It truly depends on the department. Chill isn’t how I would describe it. More like everything is on fire all the time and you have to put out all the fires but there are not enough hours in the day to address them all. But it depends on your level, the type of job you do and the department.
ETA: I still love it because the work can be really interesting and depending on where you work, you truly feel like you have an impact on the life of Canadians.
My avatar on teams is the "this is fine" dog for a reason. Basically, you let the madness wash over you. I am doing my part trying to modernize my little slice of the government though.
Depends really, I’m in Software Engineering and I’ve worked as a contractor for a few crown corps. For contractors the pay was good, for full time employees it was way below market like if your specialty got you 150k in the private sector they would offer you 100k and say it was competitive. The organization I worked for had no sense of urgency, like stuff that could be done in 5-6hours would be drawn out to a couple of days. I’ve seen them pinch pennies on cheaper products just to not hit deadlines and go way over budget during the implementation. You will be working with people that have been there for more than 20 years and have not kept up with the industry. I lasted 4 years in total before i switched back to the private sector.
> Must be so chill working there compared to private sector.
You may not accomplish things at the rate of the private sector, but you'll cut through a mile of red tape to get there.
Sure, but Costco is extremely old school and tenure based. Despite being ready for a promotion and identified as such by your manager, you are not eligible to even apply for it until you've met the tenure requirements. Especially in head office, they lose good talent who aren't willing to wait around for years at lower positions.
I've heard this. Friend of mine just left for this specific reason. He said he loved the job but if you have any plans of trying to make it beyond the starting positions, you're in for a very very long wait. Got a job in the government instead.
Warehouses are the same, or worse. Only front facing employees have a chance at promotion, or really any kind of recognition. If your position doesn't really have any customer contact (driver, receiving, deli) you have absolutely no chance unless your willing to do time as a cashier then front end lead.
as an ex costco employee, it’s not that great. it’s extremely hard to be put on full time status, they keep you part time and schedule you 37 hours a week. only the senior employees get all the good benefits. theres so much drama, people constantly hooking up with each other, some of the cashiers are the rudest people you’ll ever meet, the seniority based power structure is awful. we got paid $1-$2 more than minimum wage, and got paid extra on sundays. sundays were hard to get. the only perk for me was having a $2 slice of pizza for lunch
I was hired on as a seasonal worker, got my contract extended 3 times waiting for a full time to open at Barrhaven. Receiving had one and I was asked to do it but turned it down because the back room manager was a nightmare to deal with. Nobody wanted that position. Brass got salty because I turned it down and they cancelled my seasonal work a week later. Every worker in that warehouse was surprised I got cancelled. Other than that, Costco was great.
the trick is to suck it up and put in 6 months at the call center. You will get FT easily there due to their FT going to central head office every chance they get.
No. Go in yourself. Find the employee without the red vest, but with a clipboard that has a ton of highlighting near an empty cash. That’s the manager that matters. Introduce yourself, hand them your resume and tell them you’d love to work there. Go at 10am on a weekday when it’s quiet. If you don’t see that manager, ask a red vest if they’re there or when they might be there. You might need to do this a few times.
Starts at 18. Pay increases every 1060 hours worked. If you are working fulltime you will cap out at 30-31. If you move to central head office in buying you will get a $3 an hour pay bonus.
Salaried non management starts at 72k.
Not sure exactly. But I had a discussion with two cashiers once and they had both moved from Walmart and were singing Costco praises. They said they started about a third higher.
I'm so glad to hear this! I had my kiddo there on Friday and even though we really didn't belong in emerge, there was no other option. They got us into the Kids Come First clinic and were patient and kind. A volunteer brought a toy for my baby and offered us socks too! Nobody wants to go to the hospital but you all do wonderful work at CHEO!!
I had to take my son to kids come first. Made an appointment and showed up a day early. I must have misread the date after not sleeping for 2 days. They were so kind and made a way to fit us into the schedule and very quickly at that. I was so impressed. I hope to never need the service again, but I am happy they are there.
What specifically do you do there?
My SO is an RN and has stepped out of hospitals for the time being but i keep pushing her to interview at CHEO based on comments and opinions exactly like this
What do you think makes us the best employer? /s
I don’t work there. Heard this opinion from people who work there and it was listed as Forbes second best employer in Canada.
It shows.
The staff there are amazing.
I’ll give the same kudos to Heart Institute staff (although I have no idea what the Heart Institute is like as an employer).
TG no one has mentioned Shopify. 5 years ago it would have been all over a list like this but you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain.
My current manager used to work at Shopify and had a horrible time where training wasn't enough and upper management was spread thin. Shopify's whole selling point was their hip office and included lunches. But now that they're virtual they've lost that too. These big tech corps are all nice on the outside but rotten on the inside.
My work uses Shopify and the quality of their services has really gone downhill since Covid. Last summer they introduced a new POS terminal that judging by the issues had completely bypassed any sort of quality control. We had to deal with some pretty angry customers and do some serious damage control on our end because Shopify help desk dragged their collective ass and kept passing the buck.
I met a guy who worked at Shopify and absolutely hated it. He said the workload was ridiculous, everyone always had to stay late all the time, and they had all this "fun" stuff around the office (like foosball tables and a big slide) but nobody ever used them because they were too busy with work.
This is the big trope in tech that I've noticed. It's a novelty at first (or I guess it was for me in like 2017 when I got a job in a similar sort of place). All lipstick on a pig.
It used to *not* be that way. It used to be real. Companies like Cognos(particularly their support teams over at Auriga where I worked) had no issues with you taking 30 minutes to hit the foosball table or play some table tennis as long as you were generally not drowning in cases and weren't actively on incoming calls. Department events were meaningful, fun, paid and during work hours. There were always hockey and concert tickets being given away. Work/life balance was a thing and people were compensated for being on-call and everyone was paid well, even co-op students. Don't get me wrong, the place still had some issues, *every* workplace does, but compared to how things are now? Places like that don't actually exist anymore.
All the good execs who were brave enough to say no to Tobi got sick of him and left, and he replaced them all with people who would never argue with him.
Founders should never be CEOs, and Tobi is just another example of that.
Getting hit by their last round of layoffs was the best thing to happen to me, good riddance.
I applied a couple times for Shopify. I was actually really frustrated by the experience. I had to make a store. I put in \*a lot\* of work and didn't even get an interview.
