jobpostings Magazine April 2013, Vol. 15, Issue 7)

APRIL 2013 | VOL.15 | NO. 7

CAREERS. EDUCATION. IDEAS. ALL OF IT.

JOBPOSTINGS.CA

your job hunt: Search for a job LOOKING TO START YOUR OWN FRANCHISE? using unconventional methods Virtual distance degrees on the rise!

1 - 3 YEAR DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

CAREERLAUNCHING

DIPLOMAS USE YOUR DIPLOMA FOR ADVANCED STANDING IN A DEGREE PROGRAM, OR USE IT AS A LAUNCHING PAD FOR YOUR CAREER. BUSINESS.HUMBER.CA/DIPLOMAS

1

ACCOUNTING

2

ADVERTISING MEDIA SALES

3

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

4

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

5

COSMETIC MANAGEMENT

6

ESTHETICIAN/ SPA MANAGEMENT

7

FASHION

8

FINANCIAL SERVICES

9

LAW CLERK

10 MARKETING 11 PARALEGAL EDUCATION 12 PROFESSIONAL GOLF MANAGEMENT

Incubating

27

your start up

You might have the brilliant idea and the goods to run a business, but don’t have all the know-how or funding. Business incubators are a unique way to grow your fledgling company.

TABLE OF CONTENTS JOBPOSTINGS.CA FEATURES

LEARN ABOUT

22 The right internship

07 Crunchin’ numbers

We explain the good and not-so-good aspects of interning over the summer.

31 Job hunting

You know it can be tough to find the right job, especially amongst all the talented recent grads out there in the job market. We show you how to get noticed in the crowd!

37 Starting a franchise

Creating an international brand isn’t exactly easy. We talk to entrepreneurs that have made it big all over the world to show you what it takes to go global.

Wondering what it’s like out in the real world once you’ve graduated?

While you’re looking for a job, check out these stats to help you understand what life after school is actually like.

08 Success stories Tyson Hubley, corporate account manager of Insight Enterprises, talks about providing technology solutions to clients, and how he got where he is today. Sponsored by Rogers Wireless.

10 INTERVIEW SMARTS

INDUSTRY REPORTS

Daniela DiPietro, program manager of campus and career programs at CIBC, asks “What is your 30-second commercial?”

14 It’s cyber war

12 Startup

Computer security analysts fight cyber crime and internet terrorism to keep us safe from harmful viruses.

Bill Hennessey started Oxford Beach when he was in university. Through ambition and drive, it’s now a multimillion-dollar company.

Jobpostings.ca is Canada’s leading career lifestyle magazine for students and recent grads—but since you’re holding a copy, you probably already knew that. But did you know we’re also Canada’s biggest job board for entry-level, internship, and co-op opportunities? No? Well, now you do.

JPtv Know what it takes to get into marketing?

Want to become an accountant? What skills do you need to be a broadcast journalist? Find out at JPtv, Jobpostings’ YouTube channel.

Career-hopping before 30 Gen Ys are becoming known as the careerswitch generation, since the average person under 30 has already had significant career shifts. Read on to find out why.

Opportunities are everywhere

Sales is on the minds of many business grads, but there are other positions in consulting to aid salespeople that are being created all over the map.

41 Managing your minutes

You might not enjoy your part-time retail job now, but those small retail beginnings can lead to a world of opportunity. We interview a few people that have made it big in retail.

We look at best practices for staying organized and productive.

Nutrition at the office

18 Advice on advising

After an interview, the proven best way to seal the deal is to send a handwritten thank-you note. (Who knew?)

Feeling tired at work? Tons of people are eating incorrectly at work which leads to fatigue and lower productivity. We look into how to stay healthy on the job.

44 The truth about RRSPs

The new JP blog

17 Climbing the sales ladder

Even the rich need a helping hand. Find out how wealth management advisors coordinate assets and help in so many other ways in this booming industry.

20 Engineering building blocks Materials engineering is considered the foundation of other engineering disciplines. Read on to find out more about this highly desired field.

42 A little note FOR THE WIN

We weigh the pros and cons of putting money into RRSPs at an early age.

46 Edu-ma-cation Find out why more students are opting to study on virtual campuses.

The Jobpostings blog is back with new student voices, as well as opinions directly from the editorial staff. Check it out to hear students’ thoughts on finding work, juggling school, and balancing commitments.

APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

WHOSHIRING 02

NAV Canada

03

CIBC

05

The Home Depot

11

Target

13

Chair-man Mills

13

The New England Center for Children

15

The Investors Group

16

CSIS

21

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

30

Sun Life Financial

35

College Pro

schoolINDEX

Masthead publisher

Nathan Laurie nlaurie@jobpostings.ca

associate publisher Mark Laurie mlaurie@jobpostings.ca

COMMUNICATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGER David Tal dtal@jobpostings.ca @DavidTalWrites

editor

James Michael McDonald jmcdonald@jobpostings.ca @mcjamdonald

IFC

Humber, The Business School (Undergrad)

06

St. George’s University

26

Humber, The Business School (Postgrad)

40

St. George’s University

43

Humber, School of Media Studies and Information Technology

46

Humber, School of Media Studies and Information Technology

46

Centennial College

47

Brock University

Shannon Tracey

47

Niagara College

interns

47

Queen’s University

47

Ross University

47

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine

47

Sheridan College

47

University of Lethbridge

OBC Humber, The Business

School, Public Administration

ART DIRECTOR

Anthony Capano acapano@jobpostings.ca

DEVELOPER

Mishraz Ahmad Bhounr mbhounr@jobpostings.ca

contributors

Raman Nijjar, Julie Skinner, Christopher Lawson, Jason Schreurs, Samuel Dunsiger

national account manager Mary Vanderpas

EDUCATION ACCOUNT MANAGER

Kim Wolfshout, Megan Santos, Kate Aenlle, Angelina Attisano, Armand Kajangwe, Arthy Kumarathasan

Published by Passion Inc. 25 Imperial Street, Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5P 1B9 jobpostings.ca 1-877-900-5627 ext. 221

GENERALADs 09

Rogers Wireless

15 Insurance Institute of Canada 19

Media Job Search

36

Canada’s Luckiest Student

48 Insurance Institute of Canada IBC

Young Canada Works

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

Jobpostings Magazine is published eight times in the school year. Issue dates are September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and May. Copies of jobpostings are distributed to over 105 universities and colleges across Canada. Contents of this publication are protected by copyright and may not be reprinted in whole or part without permission of the publishers. “Energy and persistence conquer all things” - Benjamin Franklin

Students and recent graduates, let CIBC help turn your potential into success!

BECOME A CIBC FINANCIAL SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE. Imagine working in a fast-paced environment, where you help clients achieve their financial goals and assist them with their everyday banking needs. At CIBC you’ll enjoy an exciting sales and service career that is both personally and professionally rewarding, and that offers great opportunities for career growth.

As a CIBC Financial Services Representative, you’ll provide information about, and actively promote and sell, products and services that satisfy your clients’ needs.

Qualified candidates must exhibit CIBC’s values of trust, teamwork and accountability; possess superior verbal communication and interpersonal skills; and be adaptable, flexible and able to multi-task.

Previous contact centre, sales or customer service experience is an asset.

If you’re interested in joining our team, get details on opportunities at CIBC at www.jobpostings.ca/CIBC. “CIBC For what matters.” is a TM of CIBC.

EDITOR’S NOTE

04

James Michael McDonald

Flipping the job hunt around The first time I searched for a job, I was 16. It was the spring of 2001—I just gave away my age!—and I was itching for independence, work experience, and a big chunk of change.

I’d done the typical youngster jobs—babysitting, mostly—but wanted to get out into the real world and make my own money for... whatever it was I wanted to buy. (Probably something Pokémon-related.)

I found a resumé template at my school, beefed up my school accomplishments, and hit the pavement. Unknowing of the process, I handed out about ten before calling it a day.

Perplexed that I hadn’t heard anything back in 24 hours, I went out a few more times before finally landing my first glamorous job: the guy that flips burgers at a fast food restaurant. (Sometimes I even got to make the sandwiches!) It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t

27 INCUBATING YOUR START UP

THE AVERAGE SURVIVAL RATE OF COMPANIES IN CANADA THAT GO THROUGH BUSINESS INCUBATION HAS SHOWN TO BE HIGHER THAN

80% AFTER 5 YEARS

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

pretty, but I was proud to be earning my first paycheques.

Nearly 13 years later and I’ve had a plethora of jobs, many of which had nothing to do with what I’m doing now. One thing to keep in mind (that is reiterated throughout the pages to follow) is that the jobs you take on as a teenager, during college or university, before you finally encounter your dream job, give you tons of skills and perspective that can be applied later on. Although flipping burgers was messy and fast-paced, I better learned how to work with a team. I learned how to take instruction, multitask, and fill out time sheets. Most importantly, I began to develop a strong work ethic, something all young people should be encouraged to have.

If you haven’t already guessed, this month’s issue is all about the job hunt. We’ve focused

31 JOB HUNT STRATEGIES

2/5 S TES SE IES U ORKING SICANDIDATE N A P COM AL-NETW TENTIAL SOCI REEN PO TO SC

on how to stand out amongst thousands of applicants, as well as how to start your own business, and some thriving industries you may consider jumping into. Kate looks into unconventional job hunt strategies, including new ways to brand yourself and search for a job. Megan investigates how to start and own a franchise, as well as the benefits of using business incubators to build your fledgling company. We also find out about computer security analysts, sales consultants, materials engineers, wealth management advisors, and much more.

Hopefully this issue gives you some ideas and ambition to be the most adept job hunter there is, in whatever field you choose. And if that job happens to be flipping burgers, well, flip them the best way you know how.

Happy reading!

