Pros
Great team of talented recruiters. They work hard despite the limited resources and support from management available to them. Friday lunches were initiated by recruiters and they are awesome. A great opportunity for recruiters to team build. Also an opportunity to experience foods from diverse cultures. Recruiters also work collaboratively and share in opportunities. There is a new Vice President in the Engineering and Technical Services division. He brings a wealth of experience and new ideas to the company. His presence gives you hope if you work there. Job location is also great. A great address near Square One Mall, makes for lunch time in the summer to be fun. Lots of variety to eat. There are opportunities to make money and good commission on some contract and permanent placements. The company does have some really high level clients, that pay well. Employment here could be a potential foot in the door for new graduates of HR programs seeking to get experience in the recruiting side.
Cons
Management at the Mississauga Branch lacks vision and has become complacent with an "Old School" mentality. Overall the company does not clearly define its vision and way ahead. If they have, I had no idea what it was when I worked there. Recruiters are expected to work very long hours at the office and from home, on jobs that aren't always properly qualified or real for that matter. The culture in this branch is very poor, as well as communication. Email etiquette leaves little to be desired. Emails are demeaning and do little to boost morale. Administration lacks and business (Clients and Candidates) is turned off or lost because of this (rude, uncooperative, unapproachable and unfriendly). There is no training program and the branch level management provides a version of recruiter training based on ? The training is made up as the days go by, with a Recruiting Resource Package that has not been updated in excess of 5-10 years. The poor environment is also evident in the presence of displaced boxes, old IT equipment and broken furniture around the office, VHS Trg Videos and unorganized/ unclean kitchen area. Working there can make you feel boxed in, "Bossed Around" and Mentally Regressed. If your looking for a work environment that offers opportunity and career advancement, this is not the place. The door revolves frequently and the average stay is between 6 months to 1 year. The database system is very old and significantly lacks capability. No mass emailing, texting or other modern approaches to recruiting. However a new one is on the way. Makes a recruiter's life very challenging. Bringing important issues or new ideas to management will often be met with resistance and you risk being marginalized or belittled. Leadership is not "lead by example", rather, "do as I say". The company overall seems to work from individual Silos in their own branches and intra-company events are non-existent for anyone below account manager. Lots of politics and CYA'ing going on.