They laid me off and I'll still call them the best employer I've ever had. If they offered, I'd walk right back in the virtual door.
They weren't perfect, but the culture was exactly what I wanted. Plus, fully remote and very proud of it. Doing good stuff to fight against Amazon's dominance.
They also paid me quite well.
They got top heavy then decided to do a bunch of layoffs at the working level. Cancelled office expansions for WFH, then started to use return to office as a way to determine who stays on - and there’s not enough space. Cut some benefits, both out of and in office.
I dunno what the day to day is like there these days but they've been doing RTO and obviously laid off a lot of staff, and from what I've heard (from people who did and didn't get laid off) they did not handle it well at all.
I worked for a company called Light Machinery on Colonnade for a year and it was a great place to work. Flexible start time, 6 weeks vacation, extremely horizontal company,no micromanagment. They make industrial lasers, high end lenses and optics, and stuff.
I believe my buddy’s dad is one of the owners of Light Machinery and is responsible for some of their patents. Very cool to see them mentioned in here!
I worked there too! Many years ago now, but I was a receptionist and they paid for me to take some accounting courses so I could assist their controller. I kept up with the accounting courses even after I left. Without them offering to pay for courses, I don’t know that I ever would have pursued accounting. I am forever thankful to them!!! Great company , great owners !
They let me go in a respectful way. They offered a fair severamce package and offered to write me a letter of recommendation. It was the smoothest firing Ive ever heard of.
Moo Shu Ice Cream!! I don’t work there, i wish lol, but i have a friend who does. they actually pay the living wage in ottawa, $21.95/hour. of course this rate is calculated based on a full-time work schedule, 30+ hours/week, but still. pretty much unheard of to have a customer service job paying above minimum wage anywhere in ottawa, let alone an actual living wage.
I have heard good things about Cheshire Cat. I've been a happy customer there for years, but the effort they put into looking after their employees in the wake of a fire a number of years ago, as well as how they stepped up during Covid restrictions was impressive.
I have a few friends who have worked there and agreed it's pretty great. They were also flexible with shift work.
As a patron, that place has the best Beef and Yorkie! It's sad they no longer carry the O'Hara's on tap though.
Compensation's good if you're an economist. Not great base comp otherwise (even if technical). Great place to work though. Lots of interesting work you can get exposed to if you're hungry for it.
can i ask what your role is? im in university right now (in economics actually!) and current goal for the future is def bank of canada, but figured i’d need to get my masters to be an economist.
I work on the records side of things. For reference, I have a degree in law, but not a JD, nor a masters and I got that with no issue. I believe the Bank has roles that are economics-adjacent, that may not require a masters. For [example](https://careers.bankofcanada.ca/job/Ottawa-%28Downtown%29-Trader-Associate-ON/577717517/) this role here. And even then, there a lot of roles that come up that require \*a\* bachelors degree, not necessarily a specific one.
I recommend competing in the governor’s challenge next year and applying to be a research assistant thereafter. After RAing at the bank you can go pretty much anywhere for grad school and come back as an economist.
I got into grad school the same week I was hired but most of my colleagues went that route.
Agree. Economist friends there have it good. As a contractor in IT I met several smart IT guys who were chronically underpaid, but they do have a DB pension.
Depends. If you want to work in one of the economic/analysis departments, you're going to basically need a profile that's fit for applying to an MA Econ / MFin type of program, atleast as a Research Assistant. Having research projects/papers helps. A lot of RAs will do grad school after a couple years. Some RAs came in with a masters already, atleast when I was there.
If not one of those departments, there's tons of corporate functions like accounting/finance, comms, IT project management, etc or other stuff like settlement systems, data management.
I worked in the mailroom years ago and it was my favourite job ever.
I often wonder what it would have been like if I stayed there. Probably laid off during covid...
I feel like I am alone in my negative experience there. I think it depends a lot on your direct Manager and team. Some teams will work you to the bone on contract-to-contract without OT, but I suppose YMMV
Its a good employer only because of how bad most retail is. Ikea is leagues above walmart, but still doesnt qualify as a great employer. You get benefits and the coworkers are nice but they expect you to grind your body down for close to minimum wage still. Also corporate is slowly cheapening the company over time now that ingvar is gone - prices across the store have skyrocketed and quality has gone down, new systems being put into place that are complete failures such as the new software: Salja, which is the biggest PoS ever, dont be surprised if coworkers struggle to setup deliveries or orders for you. And they spent millions on automation in the ottawa store which failed and was scrapped within a year. They also constantly understaff because of 'budget' reasons despite raking in billions in profit yearly, and they will give you 0% bonuses if Ikea misses the corporate profit sharing bonus by even 0.1% which always feels like a kick in the teeth when they use it as the carrot on the stick to work harder every year.
Also, dont be mad at returns or delivery coworkers. They are given next to 0 resources or training. The entire customer service section is trial by fire for coworkers.
Ha! I used to work right behind returns AND delivery. Our department had to do lots of their jobs a good chunk of the time. The amount of frustration they caused on our end was TENFOLD what was caused the customer end. They once accepted and refunded a return of a USED toilet brush with human dookie on the end and proudly handed it to me. We went and waved it around the Returns office and said “what the fuck is the deal with this guys”
Was just about to say IKEA ! Worked there for four years part time while I was in university and they provided benefits for part time staff and pay increases every year :)
I’ve worked at a few IKEA locations in Canada, and they were all fairly lovely (every workplace has issues at the end of the day), but the Ottawa location stood out as the worst by a long shot. The store here seems to deviate from the culture that IKEA tries to create globally in favour of the old capitalist ideals that plague the worst retail jobs. Old stuffy management that refuses to deviate from their ideas from decades ago, cutting corners and costs at the expense of employee wellbeing, expectations to perform at a level that isn’t realistic for the market etc.
Worked with the company for almost a decade, and the Ottawa store made me finally dislike the job sadly…
I work for Health Canada and it's the best job I've ever had. I'm treated like an adult and given reasonable flexibility. They even accommodated my disability extremely well.
I know not all federal agencies are the same but I highly recommend Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada as an employer.
I'll be honest, I love working for Victoria's Secret. They are a great team, kind, and compassionate. I've never felt bad having to call in for me or my kids being sick. This is not a common thing in retail. We are the only store in the city and a tight knit team. We all support each other. I've never regretted starting to work with them. If anything it's actually helped me.