37 FRANCHISE YOUR BUSINESS

IF THE WORLD’S FRANCHISES WERE PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE THEY WOULD CIRCLE THE GLOBE

6,500 TIMES

Sources: cabi.ca, franchiseconsultantsinc.com, online.wsj.com

Successful projects start with

serious know-how.

And a warm smile.

Because working here is about more than helping customers choose the

right product. It’s about making a difference in our customers’ lives and their homes. We call it “unleashing your inner orange” and

it’s my ability to tap into my inner potential to

help them create a space worth calling home.

The first thing I do when I greet a customer

is smile. It lets them know I’m there to help, and that I’m confident in my ability to make

a difference in their projects—no matter how large or small, I know that my customers

value my product knowledge and that drives me to go above and beyond to help them

complete their projects. Through extensive training, tuition reimbursement and more, The Home Depot gives me the support I need to build a promising future.

– Jordan, Home Depot Associate

A variety of part-time and seasonal opportunities are available for college and university students.

We are committed to diversity as an equal opportunity employer.

Apply online at homedepotjobs.ca/5762 or text HOMEDEPOT to 998899 for information on upcoming career fairs and opportunities in your area.

WHERE WE STAND TEAcHiNg STuDENTS ouTSiDE THE uS HAS lED To AVMA AccREDiTATioN iNSiDE THE uS STARTiNg youR cAREER WiTH THE WiNNiNg coMbiNATioN of uS SkillS AND globAl TRAiNiNg Will MAkE you STAND ouT

©2013 St. George’s University A

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US/Canada: 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 9 1280 www.avma.org sgu.edu/future-students • sguenrolment@ sgu.edu

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Grenada, West Indies

CRUNCHIN’ NUMBERS

07

CRUNCHIN’

NUMBERS IF YOU STRIVE TO BE ABOVE-AVERAGE, HERE ARE TEN CAREER CHOICES WITH HIGHER-THAN-AVERAGE STARTING SALARIES. KEEP THESE IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING YOUR MAJORS THIS UPCOMING FALL SEMESTER.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Life after post-secondary isn’t as cookiecutter as you thought it would be. Due to job hunting, paying off student loans, and monthly expenses, your bank account is looking a little grim. We at Jobpostings have gathered some information to (hopefully) guide you in the right path to life after graduation. | By Megan Santos

THE AVERAGE STARTING SALARY FOR CANADIAN UNIVERSITY GRADS

BY GENDER

THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

7.7%

THE AVERAGE MONTHLY COST OF LIVING IN CANADA IS $543/PERSON. SO WHERE IS ALL THIS HARDEARNED CASH BEING SPENT? GROCERIES $225

PEOPLE AGES 15–24

13.5% TRANSIT $110

A 2012 SURVEY CONDUCTED BY BANK OF MONTREAL SAID 40 PER CENT OF THE 1018 SAMPLED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HAVE STUDENT LOANS. ON AVERAGE, STUDENT DEBT IS ROUGHLY 0

10K

1500

20K

30K

40K

50K

60K

70K

80K

90K

CABLE & INTERNET $78 PHONE $70 UTILITIES $60

$27,000

AVERAGE HOME RENTAL COST OF LIVING PER MONTH FOR EACH PROVINCE AND TERRITORY

$1,365

1250 $1,045

1000

$931

$884

750

$799

$738

$709 $613

$637

$642

NB

PEI

$651 $556

500

250

$0 BC

AB

SK

MB

Sources: workopolis.com, monster.ca, scotiabank.com, cbc.ca

ON

QC

NS

NL

YT

NT

APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

SUCCESS STORIES

08

SUCCESS STORIES Tyson Hubley COMPANY: Insight Enterprises Inc. ___________________________ Position: Corporate Account Manager ___________________________ Length of Employment: 7.5 years ___________________________ Degree: Bachelors of Arts – Honours Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy

How did you find your current position?

I graduated from Bishop’s University in 2004 and was fortunate to participate in their international exchange program with Deakin University in Australia. I guess I caught the travel bug so, upon graduating, I took some time to work and live in Japan for a year. Upon returning to Montreal, I began prospecting to begin my career. I found an interesting job posting online and applied for the position of account executive with Insight. I thought “a Fortune 500 technology company with a global presence? Sounds good to me!”

What are you responsible for in your current position?

In my current role, my main responsibility is to provide technology solutions to our corporate clients. I spend my day understanding business challenges: working with internal specialists and technology partners to solve these business pain points for my clients, consulting and offering the appropriate business technology solution. The most challenging part of my job is ensuring that I can do all of this to provide customized solutions to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. At the core, this is a sales position that requires you to constantly build relationships and deliver on these expectations.

As I’ve progressed within the role, I have been fortunate to be able to go onsite to clients and speak with them face-to-face. This usually involves quarterly business reviews, project scoping, and opportunity generation with my team of specialists. I get to work with a variety of people on any given day at all levels, from the manager of IT to the CIO. What is the most challenging aspect of your position?

Building communication skills and the ability to influence and persuade people is critical in this role. It also makes you realize that listening skills and presentation skills are a key part of improving your business acumen. Creativity is key in providing the ability to negotiate and navigate through corporate environments. Especially when working with larger clients, you really get exposed to complex business challenges and you are part of the solution. These skills and qualities help you win the confidence of the client and your peers.

Challenging yourself will continue to be a measuring stick of your success in this role. The role

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

possesses a tremendous opportunity to be educated from the world’s top technology companies. The difference is in how you use this information to apply to your client’s environment and the solution proposals you bring to the table.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

The one accomplishment I am most proud of in my current role is winning the Summit Club Award two years in a row, last year in St. Thomas and this year in Puerto Rico. This is an award given to the top performers in the company for attaining and/or exceeding their goals.

What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?

As I reflect on what it was like to graduate, look for a job, and get to where I am today, I think the best advice that I can give students is to be prepared but also be self-prepared. What I mean by that is to have a sense of self. What are you good at? What are you not so good at? Be honest with yourself because a full-time job requires time and effort and in a global economy of doing more with less, you need to really like what you are going to be doing everyday; you can only figure that out once you really understand yourself.

The million-dollar interview question is always “where do you want to be in 5 years?” I want to be in a role where I am driving business transformation and making an impact for the company and myself. Being in that leadership role where I can enable people to be successful and assist in their development.

What advice do you have for students looking to land their first job?

Present yourself in a professional manner and communicate well. Your ability to make the hiring manager feel engaged and part of a good discussion helps you secure the job and/or further interviews. Be true to yourself and don’t oversell yourself—people can see right through that. Always be able to speak to why you would be a good candidate, based on what you know you do really well.

Just be true to yourself and also be able to articulate the value of what you are bringing to the table. The attitude of “what is in it for me” isn’t really an acceptable frame of mind when you are looking for job. Don’t get me wrong: making sure you and the company are a fit is key. However, you can’t enter an interview with that attitude.

You have to enter the interview with the mindset that this is a partnership.

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INTERVIEW SMARTS

10

INTERVIEW

SMARTS So you screwed up in the interview, huh?

They asked the ol’ “What’s your greatest weakness” question and you answered with “cupcakes,” hoping to get a laugh.

Awkward. Lucky for you, we have friends on the inside—recruiting friends (the people who’ll be interviewing you). It cost us a few favours, but they finally agreed to explain why they ask what they ask, and what the best answers are. It’s a cheatsheet for interviews. Good luck!

Daniela DiPietro Program Manager, Campus and Career Programs, CIBC

need to communicate your main message clearly, quickly, on the spot, and under pressure to someone who doesn’t know you.

In the roles that I recruit for, selling your personal brand is crucial to building your credibility. Thinking on your feet, structuring your response, and keeping the audience engaged are key attributes for success.

Things to keep in mind • •

What is your 30-second commercial?

The reason I like this question is because everyone has a story but very few can answer it well. It is about how they structure and tell it. It really sets apart those candidates who have confidence, are self aware, and can show why they are a fit for the role they are applying for.

It forces a candidate to think on the spot and can throw them off-guard because there is no right or wrong answer.

People who do this well, who highlight their strengths, (what they are really good at), and show how those strengths are transferrable to the role, demonstrate why they made the choices they made and how that has helped them grow and achieve their goals.

When creating your commercial, the main thing to remember is that you

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

•

• • • •

What do you want the listener to remember about you?

Describe who you are. Think about some key words that would describe you and use them in your commercial.

Explain what you do. State your value to the organization in terms of key results or impact. Come up with a tag line that allows the listener to understand how you can contribute to their team.

Describe why you are unique. Tell the interviewer what you do that is different or better than others.

Define your immediate goal. This is where it should be readily apparent what you are asking of them.

Do not memorize this and recite it like a speech. It should be conversational.

Lastly, be confident in your achievements. You are where you are because you have had some significant accomplishments. Share them and have fun doing so.

There’s lots of excitement in store for you as Executive Team Leader.

We’re getting our Store Leadership team in place and are seeking ambitious people who can create the best shopping experience for our guests. If you have a passion for developing dynamic, sales-driven teams and are looking to grow your career, we can’t wait to hear from you.

Join our team. Expect the best.

target.ca/careers © 2012 Target Brands, Inc. Target and the Bullseye Design are registered trade-marks of Target Brands, Inc.

START UP

12

Oxford Beach

Ambition, positivity, and success By: James Michael McDonald

“I’m driven by ambition, so the goal was to create a reputable national player in the marketing industry,” says Bill Hennessey, president of Oxford Beach, a leading marketing and events company based in Toronto, Ontario. As a business student at the Richard Ivey School of Business, Hennessey started the company with debt to pay down. Several years later, he has over 30 employees and his companies bring in $4 million in revenue each year.

Oxford Beach plans a variety of large-scale events, including a massive, countrywide St. Patrick’s Day event called St. Party’s Day. “There are 100 events happening across the country on St. Patrick’s Day,” he says, mentioning the event reaches 100,000 people. “It started two years ago based on the theory that there were no largescale events on St. Patrick’s Day, yet St. Patrick’s Day is the day of largest consumption by 300 per cent.” With the signature event in Toronto and other events in Halifax, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, among other cities, it’s the crowning achievement of Hennessey’s company.

