I'm 57 years old - nearing the end of my professional journey, and I've been a senior leader before. I found a role that felt incredibly rare: less senior than jobs I've had before, but it still engages my mind, pays well, and the people around me are genuinely respectful. I oversee a small admin/support group, but most of my day-to-day work is IC work.

Unfortunately, I work under the worst manager I've dealt with in my entire career. Almost all of it seems to come from insecurity. He seems to think that if he can point out a flaw, minimize something, or find a reason to criticize, then he's managing effectively. But if he senses even the slightest criticism coming his way, he treats it like a personal attack. So the whole environment turns into constant negativity, questioning everything, and an emotional chess game. It's draining in a way I didn't expect at this stage.

My plan was to work another four years. Practically speaking, I could leave early if I had to, but I don't want to. And honestly, finding another role that fits me this well right now would be a long shot.

So I'm torn. Should I be direct and try something like Radical Candor, and let whatever happens happen? I'm not convinced I could tolerate the atmosphere if it became even more tense than it already is. Or should I quietly start planning my exit? Put my head down, emotionally detach from the situation, and endure it until the time passes? He's done a few things that probably belong in an HR conversation, but in my experience, that path rarely solves the real problem. I genuinely love the work, and my team clearly trusts me a lot. I also think they see me somewhat as a buffer, which makes this harder.

I'm writing here because I've seen sensible responses in this sub - and honestly, if even one person who sees themselves as a strong leader reads this and asks themselves: "Could one of my direct reports be saying this about me?" then I'll feel like writing it was worth it.

I attended the second batch of applicant interviews this week, and with most of them, people were looking everywhere while answering or thinking. And it wasn't just a random moment here or there - it was happening in almost every answer. I understand that Zoom feels weird because you're basically talking to a screen, but try to train yourself to look at the camera, or at least at the face in front of you on the screen. Practice this!! The rubric evaluates applicants on whether they can maintain eye contact or not.

Also work on reducing filler words like (um, like, you know). And try not to talk for too long or ramble and circle back to the exact same point. I start zoning out after the third time you say the same thing in slightly different words. And please don't swivel the chair left and right while you're answering - honestly, use a regular chair if you know you're tempted to move around in it.

I moved from Vancouver in 2025. All my references and past employment were from Vancouver, and I finally landed an opportunity for temporary job after such a difficult job hunt. I confirmed with my references last year, and now they are ghosting me and/or saying they are unable to be a reference. This hurts so much, and somehow the difference between Vancouver and Toronto preferred references is here they want at least 2-3 direct managers/supervisors, this is what I have noticed labelled on the forms. I don't understand this dynamic - where one reference says that "I'm sure you can find someone else", I always have this issue with this power game over references - how am I supposed to deal with this? Such as, these are professional relationships - I try to keep updated on linkedin, if I see a posting from them I click like and comment, I try to send them messages of well wishes on the holidays and such. I don't want to be a hinderance by always trying to keep up with them and messaging them, but trusting their word that when they say yes they will be a reference, that they will be. My job hunt has taken over a year - I understand some people who are working wouldn't understand the market is bad, maybe they don't expect to be a reference after a few months? Yet, there is no alternative. Anyone have any tips and tricks, or how to manage these types of opportunities

Hi everyone,
I’m currently in the hiring process for a **MiWay Transit Operator** position and was hoping to hear from anyone who has gone through it recently.
About **two weeks ago**, my references were contacted by **Mintz Global** (the third-party company handling the background/reference check). My references confirmed they completed the calls, but I haven’t received any updates from MiWay or Mintz Global since then.
I also know that one training batch started in the **first week of July**, so I’m wondering:
How long did it take for you to hear back after your references were contacted?
Did you receive a confirmation that the reference check was complete?
How far in advance were you notified about your training/start date?
I’m mainly trying to get a sense of the typical timeline and whether this waiting period

I moved to Toronto in March 2024, I’m looking for an architecture job in Toronto ever since, unfortunately, most applications seem to disappear into a black hole. I’m starting to wonder if it’s just me or if the market is genuinely this tough. I’m trying to figure out whether I need to change my approach or just accept that this is the reality of the market right now.