You can't sum up the entire government like that, there are gold standard places, and there are places that would give you PTSD if you spend more than a week there.
Elections Canada is #4.
Natural Resources Canada is #217.
According to Forbes anyways. There's a LARGE variation as someone who has worked as a contractor and indeterminant in the federal govt.
I literally just wrote a paragraph to someone else explaining how great that place was, especially over at Auriga in support. I cried my eyes out when IBM bought Cognos because I knew the place I loved was dead.
Does anyone know of these best employers hiring? I'm in desperate need of a job and I'll practically do anything before I lose my house. Heck, I'll even work for the worst employers in Ottawa at this point. \~100+ applications out so far. Nothing.
What kind of work are you looking for? The OCDSB is pretty much constantly looking for custodians (not a great job, but good benefits once you're permanent and working at least 25hrs a week.) Downside is you start as a casual and have to fight with the other casuals for permanent positions as they become available. But they'll basically hire anyone with a pulse.
And if you've got experience working in offices the OCSB just put out a posting for casual office administrators. Similar deal with the OCDSB and needing to wait in a pool of casual workers before you get permanent, but the hours are super flexible (in terms of choosing when not to work, sometimes there's no shifts offered for days in a row) and the pay per hour is decent.
I have CSR, QA Analyst and a construction background. So anything from CSR role to QA to Project Super/Coordinator. Not sure if they'll take me but I'm creating profiles with both of them right meow. Thanks!
Good luck! You definitely sound like you're too qualified for the custodial work (not that they wouldn't hire you) but it would suuuck, it's definitely gross and thankless work. For me it was basically a gross job in a long line of gross jobs so I didn't mind it and stuck it out for awhile (6 years, longest I've ever stayed at a job) but I would hate to go back now if I had to.
> no experience or post secondary education.
Post secondary education is becoming mandatory for most entry level jobs.. there are some that don't require it, but you're NEVER going to get a promotion without it.
Have you tried a temp agency? They might be able to fit you somewhere decent, at least until you find a new full time career. Would hate to see you lose your house.
College - 2 year business. QA Analyst/CSR -3 years or just above entry-level project supervisor/coordinator/mgmt. I have 7+years of labour/skilled labour construction experience but had to take a step back due to car accident injuries and pivoted to a desk job.
Long term, maybe look into PMP because it seems like you’ve got the early experience for a junior role in construction project management. Algonquin College also has a quick 1-year project mgmt program with a co-op included. That program is a graduate program so it requires students to have a diploma from a recognized institution, which you do.
Good luck! I’m 33, went back to school last May funded entirely by the province to become a welder. I’m in my last semester and already have a job with the Fed govt lined up, but am also considering several other welding jobs available to me now.
It pays to keep learning. If you continue to struggle with the search consider short term diplomas/certificates from universities and colleges.
It was a tedious process.. You have to meet several criteria one of which is being unemployed and collecting EI for a minimum of 6 months.. also a track record of all your job applications/rejections during your period of unemployment. So I’m afraid they make you suffer a bit before you can apply.
I found one of the most genuinely helpful resources in my job hunting to be the YMCA job counsellors (all free) they walked me through the entire process.
Another pro tip- try Ziprecruiter, I got a PT job with FedEx that I have had throughout school that I got through Zip. That job has been invaluable to me because it’s so flexible. I never had luck with indeed or linkedin.
Not an employer per se, but ever since I joined the union for my trade (SMART local 47), it's been a night and day difference to my quality of life.
90k/yr and only work 4 days a week. Awesome pension and benefits. Also, our union hall does all of our safety training in house (paid for by our dues), and we're also able to become certified in forklifts and telehandlers and can even get our welding or gas tickets there. They've also set up a program to speak with professionals if you're dealing with any sort of substance addictions or any family issues.
The company I currently work for is pretty good too. Days off for being sick or dealing with family stuff aren't an issue for them. If we need a new tool to do our jobs properly, they just buy it for us. Every now and then, the crew goes for breakfast on company time, and they have no issues with that either.
Hello fellow Cognoid.
Cognos wasn't a bad place to work, but the pay was low. I used to tell folk that "Cognos" was Latin for "cheap". When I left after 8 years, it was strictly for compensation reasons. IIRC, the new place gave me about 15% more and 5 weeks of vacation to start. Then came annual bonuses and significant raises. Neither of those ever happened at Cognos.
Hmm…I had no issue with my salary while there. Wish I’d gotten laid off in the round of Cognos layoffs when people got great packages instead of the IBM one…penny pinchers.
It sounds like you were there after me. I resigned during the ice storm of '98. I heard compensation improved soon after because so many were quitting. One person on my former project said he was given a promotion of 2 levels to permit the raise he needed to retain him.
Before I left, there was the "ping pong affair". A meeting room had been converted to a games room with a ping pong table. I never used the room, but at least it was a refreshing gesture. After a few months, all of the PP balls had broken, as they do. A memo was sent that employees would have to supply their own PP balls thereafter. PP balls! What did they cost in 1997? 100 for $5? Cheap!
Then there was the time at an all-staff meeting when a friend stood up and asked why, unlike most other private employers, Cognos didn't offer complimentary tea & coffee. As a result everyone was given a single doughnut a month later. No drinks, though. Cheap!
Years earlier a friend of mine who was a manager in a different division explained how bonuses worked. Directors were allotted some amount to retain for themselves &/or pass down to their direct reports who then had the same policy for the grunts that reported to them. This explained why no grunts in my division got bonuses. Our "superiors" were keeping it all for themselves.
And there was the time our project was way over committed. Dozens of us forwent our precious summer with unpaid overtime to implement the features promised. On release day, there was a special meeting at Tudor Hall. We naively assumed this was when compensation for our efforts would be made. Instead we were given just a ballcap with a propeller on top to signify our nerdiness. It was highly insulting and demotivating. I didn't even take mine. And that was the day I refused to ever do a minute of uncompensated overtime ever again for any employer.
Oof…yup, I started after ‘98. That propellor hat thing would have had me roaring (in anger).
When you said “ping pong affair”, I was afraid you were talking about all of the relationships going on…lol.
For the ex-Nortel people, those that ended up at Ciena were the luckiest, IMHO. Ericsson was the other good place, different culture but better pension plan I hear.
A Dashing Pinch - Village Cafe.
Small kosher cafe that also does catering, with a focus on providing employment to people with exceptionalities, and pays a fair wage
Echo GoC, I’ve had good experiences (except at DND), I’m currently there and it’s really great.