Hennessey’s love for events and marketing helped him jump into the industry, but not without his fair share of obstacles. “I think the most obvious challenge we had in the early stages was that you start a business,” he says, “you have the drive and the passion to make it successful, but it’s just that you’re doing the operations, you’re worrying about finance, you’re doing the marketing and promotions, you’re doing the customer service. You’re kind of the jack of all trades—you’re wearing five or six hats.”

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

It doesn’t matter how much you study; you’re never going to really know what goes into being an entrepreneur until you get in and do it yourself.

It was this multitasking that developed him into an effective leader and manager, allowing the business to prosper. “One of my biggest takeaways over the past year or so is we’ve had some significant growth and have been able to add some top-notch talent. It really does get easier, and today I’m just steering the ship.” He says because of the company’s growth, he’s been able to add people to his team who are significantly more talented in their specific aspects of the business than he could ever be.

When he first started his business, Hennessey listed one such top-notch businessperson as a key inspiration. “The one on the top of my list—I actually interned with him for three or four months—is Anton Rabie, the CEO of Spin Master Toys.

The energy that that guy sends to his team and to his employees is second-to-none. He’s just an allaround fun individual.” He mentions that due to this enthusiasm, Rabie has made Spin Master one of the top toy companies, with over $650 million in revenue and incredible growth.

With Oxford Beach thriving, Hennessey then looked to purchase another business. In May of last year, he bought RoyalPak, a cleaning products company. When asked for his reasons for

the jump away from marketing, he has a clear, logical answer: “The vast majority of smart business students, whom I went to school with, went into what I call ‘sexy businesses.’ They want to work on Bay Street, expense $50 dinners, and wear a flashy suit all day. But if you look at the demographics, there are a tonne of baby boomers out there who are very under the radar and are extremely successful. For the most part, their kids don’t want to take over these businesses, so there are all these businesses that are coming up for sale with nobody who wants to take over them.” By playing smart, not flashy, Hennessey’s managed to capitalize on a business that is stable and has the possibility for growth.

Hennessey says work ethic, perseverance, and the ability to inject positive energy into the people around you are important traits in a successful entrepreneur. And if someone if thinking of starting their own business, he says, encouragingly, “just do it. Get off the sidelines and hop into the game. It doesn’t matter how much you study; you’re never going to really know what goes into being an entrepreneur until you get in and do it yourself. That’s how you learn and grow as an entrepreneur.”

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CYBER WAR

14

Keeping the online world safe with computer security analysts and technicians through the internet, and people are sort of monitoring what you’re doing without you knowing,” he says. YSTO caters to small businesses and companies and Shalagan resells security software called Emsisoft from Quebec-based distributor Multi-Visions.

“Every day is different,” says Takeaki Chijiiwa, principal consultant at Security Compass, when talking about what he likes most about his job. “It’s being up-to-date with the technology, the new app, new application, or new buzz that’s interesting.” The need for computer security analysts and technicians in Canada is not only on the rise, but is also becoming more of a challenge in today’s battle against cyber crime. It has become increasingly more complex since the introduction of the common computer virus in the early 2000s.

Mark Shalagan, reseller at Your Sales Team Online (YSTO), a multi-line distributor based in BC, believes the introduction of spyware is the new form of cyber crime and internet “terrorism.” Unlike the typical computer virus, spyware is meant to be malicious without your slightest knowledge.

“It’s logging your keystrokes without you knowing. It’s stealing your identity. It’s feeding that data back from your system down

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

With the increase in online activity comes the rise of computer crime. The role of a security technician will also become more of a challenge as the cyber war against hackers continues. Erez Zevulunov, president and director of operations at MIT Consulting in Toronto says that from his perspective as a software developer, a technician’s role is going to be increasingly demanding in the future. “I think the demands of security applications, encryption applications, various types of services and products will be on an incline quite significantly over the next several years because it’s very much in its infancy on a defending side,” he says.

As large companies have more sophisticated security and software, Zevulunov believes small businesses will suffer the most, thus leading to the demand of security experts like those at MIT Consulting. “We already see that as an increase in business because everybody is telling me that ‘I need better browser protection, I need a better firewall,’” he says.

The main responsibility of a computer security technician is to protect businesses and companies of all sizes from the vulnerabilities that reside on the internet. Some companies, like Security Compass, have taken their job

further by incorporating ‘ethical hacking’ into their services. “We essentially hack but we hack ethically, meaning that we work with the client to hack maybe their financial systems or their web applications and see if there’s way to prevent some of their controls,” says Chijiiwa, who is also the company’s practice lead for web and mobile application testing.

Ultimately, the technicians are able to hack business computers in hopes to find security issues before online criminals and without the involvement of the police and FBI. As the war against cyber crime increases, so does the need for security analysts and technicians. Chijiiwa says curiosity is the most important quality to have to succeed in that role. “Curiosity goes a long way especially with what we do. It’s really how you start interacting with it and trying to understand ‘if I change this, how does the system react?’” he says.

“With any university or college students that are interested in this field, I think it’s just a matter of picking any favourite technology and trying to understand it more from taking a look underneath the hood rather than seeing what’s presented at the top layer.” An education or background in developing and coding is also crucial to understanding how an application is built, finding its weaknesses, and improving it for clients. In today’s society, which is heavily built through electronic services, security technicians and software will always be needed to protect its businesses and consumers. | Megan Santos

IMAGES: © ISTOCK.COM

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For more information or to apply, visit: jobpostings.ca/company/investors-group Connect with us at: facebook.com/investorsgroup twitter.com/valueoftheplan youtube.com/investorsgroupcanada linkedin.com/company/7441 ™ Trademarks owned by IGM Financial Inc. and licensed to its subsidiary corporations. This is a full-time opportunity to establish your own variable-income and self-employed business in association with Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec, a financial services firm). Submissions are subject to an initial and ongoing review process. Investors Group offices are located in all provinces and territories in Canada. Please submit your Resumé/ Application only to one office.

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THE SALES LADDER

17

The sales ladder is worth climbing

Corporate sales consulting offers opportunity and growth Graduating with a business and economics degree or an MBA opens many doors, yet entering the real world can be a daunting task when there are so many options available.

Sales is on the minds of many business grads, but there are other positions in consulting to aid salespeople that are being created all over the map. The fast-paced, ever-changing, competitive industry of consulting sales is something they may not have considered.

“Long gone is the image of the sales guy being the smug guy,” says Robert Lanoue, partner within Deloitte’s corporate strategy practice.

“Salespeople are now very analytical, strategic; they understand their customer base, and the product and services.” With the increase in innovation and technology, companies are becoming more focused on the customer and profit, which is where consultants come in.

According to Glenn Yonemitsu, CEO at the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, when entering the consulting field it’s important to remember you’re not providing clients with a tangible service but rather an intangible promise to provide your knowledge.

“A consultant is always brought in because the client doesn’t need the expertise on a full-time basis,” he says. “They need some specific expertise to help them effect change or help set something up or improve the process.”

Consultants are hired by a company for any amount of time to help develop their sales force. That said, the needs by each company differ greatly, so consultants have to be versatile.

“Every organization has a different need,” he says. “One of the really important things you do at the start of an engagement is spend a lot of time coming to an agreement in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish.”

IMAGES: © ISTOCK.COM

This field isn’t for someone who needs a routine. As a consultant there are constantly new projects, some of which last a few months longer than others. You have to be able to learn on your feet, be open to working at client sites, and like to travel.

“Almost every company in the world that’s forprofit, and even a lot of not-for-profits, all have to generate revenues,” says Yonemitsu, mean-

ing the majority of companies could benefit from hiring a sales consultant. This means no shortage of work and lots of opportunities.

“You come in quickly as an expert”, says Alyson Gampel, associate director, graduate employment at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Ontario. “But that function and industry may be fairly new to you.” As a consultant you have to learn about the industry and the tools needed to help each client. It comes down to putting what you’ve learned academically to practice. A successful candidate must be intellectually curious, good at problem solving and teamwork, adaptable, humble, and an agile learner.

Gampel states the trajectory of an individual in consulting sales is as follows: start as an analyst at the junior level, move to a consultant position where you manage analysts, evolve into a management role and become the key contact on projects. After that, a manager can finally be promoted to partner, when individuals are responsible for sales. They take the lead on projects and coordinate a team of managers, consultants, and analysts.

Each firm looks for something different: individuals that have specific skill sets, specialties, and personalities that will mesh well within the firm. Consultants primarily have degrees in business, engineering, and mathematics. Gampel adds she has also seen individuals with nontraditional backgrounds, such as those with a degree in the medical field or a PhD in music.

For example, Deloitte’s Corporate Strategy Practice recruits graduates with a business degree from schools like Western University, University of Toronto, and Queen’s University.

Individuals enter the field as business analysts for three to four years and then become consultants. To move further, consultants can either get a graduate degree and become senior consultants or continue to move up the ladder.

In consulting you’re always building your skill sets, so you’ll never get bored. “When you see the client or company improve because some of the ideas you had in your head,” says Yonemitsu, “it’s an extremely rewarding and satisfying job.” | Raman Nijjar

ADVICE ON ADVISING

18

Some advice on advising Help plan futures with booming career opportunities in wealth management If you had five seconds to name a famous fictional financial advisor, could you do it?

Now, try to think of a friendly fictional financial advisor. (Tough, isn’t it?) Characters like Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge don’t exactly make the best mascots. The truth of the matter is finance is fun, and the financial management business is booming! So, it should come as no surprise that recruiters in the wealth management industry are looking for dynamic, flexible, outgoing young people.

