming a reality.
“Franchising is a very powerful and very viable way of expanding a proven business, and that really is the key,” says McLachlan. “What a university student would have to do is have a great idea for a business, open up that business, and run it for a while themselves—possibly have a couple corporate locations or more—before they start contemplating franchising.”
Ultimately, becoming a franchisor is the step above owning a stand-alone business. It re-quires years of experience and proven suc-cess in the market before an entrepreneur can consider expansion. One important charac-teristic the business must have, according to McLachlan, is knowing whether the work can be replicated by others or not. To flourish in different cities, provinces, and even countries, the business must be able to survive under the ownership of other franchisees. If that’s a missing piece, “don’t try to get a franchisee to pay for the testing of your business concept,” McLachlan warns.
MoneY, MoneY, MoneYIt’s not cheap to own a business, so it won’t be any easier if you have your sights on becom-ing a franchisor. Start-up costs and legal fees are just two of the expenses you’ll have to face when looking to expand your business.
“Becoming a franchisor, it was a lot of money,”
says Scudamore. “It was a lot of money for a small business that I had, which was doing by the million in revenue at the time, and I had to spend a couple-hundred-thousand dollars on legal fees to register to sell my franchise in the United States.” 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is most famous for its purple-and-green hauling trucks and junk pick-up services. The franchise, which started in BC in the late 90s, has since expand-ed to notable metropolitan cities like Toronto and Seattle, and even as far as Australia.
Bill Redfern, founder, president, and chief executive officer for A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections, says franchisor hopefuls should be aware of the initial expenses they will face. “In setting up a franchise company, there’s an aw-ful lot of upfront costs. You have to have an idea and whether it’s viable or not is of course the million-dollar question.” A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections, which provides residential and commercial inspections to those looking to invest in a new home or area, originated in Nova Scotia and has expanded to six countries worldwide in just seven years. Included in ex-pansion costs are the production of manuals, disclosure documents for prospective purchas-ers, branding and marketing materials, and websites—just some other expenses that must be accounted for your franchise.
WhY Franchise?If you could own your own business and be suc-cessful at your job, why turn it into a franchise? Redfern says if your dream is to expand your business, it’s difficult to do it on your own.
“When you could tie a business model to us-ing individual entrepreneurs with their own in-vested funds in the business [and] an invested interest to succeed and to earn their livelihood and build a future for themselves, then that creates a really neat opportunity for every-body,” he says. Sharing your proven concept with people who have an equal interest and skill set in your concept can turn your local business into a worldwide brand name.
On the flip side, as an aspiring franchisee, op-erating a franchise comes with much less bag-gage than owning a stand-alone business. While you do technically own your own business, “you don’t own the exclusive rights to the name of the business and the proprietary operating sys-tem,” says McLachlan. With that said, you’ll be running the store, business, or service on your own with a set of people you’ve employed, but essentially you’ll be replicating the operating system set by the franchisor.
“The advantage is that you are going into a concept that has already been proven,” says McLachlan. “So somebody else developed it, hopefully worked out all the kinks, and they
have determined that their business can be replicated by somebody else.” And the more popular the brand is, the more franchisees will be drawn to it. “The larger the brand, the stronger the brand, the more that is true.”
secrets to successThe taste of success couldn’t be sweeter for franchisor Brian Scudamore who turned his 1989 junk-hauling inspiration into 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. He’s hit about $120 mil-lion in revenue today with business in Canada, the United States, and Australia.
“We went from a point where we had five trucks, we hit $1 million in revenue and it re-ally became an opportunity where I saw that this could grow into many markets beyond just Vancouver where we started,” says Scudamore. Knowing there were cities larger than Vancou-ver, he decided to expand to other metropolitan areas where he thought his purple and green junk-hauling trucks would find most success.
What’s his secret to success? Scudamore says it’s creating a vision, or what he likes to call a painted picture. “It’s one page, double-sided, of what the company looks, feels, and will act like in a point in the future,” he explains. “I paint this picture that I then share with every employee, every fran-chise partner, everyone that’s involved, and they read and identify with this picture.” This one ingredient has proven the success of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? when he explained the original painted pic-ture for his franchise. “In 1997, I created my first painted picture and said we will be in the top 30 metros in North America by the end of 2003, and we did hit exactly 30 metros, and we did it 15 days before the December 31 deadline.” Scuda-more’s success didn’t stop there. He and a partner have since launched WOW 1 DAY! Painting—yes, they paint your whole house in one day—and he’s hoping to franchise a moving busi-ness called You Move Me.
