jobpostings magazine (april 2012)

Rethink collegeWhen a university degree

isn’t enough

| april 2012 |

The ultimate comboBusiness and computers

Eat or be eatenSoftware sales is a tough industry

&

See how young entrepreneursfind success through collaboration, at Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone

Canada’s future tech superstars

DOES YOUR PERSONALITY FIT YOUR CO-

WORKERS AND YOUR JOB?

&LIFEGUARDS DON’T GET ENGINEERING JOBS INTERVIEW: DAVE WILKIN, CAMPUSPERKS

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, 2012. 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 2012.

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

BUSINESS DEGREES4-YEAR DEGREES THATARE BUILT FOR BUSINESS.

Accounting

e-Business Marketing

Fashion Management

Human Resources Management

International Business

International Development

Paralegal Studies

Tourism Management

APRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

4 Sun Life Financial 7 Aecon 11 Target 11 The New England Centre for Children 13 The Source 22 The Home Depot 29 College Pro 31 Magna Electric Corporation 31 OSCO Construction Group 31 Chair-man Mills 33 General Dynamics OBC Canon

who’shiring

stuff to buy

yay!more school

Hey. Did you know these companies have lots of entry level positions? Visit their websites to see a full list of positions available.

IFC Humber, The Business School (Undergrad) 3 Humber, Fashion Management & Promotions 13 Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology 24 Centre for Education & Training 25 Humber, The Business School, Global Business 27 Humber, The Business School, Event Management 34 Humber, School of Media Studies and Information Technology 34 Centennial College 35 Brock University 35 Niagara College 35 Oxford College 35 Queen’s University 35 Ross University 35 Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry 35 Sheridan College IBC Humber, The Business School

9 Rogers Wireless

8 Success Story — Troy Hawkes, a young plant manager at Ocean Steel, shares his career path, from school to work and back again. Sponsored by Rogers Wireless.

10 Career Cupid — Lifeguards don’t get engi-neering jobs. So how do you transition from a high school job to an engineering internship?

12 Interview Smarts — Amy Squire, a campus recruiter at Target, asks you, “Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty. How were you recognized?”

23 Does your personality fit your co-workers and your job? — Liking your co-workers and having your personalities click can make the difference between loving and hating your job. Learn which industries attract certain personalities.

34 Edu-ma-cation — College: when a university degree just isn’t enough to score a smooth career path.

36 Start Up — Dave Wilkin, founder of Campus-Perks, shares his insights into building a company based on providing the things that fuel student life on campus.

who else? 1 Young Canada

Eat or be eaten — Software sales is a tough industry, but did you know your commissions can increase once you’ve exceeded your quota? We explore the perks and challeng-es of selling software.

Chemical engineers can do it all — Discover the breadth and versa-tility a chemical engineering degree can offer you.

The ultimate combination — Ca-reers in computer science and busi-ness are in high demand these days. Becoming a computer information systems manager lets you do both!

industry insiders

INSIDE THIS EDITION INDEX

IMAGE BY MARK BLINCH. ©DIGITAL MEDIA ZONE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

2

showcases 14 CN

business.humber.ca

FASHION MANAGEMENT& PROMOTIONSPOSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

From retail management to logistics:this program offers the unique skills you will need to launch your career as a(n):

• Event Manager• Logistics Coordinator• Product Development Manager. Visual Merchandiser

WORKS.

We don’t have teleportation stations or lightsabers … yet,

but the futuristic innova-tion taking place at Ryerson

University’s Digital Media Zone sure makes it seem

plausible. We interviewed several of the young

student entrepreneurs at this start up incubation

lab to find out how they founded their innova-

tive companies, and what we can learn from their success.

We don’t have teleportation

CANADA'S FUTURE TECH SUPERSTARS

business.humber.ca

FASHION MANAGEMENT& PROMOTIONSPOSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

From retail management to logistics:this program offers the unique skills you will need to launch your career as a(n):

• Event Manager• Logistics Coordinator• Product Development Manager. Visual Merchandiser

WORKS.

Interested in learning more about becoming a Sun Life Financial advisor?E-mail your resume to [email protected]. Visit our website at www.sunlife.ca/careers/advisor or scan the tag with your mobile:© Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2012.

Brent Anderson Northwestern Oklahoma State University

Jonathan Bégin HEC Montreal

Suzanne Blake SIAST Wascana Campus

James Breault University of Windsor

Joel Brooks Simon Fraser University

Randy Butt Conestoga College

Aaron Cadrin

University of Saskatchewan

Duncan McIntyre University of British Columbia

Sameer Mullani York University

Alex Mustafa McMaster University

Thach Nguyen Conestoga College

Greg O’Brien

Memorial University

Sheila Pan Queen’s University

Brett Parker Thompson Rivers University

Michael Chan McMaster University

William Chan

Ryerson UniversityRajvir Dosanjh

British Columbia Institute of Technology

Zachary Faubert-Tetreault Wilfrid Laurier University

Alyssa Fisher University of Western Ontario

Robert Frigon

University of Alberta

Mavis Fung Trent University

Troy Parkes Conestoga College

Conor Pollock

Ryerson University Conor Pommerville Camosun College

Pascale Provencher Cégep de Matane

Troy Redick Humber College

Heather Siegner Conestoga College

Jaspal Singh University of the Fraser Valley

Emily Gadula Carleton University

Amanda Groten

University of Lethbridge

Cris Guo Cambrian College

Allan Howat University of Saskatchewan

Greig Humphrey Trent University

Eric Jagodich Mohawk College

Dean Laframboise Algonquin College

Mathieu Landry Cégep de St-Jerôme

François Leblond UQAR

Shi Liang St. Clair College

Jeffrey Ling Wilfrid Laurier University

Cheuk Liu University of Waterloo

Joanne Lotfallah St. Lawerence College

Joshua Martino Ryerson University

Sun Life Financial welcomes our New grad recruits of 2011.

Get the free mobile app at

http://gettag.mobi

Abdul Rahman Mansour Concordia University

Bobby McMann Algonquin College

Leanne Meredith Cape Breton University

Elizabeth Milner Mohawk College

Shujie Song Carleton University

Jeanne St-Pierre Cégep du Vieux Montréal

Terrel Tian Trent University

Jennifer Whyte University of Lethbridge

Katherine Auger Cégep de Matane

Austin Bai Ryerson University

Allan Balmaceda George Brown College

Yvonne Carroll Niagara College

Lewis Chan, B.A. Simon Fraser University

Yee Jin Chun University of Toronto

Zack Din Mohawk College

Ahmed Hatim El Kabbaj Concordia University

Liam Forrestal Wilfred Laurier University

Phillip Fung Simon Fraser University

Nicolas Gauthier UQAM

Bob Kovacs Durham College

Tammy Lamont Mohawk College

Yi Liu Université du Maine

Matthew Skeard Memorial University

Ramnil Solidum

University of Waterloo

Jason Taylor St. Lawrence College

Patrice Turcotte Cégep de Matane

Aleksandar Udev Vancouver Island University

Cat Wong

University of British Columbia

Yuqi Yang Centennial College

This could be you.

Derek Yeung Algonquin College

Brian Yu Grant MacEwan University

Rosana Zeng Carleton University

Sylvia Zheng, University of British Columbia

Xiao Li Zheng University of Toronto

Lulu Zhou University of Toronto

See yourself with a bright startBe excited to go to work every day – become a Sun Life Financial advisor.

March_06_12_SLF_New_Grad_Ad.indd 1 12-03-14 12:20 PM

APRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CAAPRIL 2012 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

pg. 23 pg. 28

Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft: these and more are the tech gi-ants we’ve all grown up with and hear about in the news. While none of these companies became behemoths overnight, they all seemed to share a simi-lar origin story where an entrepreneur (or team of entrepreneurs):

1) Came up with a unique idea; 2) Became obsessive about said idea, and found the guts to spend months or even years creating a pro-totype; 3) Found investors, or established partners, who invested in the idea to help it grow; 4) Continued to develop the idea into a working business that dis-rupts the status quo, shat-tering business as usual (e.g. Facebook basically cre-ated social media; Google revolutionized online search and web advertising; Apple redefined user-friendly design for tech products;

Amazon conquered the book and cloud computing markets; and Microsoft cre-ated the first everyman op-erating system); 5) Crossed a tipping point where the public took notice of this new business, got excited by it, tried it out and fell in love with it; 6) Then reigned as a new tech superpower, whose competitors cower in fear of its name.

And how did most of these tech superpowers start? With students or recent grads who each started out with an idea and followed the path outlined above.