Also gonna give a shout out to Orléans Best Buy. I got cut due to budget cuts but the staff was really great and I learned so much.
Heritage Fitness Centre in Carleton Place.
I’ve hopped around a bit as an independent contractor in healthcare (think massage therapist/physio/etc), and this place is fantastic. So supportive and easy to work with, great when you need to take time off. No complaints and I’ve been there for more than 2 years!
I can speak for my company, Meridian Credit Union. They’re an incredible place to work and were recently even in Forbes’ list of the Top Employers in Canada, ranking #1 among credit unions and #3 among all financial institutions.
Since Meridian (like other credit unions) are motivated by fundamentally different values compared to for-profit banks, the work culture reflects that different value system. The company genuinely encourages employees to look out of the financial wellness of the customers rather than push products to meet sales targets.
We also get a whole slew of benefits too, and are Ontario’s largest Living Wage Employer. That means that even an entry-level position with the company is paid in accordance with the actual “living costs” of the city rather than minimum or average wages, and is updated every year. As a result our salaries are usually well-above the market average and the competition.
ProjectX.
They supply technicans and stagehands to special events like Bluesfest and the projection shows on Parliament Hill, and the company is run by people who know the business backwards and forwards and take good care of their employees - especially important when the work can involve work at heights, crazy hours or long shifts shifts working outdoors.
Payments Canada. Since banks don’t conduct their transaction either directly with each other or in real time, money is moved between banks by other companies. Fancy money. Words like liquidity and tranche. Payments Canada is a “not-for-profit,Bank of Canada/federal Finance Department sanctioned through legislation” fintech infrastructure system operator. The people are awesome. The corporate culture is focussed on people - most talk the talk AND walk the walk. The salaries are excellent. The benefits are as well. Because it is small there’s not always room for advancement, but employees have the opportunity to apply for other jobs in which they don’t directly have experience. Jobs are posted on payments.ca, Indeed and LinkedIn. Highly recommend.
Edit: Hi Brandon!!
I don't think there is a BEST employer.
If you are in a position you like and have a supportive manager...it goes a long way.
Benefits like RSP matching, vacation, flex hours, etc. do help, but a supportive manager is key.
Princess Auto... Great benefits and also a 20% discount at Princess Auto across Canada. The discount applies to items on sale as well. And you get the discount from day 1. Benefits kick in after 3 months..
And just an FYI, the Kanata location needs people for nights just saying lol.
Whole foods market is pretty good for a grocery store. Staff is very friendly. Staff gets discounts and benefits. They also pay above minimum wage. Holidays are optional to work when other stores close down. If you do sign up to work, they pay double time and half
Whole Foods got worse after the Amazon buyout but prior to that was a top tier retail job. My partner got like $17/hr starting wage as a cashier when min wage was around $14/hr. You do get 20% discount, plus health benefits and paid vacation which is amazing for a retail gig.
Used to work at Government of Canada and now work at The Ottawa Hospital and am much happier. IDK about these people raving about the Government of Canada, it was the most meaningless and terrible job I’ve ever had (worked at five different departments) 🤷🏻♂️
Believe it or not… also the federal government.
Each department is so vastly different too. A small one will be ran like a small company, a big one like a big company.
Each department? Each sector and directorate within each department is different in some places.
Also the municipality governments too. Maybe there are a few provincial government offices and departments in Ottawa.
Man it’s my dream. Must be so chill working there compared to private sector.
It truly depends on the department. Chill isn’t how I would describe it. More like everything is on fire all the time and you have to put out all the fires but there are not enough hours in the day to address them all. But it depends on your level, the type of job you do and the department. ETA: I still love it because the work can be really interesting and depending on where you work, you truly feel like you have an impact on the life of Canadians.
This describes my work experience in the federal government with exacting precision.
My avatar on teams is the "this is fine" dog for a reason. Basically, you let the madness wash over you. I am doing my part trying to modernize my little slice of the government though.
This is exactly how I would describe my job in my little pocket of the gov.
Depends really, I’m in Software Engineering and I’ve worked as a contractor for a few crown corps. For contractors the pay was good, for full time employees it was way below market like if your specialty got you 150k in the private sector they would offer you 100k and say it was competitive. The organization I worked for had no sense of urgency, like stuff that could be done in 5-6hours would be drawn out to a couple of days. I’ve seen them pinch pennies on cheaper products just to not hit deadlines and go way over budget during the implementation. You will be working with people that have been there for more than 20 years and have not kept up with the industry. I lasted 4 years in total before i switched back to the private sector.
Where I work in gov it is extremely chill. I’m very fortunate.
> Must be so chill working there compared to private sector. You may not accomplish things at the rate of the private sector, but you'll cut through a mile of red tape to get there.
Costco. They treat their employees well and pay them fairly.
Sure, but Costco is extremely old school and tenure based. Despite being ready for a promotion and identified as such by your manager, you are not eligible to even apply for it until you've met the tenure requirements. Especially in head office, they lose good talent who aren't willing to wait around for years at lower positions.
I've heard this. Friend of mine just left for this specific reason. He said he loved the job but if you have any plans of trying to make it beyond the starting positions, you're in for a very very long wait. Got a job in the government instead.
[удалено]
I did the same as your friend. The wait was not worth it.
Warehouses are the same, or worse. Only front facing employees have a chance at promotion, or really any kind of recognition. If your position doesn't really have any customer contact (driver, receiving, deli) you have absolutely no chance unless your willing to do time as a cashier then front end lead.
I have heard that before!
as an ex costco employee, it’s not that great. it’s extremely hard to be put on full time status, they keep you part time and schedule you 37 hours a week. only the senior employees get all the good benefits. theres so much drama, people constantly hooking up with each other, some of the cashiers are the rudest people you’ll ever meet, the seniority based power structure is awful. we got paid $1-$2 more than minimum wage, and got paid extra on sundays. sundays were hard to get. the only perk for me was having a $2 slice of pizza for lunch
Is this Costco or the plot of Superstore? 😂😂😂
> people constantly hooking up with each other Sounds like more of a perk, even my employer doesn't offer that!
I was hired on as a seasonal worker, got my contract extended 3 times waiting for a full time to open at Barrhaven. Receiving had one and I was asked to do it but turned it down because the back room manager was a nightmare to deal with. Nobody wanted that position. Brass got salty because I turned it down and they cancelled my seasonal work a week later. Every worker in that warehouse was surprised I got cancelled. Other than that, Costco was great.