Bill Redfern says his inspiration to franchise came from his decade-long background in real estate sales. “I had a thought after using many inspectors over the years that left a lot to be de-
Business Franchising
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iMages: © istocK.coMJOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
sired. After using the service through the real estate service, we saw an opportunity that we could do better and on a broader scale.”
Redfern observes that the franchisees who keep pushing for sales and inspections are the ones who succeed at the end of the day. “In building any business, there’s going to be lots of ups and downs. You have to take the positives and be prepared for the negatives and carry on.” | Megan Santos
BUSINESS FRANCHISING
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aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.ca
WHERE WE STAND OUR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PUTS MORE DOCTORS IN US HEALTH CARE
THAN 2/3RDS OF US MEDICAL SCHOOLS
LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER WITH A RARE COMBINATION OF
CLINICAL AND CULTURAL SKILLSWILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT
©2013 St. G
eorg
e’s University
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Get back to work!
Not doing the trick? All right, let’s start off with some real ways on how to manage your time, prioritize your tasks, and avoid procras-tination. Why? ‘Cause these skills can mean the difference between keeping your new job and crashing on your parents’ couch.
“When the projects I work on meet delays, that means money is not coming in on sched-ule,” says Richard Salmon, senior legal coun-sel for Canada Post. “When we’re hiring, it’s generally because we need help ASAP. Any-one who cannot manage their tasks will soon get sucked into a vortex of chaos. I’ll prob-ably have to help fix things, and that means that demands on my time are going to in-crease, not decrease.”
KeeP it siMPleExperience proves the best solution is a low-tech one. “I have experimented with all kinds of time management solutions,” says Salm-on. “Many of them had atrocious interfaces and required more time to enter data than I would spend on the tasks I was trying to keep track of.”
He writes his tasks in a Word document, and then writes the tasks he will tackle that day on paper. The priority of this short list is constantly revised according to the estimated payoff, time limits, and effort required of each. Not fancy, but it gets the job done.
But, remember: you have to get the job in the first place.
MaKe the tiMeTo do so, people like Monica Colibaba, ex-ecutive career coach at Queen’s University’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario, offers one-on-one meetings to help students
explore career choices, complete career as-sessments, learn more about resume-building and interview prep, and effectively engage in networking and company information events.
These are all while you’re cramming for exams and writing papers. However, if you want a job, you have to use every tool you can. And that takes time.
So don’t just find it. Make it.
Monica’s centralized to-do list is simple and effective. “First, you set categories,” she says, “like academic, work, and personal. List all the different items, anything you can think of.”
Once you have your list, resist the urge to jump from the nearest skyscraper. Break it down into doable bits.
“Get a calendar, and plug in the items from the to-do list. This helps you see snapshots on a weekly or even daily basis. It keeps you on task and keeps your deadlines at your atten-tion. It also fights procrastination, because if you know you have between 2 and 4 p.m. to work on your research paper, you’ll be moti-vated by its time-sensitive nature.”
This time-budgeting method works perfectly for Mark Evans, MBA student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who even uses it to have some fun. “I make sure that when I sit down to work, I really work. When I’m not working, I do nothing but relax. This
puts me in a better mood for when I get to work and helps deal with stress.” If he can still thrive in school after six years, you can believe he’s got his stress under control.
stoP Procrastinating right noW!These methods might work for the diligent go-getter, but what if you’re prone to chronic procrastination?
Here are some quick things you can actually do rather than just read another article on procrastination:
Prepare. Make sure you have all the tools and space you need: good lighting, a pack of pens, headphones, a gallon of chocolate milk—whatever it takes.
Set rules. Things like Facebook only once an hour or Walking Dead after I finish this as-signment.
Inform. Tell others about the rules and about your projects. It’s easy to break rules when no one knows you’re breaking them. If you don’t want people to see you’re slacking, tell them your goals and then let guilt be your guide!