That’s what entrepreneur-ship is. Regardless of the industry, it’s about a great idea and the hard work to see it through. In this spirit, we got a chance to visit Ry-erson’s Digital Media Zone (the DMZ), where tomor-row’s home grown tech stars are working on the next big thing. We profiled three entrepreneurs who

PUBLISHERNathan [email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERMark [email protected]

EDITORDavid [email protected]

ART DIRECTORSonya van [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORSChristine Fader, Michelle Hampson, Christopher Lawson, Ariadna Levin, Eleni Papavasiliou, Amy Squire

ASSISTANT SALESMANAGERSarah-Lyn Amaral

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERMary Vanderpas

SALES ASSISTANTShannon Tracey

INTERNJake Babad

jobpostings

Published by Passion Inc.25 Imperial Street, Suite 100Toronto, ON M5P 1B9

jobpostings.ca1-877-900-5627 ext. 221

IN THIS ISSUE

pg. 10 pg. 32Does your personality fit Eat or be eaten The ultimate combinationLifeguards don’t get

engineering jobs

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EDITOR'S NOTE

hope to make their name by revolutionizing three di-mensional advertising and living spaces; simplifying social activism and com-pany feedback; and em-powering the public with better options for their financial investments.

From these stories, it’s my hope that you’ll glean some insights into what it really takes to make it as an en-trepreneur. From my experi-ence — I started the Arbitrage Magazine while in university — entrepreneur-ship generally starts out as lonely process. I toiled away on my magazine, three to five hours a day (in addition to school and work), while all my friends and family as-sumed I was wasting time on a pet hobby. But after completing the magazine’s first issue, largely by myself, people took notice. And af-ter the second issue, people started to ask about joining my one man production team. Two years later, it’s

turned into North America’s largest, student-driven busi-ness magazine, with more than 100 contributors and counting. It just goes to show how far things can blossom from an initial spurt of initiative.

But one can’t make it big all by oneself. From my experience, it takes a team to create something truly extraordinary. That’s why we’re also focusing on the importance of personality fit between yourself, your work, and your coworkers.

Whether you hope to be-come the next Zucker-berg, or just to get your career started right with that first post-grad job, personality fit is one of the most underrated things people think about dur-ing their career hunt. Even if you don’t actually care about jiving with your co-workers, odds are your co-workers will care about jiving with you. You’ll have to get along if you don’t want to be left behind. Hopefully, this issue will help you do just that. Read on, my friends.

MASTHEAD

jobpostings is published eight times in the school year. Issue dates are September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and May. Copies of jobpostings are distrib-uted 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.“Innovation distinguishes be-tween a leader and a follower.” - Steve Jobs

on the cover:

© Mark Blinch. Digital Media Zone. All rights reserved.

6

TOMORROW'S TECH STARS

BUILD YOUR FUTURE WITH USAs the largest, publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company in Canada, Aecon is a beacon for new and soon-to-be graduates focused on building their careers with an industry leader. We offer challenging work, diverse opportunities, the latest technologies, and a culture of continued learning to feed your career development. As a Best Employer

to none. If you are an Engineer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical) or an Industry Technologist (Engineering or Construction), visit our website today to learn more about joining Canada’s best at Aecon!

aecon.com

// MINING// OIL & GAS// TRANSPORTATION// POWER// UTILITIES// SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

BUILD YOUR FUTURE WITH USAs the largest, publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company in Canada, Aecon is a beacon for new and soon-to-be graduates focused on building their careers with an industry leader. We offer challenging work, diverse opportunities, the latest technologies, and a culture of continued learning to feed your career development. As a Best Employer

to none. If you are an Engineer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical) or an Industry Technologist (Engineering or Construction), visit our website today to learn more about joining Canada’s best at Aecon!

aecon.com

// MINING// OIL & GAS// TRANSPORTATION// POWER// UTILITIES// SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

rogers.com/careers/campuslife

WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL? My career with Ocean Steel started after I grad-uated from the Civil Engineering Technology program, from the New Brunswick Community College in Moncton. After working for Ocean Steel for a number of years, I decided I wanted to further my education. I started by attend-ing courses part time at the University of New Brunswick, then chose to take a leave of ab-sence from Ocean Steel to pursue the final two years of my Civil Engineering degree full-time.

HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR CUR-RENT POSITION?I am a member of the Canadian Air Cadets. The summer after my graduation from the New Brunswick Community College I spent flying with the Cadets. At the end of the summer, I received a call from an instructor at the com-munity college that Ocean Steel was looking for Civil Engineering Technology graduates. I ap-plied and the rest is history.

WHAT POSITIONS HAVE YOU HELD WITH OCEAN STEEL? WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES?One of the benefits of working for Ocean Steel is the advancement opportunities. My career with the company started in the Detailing De-partment. My role there was to take the draw-

ings from our Engineers and add the details in the drawings for the shop or site. After about a year in that department, I moved into Estimat-ing and spent approximately two years in this position. My next role with the company was in Project Management. I spent four years there before taking my leave for two years to return to school. After graduating from Civil Engi-neering, I returned to Ocean Steel as the plant manager of our 120,000 square foot, Saint John

steel plant. The plant employs 12 full time staff and 60 unionized workers. I’m responsible for every aspect of the plant, from production and maintenance to staffing.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS CAREER?It takes a willingness to work with your team, learn new skills, and an ability to think outside the box. You also need to be able to sell these new ideas to both upper management and to the trades.

WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB?The most rewarding part comes from the most challenging aspect of my position. I need to stay up to date with new technologies and changes with codes. It all boils down to staying com-petitive in the industry. Ocean Steel sends me to trade shows, pays for courses and seminars, which enables me to bring the information back to our plant. There are lots of ideas out there, I need to sort through them, and decide which ones are beneficial to us. The next part is to sell the idea to the rest of the company. When I brought in the magnetic heat induc-tion, it took sometime to convince others that it

LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT: 7 YEARSDEGREE: CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY DEGREE FROM THE NEW BRUNSWICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Sponsored by

successstories

Troy HawkesPlant Manager @ Ocean Steel

You need to continue to learn. Learning doesn’t have to take place in a classroom, it can also be done on the job.

was going to be beneficial. The rewarding part was seeing them realize that it did work, was cost effective, and less dangerous than other methods we have used.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?Choosing to go back to school and obtaining my degree is the first one. Another one is get-ting through our manpower issues. We had a

few years where many of our staff were retiring and we needed to hire a new workforce. Skilled labour is hard to find, but we were successful in transitioning our workforce.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS?There are still some more challenges and op-portunities in my current role. However, a goal I would like to see myself fulfill is the Canadian Steel General Manager position with OSCO Construction Group.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR STUDENTS LOOKING TO LAND THEIR FIRST JOB?Be honest with yourself about what you want. I know when students are looking for that first job, and you have bills to pay, it’s easy to just take anything that comes along, but job satis-faction counts for a lot. When you do land a job, keep pushing, keep learning, no one owes you anything just because you have an education. You need to continue to learn. Learning doesn’t have to take place in a classroom, it can also be done on the job. Be open to new ideas and sug-gestions. Ask others what their thoughts and ideas are, and be open to try them.

8

To register and for more information visit rogers.com/phonefi nder

0000-000-00-00ROG-XXXX-00 00/00

Legal 1 Registration required. Includes 5 free lookups every 30 days. Additional lookups 20¢ each. Service is network-based and does not provide GPS accuracy. Service identifi es best available location for requested device. Wireless device must be turned on and within Rogers wireless network coverage area for service to work. Visit rogers.com/phonefi nder for full terms and conditions. 2 Program is offered at any Rogers location to new or existing customers for Rogers-certifi ed handsets activated no more than 30 months prior. Loaner device will be provided free of charge during repair/replacement process. Rogers will attempt to have the device repaired before providing a replacement. Repair charges may apply. Replacement device requires a new or existing term commitment of at least 12 months at time of replacement; replacement device consists of new or refurbished entry-level model and may not be similar to or offer equivalent features as initial device. Other terms and conditions apply. Read the full program terms at rogers.com/protection. TMTrademarks of Rogers Communications Inc. © 2012 Rogers Wireless.

HELPS LOCATE YOUR LOST OR MISPLACEDROGERS PHONE ON AN INTERACTIVE MAP.1

PART OF CANADA’S ONLY FREE HANDSETPROTECTION GUARANTEE PROGRAM2

WITH ROGERS PHONE FINDERfi ndyourphone

To register and for more information visit rogers.com/phonefi nder

0000-000-00-00ROG-XXXX-00 00/00

Legal 1 Registration required. Includes 5 free lookups every 30 days. Additional lookups 20¢ each. Service is network-based and does not provide GPS accuracy. Service identifi es best available location for requested device. Wireless device must be turned on and within Rogers wireless network coverage area for service to work. Visit rogers.com/phonefi nder for full terms and conditions. 2 Program is offered at any Rogers location to new or existing customers for Rogers-certifi ed handsets activated no more than 30 months prior. Loaner device will be provided free of charge during repair/replacement process. Rogers will attempt to have the device repaired before providing a replacement. Repair charges may apply. Replacement device requires a new or existing term commitment of at least 12 months at time of replacement; replacement device consists of new or refurbished entry-level model and may not be similar to or offer equivalent features as initial device. Other terms and conditions apply. Read the full program terms at rogers.com/protection. TMTrademarks of Rogers Communications Inc. © 2012 Rogers Wireless.