Banks are becoming competitive in asset management, which is why we’re seeing an increase in job opportunities. When the recession hit five years ago, the public learned that the economy can be volatile. Unanswered questions about retirement plans, rising healthcare costs, and unexpected expenses were a shock, which lead people to start creating financial strategies.

According to Brent Allen, regional director with Investors Group in London, Ontario, people have started taking the time to make sure they understand their financial situation.

More importantly, they realize that they can’t do it alone. “You really need someone to sit down with you and build a detailed, written financial plan that is flexible.” Circumstances can change, and wealth management advisors help their clients adapt to stay on track.

Speaking of change, Allen has seen mortgage rates fluctuate dramatically over the past decade. “[And] we didn’t have a tax-free savings account when I started in 2004, but they introduced it in 2008. The people coming into our industry must be willing to embrace ongoing learning because every year, every budget, something comes out and you have to continue to retain and upgrade your knowledge.”

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

The most in-demand position in wealth management is financial consulting, and it’s more than just negotiating numbers and figures. Stocks and trades may make up the transaction side of the business, but financial planners are in the interaction business. “We really deal with the people—their emotions, goal planning, goal setting, and answering more complicated questions like where to invest your money.”

Allen adds that working for an independent planning company means you build your own practice and, in turn, create your own schedule. Young financial planners have the added bonus of being able to build their client base over multiple generations. That’s something that a tenured senior advisor simply can’t do.

Cliff Demarest is the managing principal of Consilium Wealth Advisory. He specializes in assisting affluent clients with estate planning, credit work, bill payments, even vacation planning. “We go in and we find small, tiny things like credit card fees, better cell phone plans, better places to buy all the materials for the lavish party they’re having,” he says.

“Even the wealthy overspend.”

Wealth advisors handle accounts in the multimillions, making this a pressure-filled career.

In order to reduce the stress involved, mitigating risks as a team is of the utmost importance.

“You need to be a collaborative, team-oriented person,” says Demarest. “The most prominent feature of that is sharing the stress and the workload with a series of other people, but you also create plans for what you’re doing on any one project or any one client.” He adds that by showing people these plans, showing the progress, and getting feedback, others feel reassured which alleviates stress overall.

Each client has different needs, so you have to adjust accordingly. Demarest finds that his firm often goes above and beyond for high-profile patrons. “Quite frankly, [some of our] clients have businesses and many times they’re not social media savvy. We train them, and sometimes their people, on how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many times we design websites for people and connect them with experts.” While it can be a time-consuming process, he says clients appreciate the extra effort.

Demarest recommends picking up the Wall Street Journal (or the Report on Business in the Globe and Mail as a Canadian equivalent) to get a sense of what’s going on in various markets. As for education, there are plenty of options. “The degrees that people look for today in financial services are the CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts), the CFP (Certified Financial Planner), and then the most recent one (and gaining popularity very quickly) is the CPWA (Certified Personal Wealth Advisor).”

But it’s not about academics alone. He also suggests studying economics and applying for an internship with a brokerage firm, money manager, or bank. A finance background is definitely an asset, but it’s not the only thing potential employers are looking for.

Allen says he looks for well-rounded team players, those with resumés that include extracurricular activities and volunteer experience. Also, student job fairs are great for getting your foot in the door, but you should avoid being too casual. “Have a firm handshake, say hello, introduce yourself, tell them that you’re looking at their firm, and that you’re interested in what opportunities might be there.” | Julie Skinner

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BUILDING BLOCKS

20

building blocks of engineering

Industry pros talk about what makes materials engineering an exciting career Have you ever wondered why certain materials are used to create stuff ? Who decides that oil pipelines should be made of carbon steel, or that high-strength, low-alloy steel should be used for truck frames and rail cars?

Materials engineers are the people who create and innovate materials like metal and minerals to ensure that they’re of the highest-quality and are appropriate for the product they’re being used for. This basically means that materials engineers specialize in understanding specific types of materials like ceramic and plastics, and develop, process, and test them. This is essential to the process of selecting which materials to use in important products like aircraft wings, as well as everyday products like golf clubs, tennis rackets, and skis. The job market for metallurgical and materials engineers has seen growth in recent years due to trends in the primary metal manufacturing industry, and because everyone needs products made of all sorts of different kinds of materials.

According to Benjamin Hatton, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, the job market for materials engineers is an interesting one to be a part of because there isn’t just one sort of industry or company that would hire a materials engineer. “Where materials engineers end up can be in many different kinds of companies because every company, more or less (if they make something), needs somebody on their staff to be looking at the materials involved, or how to improve it or test it, for quality control or sustainability,” he says. “So a lot of companies and a lot of different industries will take materials engineers. I know people who have gone to all kinds of different industries that they didn’t necessarily start out aiming for.”

Glenn Hibbard, associate professor in UofT’s materials science and engineering department, agrees. He says that many students in the university’s program find work in a wide variety of industries: “aerospace companies like Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney; electronic materials manufacturers like Celestica; nanotechnology companies like Integran; mining companies like Barrick Gold; manufacturers like Magna or Texas Instruments; or, more traditionally, metallurgical companies like ArcelorMittal Dofasco.”

While in school, an apprenticeship or co-op program may be valuable for students thinking of becoming materials engineers. “I think that apprenticeships are excellent to get some sort of hands-on experience,” says Hatton. “I think

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

you really learn a lot more about how a job really works and what kinds of things are important or interesting when you’re actually there.”

UofT offers their second- and third-year students a chance to participate in a Professional Experience Year, a paid internship program that spans 12–16 months (which gives students an average salary of $44,000). It gives students a great opportunity to “get practical experience during the course of their undergraduate degree,” says Hibbard.

Carol Brouillet, university relations advisor at metals and mining corporation Rio Tinto, says that when looking for a candidate for a materials engineering apprenticeship or internship, companies often look for students who “are serious about their studies. (so they should have a good GPA), are passionate about the industry, and ideally, speak another language,” which, she says, opens up opportunities for people to find work in other countries.

Brouillet also says that along with preparing for a career in materials engineering through practical experience, students need to keep in mind that the demand for materials engineers often stems from remote locations. “I find that a lot of students who are studying materials engineering [after they graduate] want to work in big cities,” she says. “The crucial thing for them to know is that if they want to work in this industry, they will most likely need to work in a remote location.” This is the reason she says it’s important that students are passionate about what they do because they may be required to do it in a place that they wouldn’t ideally choose to go.

“I think it’s the most interesting [form of engineering] because it’s the foundation for everything else. It is actually a really cool discipline” says Hibbard.

“Every other type of engineering depends on the materials available to them. It’s an enabling discipline. We [materials engineers] are kind of the ones who are behind the scenes and help the other disciplines do what they do.” | Kate Aenlle

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THE RIGHT INTERNSHIP

22

Picking the right interns

It’s the end of the winter semester: do you know what you’ll be Once exams are done, some lucky students and graduates get to jet off to exotic locations for some rest and relaxation before starting their lives in the ‘real world.’ Most students and new grads, however, must immediately begin the daunting task of trying to navigate their way through what seems like an endless list of internship opportunities, with hopes of finding the holy grail of post–post-secondary education: full-time employment.

More and more, it is becoming common practice for students to look for an internship as opposed to paid, full-time work, because many available full-time positions require years of experience in the field. The hope then becomes to gain relevant experience through an internship, with the possible added bonus (fingers crossed) of a modest stipend. Unfortunately, not all internships are paid, which can seem irrelevant if the work experience can bring you closer to finding full-time work elsewhere.

But how do you decipher which internships are actually relevant and valuable to have in order to get closer to attaining your career goals, especially when the term “intern” can mean anything from a four-month contract to run errands and do menial labour to actual on-the-job training from industry professionals? The truth is, not all internships are created equal, and we’re here to help you sort through them so you can make the right choice when internship application season— formerly known as summer—arrives.

While there are lots of good internships out there, there are still certainly some that could use a bit of improvement. Ian Metcalfe, former intern from Toronto, shares an uncomfortable and unrelated-to-his-career-path internship experience which involved spending a day looking for size 13F sneakers for their boss’ mother who had elephantiasis feet. Metcalfe was given clear directions that he could not come back empty-handed. Although he did eventually find said footwear, he was still later fired. The tale might seem scarring, but was shrugged off by Metcalfe as being “pretty funny.” If only all bad internship experiences could be laughed off.

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

If you feel like you’re not getting the experience that you hoped for (even if it is a paid internship), should you leave?

There are plenty of disheartening intern tales, like being made to retype and rewrite a “to-do list from a piece of notebook paper four different ways: into excel, as a word doc, onto individual post-its, and then re-written in my neater handwriting” for their boss. These experiences that leave the intern without any new, relevant work experience, or any sort of compensation for doing the menial tasks they’ve been assigned, is one of the reasons why Claire Seaborn, chair of the Canadian Intern Association, founded the organization in 2012. “[Founding the organization] wasn’t something that I planned to do at all,” says Seaborn, also a second-year law student at the University of Ottawa. That is, until she realized that, “there isn’t really any advocate for unpaid/interns in Canada, and that the issue isn’t very well understood. A lot of people are not aware of the legal aspect of unpaid internships or about the rights that interns have.”

So, before going off to find your dream internship, and hopefully your dream job not long after, we thought we’d give you some tips to ensure that you gain valuable experience from your chosen internship.

Get the specifics It’s always good to read and re-read a job posting before applying to ensure that you can be well-prepared to be interviewed by a potential employer. But what about once you’re actually being interviewed?

“Potential interns should ask their employer about the duration of the internship,” says Seaborn. “A lot of people just take internships for an indeterminate amount of time; if the

employer is perhaps promising a paid position in the future, try to get a specific period of how long you have to work unpaid before you’re going to start to get paid for that work.”