There’s no one-size-fits-all method to mas-ter these skills, but this quote by author Da-vid Kadavy comes close: “Productivity is less about time management than it is about mind management.” | Christopher Lawson
anYone Who cannot Manage their tasKs Will soon get sucKed into a Vortex oF chaos
tiMe strategY
41
aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.caiMages: © istocK.coM
iMages: © istocK.coMJOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
sealing the deal
42
So you’ve left an interview feeling confident that you’ll get the job. All you have to do now is sit back and wait for that comforting “you’re hired” phone call, right? Wrong.
Hiring professionals agree there’s one final yet very important step that dates back to the generations of old. It’s a phrase that’s been ingrained in most of us since childhood and it doesn’t stop when we’re out on the job hunt.
We need to say “thank you.”
A carefully constructed, well-timed, hand-written thank-you note could be the missing puzzle piece to land you the job you really want. And, as old-school as handwriting a thank-you note sounds, according to experts, it’s the best way to gain an advantage over other applicants.
“I was a guest on Canada AM recently and on the wall of the green room I noticed a bunch of thank-you notes from guests and one of them was from Lionel Richie, and I was re-minded that even global stars use thank-you notes to make themselves memorable,” says Alan Kearns, founder of CareerJoy, a Can-ada-wide career coaching and counselling service. “So if Lionel Richie sends thank-you notes, you know they’re important.”
While sending a quick email or even tweeting a thank-you might be the instinctual response for most students in our technological age, it’s actually the reverse approach that leaves your name fresh on a prospective employer’s mind.
“The way things have changed with employ-ment and technology, it’s looking for those
added edges every chance you can to make an impression and leave an impression,” says Irene Wallace, employment facilitator at Camosun College in Victoria, BC. “Hand-written cards are seemingly passé but, believe it or not, it’s coming back into our approach-es. Some students see them as unusual, and sometimes they’re just not sure if it’s a good move to send one. But it is.”
Recent graduate Nick Noble got a full-time job at Risdall Marketing Group, a new media agency, three weeks before he got his under-graduate degree in business and marketing education. How did he come across such amazing timing?
“I emailed the online marketing group presi-dent and thanked him for talking with us during an intern-for-a-day event,” explains Noble. “I also included a couple of questions about the industry and asked how I could im-prove my skills. He responded and asked me if I would be interested in interviewing.”
If a simple thank-you email can make an em-ployer perk up and take notice, experts advise that a well-planned, personalized thank-you card can work absolute wonders.
“It’s the immediacy of follow-up, and people are looking to see how reliable you are,” says Wallace. “It’s an excellent way to create an impression, and it works.”
“Getting mail is a rare thing now, especially a handwritten card,” agrees Kearns. “There’s that book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and I actually disagree. It’s all about the small stuff.” | Jason Schreurs
Thank-you notes are a must for a suc-cessful job interview follow-up. But how should they be presented? What should be included? And what’s the ul-timate goal?
“The number one goal is to thank the person. Never forget that,” says Ca-reerJoy founder Alan Kearns.
Kearns and Camosun College Em-ployment Facilitator Irene Wallace agree notes should be in the form of a simple, handwritten card that’s rel-evant, genuine, and timely.
Cards should be mailed in or dropped off as soon as possible after the inter-view and well before the hiring dead-line. They should also be handwritten on the outside of the envelope, to signi-fy a personal touch and set them apart from junk mail.
The message inside the card should thank the employer for the interview and express the desire for a possible follow-up. However, it shouldn’t force the issue or attempt to sell your wares all over again, warns Wallace. Instead, it should strategically and briefly reit-erate one or two things that you can bring to the company.
“And anything you’ve forgotten or wish you had said during the interview, you slide that in,” says Wallace.
Most importantly, a thank-you should be error-free and legible. “And if you’re not good at handwriting,” says Kearns, “have someone else write it out for you.”
SEALING ThE DEALthe iMPortance oF saYing thanK You
A ThANk-yOU CARD hOw-TO
SCREENWRITING
SPRING 2013continuing education
mediastudies.humber.ca/ce416-675-6622 ext 4508/4678
ThE TRUTh ABOUT RRSPS
JOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
If you’ve just finished university and are about to start your first job, figuring out how to start saving for your retirement probably isn’t high up on your to-do list, (far below bigger concerns like celebrating your graduation, going on a well-deserved vacation, or [the often dreaded] grad school applications). So, if you’re worried that your piggy bank is feeling a little bit empty just after graduation—don’t.