HELPS LOCATE YOUR LOST OR MISPLACEDROGERS PHONE ON AN INTERACTIVE MAP.1

PART OF CANADA’S ONLY FREE HANDSETPROTECTION GUARANTEE PROGRAM2

WITH ROGERS PHONE FINDERfi ndyourphone


CAREER CUPID

So, you’re in a technical program at school, and you’d like to get a related summer job. How can you make the leap from valuable but non-technical work, like camp counsellor/golf course attendant/server/lifeguard, to scientist/engineer/lab technician extraordinaire?

There are a few things to know that will help you in your quest for that first, subject-focused internship or job.

Lifeguards don’t get engineering jobs. If you’re looking for a technical job, your résumé can’t scream “life-guarding” — even though that’s what you’ve done in the past. Technical work requires technical skills. Sure, you might not have technical paid experience yet, but you DO have experience. Minimize the emphasis on less related work experience (if you’re running out

10by Christine Fader

of space) and maximize detail on related experiences.

Education is a good place to start. For many students, it’s the primary source of their related technical experience. List related courses from your program, give details about technical projects, field trips, and marks (if they’re advantageous to you).

Then, look at your experience outside the classroom. Do you have extra-curricular activities, clubs, volunteer work, or hobbies that are technical in nature? Don’t bury them on page two of your résumé. Consider having a “Technical Experience” section on the first page of your document. Include the role, dates, organiza-tion, location, and description for each of your technical experi-ences — whether you were paid for them or not. If it wasn’t a paid role, simply put the context (e.g. volunteer/student club/educational project) in brackets

beside the role you had. When re-ordering sections, be sure to put related experiences high up in your document. Move less-relat-ed experiences further down.

Suddenly, you’re starting to look like a scientist/engineer/lab technician who also happens to have valuable transferrable skills (safety orientation and leader-ship) gained as a lifeguard.

Go old-school on your search. Many organizations still advertise for summer students in — betcha haven’t picked up a real one in a long time — the newspaper. Check the local on Saturdays. Still can’t find summer ads? Use full-time job ads as a start to your cover letter or conversation. “I no-ticed you’re advertising for an (X), and I know it can sometimes take a while to get someone in that position. I’m a technical/science/engineering student available for summer work, and I’d love to help you out while you’re finding a longer-term person for this role.”

Hide and seek. The usual stat is that only 20 percent of jobs tend to be advertised, while 80 percent are “hidden,” and are broadcast through networking and direct contact with organizations and people. For summer work, the “hidden” job statistic is often much, much higher than 80 percent. Why? The organizations get you for a mere four months (if they’re lucky) and advertising is expensive, often resulting in thou-sands of responses (many of which are very irrelevant). The good news out of this is that even if you’re not seeing a lot of summer job ads, there’s still lots of work. Most orga-nizations do hire for the summer. Now, they need to know that you exist and are interested.

Finding “hidden” opportunities doesn’t require super spy resources. Check sector and professional directories (e.g. Consulting En-gineers of Ontario; The Biotech-nology Directory) in libraries, or your campus career centre, to find places that align with your interests and location. There are lists of organizations and key personnel for almost every sector of work. You can even use techni-cal keywords in the Yellow Pages as a good, local starting point for the region you’re searching in.

Avoid the infomercial. Cold calling is often uncomfort-able for you AND employers. I recommend approaching organi-zations with a professional cover letter and résumé, enquiring about possible summer opportu-nities (this is called “prospecting”). In the last paragraph of your letter, indicate that you’ll follow up by telephone in the next couple of weeks “to ensure you received this and to answer any questions you might have.” This allows you to increase your vis-ibility without being a nuisance or having to come up with some

slick sales pitch (uncomfortable for most of us to deliver and receive). It also gives organizations a chance to review your skills and think about possible ways you could add value to their organization this summer.

Nope, lifeguards don’t get engineering jobs. But by using these

tips, YOU can.

CHRISTINE FADER WORKS AS A CAREER COUNSELLOR AT QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY AND IS THE AUTHOR OF “CAREER CUPID: YOUR GUIDE TO LANDING AND LOVING YOUR DREAM JOB.” VISIT HER WEBSITE AT CAREERCUPID.COM IM

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Send a hard copy (not a Word docu-ment via email) when prospecting, and try to send it to a manager or leader in the area where you’d like to work, rather than human resources. Managers are closer to the work and often know about opportunities before HR even gets involved.

TOP TIP

NEWSFLASH… LIFEGUARDS DON’T GET ENGINEERING JOBS

11JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2012

Target iscoming toCanada

© 2011 Target Brands, Inc. The Bullseye Design and Target are trademarks of Target Brands, Inc.

TM

And we want you to be part of our team.In 2013, Target stores will open all across Canada. And we’re looking to build a team of talented people who can deliver the kind of innovation and difference our brand is known for.There will be opportunities to grow and lead in a whole range of sectors, from merchandising to store management. So, if you’re looking for a fun, dynamic career where goals are clear and results are always rewarded, we want to hear from you.

Learn more about Target and our range of career opportunitiesat target.ca/careers.

A bright future awaits you inside The New England Center for Children

...to bring out human potentialand create productive lives.

33 Turnpike Road • Southborough, Massachusetts 01772-2108 | 508.481.1015 Fax 508.485.3421

www.necc.org

• Join us and earn your master's degree in one of our on campus programs.

• Work with colleagues in a world renowned school on the leading edge of research and treatment for Autism.

• Learn to use the principles of ABA to improve the lives of children with special needs.

Send your resume to [email protected]


TELL ME ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY. HOW WERE YOU RECOGNIZED?

So you screwed up in the interview, huh? They asked the ol’ “What’s your greatest weakness” question and you responded with “cupcakes,” hop-ing 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!

*interview SMARTS with Amy Squire

Campus Recruiter

@ Target

This is a great interview question for a number of reasons. Behaviour based questions help to deter-mine actual performance in situations rather than just theoretical behavior, which will give the employ-er an idea of how the candidate will act in future situ-ations. In this way, this question allows the candidate the opportunity to really highlight a scenario where they are truly proud of what they accomplished.

The depth of the example given can also help the in-terviewer gauge what the candidate feels is going above and beyond their typical job description. Can-didates should try to use an example that has some complexity, to show that they know the difference between doing a good job on a day-to-day basis, and truly going above and beyond the job description. To do this, be sure to follow the “three bucket approach” to a Structural Behaviour Based Interview (SBO); with 10% of your answer describing the Situation, 80% of your answer explaining your specific Behaviour in the situation, and the final 10% to tell the interviewer about the situation’s Outcome or result. In this ques-tion, the ‘probing’ or follow up question usually is: “How were you recognized?” This is a great time to tell the interviewer how or if your hard work was rec-ognized by your manager, client, or peers.

That said, avoid using examples where you were just part of a group. Rather, highlight your specific

*

}

Q&A

Find more intervew Q&As online at jobpostings.ca/category/interview-smarts-1

behavior in the situation, and take accountability for your actions and the overall end result. Use words like I/me instead of we/us.

Personally, I love answering this question in an in-terview. For me, I respond with an example of the time when I created, implemented, and executed a new, cross-border internship program at my pre-vious employer. I drew upon my background ex-perience in not only campus recruitment, but im-migration and relocation policies in order to make the recruitment, selection, and execution of this program an amazing success. The hiring manag-ers were so impressed with the new internship program and the candidates they hired, that most provided them with full-time offers to return after graduation. Many of the students thanked me for helping make such a difference in the start of their long-term career. To this day, the program contin-ues to grow and be a success at the company!

Overall, it’s important to give the interviewer a good, holistic picture of your past performance, and how you’d be a good fit for their team and the total organization. The key is being prepared for your in-terview, yet ensure you’re coming across as genuine and not overly rehearsed. Let your personality shine through!

12

14

Making a difference

sons as a wide receiver for Winnipeg’s River East Col-legiate Football Club. To-day, at 19, he’s repaying the coaches who support-ed him as a young athlete.

“I wanted to give back to my coaches, since they spent so much time and energy on me and my teammates even though

they all had full-time jobs elsewhere,” explains Brendan, a proud fifth-generation railroader. “I just thought coaching would be a good experi-ence for me, and I never thought I’d enjoy it this much, or have as much fun as I’m having.”

For the second year, Bren-dan is a receivers coach for players aged 15 to 17. He spends about nine hours volunteering at three practices a week, plus he helps out at all the games between May and mid-November. In recog-nition of his devotion to the team, Brendan’s char-

itable organization recently received a CN Rail-roaders in the Community grant — a CN char-itable program that recognizes employees’ contributions in countless volunteering hours by providing grants to the charitable organiza-tions they serve. “Some of our kids can’t even afford to play football, because it costs about $300, so this grant goes a long way to help give them that chance,” says Brendan.

Sponsored by CN

CN is one of North America’s leading freight railroads and is widely seen as the continent’s most efficient rail carrier. It’s the only railroad that delivers all kinds of freight across Canada and Mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacif-ic oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. The job’s not easy. It requires the passion and teamwork of all CN employees. And that’s why CN makes it a priority to develop employee passion and teamwork in the best way possible: by sup-porting local communities.