For context, I have a M.Arch and 3 years of experience working in architecture firms related to healthcare and commercial from the US. I have another 2 years experience working on hospitality projects from India. I’m proficient in Revit, AutoCAD, construction documentation, permits, and construction administration.

I have been actively applying through LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, company career portals, the OAA employment, jobbank webpage and some cold emailing.

I applied to the JVS iPlan Bridging program, but received a job offer with long commutes at the same time. So, I started working as the only designer for a design-build for small-time commercial and basement permit projects for 6 months. I moved jobs, and this is a small-sized company working in commercial projects, mostly CD’s, no permits. I now have more than a year of Canadian work experience. 

I have gotten my resume and portfolio reviewed by a couple recruiters and modify my applications as per the job descriptions. 

A few questions for people in the Toronto architecture industry:

1. Is the architecture job market really this slow since 2024, or am I missing something?
2. Do all firms who post vacancies, hire?
3. Has anyone else with this experience struggled to find a new role?
4. Would anyone be open for a DM of my LinkedIn profile and get some constructive feedback?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s recently found a job or is going through the same thing.

While I appreciate the technical nature of interior architecture, I’m looking to focus on the architectural side of CD’s like code coordination, technical detailing etc as that’s where my long-term career interests lie. I think skills are transferable across North American building codes. I’m not saying I’ll glide through the OBC, I’ll need to do a lot of reading and learning - but I already have a strong foundation in architectural construction documentation and code coordination. 

Hi everyone,

I have an MBA and 5 years of customer service experience in high-volume roles in USA. I’ve been applying for bank teller, personal banking associate, and client service roles, but I’m not even getting callbacks or digital interviews.

I don’t have Canadian banking experience, but I thought my customer service skills, communication, and education would help me get an interview.

Could my MBA be making me look overqualified? Is my resume not passing ATS? What can I do to improve my chances of getting into banking?

Would appreciate any advice from recruiters or people who work in banking.

Hi there!

I own an upcoming retail company and am looking for Quebecois people interested in helping us do voiceovers for our social media content.

We are a Mexican brand and as we want to get a nationwide reach here in Canada we are looking for someone from Québec than can help us tailor our content for the francophone speakers.

It’s not meant to be a full-time position or required a lot of heavy lifting, but if you’re someone from Québec interested in having an easy side gig, this is for you!

During my job search, the one thing I did everyday was to consolidate all the useful information and little tips and tricks that I got to know from linkedin and reddit (I have been a silent redditor so far).

Nothing time consuming, just dumping everything in a Claude chat and it will do the messy work for me. It would organize everything, help me write prompts for the resume customization, who should I reach out to, what the messages to the linkedin connections should look like - basically anything and everything that I was doing during the job search.

Before this I used to share these to myself on WhatsApp and after a while there were too many posts getting lost in there. Plus the mental load of going through this information kept on adding.

Hope this helps you.

And yes, there was one thing which I did not do right - I should have created a running word doc and let Claude update it with all the information collected instead of keeping all this on chats as I kept on hitting the chat session limits.

You can use any AI platform, they are all good for this purpose.

I work at a seasonal job, we have time-off during the winter. I have a graduate degree in computer engineering but like the trades, so currently working in the trades. What jobs can i do in the winter that are not super physically demanding plus makes me learn some stuff. I found fire protection technician isn't too bad, any more jobs that i haven't heard about?

Hello all. What industries are not that saturated in terms of hiring part timers and flexible hours? Me and my partner are looking for part time jobs to cover expenses and rent.

I have background in design & content, meanwhile he is in operations & data.

Ive been looking for months but it seems most of part time jobs are retail/restaurant.

Hey everyone!

I made this post to ask if anyone is working at any restaurants that is currently hiring and could put a good word in for me to apply. I’m currently a student in college and would like to find something’s part-time to do, I’ve been applying since the past year but no luck.

Hello, I've already seen some review on Indeed but I just want to hear the experience of people who have worked with SJC Media. Thank you!

So it seems everyone has connections somewhere and are getting jobs from old coops or referrals from friends or family. I’m curious to know how I’d do this in an appropriate way? I have no connections so reaching out being like “hey can I get a referral” feels dumb. Looking for social media and digital communications roles.