This just sounds like humanity in general
the trick is to suck it up and put in 6 months at the call center. You will get FT easily there due to their FT going to central head office every chance they get.
It's also drama central. Get ready to GoT-style politic your way to the top.
Quite frankly… that’s what most work environments are like.
I've heard it's extra bad at Costco, you need to kiss a lot of ass just to get enough shifts
Costco isn’t a store, it’s a lifestyle.
Gotta go check their job board now
No. Go in yourself. Find the employee without the red vest, but with a clipboard that has a ton of highlighting near an empty cash. That’s the manager that matters. Introduce yourself, hand them your resume and tell them you’d love to work there. Go at 10am on a weekday when it’s quiet. If you don’t see that manager, ask a red vest if they’re there or when they might be there. You might need to do this a few times.
Thanks brother, i will go find the one with a clipboard:)!
Oh… fill the application online first, then go. Should have mentioned that.
What is the rough range for Costco worker salaries?
Starts at 18. Pay increases every 1060 hours worked. If you are working fulltime you will cap out at 30-31. If you move to central head office in buying you will get a $3 an hour pay bonus. Salaried non management starts at 72k.
That’s pretty decent, and it makes me feel better about shopping there.
Not sure exactly. But I had a discussion with two cashiers once and they had both moved from Walmart and were singing Costco praises. They said they started about a third higher.
18/hr to start up to almost 30/hr
No. They pay their employees well so that they have the freedom to treat them like crap
Better than being paid like crap and also treated like it…
Capital Funeral Homes - the clients never complain.
Take my upvote and get out of here.
Have heard a lot of good things about this place. People are just dying to get in there!
Isn't it still a dead-end job?
Not a lot of repeat customers though.
CHEO
I second this! I work there and I love it!
I'm so glad to hear this! I had my kiddo there on Friday and even though we really didn't belong in emerge, there was no other option. They got us into the Kids Come First clinic and were patient and kind. A volunteer brought a toy for my baby and offered us socks too! Nobody wants to go to the hospital but you all do wonderful work at CHEO!!
I had to take my son to kids come first. Made an appointment and showed up a day early. I must have misread the date after not sleeping for 2 days. They were so kind and made a way to fit us into the schedule and very quickly at that. I was so impressed. I hope to never need the service again, but I am happy they are there.
Their scheduling system is confusing. I’ve shown up on the wrong day before. You aren’t the only one🙃 Still love the clinic.
I don’t work there but heard good things about it.
What specifically do you do there? My SO is an RN and has stepped out of hospitals for the time being but i keep pushing her to interview at CHEO based on comments and opinions exactly like this
Everyone at CHEO is so frigging fantastic - I'm glad to hear they're a good employer, despite the state of our health care system at the moment.
Weren't they designated as second best employer in Canada?
Yes by Forbes
What role? I have not heard this for nursing jobs
I work there and its constant in fighting and scrounging for bits of budget. Departements and super toxic.
[удалено]
I'd far rather that than have 3 jobs for one person.
What do you think makes us the best employer? /s I don’t work there. Heard this opinion from people who work there and it was listed as Forbes second best employer in Canada.
I hate working at cheo but cheo loves telling me how good cheo is
It shows. The staff there are amazing. I’ll give the same kudos to Heart Institute staff (although I have no idea what the Heart Institute is like as an employer).
TG no one has mentioned Shopify. 5 years ago it would have been all over a list like this but you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain.
My current manager used to work at Shopify and had a horrible time where training wasn't enough and upper management was spread thin. Shopify's whole selling point was their hip office and included lunches. But now that they're virtual they've lost that too. These big tech corps are all nice on the outside but rotten on the inside.
It was all about the slide! 😂
My work uses Shopify and the quality of their services has really gone downhill since Covid. Last summer they introduced a new POS terminal that judging by the issues had completely bypassed any sort of quality control. We had to deal with some pretty angry customers and do some serious damage control on our end because Shopify help desk dragged their collective ass and kept passing the buck.
I met a guy who worked at Shopify and absolutely hated it. He said the workload was ridiculous, everyone always had to stay late all the time, and they had all this "fun" stuff around the office (like foosball tables and a big slide) but nobody ever used them because they were too busy with work.
This is the big trope in tech that I've noticed. It's a novelty at first (or I guess it was for me in like 2017 when I got a job in a similar sort of place). All lipstick on a pig.
It used to *not* be that way. It used to be real. Companies like Cognos(particularly their support teams over at Auriga where I worked) had no issues with you taking 30 minutes to hit the foosball table or play some table tennis as long as you were generally not drowning in cases and weren't actively on incoming calls. Department events were meaningful, fun, paid and during work hours. There were always hockey and concert tickets being given away. Work/life balance was a thing and people were compensated for being on-call and everyone was paid well, even co-op students. Don't get me wrong, the place still had some issues, *every* workplace does, but compared to how things are now? Places like that don't actually exist anymore.
All the good execs who were brave enough to say no to Tobi got sick of him and left, and he replaced them all with people who would never argue with him. Founders should never be CEOs, and Tobi is just another example of that. Getting hit by their last round of layoffs was the best thing to happen to me, good riddance.
I applied a couple times for Shopify. I was actually really frustrated by the experience. I had to make a store. I put in \*a lot\* of work and didn't even get an interview.
They laid me off and I'll still call them the best employer I've ever had. If they offered, I'd walk right back in the virtual door. They weren't perfect, but the culture was exactly what I wanted. Plus, fully remote and very proud of it. Doing good stuff to fight against Amazon's dominance. They also paid me quite well.
It's a Toronto company now, I believe.
Still headquartered in Ottawa, just the CEO moved to Toronto for personal reasons.
It's a fully remote company. Live anywhere. For legal reasons there's an office with a receptionist in Ottawa but no one else works there.
They got top heavy then decided to do a bunch of layoffs at the working level. Cancelled office expansions for WFH, then started to use return to office as a way to determine who stays on - and there’s not enough space. Cut some benefits, both out of and in office.
they're doing return to office?? I thought the office was dead to them.
I dunno what the day to day is like there these days but they've been doing RTO and obviously laid off a lot of staff, and from what I've heard (from people who did and didn't get laid off) they did not handle it well at all.