CN Railroader in the Community, Brendan Hos-field (photo above), is one such example of a young CN employee going above and beyond for his community. Countless teens have ben-efited from the tireless generosity of volun-teer coaches, yet most don’t give it a second thought. But Hosfield has proven to be the ex-ception to the rule.

Brendan, a switchman and conductor who joined CN in October 2010, spent three sea-

How a career with CN can benefit your community

Being not much older than his players makes Brendan an ideal role model, says head coach, Robin Mead. “Brendan is easygoing, friendly, and competent, and we’re lucky to have him as a coach,” says Robin. “Brendan runs indi-vidual practice time with many drills and skill development techniques. He also makes sure that his receivers’ timing, blocking, and route running are spot-on. During games, Bren-dan is in charge of watching the opponents’ defence, looking for weaknesses, coverage

schemes, and changes that may occur during the course of a game. He’s a valuable member of our team.”

As you can see, corporate social responsibil-ity is a big deal at CN, and this is just one of many examples where CN employees have taken the initiative to make a real difference in their community. More impressive, each year CN and its employees collect and donate mil-lions of dollars to charitable organizations of all kinds.

Interested in a career with CN? Then you’re in luck. A combination of retirements and new market opportunities means CN is focusing on replenishing its workforce with a new genera-tion of railroaders who will carry the compa-ny well into the 21st century. In fact, last year CN added almost 3,000 people to its employ-ee ranks. From train crews, to engineers, to IT specialists, CN has many positions available for professionals just like yourself!

CN offers well paying jobs and health benefits, a diverse, inclusive, and positive work environ-ment, locations in most Canadian provinces and parts of the US, regular training and de-velopment programs, and the opportunity to build a career in a strong, growing, and inno-vative company. It’s no surprise so many em-ployees make CN their long-term career.

“Some of our kids can’t even afford to play football, so this CN grant goes a long way to

help give them that chance.”

CN operates the largest rail network in Canada and the only transcontinental network in North America, encompassing over 20,000 route miles of track. It’s a big job, involving the transportation of almost five million carloads of freight annually. And it’s a job that requires the passion and teamwork of its 23,000 employees.

Being an industry leader doesn’t just happen overnight. Our success wouldn’t be possible without our people, who take us to the next level through innovative thinking and a high concern for performance excellence.

Right now, we have tremendous opportunities for people who share our passion to join CN’s growing team. A large number of retirements coupled with new market opportunities means we are able to offer exciting, well paying careers with a stable and innovative company.

Find your place at jobs.cn.ca

• mechanics• welders• labourers• dispatchers• electricians• clerks• construction managers• civil engineers• train crewmen• accountants• marketing specialists• IT specialists

We have a diverse range of unionized and management roles available including:

Find your place

Follow us on Facebook

CN operates the largest rail network in Canada and the only transcontinental network in North America, encompassing over 20,000 route miles of track. It’s a big job, involving the transportation of almost five million carloads of freight annually. And it’s a job that requires the passion and teamwork of its 23,000 employees.

Being an industry leader doesn’t just happen overnight. Our success wouldn’t be possible without our people, who take us to the next level through innovative thinking and a high concern for performance excellence.

Right now, we have tremendous opportunities for people who share our passion to join CN’s growing team. A large number of retirements coupled with new market opportunities means we are able to offer exciting, well paying careers with a stable and innovative company.

Find your place at jobs.cn.ca

• mechanics• welders• labourers• dispatchers• electricians• clerks• construction managers• civil engineers• train crewmen• accountants• marketing specialists• IT specialists

We have a diverse range of unionized and management roles available including:

Find your place

Follow us on Facebook

17

The young entrepreneurs of Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone are incubating their start ups and paving the road to the future. Check out the various technologies and platforms these incredible innovators have created, and see how you can follow in their footsteps!

by Michelle Hampson

Canada’s future tech superstars

IMAGE BY MARK BLINCH. ©DIGITAL MEDIA ZONE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDJOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2012


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Perched over the heart of Toronto lies a room where the future is being created. From here, high above Yonge and Dundas, some of Canada’s well-known buildings can be seen: the Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, Manulife and CN towers, as well as the Eaton Centre.

Every day, thousands of people walk through Dundas Square, looking up at the massive jumbo screens above the mall. They watch the flashy Absolute vodka ads, and romantic getaways to Mont Tremblant. But these screens only show regular, 2D ads. Inside this little room, a much more advanced form of advertising is being developed using interactive technology.

For example, Adrian Bulzacki, one of the many innovators in this futuristic lab, has leased his technology to condo-minium sales offices, so that as people walk by the company’s display, it will track their movement to create a 3D view that moves in whichever direction the observer moves.

This is just a taste of what’s being created at Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ). Some of these ideas could completely revolutionize society — from an online platform that gets the public’s most sup-ported ideas into the hands of politicians, to Bulzacki’s virtual 3D technology which could one day form an entire market of virtual goods (to be explained in detail further on).

The DMZ, launched in April 2010, pro-vides innovative young entrepreneurs with the space and resources to start a company. It’s a unique learning hub where students — undergraduates, grad students, or alumni — can “incubate” their ideas.

“We began by working with students and alumni who needed a collabora-tive space and mentorship to take their start up to a stage where they had a greater chance of success,” explained Valerie Fox, DMZ Director, in an email to Jobpostings.

The DMZ was created with the help of StartMeUp, a student run program from Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Ryer-son. To apply to the DMZ, one must pitch his or her idea to a StartMeUp Ryerson “Idea Consultation,” a Dragons’ Den style pitch infront of a panel of industry pro-fessionals. They look for unique and in-novative ideas, enabled by digital media, that have commercial or social value, and a solid business plan and prototype. Fox says they look for entrepreneurs who are passionate, creative, collabora-tive, and knowledgeable.

And after touring the DMZ space, that much is evident. The following are profiles of some exciting DMZ teams. Jobpostings looks into how they came up with their ideas, grew their busi-nesses, and their plans for making their startups a success.

drian Bulzacki, founder of ARB Labs, came up with his innovative technology through a game of virtual charades. It begins by using a Kinect camera, which projects a grid of infrared light onto you, and then calculates how far away you are based on the grid. A computer creates a virtual representation of you, which can be used to play charades over the internet with people from all corners of the world. But Bulzacki had more in mind than just a video game.

They used a priority crowd-sourcing al-gorithm to gather data from the game. “If you got that gesture really fast, the learning algorithm knows to prioritize that as a better quality gesture. We kept sucking in all this data. And we in turn, have an algorithm that recognized the occurrence of those gestures any-where,” explains Bulzacki, 29.

ARB Labs can sell that data to gaming studios hoping to make their games better, or to the oil industry, which needs it to interact with 3D samples of oil. This technology is even applicable to security companies. For example, ARB Labs can sell an aggressive gesture pack, which analyzes a bunch of gestures that shouldn’t occur in public areas, such as punches and kicks.

But Bulzacki has more in mind than selling off bits of accumulated data from his learning algorithm to security com-panies and gaming corporations. All of

ARB LABS

HOSSEIN RAHNAMA, RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF THE DIGITAL MEDIA ZONE.

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2012

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these bits of technology — 3D interactive displays and gesture identifying algorithms — were developed for one ultimate goal.

“If we pitched this product line first, no-body would give us money,” said Bulzacki, with a grin. He hopes to create one device that you place in the centre of your living room, or a low-cost wallpaper, which will create an immersive environment. “Just like buying apps today, you’d be able to buy virtual items for the home.”

Artists or designers could post their virtual goods on the internet. You could buy a “lamp” for a low price, download it, and put it in the corner. It would still give off light, but there’s no physical object. You could have multiple versions of your living room.

“And when you’re done with it, you can save it, archive it, delete it, whatever,” Bulzacki said. “If you wanted to, you could have a window overlooking Paris in your basement apartment. It would make living environments extremely reconfigurable, very fast, at a low cost. So that’s what we’re trying to get to, and it’s all built off of this technology.” For all you Trekkies out there, think of this as an early version of the holodeck.

While Bulzacki has always had this ultimate goal, he didn’t expect ARB Labs to make it this far. “I thought somebody would just buy up our technology in a year or two, I’d make a few million dollars and

Key ingredients that contribute to the success of DMZ compa-

nies, and what you can learn from them:

Diverse specialties and skills. The DMZ is an environment

where computer science students can pair up with business

folks, and arts majors can team up with data analysts. This

type of interaction doesn’t happen in a classroom with only

one type of student. Think of it as connecting with people who

can balance your skills to help drive the company forward.

When creating your own start up, find people who can think

of company progress from a perspective other than your own,

and add to the skills you don’t have.

Connections to clients and experienced professionals. The DMZ is constantly hosting demonstrations for companies.

This attracts professionals who can either give you valuable

business advice (e.g. the tips Bulzacki received on licensing

technology out), or can even turn out to be a paying client

(e.g. Indigo ended up buying into HitSend’s online platform).