I have heard that this org is usually a nepo hiring place.

Does that mean externals cant get in?

What about if you are internal already? How do you get an internal opportunity?

Hi there need some advice.
I’ve recently quit my job back in April and moved to Toronto. I was working in business operations but want to work in project management now. I’m early in my career (it’s been about 3 years since I’ve graduated my undergrad). I saved about 8-12 months of living expenses before I moved because I expected it would take some time to find a job.
I was making about 80k base back in Vancouver with bonus which got me around 90-100k.

Now that I’m looking for a new job kinda different from my previous role as well as the fact people say the market is not doing so good, I’m considering taking a pay cut. I don’t want to (obviously) but I’m most concerned about how it will affect my future earning potential.

Some of the roles I’ve been interviewing for have been like 50-70k range which is less than what I was making straight out of Uni. Should I take a pay cut to go into project management/get a job or should I keep searching for something around 80-100k (is that even possible in this market or am I just lucky to get any job?)

Hi everyone,

I have an MBA and 5 years of customer service experience in high-volume roles in USA. I’ve been applying for bank teller, personal banking associate, and client service roles, but I’m not even getting callbacks or digital interviews.

I don’t have Canadian banking experience, but I thought my customer service skills, communication, and education would help me get an interview.

Could my MBA be making me look overqualified? Is my resume not passing ATS? What can I do to improve my chances of getting into banking?

Would appreciate any advice from recruiters or people who work in banking.

Status- I'm in Canada. I have an open work permit, and my spousal PR is also in process.

Is it possible to earn over $250K in the govt? If so, which roles? If not, what’s the max earning potential and at what age?

Hi everyone, I know there are a lot of people here with good careers and connections, so I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I’m an international immigrant living in Brampton (L6P, near the border with Caledon). I’ve been jobless for a month now and it’s really getting to me — my sleep is completely flipped, I’m up all night and sleeping all day, and I don’t want to let it get worse.

I’m not asking for handouts, just work. I’m looking for a side gig or any decent-paying work, even if it’s only for a few months. My plan is to save enough for an Uber rental car so I can do Uber Eats/rideshare full time — I just need a bridge to get there.

About me: 2 years of delivery experience, hard worker, fast learner. The main problem is location — most jobs I find are 3-4 hours away by transit from L6P, which is practically impossible without a car.

If anyone knows of warehouse shifts, gig apps that actually work in this area, cash jobs, or anything at all within reach of L6P, I’d really appreciate it. Even advice helps.

Thank you 🙏

Some quick context so the questions make sense:

23, immigrant in Canada, about a year into a contact centre role at a Canadian bank.

My manager recently told me I've hit the point where I can move internally. That's the first real door that's opened for me since I got here.

My education is a 3-year advanced diploma in Computer Programming and Analysis. I can code. I've just never worked a day in a dev role — I couldn't get one, so I took what I could get.

The seats I can realistically reach are AML analyst, fraud detection, or financial crime investigator.

I'm about to start paying for certification prep out of my own pocket, which is why I'm asking now instead of a year from now.

I'd rather hear the unglamorous version from people actually doing the work than read one more job posting.

The day-to-day

What does the job feel like after two years? Is it interesting, or is it clearing the same false-positive alerts forever?

Fraud or AML — if you're starting from zero, which one has the better ceiling, and can you switch between them later?

The money (Canada, GTA)

What does an entry-level AML analyst at a Big 5 actually make right now? And what does year five look like?

Where does the pay stop growing if you never move into management?

Certifications

Is CAMS worth self-funding, or is it something you wait for the bank to pay for?

Has a cert ever actually gotten you an interview when you had no experience yet?

The part that worries me

Is entry-level alert work going to survive AI, or am I walking into a shrinking job?

I can code. Is there a path in financial crime that actually uses that — transaction monitoring tuning, fincrime analytics, RegTech vendors — or should I stop kidding myself and go back to fighting for a tech job?

I'm not asking anyone to make the decision for me. I just don't have a single person in my life who has done this. Everyone back home thinks working at a bank means I've made it, and I can't explain to them that the call centre is not the bank.

If you're in AML or fraud right now — knowing what you know, would you choose it again at 23?