On TOKTW day, I went with my mom to her work, which is Colliers International. The name of my host was Leanne Reynolds, and she is my mom’s manager.

Interview:

1. What is your job title? My job title is director, property management.

2. What is your job description? I oversee property managers in British Columbia.

3. What are the duties and/or tasks you perform at your job? I coach property managers, set standards for the company, and disseminate information.

4. What qualifications do you have for this job in the following areas:

Training: I have training in customer service, accounting, operations, and safety.

Education: I have a Bachelor of Arts, RPA certificate, and am licensed.

Experienced: I have experience in development, leasing, and health and safety.

Skills and attributes (personal qualities): I have good leadership, collaboration, communication, and am open to learning.

5. What are some of the things you like about the job? I like how my job allows me to work with a variety of different people and how the schedule changes daily so that there’s rarely any monotony.

6. What are some of the things you dislike about this job? I dislike how my job involves lots of technology, which requires skill to operate.

7. How do you anticipate this job changing in the next 5 years or so? I anticipate that technology will change accounting as it improves and grows, making it more efficient.

Other questions: When is the busiest time for work? The year end (December to January) is busiest because it’s critical for deadlines.

Student Reflection:

1. Give three reasons why you would like this job (be specific): I would like this job because I would be able to work with multiple likeminded people and continue to learn more from them. I would also like it because it changes frequently, making it interesting and enjoyable in my day-to-day work. The office environment is very quiet and friendly too, making it easy to work in and get to know your colleagues.

2. Give three reasons why you would not like this job (be specific): I wouldn’t like this job because there’s a lot of tight deadlines that need to be met quickly, which isn’t something I would enjoy. It’s also a long commute to the offices, which would require me to get up early to catch the train. While I wouldn’t mind doing it, the job itself doesn’t really match up with my interests and what I want to do in life.

3. Is this job for you? Why or why not? I don’t think this is the job for me because I don’t have much of an interest in math or finance-based jobs, although I like the calm environment of the offices and friendly people there.

4. Explain the value of the TOKTW experience in relation to your ideas about postsecondary (after high school) plans (education?, training?, travel?, work?). This experience was valuable to me in that although I don’t see myself doing it, I learned that there’s more to accounting than I thought in both work and qualifications. While I have other ideas about what I want to do postsecondary, accounting is still an open career path that I’m glad to know I have the option of taking now that I have more experience of what it entails.