When starting your own company, attend industry networking

events and reach out to veterans in your field.

A strong spark. Without a good idea, all the connections and

skills in the world won’t help your start up. The companies

profiled in this article came up with brilliant ideas. Bulzacki

used his imagination to envision a technology no one else has

begun to work towards, leaving this niche market open to him.

McEachran saw inefficiencies in a factor so important to today’s

society: communications. Shain used his knowledge and experi-

ence with financial institutions to come up with a concept that’s

very appealing to customers and has never been done before.

When delving into entrepreneurship, think outside the box. A

lot of successful technologies in the near future will be things

society has never even dreamed of — but maybe you have.

go from there. I don’t see that anymore. I see it now as, I’m building the foundation to a company that could be — and I say this in all seriousness — could be the next Facebook, could be the next super company. A lot of people have that feeling in the DMZ. And I really hope it works out. But I’ve seen more and more evidence to my hypothesis.”

Bulzacki has no formal training in business. He’s currently finishing up his PhD in com-puter and electrical engineering at Ryerson. While he has had some experience starting up mini businesses of his own in the past, he didn’t truly delve into business until he joined the DMZ, about two years ago. The DMZ’s collaborative environment has helped him in several ways.

While conducting a demonstration of his technology at the DMZ, a businessperson approached Bulzacki and told him his ideas were great, really unique, but his profit margin was terrible. The technology was expensive to develop, and yet he was selling it individually to companies. This person pointed out that Bulzacki already had pat-ents on the technology, and there was no competition in terms of 3D displays — why not license the technology out?

“And since I started doing that, it really changed how my business operated. I would charge a monthly fee, a yearly fee, or a daily fee, to have the technology at a specific location.”

And so, the DMZ entrepreneurs learn the ropes of running a company. As Bulzacki points out, this is the real deal. In the DMZ, you’re not looking at a theoretical situation. “Every choice you make has a ramification, and that’s the challenge. But it’s a learning process. That’s the only way you’re going to learn.”

The bonus is you get to work with your own idea. Bulzacki says during his previous jobs, he used to hate getting up in the morning, and felt like a zombie or drone doing work someone else cre-ated for him. But that’s not the case at the DMZ. “If I’m waking up early, I’m waking up differently. I’m working for myself. I’m a slave to myself, but I’m a slave to my dreams. So it pays off in the end.”

›DIY

ADRIAN BULZACKI, FOUNDER OF ARB LABS. WWW.ARBLABS.COM


THITSEND

A really great combination at the DMZ is when someone already has an insider’s knowledge of an industry and an innovative idea. Take Daniel Shain, who worked at a bank for several years before a lightbulb went off above his head, leading him to quit his job to work at the DMZ.

“It’s interesting,” said Shain. “When it comes to GICs, mortgages, and other discretionary priced products, banks have quite a lot of discretion. So even if you see advertised in the paper, let’s say, a GIC that’s usually at one percent. That’s just the posted rate. The banks can usually do much better.”

While Shain knows this, many bank-ing customers don’t. He says there are two kinds of banking custom-ers. Those who don’t realize that banks can often negotiate a better interest rate, and those who shop around, then go to a bank saying they’ve found a better interest rate at another institution. With the lat-ter type, banks might offer a better interest rate.

Using this financial knowledge, Shain created Finizi, a reverse-auction platform where financial institutions bid against each other

he story of HitSend’s innovative idea, despite the ground-break-ing activism feel of it, actually has its origins from about 200 years ago.

Back then, people would take wooden boxes, called soap boxes, to Hyde Park in London. They’d flip them upside down, hop on top, then make a speech about their ideas or passions. Usually it had to do with politics or economics. The people in the park would stop and cheer them on if they liked the idea, or boo and throw lettuce and tomatoes if they didn’t. But every once in a while, there would be an idea that really resonated within the community. If a lot of people supported the idea, they’d stop merely talking about it and actually march from the park to Parliament, rallying for change.

This is the idea behind HitSend. The company produces an online platform that allows any-one to submit ideas on a topic. People can vote, yay or nay, on the issue. The ideas that gather the most support are then automatically sent to the person who can bring about change.

The platform is applicable to a wide range of scenarios. It could be used internally by a company to get feedback from employees to improve working conditions. Or it could be used

externally by customers to direct the attention of CEOs to customer service issues.

Only the ideas that gather a lot of approval are sent to the person who can bring about change, and the platform even allows the recipient to respond to the idea.

“A lot of times, people have these really great ideas, but they don’t get them out of their mind. They don’t take them anywhere,” said Brennan McEachran, founder of HitSend. “The goal was to build some-thing that could take their idea and put it somewhere useful, as simply as possible.”

McEachran came up with the idea of the Hitsend platform when he was given an unusual opportunity. He was discussing ways to improve Ryerson with his friends, but that night he couldn’t sleep. So he emailed the school’s president, and was shocked to receive a response — he had a meeting in two weeks with Sheldon Levy, the president of Ryerson University.

“So for about a week and a half, two weeks, I was trying to think up better ideas instead of these little crappy ones. I asked my friends over Facebook, Twitter, and real life, on paper, in class. It was super ineffective,” he explained. “I was hoping for a better way of doing that.” And

so HitSend was born.

He pitched his idea of the platform to the DMZ, and on the one-year anniversary of joining, HitSend signed a contract with Indigo-Chapters, which now uses HitSend’s platform for customer feedback. To optimize their product, HitSend makes sure the platform stays brand-able, so companies can easily upload their colours and logos. The Facebook and Twitter apps can easily be turned on or off.

McEachran, a fourth-year busi-ness student, says that while parts of the project have been challenging, the DMZ’s environ-ment has helped him in many ways, such as connecting with the other members of HitSend. “Hanging out with (people who have) PhDs in computer science is never a bad thing when you’re an app developer.”

As well, potential customers come through the DMZ on tours, making it easier to con-nect with people who might be interested in the platform. Like Indigo representatives.

In the future, McEachran says he hopes to continue working to-wards giving the silent majority a voice, and getting those great ideas that people think about on their commute home to the people at the top who can bring about positive change.

BRENNAN MCEACHRAN, FOUNDER OF HITSEND. WWW.HITSEND.CA

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THE DIGITALMEDIA ZONE

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While Ryerson’s Digital Me-

dia Zone brings people with

different educational back-

grounds together in the name

of entrepreneurism, there’s

more to a thriving team than

a balanced set of skills. Bal-

anced personalities are also

important.

An example of a young com-

pany that formed without the

aid of an incubator like DMZ

is Simply Good Technologies,

a company launched in 2008

that compiles analytics about

online coupon sales for various

companies, mostly retailers.

Run by partners Winston Mok,

Ambrose Choy, and David

Man, the three friends are all

computer engineer grads from

the University of Waterloo, and

worked at RIM together.

Mok says he had great ca-

reer growth at RIM, but knew

he wanted to work with Choy

and Man beyond RIM because

they had that special “kind of

energy together.” He added,

“It’s funny, we’re polar oppo-

sites in many ways. We like to

do a lot of things together, but

we’re very opposite in the way

we work.”

for customers’ business. A customer entering the live auction will state the amount of money they have and how long they wish to invest it for. Customers can be individu-als or businesses, and there’s a minimum investment of $1,000. The financial institu-tions then bid on the money by offering the highest inter-est rate.

It’s clearly a good deal for the customer, but at this point you can probably guess what was the hardest aspect of starting Finizi.

“The issue with getting banking institutions on board is that they’re really big organizations. There’s a lot of red tape. There’s a lot of regulation. There’s a lot of reputation risk,” said Shain. “Even getting in front of CEO-level people can take weeks, not to mention all the legal paperwork.”

Things got easier after the first two financial institu-tions signed on, because then Shain could tell the remaining

Mok says he’s more of the

extrovert and drives the vi-

sion, while Ambrose is more

thoughtful about what will

sustain the business and

how the company will com-

pete. But numbers can af-

fect dynamics as well. Before

Man joined the Simply Good

team, it was just the two co-

founders who were key de-

cision makers, leaving room

for deadlocks in some situa-

tions. “You see it a lot with

two co-founders,” explains

Mok, “either one (founder) is

dominant while the other’s

not, if you set it up like that.

... But if I’m thinking one

way and somebody’s think-

ing another, having a third

person is very important.”

Man joined the company in

2009, providing the team

with a “swing vote.” He’s

more in the middle ground,

with a tendency toward in-

novation and moving quick-

ly, but also holds reserva-

tions in some situations.

By balancing personali-

ties and a dedication to self-

taught business skills, the

Simply Good Technologies

The lab at the DMZ is one floor, crammed with more than 50 computers in clusters. A whiteboard covers the length of the longest wall, coated with company names and brainstorming lists. It’s a room for business meetings and develop-ment, but it still has that student feel.

Coffee cups are on every table. There’s a box of cereal and a bunch of tea bags next to a computer, along with a bottle of cough syrup. Beanbag chairs make a nice seating area near the entrance. It’s a mix of the student and business life here.