An article in the Investment Executive notes, “80 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 do not feel confident that they will be able to save for retirement,” according to a study conducted by BMO Financial Group. While the numbers seem alarming, Kareim Abbouda, a consultant for Investors Group Financial Services Inc, doesn’t think people who haven’t started to contribute to an RRSP need to panic. Depending on your financial situation, setting up and contrib-uting to an RRSP doesn’t necessarily have a best-before date. “I’ve seen people in their mid-forties, and they’ve never contributed to an RRSP,” he says.
Phillip Nelson, a financial planner at the Bank of Montreal, agrees. “New gradu-ates should weigh the benefit of starting an RRSP right away versus quickly pay-ing down their student debt,” while an article in the Globe and Mail suggests doing the latter first. New graduates, (as well as everyone else), have many fi-nancial obligations, and it’s important to keep in mind that as a newly graduated person, you don’t have to try and fulfil all your financial duties at once.
Experts say that it may be unrealistic to
save money in an RRSP while paying down student debt, a monthly rent or mortgage, as well as other bills. So, they suggest tak-ing care of your more immediate financial obligations like student debts; once you’ve begun to make more money, start to con-tribute to an RRSP. By that time, even if you still haven’t started to contribute to an RRSP, “you should still have plenty of time to catch up and enjoy a comfortable retire-ment,” writes Josh O’Kane in an article for the Globe and Mail.
One way students and new graduates can save money before they’re financially ca-pable of contributing to an RRSP is with a TFSA (tax-free savings account), which is “an absolutely tremendous vehicle” for saving, says Andrew Dedousis, a senior wealth advisor at Meridian. “If your in-come is lower, something that could work really well is to take advantage of the tax-free savings account.”
ThE TRUTh ABOUT RRSPSit’s neVer too earlY to start saVing, But is it eVer too late?
There are many differing opinions on the matter of when or how to start saving for your future and retirement—once you’ve factored in your individual financial situa-tion, things can get quite confusing. What seems to be the most obvious strategy is to try and save your money in any way that you can, whether it be through a TFSA or an RRSP, depending on your income bracket. For example, Abbouda says, “If [a student] is going to be a teacher, and [they] know that over the next few years it’s going to be a stable income but it’s not necessarily going to grow very much from now to five years’ time, this would be an opportune time for him to start looking at an RRSP.” However, that may not be the case for every industry. Lawyers, who typi-cally make more of an annual income than teachers, also usually have a larger amount of student debt. Abbouda suggests that these students “focus on paying back their student loans. One of the reasons for that is if he’s starting out [with a salary] at, say $60,000, he is probably going to be mak-ing well over $100,000–200,000 over the next 10 years. So it’s best for him to con-tribute to an RRSP when reducing taxable income makes more sense than at a lower income bracket.”
The unanimous opinion, though, is that no matter what you’re doing, you should always try and speak to someone at your bank. Abbouda has seen many students, “still struggling to pay off their debts, and it all comes back to the attitude that they might have had the wrong advice, or no ad-vice in the beginning.” | Kate Aenlle
neW grads should Weigh the BeneFit oF starting an rrsP right aWaY Versus quicKlY PaYing doWn their student deBt.
truth aBout rrsPs
45
aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.caiMages: © istocK.coM
edu-Ma-cation
46
JOBPostings.ca | aPril 2013
Considering a postgrad education, but don’t want to leave your job or family? Distance edu-cation programs are on the rise across Canada.
Enrolment in online university education is growing, notes Vicky Busch, executive di-rector of the Canadian Virtual University (CVU), an Alberta-based consortium of 12 universities across Canada that offer online courses and programs. “We’re seeing a big-ger interest from students who see the flex-ibility of not having to be in the classroom,” she says. “Last year, we had almost 200,000 registrations at CVU universities.”
Universities and colleges across Canada offer courses and entire programs online that allow students to earn their postgrad from behind a computer screen. Some, like Athabasca University, offer all programs online, while Royal Roads University (RRU) in Victoria, BC blends distance and on-campus learning.
In October, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario launched the Master of Science in Healthcare Quality program, which is almost entirely online. “We wanted to open this pro-gram up for people across Canada,” says co-director Dr. Kim Sears. “We wanted to make sure distance wasn’t a barrier.”
“The program is mainly distance learning with some face-to-face,” Dr. Sears explains. “There are two mandatory face-to-face weeks. The rest of the program is done in online and interactive classrooms using the e-learning tool Desire2Learn. Students are expected to participate in live and interactive discussions.”
Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario also offers an online MBA program, in which students take online courses for 12 weeks, fol-lowed by final exams.
“They work in groups of four to seven through asynchronous discussions,” says Julie Henri, senior manager of business develop-ment and administration with the School of Commerce and Administration at Lau-rentian. “The professor is there to support student learning by fostering collaboration, learning of the main concepts and course objectives, and by providing timely feedback to questions and assignments. Some of our classes require the completion of simulations to further enhance practical experience.”
The program “caters to mature learners who are working professionals,” she adds. “Taking a year or two off of work to enhance man-agement skills is very difficult to achieve for both the student and employer. The ability to complete an online program delivered in a flexible format that can provide graduates with the credentials needed to move into up-per management positions is highly sought.”
One of the biggest benefits is the flexibility. “There’s the ability to manage work and fam-ily life with life-long learning, and the ability to study from anywhere in the world and at any time,” says Henri.
Jessica Hadjis, originally from Montreal, just completed her MA in interdisciplinary studies at RRU from Brussels, Belgium. She says the flexibility and the course selection attracted her to the program. “I wanted to
find something that could accommodate to me rather than me accommodate to it. I did it entirely online. I’ve never even seen Royal Roads.”
While Hadjis initially thought she was going to be disconnected from her peers, she found the program exceeded her expectations. It consisted of video lectures, group work over Skype, and assignments she was able to do while working full-time in Brussels. “It was a very personal environment,” she says.
But she adds that distance learning may not suit all industries. Hadjis, who focused in in-ternational relations, says the fact that she was working abroad at the same time was a benefit. “What I was learning was flowing into my work. But for engineering as an ex-ample, I don’t think it would be a benefit. For the sciences, you need to be at a lab.”
As an added benefit, technology has also en-riched distance learning, Busch says. “Tech-nology now allows for greater opportunities for communication and group work. It’s not a single, lone endeavor.”
However, Henri says there continues to be a debate about the quality of distance learning, including the “isolation of learners and nega-tive stigma.”
But Busch says “there may have been the sense that an online education isn’t as good as a face-to-face education, but not anymore.” In fact, she claims “the online experience is an advan-tage to employers. It points to self-discipline, different learning styles and the application of technologies.” | Samuel Dunsiger
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American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC)AUC has provided a quality medical education to more than 5,000 graduates and provides a US-model education beginning with two years of medical sciences taught at the St. Maarten campus, followed by clinical education in affiliated hospitals in the US and UK. AUCmed.edu.
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aPril 2013 | JOBPostings.ca
Where do you want youreducation to take you?
Here’s a career path withunlimited potential. What are you looking for in a career? Earning potential? Security? Having the chance to face a new and different challenge every day? Whatever you've learned in school and in life, you’ll have the chance to use it in the insurance industry.
It’s hard to imagine a career choice where you’ll have the opportunity to use more of your skills than insurance. Why? Because insurance is already a part of everything you do. It protects homes, jobs, cars, property and the continuity of lives. And because insurance is all around us, the industry has a wide variety of careers to match your education and amazing flexibility to change directions along the way.
There are more than 110,000 Canadians working in the property & casualty insurance sector. It’s an industry that reflects the face and the values of Canadian society and has a constant need for talented, creative, motivated people.
Are you a people person? Brokers work with clients to create a strategy to protect their assets.
Gifted at math? You could thrive as an actuary.
Good at listening? As a claims professional, you’ll help people who are coping with an accident, fire or theft.
Strategic thinker? You could work as an underwriter and develop the products that keep people protected from unforeseen loss.
As your career in insurance progresses, every day can present interesting new opportunities, new challenges, and the flexibility to pursue new goals.
To find out more about where you might fit in with your post-secondary education, please visit our Web site at www.career-connections.info. You may be surprised to find that insurance isn’t what you think. It’s a whole lot more.
Your interests and your experience may add up to a great career in insurance.
Michelle SnowdonUnderwriter
Sara RunnallsBroker
Gavin MascarenhasLoss Adjuster
“For a greater advantage, and the highest placement value, I would recommend courses in law as well as successful completion of a business or insurance program.”