In addition, you should make sure to have a clear outline of the kinds of tasks you will be doing. While “it’s really important that people get on-the-job training, because it’s really, really helpful,” says David Macfarlane, columnist for the Toronto Star, he suspects that if students aren’t careful, they can be easily taken advantage of by their superiors. “It’s [internships] really regarded as a kind of free labour by a lot places that don’t really have much interest in educating the intern,” he says, which unfortunately leaves interns feeling like they’ve been taken advantage of.

Earn that money (maybe) Everyone wants a paid internship, but not everyone is going to get one. The best thing to do is try and take advantage of the internship you do have, and make it work for you.

“My younger brother did an unpaid internship for the Comedy Network in Toronto, and his internship was a month long,” said Seaborn. “He received school credit at Queen’s University, which was great. He wrote documents, sat in on meetings, and did lots of interesting things. He really felt like he learned from the industry, and he was also asked back the following summer for paid employment” She said that aside from leading to a paid position, an internship like her brother’s is an example of what a truly successful internship experience should be, because it was educational and gave her brother an opportunity to learn new skills. Skills which, if he weren’t hired on the following summer, he could take to another potential employer.

THE RIGHT INTERNSHIP

23

internship

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE (A PAID INTERN)

e doing this summer?

This is the reason why Seaborn isn’t discouraging young people from taking on an unpaid internship. Before you skip over all of the unpaid internship ads, Seaborn suggests taking advantage of your internship by asking employers if they’re willing to let you shadow them to see their day-to-day activities. “Don’t be shy to ask the employer if you could help draft something for them or if you could research something that interests you, if you feel like your work isn’t giving you the experience that you were hoping to get,” she says.

Know when to go If you feel like you’re not getting the experience that you hoped for (even if it is a paid internship), should you leave? It may be hard to bid adieu to an internship, with all of its promise of experience and knowledge, but if you haven’t signed a contract, “you would have no reason why you need to stay at that place of employment,” Seaborn says. “I don’t think people should feel required to finish the duration of their internship, as long as they give some sort of notice.”

Macfarlane agrees. “Really, life’s too short. I don’t think you have to be rude, and you don’t have to be abrupt about it, but I think you should let it be known that this isn’t working out the way you’d hoped it would, and that you’ve got all sorts of other things you’d like to be doing, and get on with other things.”

No matter what sort of internship you get this summer—paid or unpaid—“There’s really no point sitting in a job where you’re putting filing cards in alphabetical order or something like that, if it’s not providing you [work experience],” says Macfarlane. “Sometimes just being in a workplace provides you with insight, and you have to take that into account. It may be that the job you’re doing isn’t teaching you much, but just being there is teaching you something. But if that’s not even happening, then I think you have to look for something that’s going to be profitable, whether it be actually profitable, or at least, experientially profitable.” | Kate Aenlle

You are essentially a contract worker paid minimum wage.

Paid interships don’t always translate to minimum wage.

You are more likely to find a job after a paid internship.

Paid internships are harder to find than unpaid internships.

If you feel unhappy, it is much easier to leave.

You are essentially a volunteer, which is fine... I guess

Unpaid internships are easier to find than paid internships.

The obvious con you’ve been waiting for: no wages.

APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

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Making the cut: the how-to on landing a spot in a business incubator By: Megan Santos

INCUBATE YOUR STARTUP

28

You’re a student with a creative mind and a brilliant business plan. You believe in it, and others do too. The endless research and sleepless nights have prepared you for the Dragons’ Den. Well, not the CBC show we were all thinking of, but rather something called an incubator—a different yet resourceful approach to kick-starting your business.

A business incubator is a specially designed program that provides office space, services, and support resources for start-up businesses.

To simplify, it can be compared to the literal definition of an incubator: an enclosed apparatus providing a controlled environment for the care of premature babies. Understand the concept now? Business incubators provide nurture and care for early-stage businesses through office space and close mentorship over a period a time, depending on the program. Essentially, an incubator’s role is to improve the chances of a business’s success past its start-up stage.

As interested as all of you idea-booming entrepreneurs might be right now, it is important to remember that business incubators aren’t drop-in classes. Hopefuls need to go through a competitive application process where their ideas are carefully measured and judged before consideration for acceptance. Some business incubators request a small entrance fee for access to their services, particularly office space, while others take a small percentage of equity from startups.

TechStars, a business incubator notorious for its extremely competitive admittance rate, is one of the most prestigious incubators in the world. With its acceptance rate of less than one per cent, only 14 savvy business startups will make the cut out of nearly 1,500 hopefuls. Ultimately, the cut will hurt, but the goal of all incubators is to guide only the best-of-the-best young businesses and increase the likelihood of it staying in the market.

So, young entrepreneurs, do you think you’re ready now? As of today, there are well over 100 business incubators in Canada, which have fortés in a number of industries from technology to fashion. Before you commence your search for the perfect incubator, you must take the proper steps to ensuring your application isn’t overlooked. Here are four helpful tips to check off your list:

Have a business plan First thing’s first: a plan is a strict requirement.

This doesn’t mean an idea scribbled on a piece of lined paper with your most important points highlighted in fluorescent yellow; it must be a

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | APRIL 2013

thought-out and researched plan that covers all areas of your proposed business, in detail of course.

INcubes, a Toronto-based technology accelerator, has a rigorous three-step application process, which includes an initial application and customized questionnaire wherein hopefuls have the chance to pitch their business ideas. An advisory board then examines it until a new cohort of entrepreneurs is formed. CEO and founder Ben Zlotnick explains the importance of experience and an innovative plan.

“We want to make sure that they work as a team, and if they’re in a very specific sector, that they have experience coming from that area,” says Zlotnick. “Rather than being like ‘oh this is a great idea and I would love to do it,’ if they really have no backup from that, then why are they the right person to do that?”

Jay El-Kaake, CEO and co-founder of Sweet Tooth, a business-to-business software company, explains the importance of creating an idea that’s not only likable, but something the public would actually use.

“If people are actually using what you’re saying will get used,” says El-Kaake, “then you’ve taken a leap now ahead of millions of other people who have ideas and very smart brains.”

Sweet Tooth had its big business push when they were a part of an incubation program at the Acceleration Centre in Waterloo, Ontario.

Just a short year after their acceptance to the program, Sweet Tooth, whose purpose is to develop loyalty programs for e-commerce businesses, raised $2.3 million in financing—not a bad start for a group of 20-somethings from Waterloo.

Incubators want more than just a good idea “The idea is the least important,” says ElKaake when describing the most crucial factors young entrepreneurs must review before considering an incubation program. As contrary as that sounds, it’s really what goes on behind the scenes that can make or break your idea.

“You have to have a strong team. It’s usually comprised of an engineer, a leader, and design,” he says. “It allows the product to move

INCUBATE YOUR STARTUP

29

forward, because you can’t market it or sell it until the product is actually built.”

A solid team will be the foundation where that brilliant idea of yours can flourish. It isn’t always about teaming up with your closest friends, although those who have had friendships in the past were proven to have a slight advantage over business partners who have not. Instead, it’s important to build the team around those with a common positive goal and an overall strong team dynamic.

Secondly, El-Kaake questions: “If you put anyone who is creative in a room, they’ll come up with a million ideas, but are they ideas that people are willing to use?”

He then proposed the idea of a floating chair. (Genius, right?) It sounds a lot like a product everyone would craze over at its launch, but would likely amount to nothing in the end. Try to avoid any chance of your product or service becoming a fad by ensuring it remains marketable.

“Are they ideas that people are willing to pay for?” El-Kaake asks. “If they’re willing to pay for it, then you’re solving a problem in the world.”

Revenue is key to the success of any business, but can only accumulate if it’s a good enough service to make people buy into it. The 24-yearold Sweet Tooth co-founder adds that incubators are keen on supporting businesses that could potentially solve real-world problems, thus came the elimination of the floating chair.

Have an open mind Negative Nancies are not permitted in business incubators.

Ultimately, your startup’s goal is to learn how to make it in the real world. With that, a constant positive attitude is required. Before clicking the submit button on your screen and waiting for the callback from the incubator, you have to realize the crossroads that may come with the experience.

“One of the important things, from hearing from the startup businesses, is a lot of them say ‘I’ve developed this great game, now how do I get this to market?’” says Alice Lee, project manager for the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at Toronto’s George Brown College.

IMAGES: © ISTOCK.COM

Lee observed this as one of the biggest struggles teams come across while at the incubator.

“They’re so focused on finessing the product that they don’t always know how to take it after they’ve developed it.”

While this continues to be a pressing issue for some startup businesses, Lee says part of the role of the incubator is to help them along the way. What’s needed in return is an open-minded entrepreneur.

INcubes CEO Ben Zlotnick refers back to the team dynamic and asks startup businesses to reevaluate their colleagues. He says bumps and bruises will happen during the process, but to always ensure a solid group of people are working behind you.

“If they are the right people on the team then you now have the ability not only to create lots of potential for yourself, but you are now able to create jobs within this community and within this economy,” says Zlotnick.

Remember, little things count Sure, you have an education in web development with the highest GPA in your graduating class, but sadly a career won’t always be waiting for you after you’ve shaken the Dean’s hand and walked off stage. Daniel Saks, CEO and co-founder of AppDirect, says his company looks for extracurricular activities when recruiting for their incubator program.

“One of the key things for students, especially early on, is to show that outside of school there are a lot of things that are motivating you,” says Saks.

That can mean anything from joining a sports club to volunteering in an engineering group to a enrolling in a developer’s class. The Ontarioborn web developer strongly recommends that students pile on their activities outside of academics to stand out from other applicants.

When the time comes to send that revised business idea, Saks suggests students think about long-term potential when selecting an incubator program. There are a countless number of incubators across the country, so Saks advises to find a place with more stability, one that is thoroughly trained and venture-funded.

“One of the concerns I have for students going into an incubator right away is that if it fails, you’re in a tougher spot to be recruiting for jobs in the future,” says Saks.

