Making Connections
Further your careerThe challenge of finding and hiring new staff is made much easier at The National Job Fair & Training Expo. With more than 12,000 job-seekers expected to pass through the doors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on April 19 and 20, corporate recruiters will have the pick of the litter. LAUREN BRESLIN |
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 [ 2006-04-19 ] |
One of the companies that will be scouting for fresh talent is Integrated Dealer Systems (IDS), one of the world's leading providers of software solutions for the RV, marine and automotive industries. IDS will be looking to fill several positions, including software developers, project managers and technical writers, said Brian Balboni, the company's director of development.
Although positions with IDS require a certain level of technical aptitude, Balboni will be far more impressed with someone who shows good character. "I tend to hire people based upon the calibre of individual they are," he says. "Show me, both through your demeanor and through some experience, that you have an emotional commitment to what you do, and that you do everything to a high level of quality."
Balboni doesn't expect candidates to research every company they intend to approach at the show. He prefers people to demonstrate a sense of responsibility. "I want to know I can place something as important as my company's welfare into a person's hands," he says.
"So don't walk up and tell me about the two thousand lines of code you've written -- frankly, I don't care. Walk up and tell me why I can trust you."
The Northwest Company, a retailer in northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, will be looking to fill a range of retail-related positions, from cashiers and stock clerks to merchandisers and store managers. The catch is that workers must be willing to relocate to a northern locale. "We scare off probably the large majority of people that come," says Nicole Mader, the company's manager of recruitment. "And that's okay, because we want to make sure it's the right fit for them."
Mader says that, aside from specialized positions like pharmacists or meat cutters, new recruits to the Northwest Company don't need to have retail experience.
"As long as they have very good customer service skills, they have the right attitude, they have lots of energy and they want to move to the north, then definitely they're a fit," Mader says.
Meanwhile, Marcus Evans -- a provider of networking events and educational conferences for the business sector -- is hoping to add eight new workers. The company will be scanning resumes for inside-corporate sales executives, says sales director Alan Calder.
Calder says the most important quality a candidate should possess is drive. "Show enthusiasm for the position," he advises. "Know as much about our company as you can going into the job fair."
With thousands of job-seekers expected to attend The National Job Fair & Training Expo, Calder says the show is a very efficient way to build up his company's talent pool. "The benefit to Marcus Evans is that we get a chance to meet many great people in the course of two days that we may not otherwise come in contact with," he says. "Some of our best recruits have come out of this job fair, and we are looking for more stars this time around as well."
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