Jobs - Freedom Thirty Five Blog

Job Ad for Lululemon CEO

Jun 162013

13_06_yoga_flexibility

I’m not a Lululemon shareholder, but I was as surprised as any $LLL investor when Christine Day abruptly announced she would be stepping down after 5 years as CEO with the Vancouver based, athletic apparel company. During her last year with Lululemon, Christine was paid about $4,280,000 in compensation. Wow, that’s no small change The company is now frantically looking for a replacement to fill the role of CEO. I just thought I’d let everyone know about the opportunity in case anyone believes they’re qualified and wants to apply. If you’re interest in the job, here’s the page to apply online.

Judging by the job posting on their website, the CEO should have a good sense of humor Here is how the company describes the role.
“You report to no one, you are the CEO (duh). You are passionate about doing chief executive officer type stuff like making decisions, having a vision and being the head boss person. ”

Furthermore, here are some other qualities the ad says you should have as the next CEO of Lululemon.
-You are disciplined, focused and can hold headstand for at least 10 minutes
-You break all the rules like getting your OM-on (loudly) whenever the urge arises
-Your go-to party trick is your dead-on impression of the yogi in “Sh*T Yogis Say”
-You use your third eye to channel innovation

I probably don’t have what it takes to run a multi-billion dollar company but I live in Vancouver and I like the idea of yoga wear. So I thought why not give it a shot. I know it’s kind of a stretch for me to get this job but some people play the lottery with arguably similar probability of success. So I applied for the position and received a confirmation email saying they will review my experience and qualifications. And now I wait

————————————————————————
Random Useless Fact: Leporiphobia means the abnormal fear of rabbits rabbit_on_toilet

Best Places to Work

Advice, Jobs 16 Responses »

Apr 112013

13_04_bestemployermug An annual online study for the top companies to work for in Canada was released yesterday. The study ranks companies on various factor such as voluntary turnover, ethnic breakdowns, tenure, benefits and perks and number of holidays, to determine the best places to work.

13_04_bestworkplace Google Canada is on the top of the list followed by Intuit, and then Microsoft Canada Inc which rounds out the top 3. Tech companies are generally over represented in these kinds of studies. The complete list of all 50 companies can be found here.

I don’t work for any of those companies but I AM a shareholder in 5 of them (or at least their US parent companies) including McDonald’s, Google, and Starbucks which I just bought earlier this year Without investors like myself companies would not have the money to expand and hire new employees so it feels good to contribute to something bigger than myself

So how can we use this survey to our advantage? One way is to invest in these businesses. Any company on this list should attract the attention of top talent in their respective industries. These companies can filter through the applicants and pick the best of the best. The result is they’ll have a highly skilled and motivated workforce which should in theory outperform their competitors over time by generating higher productivity and bigger profits

But investing is risky. Is there a another way we can make money without risking our savings? Yes :0) We can work for these businesses directly. I certainly don’t have the educational background to land a position at Google, Microsoft, or any other tech giants, but I did find a company that only requires you to have a positive attitude Can you guess which one? Well earlier today I applied for a job at McDonald’s and guess what? They gave me an interview! They asked typical questions and overall I think I did well despite not being properly dressed for the occasion. The interviewer said her manager will contact me in the upcoming days. Imagine the bragging rights I’d have if I worked for one of the top companies in all of Canada, muahaha (＾▽＾) Can’t wait to hear back from them ^_^

————————————————————————
Random Useless Fact: Men get hiccups more often than women.

$67,000 a Year for an Intern Position

Jobs 11 Responses »

Dec 172012

Despite the unemployment rate in the US hovering around 7.7% there’s no shortage of job opportunities for outgoing individuals who thrive in a challenging but rewarding work environment. A time tested skill the world will always need is engineering. Industrial engineers were in high demand during the industrial revolution but in today’s fast pace mobile/technological world software engineers are what companies are looking for. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Twitter, Apple, even small start-ups, are all willing to pay top dollars to the brightest computer science graduates. One of the highest rated and best places to work this year is Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California. According to the company survey site glassdoor.com the average salary for an intern who works at Facebook is about $67,000 a year. Pretty good for an intern position ∩( ・ω・) Of course employees also get many of the silicon valley perks such as gym and game room access, phones and laptops, food and drinks, all on campus and all free （⌒▽⌒） With so many benefits and a generous starting salary it’s no surprise people say Facebook is one of the best places to work right now.

But it’s not a career for everyone. For example I wouldn’t like the long work hours personally. I tried to study comp-sci in university and failed miserably because I couldn’t handle the stress of the workload. But if you’re currently in school and still deciding what to major in, I don’t think you can go wrong with software engineering if you don’t mind working hard. For Canadians with a background in computer science, I would try to apply in the US as well because you will most likely get paid more for your talent

————————————————————————
Random Useless Fact: In Norway during the month of November people only pay half of their normal income tax, so they will have more money to celebrate and spend on Christmas. I think Canada should adopt this tax break

The Mortgage Industry

Jobs 8 Responses »

Nov 262012

Yesterday I went to the mortgage forum at the Vancouver Convention Center, put on by Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP.) They had an educational seminar followed by a meet-and-greet session with mortgage related companies. The whole event was to promote the mortgage industry and get people interested about starting a career in the vast mortgage market.

What is the mortgage industry? It’s a part of the overall financial industry that deals with loans for real estate. When someone wants to borrow money to buy a home they generally go through an originator (commonly known as a broker) who then talks with a lender (bank, credit union, private company, etc) to obtain a loan for the buyer. In a high ratio mortgage case (down payment <20%) the lender must go through an insurer That’s basically how everything works.

As usual, my favorite part about these kinds of events is all the swag companies were giving away. Colorful pamphlets, pens, notepads, Canadian maple syrup, mini first aid kits, eco-friendly shopping bags, food, shoe polish, lent remover. etc… Oh my goodness so much free swag（⌒▽⌒）

branded swag from companies in the mortgage industry

There are many different kinds of jobs in this sector. Even if you’re with a company that has nothing to do with the mortgage industry, you may still find yourself working indirectly in it. D+H (Davis and Henderson) for example, known for printing cheques, had a booth at the event. They told me they have expanded their expertise to provide targeted services to mortgage brokers and lenders.

Jobs directly related to the mortgage industry:

Broker channel: To become licensed within your province to help borrowers find lenders.
Property valuation: This includes appraising the value of homes and keeping up with market trends
Insurers: The 3 big ones here are CMHC (government insurer), Genworth (a spin-off from General Electric’s financing division), and Canada Guaranty (used to be a company under AIG)
Regulators: To license and authorize business, and to set standards in policy and enforce rules.
Lenders: Must learn how to adjudicate, meaning they must determine if the borrower can pay back the mortgage or not. This is called the underwriting process.

If you’re interested to learn more about how to get your foot in the door you can visit mortgagecareers.org and even submit your resumé.

Older Entries