Once the final review of these four steps is complete, you’re ready for that big-kid push into an incubator program. | Megan Santos

APRIL 2013 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

U

By: Kate Aenlle

strategies unting h job Unconventional How to stand out from the crowd and land that job!

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We’ve all heard the tales of the lucky ones who walk up to big-league employers, ask for jobs, and just get them. Are these stories simply urban legends, keeping our hope alive that, one day, we too will find full-time employment with the company of our dreams?

Recently, an article in the Business Insider talked about how one young man crafted a blunt, honest, and clever cover letter in the hopes of getting an internship with a finance company. By writing things like “the truth is I have no unbelievably special skills or genius eccentricities, but I do have a near perfect GPA and will work hard for you” and “in all honesty, I just want to be around professionals in the industry and gain as much knowledge as I can,” he got a favourable response from multiple finance companies who appreciated his unique way of trying to find a job—and, more importantly, wanted to hire him!

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positions that they need to fill within a company through keyword searches online. They started to search for candidates this way when the recession hit because the job hunt became exponentially more competitive.

Once job opportunities became harder to come by, companies who advertised job openings were bombarded by thousands of resumés and there just wasn’t an effective system to sort through the constant flow of resumés submitted for a select few job opportunities. Although “they still had jobs, they stopped advertising them,” says Perry. This is why “the simple way to find a job—fast—is to make sure you’re online, whether it be LinkedIn, Zoominfo, or Facebook. Make sure that you can be found using the keywords an employer would use to find someone that’s got your skill set. Then you’re answering the phone rather than leaving another jumbled, fumbled voice message for an employer who’s not going to call you back.”

the simple way to find a job—fast—is to make sure you’re online, whether it be LinkedIn, Zoominfo, or Facebook Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all be this lucky?

Although the idea of having a full-time job offered to you seems appealing (and, frankly, a little miraculous), finding your dream job isn’t just about getting lucky; it’s about getting noticed and hired for your talents, skills, and experience. But how do you get noticed when employers are flooded with a sea of resumés from candidates that are just as qualified as you? David Perry, author of Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0, says that the biggest mistake people make when looking for a job is “to go looking for a job.” In an age where we quite literally have unlimited resources at our finger tips, it may be wise to think outside the box when trying to find that perfect career.

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“The easiest way to find a job is to figure out what you want to do, who you want to work for, and then get them to call you,” says Perry. Sounds simple enough, except most people still venture into the traditional send-your-resume-and-cover-letter-to-apotential-employer route, and don’t know how to just get employers to call them. He says that to get ahead and stand out, people shouldn’t scrap their cover letters and resumés. He says that people in search of a job need to make themselves accessible for potential employers who are now using the Boolean method to find candidates.

According to Perry, the Boolean method, (or a Boolean search), is a tool that employers are using to find best-qualified candidates for

Like Perry, Ian Greenleigh, manager of content and social strategy at Bazaarvoice, knows the value of having an online presence. He found his job simply by being connected online. “I got my job using a Facebook ad, pointed at the employers at the top of my list,” he says. “Three weeks later and [having spent] less than $200 in total, I had multiple offers.” This is the sort of creative approach that employers are looking for.

The idea of using this type of strategy came to him after reading a blog post about another job seeker named Grant Turck who had used Facebook ads to find employment. Greenleigh thought it could be an effective way to find a job and, after a meeting with Turck to go over his strategy, he went forward and started a targeted Facebook ad for the kind of job he was looking for. In addition to the ad, Greenleigh also put a ‘Hire Me’ page on his blog with a link to his advertisement on Facebook.

The experience, to Greenleigh, was inspiring.

“Even before the first click, I felt a renewed optimism. I was doing something different, something only a handful of people had tried—ever.”

Sites like meetup.com are also a great tool to get yourself noticed by potential employers.

Meetup.com alerts you to social and networking events happening in your area that are geared towards your field of interest. With a few clicks of your mouse, you could be receiving email notifications of networking events that you can attend, which could potentially

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of Theonera Inc., suggests taking a less radical approach and starting by fine-tuning your resumé and cover letter in order to appeal to potential employers by doing something a little bit different. “Offer potential employers something like a PowerPoint presentation or a video resumé,” he says. “Those things have a much greater chance of getting you noticed and hence getting hired.”

lead to connecting with an employer and finding a job.

Don’t underestimate the power of utilizing the many online tools are your disposal. Greenleigh discovered how beneficial online resources were to his job hunt, and he says, “what I found was a social side door, a way around the barriers that pose constant threats to our forward progress.”

Barriers to finding your dream job don’t stop with the thousands of other people who are also in search of their dream jobs. In fact, sometimes, before you even encounter the competition, you have to battle it out with yourself first.

“College students often drown in the job search because they lack direction. If they pick a destination and start swimming there as hard as they can, they’ll land an offer,” says Alan Carniol, creator of InterviewSuccessFormula.com.

He says that after students have asked themselves tough questions like ‘what do I want to do’ and ‘who do I want to work for,’ they should also consider changing their attitude towards the job hunt.

“In practical terms, college seniors need to stop saying ‘I need a job, any job. Someone please help me.’ Instead, they need to say ‘I really want to try working in xyz industry, doing abc job. I should reach out to alumni from my school who work at those places and ask all of my family and friends who they might know there as well.’”

He also understands that this is sometimes easier said than done, so he suggests thinking about the things that interest you most, and trying to figure out how that may fit into a career in an industry you want to work in. “Remember, you aren’t married to your first job and can always switch later,” he says.

Roy Cohen, a career counsellor, executive coach, and author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, agrees with Carniol.

“Convey your passion for what you want and make sure you can show why you want it. Enthusiasm that is directionless serves no purpose and is a waste of time.”

How do you convey that you’re passionate about a career? “Focus on how you can distinguish yourself,” Cohen says, “and make up for lack of experience through additional training and certifications. Often, older employees are less committed to professional training and development, so what you lack in hands-on experience, you offset through continuing education.”

For recent grads who can’t quite picture going back to school just yet, John Francis, president

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!@#$%

Scott Vedder, author of Signs of a Great Resumé, has created a method to remember exactly what to include in your resumé.

“I like to say that your resumé should be full of !@#$%.”

Adding any part of your experience that was amazing Defining points, places, dates, and things in your experience Show numbers that quantify and prove your past successes Be sure to mention the dollar value of your contributions Finally figures that easily show growth and results

However, if you want to stick to something a bit more traditional yet still stand out, Perry says that resumés and cover letters do work, but “most candidates forget that the purpose of a resumé and cover letter is to explain to the employer, ‘Here’s what’s in it for you [if you hire me].’ A big mistake students make is that “when they go looking for a job, in a cover letter, they say, ‘I, I, I. Me, me, me.’” He says this often proves to be ineffective because employers want to know how hiring you will benefit their company, not how their company will benefit you.

“You start your cover letter and swap out the I’s and me’s, and replace them with you’s and you’re,” he says. “For example, instead of writing, ‘I would like an organization where I can advance and use my six months of experience in project management at Dairy Queen,’ you say, ‘You will benefit from my six months experience in project management at the Dairy Queen.’”

Scott Vedder agrees. “Instead of writing a resumé that reads like a job description, be sure you use specific examples to quantify what makes you a great candidate.”

Now, what happens if you’ve put the new job hunting strategies you learned to use and you land yourself an interview? Perry suggests treating your job interview as if it were a blind date that someone was setting you up on. Basically, get to know your potential employer during your interview.

“Ask some preliminary questions like, ‘Who are you?’ ‘What’s this all about?’ ‘What’s the opportunity about?’ ‘Why did you call me?’ ‘Why do you think we’d be a good fit?’” He says that by doing this, you encourage the employer or recruiter to tell you what’s in it for you. “So rather than you fumbling all over yourself, you’re now forcing the employer to tell you about the job,” he says. “And it changes, psychologically, the dynamic between candidate and recruiter, or candidate and employer. Now suddenly, you’re on an equal playing field, and you end up having a discussion about the opportunity or a discussion about their needs, as opposed to you trying to

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pitch yourself or pigeonhole yourself into that opportunity.” Cohen says, “When you have an interview, go above and beyond to show that you are committed and hard-working. For example, if you interview with a hedge fund to be a junior analyst, prepare an analysis to show how you think and how smart you are.”

Even with all of the job hunting tools and experience you have on your side, there may be times that finding a job in your chosen industry proves to be difficult. If you’ve explored all the different avenues for your job search and are still finding less than desirable results, don’t be discouraged. Perry says that perhaps looking for an internship could be a fantastic idea, “providing that the internship is with one of the companies, or within the field that they eventually want to work in.”

Interning may also be a good idea if you’re looking for a job, but are unsure of what you want to do. Internships give you a chance to

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Internships give you a chance to explore different industries you feel you may be interested in working for, and you may even be able to turn an internship into an offer explore different industries you feel you may be interested in working for, and you may even be able to turn an internship into an offer, or at the very least, extend the internship so as to establish a meaningful relationship with the hiring manager who can provide a strong reference while you expand your skill set. “Volunteer for the heavy lifting. No task or request is too small or too mundane,” says Cohen. “Your goal as an intern is to accumulate valuable hands-on experience, establish good will, and to build your resumé.”

It’s important to note that there are many, many ways to go about your job hunt because oftentimes people stick to one method that they may have learned early on, and then feel

discouraged when that method doesn’t work for them. You shouldn’t be afraid to explore different methods to find what you’re looking for because the creative way you find a job not only shows your potential employers that you’re a resourceful and smart candidate, but also that you’re passionate enough about your career to explore unconventional ways to find a job. No matter what strategy you use to find a job, however, whether it be through a Facebook ad, networking events, or a video resumé, the key is to stay positive and keep your mind focused on your ultimate goal: finding a job. As long as you keep your end goal in your sights, you will have a successful hunt, and hopefully the career you’ve been dreaming of.