UnderwriterYou’re a relationship developer and decision-maker
Underwriters accept or reject risk on behalf of insurance companies. They assess the kind of insurance required by organizations as diverse as a shopping mall, a professional sports team, a manufacturer, a city government or a construction company. Underwriters examine every facet of the organization’s operation and its request for insurance, then decide what the insurance company should cover and how much it should charge.
“A college diploma or university degree in any subject is helpful for entry into the profession, although those who have studied finance, management, mathematics or business would have an advantage.”
Broker / AgentYou’re a people person and a great communicator
Insurance brokers and agents help consumers find the right coverage to protect their cars, homes, businesses, boats and belongings against loss through accident, fire or theft. While brokers usually represent several insurance companies, agents are more likely to sell policies for just one. These are the entrepreneurs of the insurance industry with many of them working for themselves or for small independent firms.
“The best advice is to specialize in law or business-relatedcourses.”
Loss AdjusterYou’re part private investigator and part therapist
The loss adjuster is responsible for ensuring that those who have suffered a loss receive the compensation and assistance they are eligible to receive. Whether employed by the insurance company or working as an independent contractor, the loss adjuster investigates the accident, arranges medical treatment if necessary and negotiates the final settlement to restore policy holders to where they were, as closely as possible, before their loss.
Where do you want youreducation to take you?
Here’s a career path withunlimited potential. What are you looking for in a career? Earning potential? Security? Having the chance to face a new and different challenge every day? Whatever you've learned in school and in life, you’ll have the chance to use it in the insurance industry.
It’s hard to imagine a career choice where you’ll have the opportunity to use more of your skills than insurance. Why? Because insurance is already a part of everything you do. It protects homes, jobs, cars, property and the continuity of lives. And because insurance is all around us, the industry has a wide variety of careers to match your education and amazing flexibility to change directions along the way.
There are more than 110,000 Canadians working in the property & casualty insurance sector. It’s an industry that reflects the face and the values of Canadian society and has a constant need for talented, creative, motivated people.
Are you a people person? Brokers work with clients to create a strategy to protect their assets.
Gifted at math? You could thrive as an actuary.
Good at listening? As a claims professional, you’ll help people who are coping with an accident, fire or theft.
Strategic thinker? You could work as an underwriter and develop the products that keep people protected from unforeseen loss.
As your career in insurance progresses, every day can present interesting new opportunities, new challenges, and the flexibility to pursue new goals.
To find out more about where you might fit in with your post-secondary education, please visit our Web site at www.career-connections.info. You may be surprised to find that insurance isn’t what you think. It’s a whole lot more.
Your interests and your experience may add up to a great career in insurance.
Michelle SnowdonUnderwriter
Sara RunnallsBroker
Gavin MascarenhasLoss Adjuster
“For a greater advantage, and the highest placement value, I would recommend courses in law as well as successful completion of a business or insurance program.”
UnderwriterYou’re a relationship developer and decision-maker
Underwriters accept or reject risk on behalf of insurance companies. They assess the kind of insurance required by organizations as diverse as a shopping mall, a professional sports team, a manufacturer, a city government or a construction company. Underwriters examine every facet of the organization’s operation and its request for insurance, then decide what the insurance company should cover and how much it should charge.
“A college diploma or university degree in any subject is helpful for entry into the profession, although those who have studied finance, management, mathematics or business would have an advantage.”
Broker / AgentYou’re a people person and a great communicator
Insurance brokers and agents help consumers find the right coverage to protect their cars, homes, businesses, boats and belongings against loss through accident, fire or theft. While brokers usually represent several insurance companies, agents are more likely to sell policies for just one. These are the entrepreneurs of the insurance industry with many of them working for themselves or for small independent firms.
“The best advice is to specialize in law or business-relatedcourses.”
Loss AdjusterYou’re part private investigator and part therapist
The loss adjuster is responsible for ensuring that those who have suffered a loss receive the compensation and assistance they are eligible to receive. Whether employed by the insurance company or working as an independent contractor, the loss adjuster investigates the accident, arranges medical treatment if necessary and negotiates the final settlement to restore policy holders to where they were, as closely as possible, before their loss.
Where do you want youreducation to take you?
Here’s a career path withunlimited potential. What are you looking for in a career? Earning potential? Security? Having the chance to face a new and different challenge every day? Whatever you've learned in school and in life, you’ll have the chance to use it in the insurance industry.