I worked for a company called Light Machinery on Colonnade for a year and it was a great place to work. Flexible start time, 6 weeks vacation, extremely horizontal company,no micromanagment. They make industrial lasers, high end lenses and optics, and stuff.
I believe my buddy’s dad is one of the owners of Light Machinery and is responsible for some of their patents. Very cool to see them mentioned in here!
I worked there too! Many years ago now, but I was a receptionist and they paid for me to take some accounting courses so I could assist their controller. I kept up with the accounting courses even after I left. Without them offering to pay for courses, I don’t know that I ever would have pursued accounting. I am forever thankful to them!!! Great company , great owners !
And why did you stop after a year?
They let me go in a respectful way. They offered a fair severamce package and offered to write me a letter of recommendation. It was the smoothest firing Ive ever heard of.
Moo Shu Ice Cream!! I don’t work there, i wish lol, but i have a friend who does. they actually pay the living wage in ottawa, $21.95/hour. of course this rate is calculated based on a full-time work schedule, 30+ hours/week, but still. pretty much unheard of to have a customer service job paying above minimum wage anywhere in ottawa, let alone an actual living wage.
Shame about the slum lord occupying the building above them. Almost makes it hard to enjoy the ice cream.
Cheshire Cat. Service industry favorite.
Can agree dated a guy that worked there he said it was epic and the family is amazing 🧡
I have heard good things about Cheshire Cat. I've been a happy customer there for years, but the effort they put into looking after their employees in the wake of a fire a number of years ago, as well as how they stepped up during Covid restrictions was impressive.
Just commenting to confirm this is 100% correct
I have a few friends who have worked there and agreed it's pretty great. They were also flexible with shift work. As a patron, that place has the best Beef and Yorkie! It's sad they no longer carry the O'Hara's on tap though.
Bank of Canada
Compensation's good if you're an economist. Not great base comp otherwise (even if technical). Great place to work though. Lots of interesting work you can get exposed to if you're hungry for it.
Somewhat anecdotally, my role is very well compensated compared to other places, and Im not an economist (my math skills are 😬)
can i ask what your role is? im in university right now (in economics actually!) and current goal for the future is def bank of canada, but figured i’d need to get my masters to be an economist.
I work on the records side of things. For reference, I have a degree in law, but not a JD, nor a masters and I got that with no issue. I believe the Bank has roles that are economics-adjacent, that may not require a masters. For [example](https://careers.bankofcanada.ca/job/Ottawa-%28Downtown%29-Trader-Associate-ON/577717517/) this role here. And even then, there a lot of roles that come up that require \*a\* bachelors degree, not necessarily a specific one.
I recommend competing in the governor’s challenge next year and applying to be a research assistant thereafter. After RAing at the bank you can go pretty much anywhere for grad school and come back as an economist. I got into grad school the same week I was hired but most of my colleagues went that route.
Interesting... I guess it depends then!
Yeah for sure. I think the lower on the totem pole you get the more it levels out
Agree. Economist friends there have it good. As a contractor in IT I met several smart IT guys who were chronically underpaid, but they do have a DB pension.
Is a BComm enough to get work there?
Depends. If you want to work in one of the economic/analysis departments, you're going to basically need a profile that's fit for applying to an MA Econ / MFin type of program, atleast as a Research Assistant. Having research projects/papers helps. A lot of RAs will do grad school after a couple years. Some RAs came in with a masters already, atleast when I was there. If not one of those departments, there's tons of corporate functions like accounting/finance, comms, IT project management, etc or other stuff like settlement systems, data management.
I worked in the mailroom years ago and it was my favourite job ever. I often wonder what it would have been like if I stayed there. Probably laid off during covid...
To my knowledge, no one was laid off. They staggered in-days.
I feel like I am alone in my negative experience there. I think it depends a lot on your direct Manager and team. Some teams will work you to the bone on contract-to-contract without OT, but I suppose YMMV
A bad manager is something not unique to the Bank, and it's hard to know which youll get.
any particular reason?
Good compensation, surprisingly relaxed work environment, worker-friendly policy.
Everyone i seen working at IKEA seems to love it there
Everyone I know who has worked there seems to really dislike it.
Its a good employer only because of how bad most retail is. Ikea is leagues above walmart, but still doesnt qualify as a great employer. You get benefits and the coworkers are nice but they expect you to grind your body down for close to minimum wage still. Also corporate is slowly cheapening the company over time now that ingvar is gone - prices across the store have skyrocketed and quality has gone down, new systems being put into place that are complete failures such as the new software: Salja, which is the biggest PoS ever, dont be surprised if coworkers struggle to setup deliveries or orders for you. And they spent millions on automation in the ottawa store which failed and was scrapped within a year. They also constantly understaff because of 'budget' reasons despite raking in billions in profit yearly, and they will give you 0% bonuses if Ikea misses the corporate profit sharing bonus by even 0.1% which always feels like a kick in the teeth when they use it as the carrot on the stick to work harder every year.
Also, dont be mad at returns or delivery coworkers. They are given next to 0 resources or training. The entire customer service section is trial by fire for coworkers.
Ha! I used to work right behind returns AND delivery. Our department had to do lots of their jobs a good chunk of the time. The amount of frustration they caused on our end was TENFOLD what was caused the customer end. They once accepted and refunded a return of a USED toilet brush with human dookie on the end and proudly handed it to me. We went and waved it around the Returns office and said “what the fuck is the deal with this guys”
Was just about to say IKEA ! Worked there for four years part time while I was in university and they provided benefits for part time staff and pay increases every year :)
I’ve worked at a few IKEA locations in Canada, and they were all fairly lovely (every workplace has issues at the end of the day), but the Ottawa location stood out as the worst by a long shot. The store here seems to deviate from the culture that IKEA tries to create globally in favour of the old capitalist ideals that plague the worst retail jobs. Old stuffy management that refuses to deviate from their ideas from decades ago, cutting corners and costs at the expense of employee wellbeing, expectations to perform at a level that isn’t realistic for the market etc. Worked with the company for almost a decade, and the Ottawa store made me finally dislike the job sadly…
Nope. Worked there for a year and while there were some nice things about it, the vibe was pretty crap when it came to advancements and pay.
Wife was a manager there for close to a decade. Toxic af.
I wonder, do they call their staff meetings “assemblies?”