While some companies in this space have already reached an incredible amount of success and have “gradu-ated,” other newbie groups are just beginning to contribute as innovative entrepreneurs.

Here students find support and net-works. Shain said, “It’s great to combine resources and leverage each others’ ex-

periences. For instance, when I started fundraising, I reached out to a few com-panies here that have been through the process, and asked them to introduce me to some potential investors.”

Hossein Rahnama, Research Director of the Digital Media Zone describes the incubator as an ecosystem. It’s not only about university or just entrepreneur-ship, or merely teamwork, but about everything. He’s seen cases where good computer programmers come in but don’t have the communications skills necessary to start a business, yet they can do so anyway. “This is possible because there are people from business school, engineering, people from arts and humanities. They are all working together. So you can use your skills sets, you can be great at it, but you can also work with people as a team to move your ideas further.”

finding balance within the team›

team has been able to suc-

cessfully grow their com-

pany. But Mok stresses to

budding entrepreneurs the

importance of building a

network outside your com-

fort zone, outside your net-

work. He encourages young

tech people to attend busi-

ness events, and vice versa.

“Business and tech folks of-

ten do mesh well together,

but there’s a chemistry that

has to occur.”

DANIEL SHAIN, FOUNDER & CEO OF FINIZI. WWW.FINIZI.COM

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AMBROSE CHOY, WINSTON MOK, AND DAVID MAN (IMAGES COURTESY OF SIMPLY GOOD TECHNOLOGIES)

financial institutions that their competitors were on board. Finizi was launched last September, but getting there wasn’t a simple task for this entrepreneur. He did ex-tensive research before quit-ting his comfortable banking job, speaking with bankers and potential customers. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking anything. The worst thing you can do is quit your job and then realize that, due to regulation, you’re not allowed to launch it.”

It’s been a long road for Shain, but while he says it’s good to get a job for the corporate experience, he’s sticking to entrepreneurship, where every day is different. At his old job, he knew when he was going to finish work, knew what was expected of him, and could do his job with his eyes closed. “That’s when you get comfortable, when you get lazy, and the creative juices stop flowing. So I’d say getting out of my comfort zone is what I enjoy.”

Learn how tapping into your inner potential has the ability to help yourself and others. Apply online at homedepotjobs.ca/3125 and discover how you can unleash your inner orange!

– Jordan, Ashley, Sonia, Home Depot Associates

Because working here is about more than helping customers choose the right product. It’s about tapping into our inner potential to help people create a space worth calling home. It’s called “unleashing your inner orange” and it’s about our ability to make a difference in customers’ lives where it matters most.

Through extensive training, tuition reimbursement and more, The Home Depot gives us the support we need to expand our knowledge, develop new skills and build promising futures. In turn, we have the confi dence to contribute to home improvement projects—both large and small.

That’s the power of The Home Depot

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.

We believe even small projects have huge potent al.


Learn how tapping into your inner potential has the ability to help yourself and others. Apply online at homedepotjobs.ca/3125 and discover how you can unleash your inner orange!

– Jordan, Ashley, Sonia, Home Depot Associates

Because working here is about more than helping customers choose the right product. It’s about tapping into our inner potential to help people create a space worth calling home. It’s called “unleashing your inner orange” and it’s about our ability to make a difference in customers’ lives where it matters most.

Through extensive training, tuition reimbursement and more, The Home Depot gives us the support we need to expand our knowledge, develop new skills and build promising futures. In turn, we have the confi dence to contribute to home improvement projects—both large and small.

That’s the power of The Home Depot

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.

We believe even small projects have huge potent al.

YOUR PERSONALITY — DOES IT FIT YOUR CO-WORKERS & YOUR JOB?

23

by Christopher Lawson

IMAGE: ISTOCKPHOTO/THINKSTOCK

Liking your co-workers and having your personalities click can make the difference between loving and hating your job. Certain industries attract certain personalities. You’ll have to do a lot of self-reflection and experimenting to figure out which one matches your personality best.

Let’s pretend you’re throwing the party of a lifetime. (Of course you’ll also have to pretend that you have enough cash left over after tuition, textbooks, housing, transit, cell phone bills, and pet food to spend on said party.) You’ve got reserva-tions at the hottest club in town, paid for full bottle service, and your best buds from Daft Punk are DJing. You send invitations to all your friends highlighting how awesome this party’s going to be. You figure it’ll be a matter of

teresting to Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers, the older folk who’re likely to be doing the hiring. It conflicts with the attitudes they held when they got their first jobs. These points are important for two reasons:

a) Employers know how vital it is for their personnel to get along. Life, business, and marketing coach Monica Magnetti, from LunaCoaching.com, should know, she talks to a lot of them. “Almost all (employers) will tell you they will teach you the skills and the knowledge — but it’s the person-ality that’s important,” she says. “When it comes down to it, each company knows its personality. They’re looking for someone who speaks their language.”

b) Even if you don’t actually care about jiving with your co-workers, odds are that your co-workers care about jiving with you. You’ll have to get along if you don’t want to be left behind by your peers.

Let me introduce yourselfFor today’s graduates, know-ing yourself could be even more important than knowing your field of study. Career coach and author Karen Schaffer helps her job-seek-ing clients find out for themselves. “I try not to make recommenda-tions so much as guide clients to their own answers. However, that guidance takes the form of getting people to understand and articu-late what they desire from their work. More than saying, ‘I want to like my co-workers,’ they need to ask how they want to like them. They need to know what their own strengths are, what they value, what they’re passionate about.”

Depending on your experience, these may be hard questions to an-swer. But that’s the key right there — experience. You can’t know yourself until you’ve put yourself into action and learnt from your mistakes. Make the most of your horribly embarrassing blunders by engaging in heavy-duty reflection,

minutes before your guest list is overflowing.

But instead of RSVP cards returned with check marks and smiley faces next to “attending,” you receive the same discouraging response from nearly everyone you invited: “Maybe. Who else will be there?”

Offended? Don’t be. You and your friends, who are today’s crop of soon-to-be entry-level workers, often ask the same question about everything. Even about their career choice.

Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. (in partnership with DECODE) did some research on what today’s graduates look for in potential employers. President Graham Donald said, “(A) finding that I thought was very interesting, almost across the board, is that students place a very high priority on working with people they like. So they’re looking very carefully at, ‘Who will my colleagues be?’”

That probably sounds obvious to you, but this revelation is very in-


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24says Schaffer. “As we gain new experiences, we grow, and that leads to discovering new things we want in our career.”

Alright, don’t roll your eyes so loudly — lest you think I’m telling you to drop out of school and start freelance navel-gazing. I suggest you make an appointment with a career coach or counsellor at your school who can give you some much needed focus.

HomeworkIf you’d prefer to do it on your own, here’s a quick alternative you can try that will not only give you a roughly accurate personality portrait of yourself, but you’ll also be getting other people to do the work for you: ask someone else.

Ask anyone who knows you even a little. It could be mom, dad, your teachers, your parole officer, cult worshipers, that guy in line at the cafe you work at who never leaves you alone. Anyone. Get them to

accounting

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entertainment

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guess what job you’d be really good at. You might be surprised.

Those who know you very well will answer with something you’d pre-dict because they know what you study, but they will also be unafraid to consider the aspects of your personality that you dislike and try to hide. Are you a granola-eating animal lover, but ashamed of being an insufferable rules stickler? Your mom might suggest working in conservation law. And she might be right, because although you may want to fight against your dark side, you’d tear your hair out trying to get a family of orangutans to sit still for the zoo’s photo op.

What hue is your jetpack?Once you have a better under-standing of what you’re all about, it’s time to understand what the industries of the world are all about. You’ll have to do some re-search, but here’s an approximate

map of which industries attract which personality types.

Keep in mind, the world is a large and strange place, so not everyone fits nicely into an infographic, nor does every industry require only particular traits to the exclusion of all others. We can, however, get a quick glimpse at the big picture (see graph above).

Once you’ve embraced your true personality, and are equipped to make an informed decision about what industry you’re going to apply to, go full force. But don’t be surprised if you want to back out.

The funny thing about experience……is that you have to have a bad one now to make a good one later. It doesn’t matter how many questions you ask or how much research you do, you simply don’t know how something will turn out until you do it. Take it from Jess (name changed to protect her social network status), who landed the entry-level publishing job she’d

been working to get for years, only to find it wasn’t her scene.

“It’s not that my coworkers were bad. We were just different. Politics, music, movies: you name it. I was a stranger in a strange land. And like any relationship where the fundamental values of the two parties just don’t click, things fell apart pretty fast — I was only there for a year.”

Jess thought a publishing company would be overflowing with people who love books just like her, but it turned out that her field was more suited to business-savvy and mar-keting types. Now she’s dabbling in a few different jobs to discover the next career path to take.

But now she’s got experience. Now she knows more about her own personality and the personal-ity of the industry she worked in — things that are invaluable in a job market where so much de-pends on being in the right place with the right people. And if you don’t want to end up at the wrong party, you’re going to need that knowledge and experience too.