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BUSINESS FRANCHISING

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Turning your business

into a franchise BY : Megan Santos

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“It was really an idea that came to me in an odd place; it was at a McDonalds drive-thru,” says Brian Scudamore when asked how he got the inspiration for what is now 1-800-GOTJUNK? back in 1989. The junk-hauling founder says he noticed a pickup truck lined up in front of him with “Mark’s Hauling” inked on the truck’s plywood side panels. “A week later, I bought myself a pickup truck and formed a company called The Rubbish Boys.” However, Scudamore’s transition from The Rubbish Boys to 1-800-GOT-JUNK? wasn’t anything near an overnight success; it was a 10-year process from local business to North American franchise.

Oftentimes, entrepreneurs pitch their great ideas hoping to open up shops all over the country before establishing a business that’s proven to succeed. According to President and CEO of the Canadian Franchise Association Lorraine McLachlan, she finds this troubling. “One of the hallmarks of franchising is that you are dealing with a proven concept,” she says.

Prove it So you have your concept with the dream of turning it into a franchise one day. That day won’t be tomorrow, but with the right idea, team, and resources, it increases the chances of that dream becoming a reality.

“Franchising is a very powerful and very viable way of expanding a proven business, and that really is the key,” says McLachlan. “What a university student would have to do is have a great idea for a business, open up that business, and run it for a while themselves—possibly have a couple corporate locations or more— before they start contemplating franchising.”

Ultimately, becoming a franchisor is the step above owning a stand-alone business. It requires years of experience and proven success in the market before an entrepreneur can consider expansion. One important characteristic the business must have, according to McLachlan, is knowing whether the work can be replicated by others or not. To flourish in different cities, provinces, and even countries, the business must be able to survive under the ownership of other franchisees. If that’s a missing piece, “don’t try to get a franchisee to pay for the testing of your business concept,” McLachlan warns.

Money, money, money It’s not cheap to own a business, so it won’t be any easier if you have your sights on becoming a franchisor. Start-up costs and legal fees are just two of the expenses you’ll have to face when looking to expand your business.

“Becoming a franchisor, it was a lot of money,”

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says Scudamore. “It was a lot of money for a small business that I had, which was doing by the million in revenue at the time, and I had to spend a couple-hundred-thousand dollars on legal fees to register to sell my franchise in the United States.” 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is most famous for its purple-and-green hauling trucks and junk pick-up services. The franchise, which started in BC in the late 90s, has since expanded to notable metropolitan cities like Toronto and Seattle, and even as far as Australia.

Bill Redfern, founder, president, and chief executive officer for A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections, says franchisor hopefuls should be aware of the initial expenses they will face. “In setting up a franchise company, there’s an awful lot of upfront costs. You have to have an idea and whether it’s viable or not is of course the million-dollar question.” A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections, which provides residential and commercial inspections to those looking to invest in a new home or area, originated in Nova Scotia and has expanded to six countries worldwide in just seven years. Included in expansion costs are the production of manuals, disclosure documents for prospective purchasers, branding and marketing materials, and websites—just some other expenses that must be accounted for your franchise.

have determined that their business can be replicated by somebody else.” And the more popular the brand is, the more franchisees will be drawn to it. “The larger the brand, the stronger the brand, the more that is true.”

Secrets to success The taste of success couldn’t be sweeter for franchisor Brian Scudamore who turned his 1989 junk-hauling inspiration into 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. He’s hit about $120 million in revenue today with business in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

“We went from a point where we had five trucks, we hit $1 million in revenue and it really became an opportunity where I saw that this could grow into many markets beyond just Vancouver where we started,” says Scudamore.

Knowing there were cities larger than Vancouver, he decided to expand to other metropolitan areas where he thought his purple and green junk-hauling trucks would find most success.

On the flip side, as an aspiring franchisee, operating a franchise comes with much less baggage than owning a stand-alone business. While you do technically own your own business, “you don’t own the exclusive rights to the name of the business and the proprietary operating system,” says McLachlan. With that said, you’ll be running the store, business, or service on your own with a set of people you’ve employed, but essentially you’ll be replicating the operating system set by the franchisor.

What’s his secret to success? Scudamore says it’s creating a vision, or what he likes to call a painted picture. “It’s one page, double-sided, of what the company looks, feels, and will act like in a point in the future,” he explains.

“I paint this picture that I then share with every employee, every franchise partner, everyone that’s involved, and they read and identify with this picture.”

This one ingredient has proven the success of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? when he explained the original painted picture for his franchise.

“In 1997, I created my first painted picture and said we will be in the top 30 metros in North America by the end of 2003, and we did hit exactly 30 metros, and we did it 15 days before the December 31 deadline.” Scudamore’s success didn’t stop there. He and a partner have since launched WOW 1 DAY! Painting—yes, they paint your whole house in one day—and he’s hoping to franchise a moving business called You Move Me.

“The advantage is that you are going into a concept that has already been proven,” says McLachlan. “So somebody else developed it, hopefully worked out all the kinks, and they

Bill Redfern says his inspiration to franchise came from his decade-long background in real estate sales. “I had a thought after using many inspectors over the years that left a lot to be de-

Why franchise?

If you could own your own business and be successful at your job, why turn it into a franchise?

Redfern says if your dream is to expand your business, it’s difficult to do it on your own.

“When you could tie a business model to using individual entrepreneurs with their own invested funds in the business [and] an invested interest to succeed and to earn their livelihood and build a future for themselves, then that creates a really neat opportunity for everybody,” he says. Sharing your proven concept with people who have an equal interest and skill set in your concept can turn your local business into a worldwide brand name.

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sired. After using the service through the real estate service, we saw an opportunity that we could do better and on a broader scale.”

Redfern observes that the franchisees who keep pushing for sales and inspections are the ones who succeed at the end of the day.

“In building any business, there’s going to be lots of ups and downs. You have to take the positives and be prepared for the negatives and carry on.” | Megan Santos

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WHERE WE STAND OUR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PUTS MORE DOCTORS IN US HEALTH CARE THAN 2/3RDS OF US MEDICAL SCHOOLS LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER WITH A RARE COMBINATION OF CLINICAL AND CULTURAL SKILLS WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT ©2013 St. George’s University

US/Canada: 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 9 1280 sgu.edu/future-students • sguenrolment@ sgu.edu

Grenada, West Indies

TIME STRATEGY

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Anyone who cannot manage their tasks will soon get sucked into a vortex of chaos Get back to work!

Not doing the trick? All right, let’s start off with some real ways on how to manage your time, prioritize your tasks, and avoid procrastination. Why? ‘Cause these skills can mean the difference between keeping your new job and crashing on your parents’ couch.

“When the projects I work on meet delays, that means money is not coming in on schedule,” says Richard Salmon, senior legal counsel for Canada Post. “When we’re hiring, it’s generally because we need help ASAP. Anyone who cannot manage their tasks will soon get sucked into a vortex of chaos. I’ll probably have to help fix things, and that means that demands on my time are going to increase, not decrease.”

explore career choices, complete career assessments, learn more about resume-building and interview prep, and effectively engage in networking and company information events.

These are all while you’re cramming for exams and writing papers. However, if you want a job, you have to use every tool you can. And that takes time.

Keep it simple

So don’t just find it. Make it.

Experience proves the best solution is a lowtech one. “I have experimented with all kinds of time management solutions,” says Salmon. “Many of them had atrocious interfaces and required more time to enter data than I would spend on the tasks I was trying to keep track of.”

Monica’s centralized to-do list is simple and effective. “First, you set categories,” she says, “like academic, work, and personal. List all the different items, anything you can think of.”

He writes his tasks in a Word document, and then writes the tasks he will tackle that day on paper. The priority of this short list is constantly revised according to the estimated payoff, time limits, and effort required of each. Not fancy, but it gets the job done.

“Get a calendar, and plug in the items from the to-do list. This helps you see snapshots on a weekly or even daily basis. It keeps you on task and keeps your deadlines at your attention. It also fights procrastination, because if you know you have between 2 and 4 p.m. to work on your research paper, you’ll be motivated by its time-sensitive nature.”

But, remember: you have to get the job in the first place.

Make the time To do so, people like Monica Colibaba, executive career coach at Queen’s University’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario, offers one-on-one meetings to help students

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Once you have your list, resist the urge to jump from the nearest skyscraper. Break it down into doable bits.

This time-budgeting method works perfectly for Mark Evans, MBA student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who even uses it to have some fun. “I make sure that when I sit down to work, I really work. When I’m not working, I do nothing but relax. This

puts me in a better mood for when I get to work and helps deal with stress.” If he can still thrive in school after six years, you can believe he’s got his stress under control.

Stop Procrastinating Right Now! These methods might work for the diligent go-getter, but what if you’re prone to chronic procrastination?

Here are some quick things you can actually do rather than just read another article on procrastination: Prepare. Make sure you have all the tools and space you need: good lighting, a pack of pens, headphones, a gallon of chocolate milk— whatever it takes.

Set rules. Things like Facebook only once an hour or Walking Dead after I finish this assignment.

Inform. Tell others about the rules and about your projects. It’s easy to break rules when no one knows you’re breaking them. If you don’t want people to see you’re slacking, tell them your goals and then let guilt be your guide!

There’s no one-size-fits-all method to master these skills, but this quote by author David Kadavy comes close: “Productivity is less about time management than it is about mind management.” | Christopher Lawson

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SEALING THE DEAL

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Sealing the deal The importance of saying thank you So you’ve left an interview feeling confident that you’ll get the job. All you have to do now is sit back and wait for that comforting “you’re hired” phone call, right? Wrong.

Hiring professionals agree there’s one final yet very important step that dates back to the generations of old. It’s a phrase that’s been ingrained in most of us since childhood and it doesn’t stop when we’re out on the job hunt.

We need to say “thank you.”