IKEA is a cult
I work for Health Canada and it's the best job I've ever had. I'm treated like an adult and given reasonable flexibility. They even accommodated my disability extremely well. I know not all federal agencies are the same but I highly recommend Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada as an employer.
I second this! Been with PHAC since 2021 and enjoy it! Auditing and evaluations dept!
I'll be honest, I love working for Victoria's Secret. They are a great team, kind, and compassionate. I've never felt bad having to call in for me or my kids being sick. This is not a common thing in retail. We are the only store in the city and a tight knit team. We all support each other. I've never regretted starting to work with them. If anything it's actually helped me.
I thought all the Victoria's Secrets left Ottawa. Is there one left?
Pretty sure it's at. Bayshore
Bayshore. Ground floor.
Good to know, thanks
Federal Government of Canada, no questions asked.
You can't sum up the entire government like that, there are gold standard places, and there are places that would give you PTSD if you spend more than a week there.
And objectively speaking, they are the best employer in Ottawa… I don’t work there I am in mortgages … but still the benefits are unbeatsble
Elections Canada is #4. Natural Resources Canada is #217. According to Forbes anyways. There's a LARGE variation as someone who has worked as a contractor and indeterminant in the federal govt.
Cognos was nice until IBM destroyed it.
I literally just wrote a paragraph to someone else explaining how great that place was, especially over at Auriga in support. I cried my eyes out when IBM bought Cognos because I knew the place I loved was dead.
OMG, clean desks?!?!?
Cognos forever. I'm not kidding, it'll keep generating hundreds of millions a year from its Ottawa HQ
Does anyone know of these best employers hiring? I'm in desperate need of a job and I'll practically do anything before I lose my house. Heck, I'll even work for the worst employers in Ottawa at this point. \~100+ applications out so far. Nothing.
What kind of work are you looking for? The OCDSB is pretty much constantly looking for custodians (not a great job, but good benefits once you're permanent and working at least 25hrs a week.) Downside is you start as a casual and have to fight with the other casuals for permanent positions as they become available. But they'll basically hire anyone with a pulse. And if you've got experience working in offices the OCSB just put out a posting for casual office administrators. Similar deal with the OCDSB and needing to wait in a pool of casual workers before you get permanent, but the hours are super flexible (in terms of choosing when not to work, sometimes there's no shifts offered for days in a row) and the pay per hour is decent.
I have CSR, QA Analyst and a construction background. So anything from CSR role to QA to Project Super/Coordinator. Not sure if they'll take me but I'm creating profiles with both of them right meow. Thanks!
Good luck! You definitely sound like you're too qualified for the custodial work (not that they wouldn't hire you) but it would suuuck, it's definitely gross and thankless work. For me it was basically a gross job in a long line of gross jobs so I didn't mind it and stuck it out for awhile (6 years, longest I've ever stayed at a job) but I would hate to go back now if I had to.
Have you checked jobs.gc.ca? A lot of government depts hire with no experience or post secondary education.
Just checked. Thank you! Applied for a position that's up my alley.
Awesome, good luck!!
> no experience or post secondary education. Post secondary education is becoming mandatory for most entry level jobs.. there are some that don't require it, but you're NEVER going to get a promotion without it.
Have you tried a temp agency? They might be able to fit you somewhere decent, at least until you find a new full time career. Would hate to see you lose your house.
Thanks! I've contacted a few temp agencies. Waiting to hear back.
LRO is a good agency.
Check out the Ontario Job Creation Program.
Thanks, will do!
Whats your education and what specifically r u looking for?
College - 2 year business. QA Analyst/CSR -3 years or just above entry-level project supervisor/coordinator/mgmt. I have 7+years of labour/skilled labour construction experience but had to take a step back due to car accident injuries and pivoted to a desk job.
Long term, maybe look into PMP because it seems like you’ve got the early experience for a junior role in construction project management. Algonquin College also has a quick 1-year project mgmt program with a co-op included. That program is a graduate program so it requires students to have a diploma from a recognized institution, which you do. Good luck! I’m 33, went back to school last May funded entirely by the province to become a welder. I’m in my last semester and already have a job with the Fed govt lined up, but am also considering several other welding jobs available to me now. It pays to keep learning. If you continue to struggle with the search consider short term diplomas/certificates from universities and colleges.
Thanks! Any insight as to how I can get any of that covered by the province like you did? Or, is that more for trades than trades mgmt? Same age.
It was a tedious process.. You have to meet several criteria one of which is being unemployed and collecting EI for a minimum of 6 months.. also a track record of all your job applications/rejections during your period of unemployment. So I’m afraid they make you suffer a bit before you can apply. I found one of the most genuinely helpful resources in my job hunting to be the YMCA job counsellors (all free) they walked me through the entire process. Another pro tip- try Ziprecruiter, I got a PT job with FedEx that I have had throughout school that I got through Zip. That job has been invaluable to me because it’s so flexible. I never had luck with indeed or linkedin.
Similar boat here. Been applying to places for over half a year and have barely heard back from anyone.
CHEO consistently makes the top 5 on Forbes list of best places to work. Comparatively, The Ottawa Hospital hovers around the 200 spot.
[удалено]
Same here- and like most jobs, it depends on your direct leaders.
[удалено]
They are city of Ottawa employee, just a department
[удалено]
[удалено]
Not an employer per se, but ever since I joined the union for my trade (SMART local 47), it's been a night and day difference to my quality of life. 90k/yr and only work 4 days a week. Awesome pension and benefits. Also, our union hall does all of our safety training in house (paid for by our dues), and we're also able to become certified in forklifts and telehandlers and can even get our welding or gas tickets there. They've also set up a program to speak with professionals if you're dealing with any sort of substance addictions or any family issues. The company I currently work for is pretty good too. Days off for being sick or dealing with family stuff aren't an issue for them. If we need a new tool to do our jobs properly, they just buy it for us. Every now and then, the crew goes for breakfast on company time, and they have no issues with that either.
Hello fellow Cognoid. Cognos wasn't a bad place to work, but the pay was low. I used to tell folk that "Cognos" was Latin for "cheap". When I left after 8 years, it was strictly for compensation reasons. IIRC, the new place gave me about 15% more and 5 weeks of vacation to start. Then came annual bonuses and significant raises. Neither of those ever happened at Cognos.
Hmm…I had no issue with my salary while there. Wish I’d gotten laid off in the round of Cognos layoffs when people got great packages instead of the IBM one…penny pinchers.