According to a Pew study, we Millennials consider ourselves unique from previous generations because of our “immersion in music and pop culture,” while Gen X’ers and Boomers often consider “work ethic” to be their calling. So don’t be offended if your boss yells at you to turn down the dub-step and get back to work — she doesn’t have a problem with your personality. It’s just an age thing.

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I AN

OPINION!haz

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Your opinion matters (a lot!). To bring you the best possible career tips, advice, and insider job openings, we need your feedback.

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Don’t let the size of the major players in the IT industry fool you. The Canadian software sales industry is pretty small relative to the States, and most of the jobs in Canada are in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. These jobs boast fat pay cheques, and a cool corporate culture. Being a small industry allows you to rake in the dough, but has its disadvantages for those who aren’t careful.

“Your reputation follows you, whether you did something bad at the company Christmas party or if you don’t make your sales,” OJ Cherry, sales manager of Corporate Sales at Sophos, warns. It’s an industry where everyone knows each other and as people talk, gossip spreads as easily as pushing the send button. Despite often being de-scribed as cutthroat, software sales attracts can-didates willing to challenge the stiff competition.

INDUSTRY INSIDERS28

IMAGE: MICHAEL BLANN/ DIGITAL VISION/THINKSTOCK

WORDS FROM THE WISE“Choose a stable company to work for, with a prod-uct line you can sell in the good times and the bad. Don’t ever get complacent. Squeeze every ounce of juice from the lemon,” Cherry ad-vises. The software sales in-dustry reputation for being a dog-eat-dog world, where you must eat or be eaten, can be intimidating. But looking back, Khan would have cho-sen the sales route over the technical route. “I would’ve focused on it back then if I knew how good they have it.”

SHOW ME THE MONEYEvery company is different, but you can count on a base salary plus a commission compensa-tion structure. The commission portion is de-termined by forecasting your sales and estab-lishing a quota, which is called your OTE — On Target Earnings. “The system is designed to en-courage you to go over your quota,” Cherry ex-plains. Once you’re over, the accelerator (indus-try lingo) kicks in. This means once you exceed your quota, the formula adjusts and the per-centage of the commission you earn increases. “Most base salaries start at 50k, and with commission factored in, the average rep makes 100k,” Cherry adds.

GETTING INA degree gets you an interview, but the ability to close a sale gets you the job. “Education isn’t the primary driver in software sales. It’s looked at in the initial stages of the hiring process though,” Cherry explains. But those with a proven track record for closing sales are desired, making this job pop-ular with career changers. New grads with no sales experience have to prove themselves and start in entry level

roles, like a sales devel-oper, with typical duties such as cold calling and lead generation.

SALES REP VS. PRE-SALES ENGINEERDepending on which niche you work in, some sales reps work on their own, while others work within a team. In a team environment, the sales rep does all the prospecting, qualifying of leads, and the negotiating of prices. Pre-sales engineers support the sales rep in closing the sale by pro-viding product demonstrations, and going deeper into the problem’s logistics. “They can’t move the deal forward without the sales engineers. We’re the technical component,” Abdul-Rehman Khan, a solutions consultant at NetSuite, explains.

Teamwork isn’t always easy however. It can pose problems, especially when both the sales rep and pre-sales engineers depend on differ-ent pay structures. “Pre-sales engineers have a higher base salary and capped commis-sion, whereas sales reps have a smaller base and often uncapped commission,” said Khan.

NEXT STEPSBeing a sales rep can open doors too. “You can move upstream to a larger company with bigger and more com-plicated products, be-come a director with a large company, move into sales management, or join a small upstart and share ownership,” Cherry said. Rob Lun-

ney, director of Western Canada from EMC2, believes sales careers offer transferable skills. “Sales professionals must learn their products and customers inside and out. This gives them an advantage if they wish to pursue other IT related professions in the future.”

software salesEAT OR BE EATEN

WHERE TO GOSoftware sales is mainly a B2B industry. They special-

ize in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). If a

business needs something streamlined, organized,

or automated, a software sales company can do it. Products can range

anywhere from anti-virus protection, database man-agement, business intel-ligence, and HR manage-

ment. Companies include: Oracle, NetSuite, Salesforce.

com, SAP, Sophos, EMC2.

by Eleni Papavasiliou


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Chemical engineerscandoit all

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INDUSTRY INSIDERS30

In the past, chemical engineers have been employed in process engineering, mainly in two indus-tries: chemicals and petroleum. Not anymore. Today they have a wide array of career choices. Among the many industries utilizing the skills of chemical engineers are: food processing, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, electronics, renewable energy, biofuels, and nanotechnology.

Just as they were instrumental in discovering and harnessing fossil fuels for energy produc-tion, chemical engineers are now engaged in developing new, sustainable sources of energy: biomass, biofuels, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy, solar power, and wind power. Another achievement of chemical engi-neers is inventing new technolo-gies to reduce pollutants entering the environment. One example of these technologies is bioaug-mentation — the use of microbes to transform and detoxify pollut-ants in groundwater and soil.

What exactly happens in bioaug-mentation? Dr. Elizabeth Edwards,

DISCOVER THE BREADTH AND VERSATILITY A CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE CAN OFFER YOU.

a professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of To-ronto, and a leader of Biodegraders Research Group, explains, “We’ve identified new microbes capable of biodegrading common ground-water contaminants. There are so many microbes in a gram of soil, and depending on how you coax them into growing, you can get different members of the com-munity to bloom. The trick is to learn how to promote the activi-ty that leads to detoxification of pollutants.”

When it comes to employment prospects for chemical engineer-ing graduates, Edwards says, “I believe they are good, and that all grads eventually get a job. Perhaps not right away, but they do within about six months.”

How relevant is further education beyond a bachelor’s? “There’s no question that there’s a lot more learning needed after the bach-elor’s. However, some companies really like to hire right out of the bachelor’s and provide the train-ing in-house. Others like to have someone with more expertise. It’s

really up to the individual and their personal goals and oppor-tunities. It never hurts to take a job if you’re offered one. You can always go back to school.”

Chemical engineering often becomes intertwined with biol-ogy and biomedicine, so many chemical engineers work in pro-teomics, genomics, and biomedi-cal engineering as a result.

Dr. Aaron Schimmer, a staff physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the Princess Margaret Hospital, scientist at OCI, and assistant professor in Medicine and Medi-cal Biophysics at the University of Toronto, is recognized in the field of biomedicine for the discovery of novel routes for treatment of cancer.

Schimmer’s research team has established therapeutic strategies that target leukemia on a cellular level, killing off the affected cells while sparing the normal healthy cells. What makes Schimmer’s achievements outstanding is the re-purposing of old drugs for new treatments. To identify new therapeutic strategies, his team

compiles libraries of known on-patent and off-patent drugs, and screens them to identify agents of previously unrecognized purity that target leukemia cells and stem cells population.

For Schimmer, the primary benefit of the career in biomedi-cal research is the opportunity to be engaged closely with issues facing patients and the immedi-ate relevancy to the work one’s doing. “A lot of people enjoy the close links between what they are working on and the problems their patients currently face.”

To get into this field, it’s helpful to have a synthetic chemistry back-ground. “Once you get additional training in biology, it puts you in a very unique niche,” said Schimmer. “Biologists can’t do chemistry and very few chemists have an under-standing of biology, so that kind of training becomes highly valuable. It puts you in a niche where there is a lot of job potential.”

So what’s it really like to study chemical engineering?

Jine Jine Li, studying for a Master’s in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, said, “The major challenge of being in a research-oriented program is time management and motivation. There are certain times where results don’t work out or no prog-ress is being made, and it becomes really difficult to move ahead. At these times it’s important to think about the big picture, and really be able to motivate yourself to think outside the box.

“The benefits of this program are the exciting problems that need to be solved, and once you do actually get results, it’s quite exciting to discover and see what you’ve actually achieved. You learn a lot about being an inde-pendent individual, planning out your schedule in advance, and solving problems in general.”

by Ariadna Levin


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INDUSTRY INSIDERS32

Stats Courtesy of: workingincanada.gc.ca

The demand for people who understand both computers and business is only increasing as technology plays a bigger role in society, making computer infor-mation systems management an attractive career path. The pay off will be great, but don’t under-estimate the workload necessary to reach this position.

A few years ago, Aashish Kumar was enrolled in business at Mc-Gill University and working part-time in IT sales, but he worried about landing a job after school with just a business degree. Reflecting on his strengths, he decided computer science would be a good route. He moved back home to Calgary and enrolled in a four-year Bachelor of Computer Information Systems degree at Mount Royal University, which offered that attractive combina-tion of business and computers.

An information systems manag-er is the middle person between the computer programmers and management. As Ricardo Hoar, associate professor of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at Mount Royal University, explains, knowing the technical lingo and some neat web develop-ment and programming tricks is important — you need to have a technical aptitude. “But you also need a good set of business skills, because you may talk to a

programmer and then you have to turn around and talk to a VP. A VP and programmer don’t speak the same language, so the ability to be a really good communica-tor is essential.”