A carefully constructed, well-timed, handwritten thank-you note could be the missing puzzle piece to land you the job you really want. And, as old-school as handwriting a thank-you note sounds, according to experts, it’s the best way to gain an advantage over other applicants.

“I was a guest on Canada AM recently and on the wall of the green room I noticed a bunch of thank-you notes from guests and one of them was from Lionel Richie, and I was reminded that even global stars use thank-you notes to make themselves memorable,” says Alan Kearns, founder of CareerJoy, a Canada-wide career coaching and counselling service. “So if Lionel Richie sends thank-you notes, you know they’re important.”

While sending a quick email or even tweeting a thank-you might be the instinctual response for most students in our technological age, it’s actually the reverse approach that leaves your name fresh on a prospective employer’s mind.

“The way things have changed with employment and technology, it’s looking for those

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added edges every chance you can to make an impression and leave an impression,” says Irene Wallace, employment facilitator at Camosun College in Victoria, BC. “Handwritten cards are seemingly passé but, believe it or not, it’s coming back into our approaches. Some students see them as unusual, and sometimes they’re just not sure if it’s a good move to send one. But it is.”

Recent graduate Nick Noble got a full-time job at Risdall Marketing Group, a new media agency, three weeks before he got his undergraduate degree in business and marketing education. How did he come across such amazing timing?

“I emailed the online marketing group president and thanked him for talking with us during an intern-for-a-day event,” explains Noble. “I also included a couple of questions about the industry and asked how I could improve my skills. He responded and asked me if I would be interested in interviewing.”

If a simple thank-you email can make an employer perk up and take notice, experts advise that a well-planned, personalized thank-you card can work absolute wonders.

“It’s the immediacy of follow-up, and people are looking to see how reliable you are,” says Wallace. “It’s an excellent way to create an impression, and it works.”

“Getting mail is a rare thing now, especially a handwritten card,” agrees Kearns. “There’s that book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and I actually disagree. It’s all about the small stuff.” | Jason Schreurs

A thank-you card how-to Thank-you notes are a must for a successful job interview follow-up. But how should they be presented? What should be included? And what’s the ultimate goal?

“The number one goal is to thank the person. Never forget that,” says CareerJoy founder Alan Kearns.

Kearns and Camosun College Employment Facilitator Irene Wallace agree notes should be in the form of a simple, handwritten card that’s relevant, genuine, and timely.

Cards should be mailed in or dropped off as soon as possible after the interview and well before the hiring deadline. They should also be handwritten on the outside of the envelope, to signify a personal touch and set them apart from junk mail.

The message inside the card should thank the employer for the interview and express the desire for a possible follow-up. However, it shouldn’t force the issue or attempt to sell your wares all over again, warns Wallace. Instead, it should strategically and briefly reiterate one or two things that you can bring to the company.

“And anything you’ve forgotten or wish you had said during the interview, you slide that in,” says Wallace.

Most importantly, a thank-you should be error-free and legible. “And if you’re not good at handwriting,” says Kearns, “have someone else write it out for you.”

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SPRING 2013 continuing education

mediastudies.humber.ca/ce 416-675-6622 ext 4508/4678 cesmsit@humber.ca

The trut

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TRUTH ABOUT RRSPS

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truth about RRSPs It’s never too early to start saving, but is it ever too late?

If you’ve just finished university and are about to start your first job, figuring out how to start saving for your retirement probably isn’t high up on your to-do list, (far below bigger concerns like celebrating your graduation, going on a well-deserved vacation, or [the often dreaded] grad school applications). So, if you’re worried that your piggy bank is feeling a little bit empty just after graduation—don’t.

An article in the Investment Executive notes, “80 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 do not feel confident that they will be able to save for retirement,” according to a study conducted by BMO Financial Group.

While the numbers seem alarming, Kareim Abbouda, a consultant for Investors Group Financial Services Inc, doesn’t think people who haven’t started to contribute to an RRSP need to panic. Depending on your financial situation, setting up and contributing to an RRSP doesn’t necessarily have a best-before date. “I’ve seen people in their mid-forties, and they’ve never contributed to an RRSP,” he says.

Phillip Nelson, a financial planner at the Bank of Montreal, agrees. “New graduates should weigh the benefit of starting an RRSP right away versus quickly paying down their student debt,” while an article in the Globe and Mail suggests doing the latter first. New graduates, (as well as everyone else), have many financial obligations, and it’s important to keep in mind that as a newly graduated person, you don’t have to try and fulfil all your financial duties at once.

Experts say that it may be unrealistic to

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save money in an RRSP while paying down student debt, a monthly rent or mortgage, as well as other bills. So, they suggest taking care of your more immediate financial obligations like student debts; once you’ve begun to make more money, start to contribute to an RRSP. By that time, even if you still haven’t started to contribute to an RRSP, “you should still have plenty of time to catch up and enjoy a comfortable retirement,” writes Josh O’Kane in an article for the Globe and Mail.

New grads should weigh the benefit of starting an RRSP right away versus quickly paying down their student debt.

One way students and new graduates can save money before they’re financially capable of contributing to an RRSP is with a TFSA (tax-free savings account), which is “an absolutely tremendous vehicle” for saving, says Andrew Dedousis, a senior wealth advisor at Meridian. “If your income is lower, something that could work really well is to take advantage of the taxfree savings account.”

There are many differing opinions on the matter of when or how to start saving for your future and retirement—once you’ve factored in your individual financial situation, things can get quite confusing. What seems to be the most obvious strategy is to try and save your money in any way that you can, whether it be through a TFSA or an RRSP, depending on your income bracket. For example, Abbouda says, “If [a student] is going to be a teacher, and [they] know that over the next few years it’s going to be a stable income but it’s not necessarily going to grow very much from now to five years’ time, this would be an opportune time for him to start looking at an RRSP.” However, that may not be the case for every industry. Lawyers, who typically make more of an annual income than teachers, also usually have a larger amount of student debt. Abbouda suggests that these students “focus on paying back their student loans. One of the reasons for that is if he’s starting out [with a salary] at, say $60,000, he is probably going to be making well over $100,000–200,000 over the next 10 years. So it’s best for him to contribute to an RRSP when reducing taxable income makes more sense than at a lower income bracket.”

The unanimous opinion, though, is that no matter what you’re doing, you should always try and speak to someone at your bank. Abbouda has seen many students, “still struggling to pay off their debts, and it all comes back to the attitude that they might have had the wrong advice, or no advice in the beginning.” | Kate Aenlle

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EDU-MA-CATION

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Distance education programs are rising across Canada

Earn your postgrad while working full-time, managing family life, or living overseas Considering a postgrad education, but don’t want to leave your job or family? Distance education programs are on the rise across Canada.

Enrolment in online university education is growing, notes Vicky Busch, executive director of the Canadian Virtual University (CVU), an Alberta-based consortium of 12 universities across Canada that offer online courses and programs. “We’re seeing a bigger interest from students who see the flexibility of not having to be in the classroom,” she says. “Last year, we had almost 200,000 registrations at CVU universities.”

Universities and colleges across Canada offer courses and entire programs online that allow students to earn their postgrad from behind a computer screen. Some, like Athabasca University, offer all programs online, while Royal Roads University (RRU) in Victoria, BC blends distance and on-campus learning.

In October, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario launched the Master of Science in Healthcare Quality program, which is almost entirely online. “We wanted to open this program up for people across Canada,” says codirector Dr. Kim Sears. “We wanted to make sure distance wasn’t a barrier.”

“The program is mainly distance learning with some face-to-face,” Dr. Sears explains.

“There are two mandatory face-to-face weeks.

The rest of the program is done in online and interactive classrooms using the e-learning tool Desire2Learn. Students are expected to participate in live and interactive discussions.”

Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario also offers an online MBA program, in which students take online courses for 12 weeks, followed by final exams.

find something that could accommodate to me rather than me accommodate to it. I did it entirely online. I’ve never even seen Royal Roads.”

“They work in groups of four to seven through asynchronous discussions,” says Julie Henri, senior manager of business development and administration with the School of Commerce and Administration at Laurentian. “The professor is there to support student learning by fostering collaboration, learning of the main concepts and course objectives, and by providing timely feedback to questions and assignments. Some of our classes require the completion of simulations to further enhance practical experience.”

While Hadjis initially thought she was going to be disconnected from her peers, she found the program exceeded her expectations. It consisted of video lectures, group work over Skype, and assignments she was able to do while working full-time in Brussels. “It was a very personal environment,” she says.

The program “caters to mature learners who are working professionals,” she adds. “Taking a year or two off of work to enhance management skills is very difficult to achieve for both the student and employer. The ability to complete an online program delivered in a flexible format that can provide graduates with the credentials needed to move into upper management positions is highly sought.”

One of the biggest benefits is the flexibility.

“There’s the ability to manage work and family life with life-long learning, and the ability to study from anywhere in the world and at any time,” says Henri.

Jessica Hadjis, originally from Montreal, just completed her MA in interdisciplinary studies at RRU from Brussels, Belgium. She says the flexibility and the course selection attracted her to the program. “I wanted to

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But she adds that distance learning may not suit all industries. Hadjis, who focused in international relations, says the fact that she was working abroad at the same time was a benefit. “What I was learning was flowing into my work. But for engineering as an example, I don’t think it would be a benefit. For the sciences, you need to be at a lab.”

As an added benefit, technology has also enriched distance learning, Busch says. “Technology now allows for greater opportunities for communication and group work. It’s not a single, lone endeavor.”

However, Henri says there continues to be a debate about the quality of distance learning, including the “isolation of learners and negative stigma.”

But Busch says “there may have been the sense that an online education isn’t as good as a faceto-face education, but not anymore.” In fact, she claims “the online experience is an advantage to employers. It points to self-discipline, different learning styles and the application of technologies.” | Samuel Dunsiger

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