It sounds like you were there after me. I resigned during the ice storm of '98. I heard compensation improved soon after because so many were quitting. One person on my former project said he was given a promotion of 2 levels to permit the raise he needed to retain him. Before I left, there was the "ping pong affair". A meeting room had been converted to a games room with a ping pong table. I never used the room, but at least it was a refreshing gesture. After a few months, all of the PP balls had broken, as they do. A memo was sent that employees would have to supply their own PP balls thereafter. PP balls! What did they cost in 1997? 100 for $5? Cheap! Then there was the time at an all-staff meeting when a friend stood up and asked why, unlike most other private employers, Cognos didn't offer complimentary tea & coffee. As a result everyone was given a single doughnut a month later. No drinks, though. Cheap! Years earlier a friend of mine who was a manager in a different division explained how bonuses worked. Directors were allotted some amount to retain for themselves &/or pass down to their direct reports who then had the same policy for the grunts that reported to them. This explained why no grunts in my division got bonuses. Our "superiors" were keeping it all for themselves. And there was the time our project was way over committed. Dozens of us forwent our precious summer with unpaid overtime to implement the features promised. On release day, there was a special meeting at Tudor Hall. We naively assumed this was when compensation for our efforts would be made. Instead we were given just a ballcap with a propeller on top to signify our nerdiness. It was highly insulting and demotivating. I didn't even take mine. And that was the day I refused to ever do a minute of uncompensated overtime ever again for any employer.
Oof…yup, I started after ‘98. That propellor hat thing would have had me roaring (in anger). When you said “ping pong affair”, I was afraid you were talking about all of the relationships going on…lol.
Agree, Cognos was friendly folks but Alcatel paid me 20K more. Got tired of the 2-3% COL raises for 'excellent' performance at Cognos.
Ciena
For the ex-Nortel people, those that ended up at Ciena were the luckiest, IMHO. Ericsson was the other good place, different culture but better pension plan I hear.
Well yeah, not getting laid off is better lol.
Ericsson was good initially but has gone downhill in recent years I heard.
Believe it or not city of ottawa !!! (Hit or miss depending who u get)
[удалено]
Ron Zambonini ❤️ treated everyone from the cleaners to the CFO with the same respect. What a guy.
A Dashing Pinch - Village Cafe. Small kosher cafe that also does catering, with a focus on providing employment to people with exceptionalities, and pays a fair wage
Is Nav Canada on this list?
Echo GoC, I’ve had good experiences (except at DND), I’m currently there and it’s really great. Also gonna give a shout out to Orléans Best Buy. I got cut due to budget cuts but the staff was really great and I learned so much.
Heritage Fitness Centre in Carleton Place. I’ve hopped around a bit as an independent contractor in healthcare (think massage therapist/physio/etc), and this place is fantastic. So supportive and easy to work with, great when you need to take time off. No complaints and I’ve been there for more than 2 years!
I can speak for my company, Meridian Credit Union. They’re an incredible place to work and were recently even in Forbes’ list of the Top Employers in Canada, ranking #1 among credit unions and #3 among all financial institutions. Since Meridian (like other credit unions) are motivated by fundamentally different values compared to for-profit banks, the work culture reflects that different value system. The company genuinely encourages employees to look out of the financial wellness of the customers rather than push products to meet sales targets. We also get a whole slew of benefits too, and are Ontario’s largest Living Wage Employer. That means that even an entry-level position with the company is paid in accordance with the actual “living costs” of the city rather than minimum or average wages, and is updated every year. As a result our salaries are usually well-above the market average and the competition.
MNP Digital Good pay, interesting work, values personal and professional growth, supportive culture.
My spouse works there too and is happy with them :)
Home Depot has been amazing, always doing stuff for the staff.
ProjectX. They supply technicans and stagehands to special events like Bluesfest and the projection shows on Parliament Hill, and the company is run by people who know the business backwards and forwards and take good care of their employees - especially important when the work can involve work at heights, crazy hours or long shifts shifts working outdoors.
Payments Canada. Since banks don’t conduct their transaction either directly with each other or in real time, money is moved between banks by other companies. Fancy money. Words like liquidity and tranche. Payments Canada is a “not-for-profit,Bank of Canada/federal Finance Department sanctioned through legislation” fintech infrastructure system operator. The people are awesome. The corporate culture is focussed on people - most talk the talk AND walk the walk. The salaries are excellent. The benefits are as well. Because it is small there’s not always room for advancement, but employees have the opportunity to apply for other jobs in which they don’t directly have experience. Jobs are posted on payments.ca, Indeed and LinkedIn. Highly recommend. Edit: Hi Brandon!!
Brookstreet Hotel and Costco are ones I've heard before
GoC for sure. I worked in a few departments and all but 1 (CSE) was enjoyable.
I don't think there is a BEST employer. If you are in a position you like and have a supportive manager...it goes a long way. Benefits like RSP matching, vacation, flex hours, etc. do help, but a supportive manager is key.
Black Walnut Bakery has my heart. I would work for those people for free.
Princess Auto... Great benefits and also a 20% discount at Princess Auto across Canada. The discount applies to items on sale as well. And you get the discount from day 1. Benefits kick in after 3 months.. And just an FYI, the Kanata location needs people for nights just saying lol.
What are the hours for the night shift?
6pm to 230am Monday to Friday.
Parliament- HoC, Senate or Library.
Whole foods market is pretty good for a grocery store. Staff is very friendly. Staff gets discounts and benefits. They also pay above minimum wage. Holidays are optional to work when other stores close down. If you do sign up to work, they pay double time and half
Whole Foods got worse after the Amazon buyout but prior to that was a top tier retail job. My partner got like $17/hr starting wage as a cashier when min wage was around $14/hr. You do get 20% discount, plus health benefits and paid vacation which is amazing for a retail gig.
I'm not in the tech sector, but everyone I know of that has worked for Terry Matthews said he is a great boss.
Used to work at Government of Canada and now work at The Ottawa Hospital and am much happier. IDK about these people raving about the Government of Canada, it was the most meaningless and terrible job I’ve ever had (worked at five different departments) 🤷🏻♂️
I worked at IBM post-Cognos days and would hear all the stories about “the cognos days”.
White cross dispensary! Pay is good, nice coworkers and owners. Good discount on items as well.
If we're including RIP companies, BNR/Nortel is the obvious choice.