Hoar says that before creating this degree, the university spoke to employers who hire com-puter science grads. They found while the students have great technical skills, they lack many important soft skills. He says a lot of computer science students see their skills set as useful, and while that’s true, Hoar points out that it’s even more useful when you know how to apply it to business. “When you can do the tech, but also understand how it will affect the business, it’s way more impactful.”

You can’t just start at the top though. Adriana Bidegain knows this. After attaining her undergraduate degree in computer engineering and an MBA in economics and indus-

trial management, she began her career as a programmer. At various companies, she was then a systems analyst, then a project manager, then senior project manager, then director, and was recently appointed VP of Global Delivery at Telocell.

She says her organizational skills, ability to collaborate, willingness to learn, and communication skills allowed this career path to unfold for her. “It is a stressful job because most of the time you’re dealing with tight timelines, and nowadays you have virtual teams, so not everybody sits together. They are in different time zones, have different backgrounds, dif-ferent cultures. And all of these impact the timeline.”

The job description covers a lot. Your day could involve meetings with your customers in order to discuss project status; internal team meetings to track the plans and see where everybody is; and managing the budget and meet-

the ultimate combinationCareers in computer science and business are in high demand these days. Becoming a computer information systems manager lets you do both.

ing with your finance group. Of course, then you need to manage the project itself and update the project plan.

If this is the career path you desire, Bidegain warns that you have to be willing to work long hours, even weekends. “So sometimes you’re not going to be able to see your kids as often as you want, or see your friends. You have to think about whether you’re willing to have that unbal-anced lifestyle.

“But the benefits — the salary is usually one of the highest in the market. IT pays well. It’s always in demand. So people usually don’t struggle, or find themselves out of a job for a long time. You can work pretty much anywhere in the world, because if you’re a Java developer for instance, it’s the same skill, the same knowl-edge here, as in Brazil or Spain.” Bidegain has fully taken advan-tage of the universality her skills offer — she has worked in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Israel, and is now based in Toronto.

Kumar decided to try the business side of computers, because he likes dealing with people. “I don’t like getting stuck behind a com-puter all day. ... I like talking to people more.” Given his previous IT experience, he knows it takes lot of work to get to the top, and that he’s not going to graduate and become the next Steve Jobs. Not right away at least.

Average hourly wage of a Toronto-based:

Computer and information systems managers

Information systems analysts and consultants

Computer engineers (except software engineers & designers)

Software engineers and designers

$41.52

$31.20

$31.78

$36.60(All numbers from 2010)


When I graduated in the summer of 2009, a newspaper title said, “This is the worst year in decades to graduate from university.” Three years forward, although the darkest of the re-cession days seem behind us, university grads are still having a hard time finding meaningful jobs that would make their degree worthwhile.

According to the National Post, the rate of youth unemployment in 2011 is 14%, twice as high as the national rate. Worse, tuition fees aside, grads find themselves competing against a sig-nificantly higher number of degree holders, as universities produce more graduates than ever before. Eventually, you start wondering how wise of an investment your university education was. For some, the solution was to stay in school for a Master’s degree, hoping the situation will improve when they finish. However, where’s the guarantee you won’t be faced with the same bleak prospects when you graduate with your Master’s, with even more debts to pay off?

A practical and much cheaper solution might be going to college to get a certificate that

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builds up upon your university degree. Ma-clean’s survey of Ontario Colleges Performance Rates shows very attractive numbers for 2007-2008 graduates, with an average employment rate of 88.9%.

So how common is it to see university grads enrolling in college programs nowadays? Ac-cording to Shrin Kosravaneh, the coordinator of an Editing Program at George Brown College, it’s becoming very common not only for under-grads, but for graduate students as well. She says, “Even Master’s students come to college because they want to get some hands-on expe-rience leading to employment. Some students use this training to supplement their degrees, others take different programs from what they studied to make a transition to a more practical career.”

Different colleges have various ways of prepar-ing students for employment. Tene Barber, the Dean of Continuing Education at Vancouver Community College (VCC), explains, “Some programs at VCC offer practicum and intern-ships, so there’s a direct connection (with the labour market). We have training programs, for example our ACE program in the Essential Skills Centre actually coaches students that are coming up to graduate how to research differ-ent job markets and opportunities, so they are more prepared upon graduation.”

“You’ll also find that every program at VCC has a strong, what I would call, ‘transition to em-ployment’ piece, teaching you such things as:

34

by Ariadna Levin

When a university degree just isn’t enough to score a smooth career path

how to prepare an adequate résumé, how to put your best self forward, and how to best de-scribe your skills. We also prepare students to meet the expectation of a workplace, in terms of hard and soft skills.”

Even though it could be frustrating to go back to school after having spent so much time and effort on your degree, it doesn’t have to be. Just ask Mona Besharati, one of the students in the Editing Program at George Brown.

“It feels good. I get to learn about something I’m interested in, while also advancing my skills. I’m at a point in my life where I have the re-sources to do this, and I realize this isn’t always the case for everyone. So I’m happy about and thankful for my current situation. Knowing I’d be walking out of university with a BA honours degree, I also knew that going back to school was always a serious possibility for me. My pro-gram — a combined degree in Communication Studies & Multimedia — was very theoretical and broad. Going back to school lets me hone in on my genuine interests and skills.”

How’s continuing education in college differ-ent form university studies? Says Mona, “I felt a lot more pressure in university, and what I was studying was significantly theoretical based. In college (specifically a cont. ed. pro-gram), the classes are much smaller in size, and focused in topic. Also, the material cov-ered has a much more ‘hands on’ approach. In comparison to university, I am learning more practical skills in college.”

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careers. education. ideas. all of it.


“I was involved with a lot of activities on cam-pus, from intramurals, to clubs, and societies,” said Dave Wilkin, founder of CampusPerks, re-calling where his business idea came from. “I saw how we were always trying to go out there to find support from various organizations, and at the same time I saw a lot of companies restricted to putting up posters or flyers, basi-cally sending in people to set up big tents on campus. And I thought, all of us were running different organizations, whether it was sports tournaments, or clubs, or conferences, socials, you name it. What if we could have the oppor-tunity to work with those companies to make our student life bigger and better?”

And that’s when Dave, a 24 year old Waterloo grad, with a Bachelors in Biochemistry, decided

START UP

DAVE WilkinInterviewed by David Tal

to turn his idea into reality by launching Cam-pusPerks, an online, student community that aims to fuel student life on campus. Launched in 2010, CampusPerks works with top Canadian brands to create sponsorship, scholarship, and exclusive opportunities for students. By visit-ing CampusPerks.ca and signing up, students “from fashionistas, to athletes, to clubs, and student life leaders” can receive the resources and experiences they need to grow their own initiatives, better their campus life, and enjoy little perks every month.

When asked how CampusPerks benefits the brands it works with, Dave explained, “Brands always struggle to find a meaningful and ef-fective way to engage with youth. They need to see the return (on their investment), and the

way they see this return is that we find brands’ true advocates and give them the opportunity to become a part of their advocates’ organiza-tions, networks, and events by giving them the tools to make student life bigger and better. We find those students who not only love the brand, but also when they get access to the brand, they are able to really mobilize and empower their friends and on-campus community. ... We’ve seen it time and time again that when brands actually help and support students, when they learn how they can use their brand to help em-power students to do great things, they will have a longer term and more meaningful relationship with them. Very simply, this is a more effective and meaningful use of their marketing budgets.”

One example of CampusPerks playing match-maker between students and brands was its recent opportunity with a major international brand, a leader in the youth space. “They came

to us and said, ‘Hey, it’s February. It’s Valentines Day. It’s time to spread the love across communi-ties.’ So we partnered them with some really cool charities and student associations to help them spread the love even more within their target communities, with everything from sandwiches for at-risk and homeless youth, to canned food drives in local communities. And so this brand-was able to partner with some of the best advo-cates in their communities, and help those stu-dents bring their initiatives to a whole new level.”

Examples like this are just one of many, and it’s for that reason that CampusPerks has grown so much since its launch. “In two years, we’re lead-ing the youth initiatives for some of Canada’s biggest brands, and we’re already on track for over $500,000 in sponsorships and giveaways for students in Canada.”

But all this success couldn’t have come without setbacks, Dave recalls some of the difficulties he came across when first starting up. “Some-thing we were slow to do was to build partner-ships with the right types of groups. In the early stages, we worked directly with students, now their national head offices are calling us to see how we can benefit them from coast to coast. In many cases, we have since been named their preferred ally for students and youth.”

In the end, for all those budding entrepreneurs, Dave advises that you should, “Find something you’re truly passionate about. Entrepreneurship is truly a matter of finding a project you’re pas-sionate about and chasing that.”

36

“When brands actually help and support students... they will have a longer term and more meaningful relationship with them.”

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The choices you make in your personal life define who you are. The same is true in your career. Canon was founded on the spirit of San-Ji – literally the Three Selfs. Self-motivation, Self-management and Self-awareness call Canon employees to be proactive, accountable and ethical.

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jobpostings magazine (april 2012)

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