event producer

sponsorship manager

web content coordinator

senior representative

sales representative

The Canadian Institute

The company was successful when you were in diapers and stuck with whatever worked then to this day. Leadership expects same results today, but with no change in product, process of operations. It’s soul-sucking work all for producing what possibly are the world’s most boring and tired conferences.
If you want to learn how to manage successful marketing campaigns in the early 2000’s you have found the right place!

Marketing team is personable and nice with people who want to do a good job, but the sole marketing lead takes creativity out of marketing and simply pushes papers so that  everything stays status quo while shutting down any ideas that don’t fit the marketing plan they inherited from their predecessors some 8 years ago. Averse to change and lacking the courage or vision to modernize a process that has been outdated for over a decade. And when change happens, it’s slow as heck and superficial. Ineffective, uninspired and always a decade behind. 
If you want to learn or advance your career run as fast as you can from this place. However, if you want to learn how to run effective marketing campaigns in 1998, take the job, keep a low profile, stay out of the way to keep leadership happy and never ever dare to propose anything creative or contemporary to the Vice President of “global” marketing. 
Feels like you stepped in a time machine (company is stuck in the late 90’s early 2000’s) which can be fun sometimes if you want to experience how offices looked and operated then. Leadership probably too preoccupied with the impending Y2K bug to pay attention to you. 

The job seemed very exciting at first. Most of the general staff were nice but this was all I was able to experience after literally being tossed out the door without even a chance to collect my belongings. I've never had such an uncompassionate and a devalued dismissal before. 

Intelligent, but with a slight learning disability, my adjustment was not accommodated with constructive feedback, the opportunity to learn through error, question asking or plans of improvement. I was disappointed that a company of such magnitude does not invest in the growth of their employees through tailored learning, but are ejected for experiencing normal learning adjustments.

It's easy to surpass, but must be acknowledged that we all start under the same pretences. It's sad to see that basic humanitarian values are over-powered and overlooked by those in a comfortable position who possess the ability to compromise the quality of one's life with the push of a button. And it probably never will be until the loss of a house, career and ability to care and provide for one's home, dependants and self is directly experienced.

The answer is not always to replace people, but to work with people! Treat everyone as a unique individual and honour unique qualities that in time and guidance will flourish into greatness. A student is only as good as their teacher and that ultimately what you put into each individual is what will surface.

There is ZERO alignment amongst the management and there is crazy amount of competition between the chain of command- from director to VP of a department their ideas and expectations don't align and it really screws over the employees who have to report to these individuals. 

The rules for each employee are different and there is clear favouritism- it feels like a high school and these guys really like to gossip. 

The HR department is not strong and you will not have anyone you can report to and they will continuously make excuses for anything and everything. 

There is a lot of animosity amongst employees and it's just a very fake and poisonous environment. The turn over for this company is really high because no one wants to stick around. 

The office space is old and dingy. It feels like you have entered a different time when entering the office. 

They like to show that they are professionals but there is nothing professional about this entire place. 

No job security and no appreciation or care for their employees. Very fake.

The culture at the organization is a positive one, with supportive, friendly and helpful colleagues and management.

The job in itself is quite mundane and gets old very quickly. Especially when it's quite evident that there is little to no room to grow or advance.

The salary is not unfair, nor is the commission structure, but the sales team generally seem very undervalued. Turnover is rampant, creating a general feeling of insecurity every day which can be extremely uncomfortable for employees. 

Not bad for someone with few options but not a job, who has bills to pay, but don't expect to wake up and be excited to start your day. There is a lot of expectation, with very little resources at your disposal and its extremely disheartening to feel as though you don't have the tools to properly do your job.

I have been working at CI for around 5 years and the company has evolved significantly in that time.  The people are the best part of the organization - many of whom have been with the company for a long time and really care about doing good work and succeeding.

The work can be challenging from time to time, but you are always learning from the work you are doing and the mentors you are working with.

Cons:
- Absolutely terrible work environment - the people are not friendly and it is a toxic environment. 
- Pay is awful. You will not get a raise or bonus.
- Very corporate - take scheduled breaks, no sick days, can't work from home.
- Very old windows computers for a web developer role

Pro:
- Could work long hours Mon-Thurs and leave at lunch on Friday - only for the month of July and had to rotate between team members

Sometimes people will complain that the managers are too strict but I personally appreciate their honest feedback and feel that I’ve substantially benefited from it. It’s rare to run into individuals who have the decency to tell you how to improve instead of beating around the bush, so I take advantage of the chance to learn about areas in which I can improve.

My Team. The people I work with and stay in contact with on a daily basis are what I value the most. There is never a moment when I need advice or have questions that I don't get my answers in a timely manner or a call. Everyone seems to actually care about one another and I find that truly refreshing in a company.

We had a ton of freedom to play with different ideas, but when it came down to it, we had a concise plan of action so we didn’t need to waste valuable time planning and re-planning until we finally got it right. Any lapse in judgement was quickly resolved with good communication.

Some co-workers were great, others ok, but management was poor.  Great if you're younger and just passing through on your way to something better.  Not so good if you're a bit older.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Event producer 2 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Sponsorship manager 1 salary reported	$43,500 per year
Web content coordinator 1 salary reported	$44,000 per year
Senior representative 1 salary reported	$43,000 per year
Sales representative 1 salary reported	$42,000 per year

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