It’s hard to imagine a career choice where you’ll have the opportunity to use more of your skills than insurance. Why? Because insurance is already a part of everything you do. It protects homes, jobs, cars, property and the continuity of lives. And because insurance is all around us, the industry has a wide variety of careers to match your education and amazing flexibility to change directions along the way.
There are more than 110,000 Canadians working in the property & casualty insurance sector. It’s an industry that reflects the face and the values of Canadian society and has a constant need for talented, creative, motivated people.
Are you a people person? Brokers work with clients to create a strategy to protect their assets.
Gifted at math? You could thrive as an actuary.
Good at listening? As a claims professional, you’ll help people who are coping with an accident, fire or theft.
Strategic thinker? You could work as an underwriter and develop the products that keep people protected from unforeseen loss.
As your career in insurance progresses, every day can present interesting new opportunities, new challenges, and the flexibility to pursue new goals.
To find out more about where you might fit in with your post-secondary education, please visit our Web site at www.career-connections.info. You may be surprised to find that insurance isn’t what you think. It’s a whole lot more.
Your interests and your experience may add up to a great career in insurance.
Michelle SnowdonUnderwriter
Sara RunnallsBroker
Gavin MascarenhasLoss Adjuster
“For a greater advantage, and the highest placement value, I would recommend courses in law as well as successful completion of a business or insurance program.”
UnderwriterYou’re a relationship developer and decision-maker
Underwriters accept or reject risk on behalf of insurance companies. They assess the kind of insurance required by organizations as diverse as a shopping mall, a professional sports team, a manufacturer, a city government or a construction company. Underwriters examine every facet of the organization’s operation and its request for insurance, then decide what the insurance company should cover and how much it should charge.
“A college diploma or university degree in any subject is helpful for entry into the profession, although those who have studied finance, management, mathematics or business would have an advantage.”
Broker / AgentYou’re a people person and a great communicator
Insurance brokers and agents help consumers find the right coverage to protect their cars, homes, businesses, boats and belongings against loss through accident, fire or theft. While brokers usually represent several insurance companies, agents are more likely to sell policies for just one. These are the entrepreneurs of the insurance industry with many of them working for themselves or for small independent firms.
“The best advice is to specialize in law or business-relatedcourses.”
Loss AdjusterYou’re part private investigator and part therapist
The loss adjuster is responsible for ensuring that those who have suffered a loss receive the compensation and assistance they are eligible to receive. Whether employed by the insurance company or working as an independent contractor, the loss adjuster investigates the accident, arranges medical treatment if necessary and negotiates the final settlement to restore policy holders to where they were, as closely as possible, before their loss.
If you are interested in participating and eligible, please apply directly on our website: www.youngcanadaworks.ca. Note that the job ads will be posted as of June 1, 2013. Si vous êtes intéressé à participer et admissible au programme, visitez notre site web interactif et appliquez dès maintenant en ligne au : www.jeunessecanadaautravail.ca. Notez que les emplois seront affichés dès le 1er juin 2013.
It’s that time of year again…La période d’inscription est enfin arrivée…
514-844-9571
The Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages program (YCWBOL) is launching its recruitment process. Here are many reasons why you should participate in this year»s YCWBOL program!
Work in another province!
Travel for free!
Work in both official languages!
Have the chance to win a $500 scholarship!
Receive financial support for your rent!
Travailler dans une autre province!
Voyager gratuitement!
Travailler dans les deux langues officielles!
Courez la chance de gagner une bourse de 500$!
Recevoir un support financier pour votre loyer!
Découvrez le Canada!Discover Canada!
YCWBOL gives students the chance to work in different fields such as education, administration, project management, architecture, journalism and many more. JCTDLO offre la possibilité aux jeunes de travailler dans plusieurs domaines d»études; Éducation, administration, gestion de projets, architecture, journalisme et bien d»autres encore!
Le programme Jeunesse Canada au Travail lance sa campagne de recrutement! Voici une multitude de possibilités que vous offre le programme JCTDLO!
Or contact usOu contactez-nous
By e-mailPar courriel [email protected]
By phonePar téléphone
business.humber.ca/postgrad
From project management to public
fi nance, this program offers the
unique skills you will need to launch
your career as a communications
offi cer, program offi cer, policy analyst,
business analyst and many other
exciting career options.
PUBLICADMINISTRATIONPOSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE
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