Career Blog
Mark Quinell graduated from the University of Portsmouth, England, with a degree in Spanish and a minor in Business Management. After graduating, he moved to Canada, and in June 2015, he applied to the Management Trainee program with Enterprise, a worldwide transportation provider.
Enterprise’s Management Trainee program is a specialized entry-level position that focuses on learning customer service, sales and marketing, finance, and operations. Mark enjoyed the growth opportunities linked to this position, as Enterprise has a “promote from within” policy that allows employees to grow into the role they covet. That was 6 years ago, and in the last few months, Mark has moved into his new role as a Talent Acquisition Specialist for the Ottawa region.
Mark has been loving acquisition so far; his favourite part is being able to connect and resonate with young and hungry students and graduates. He relates to them because that’s how he felt when he started at Enterprise. He loves being able to help them.
He recommends recent graduates look for a corporate culture that resonates with them. Pay isn’t everything – look for organizations that invest in your professional growth. Extracurricular events are good too, as they can make work not feel like work. For example, Enterprise introduced the My Purpose. My Time. program in 2020 – a charity program that gives employees paid time to volunteer within their communities. And for current students? Mark says to start prepping your resumé and cover letter early. His top tip? To have a dynamic, 2-3 sentence opener that shows who you are and what you can provide. Luckily, the Telfer Career Centre offers resumé workshops as well as resumé and cover letter critiques through Career Launch.
As well, Mark Quinnell is more than happy to meet with any students interested in the Management Trainee program or working with Enterprise in general, and can be connected with on LinkedIn or Enterprise’s career page.
– Mark Quinnell, Talent Acquisition Specialist for Enterprise
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“My decision to come work at the Telfer Career Centre has brought so many positive changes to my life. Our team is dynamic and dedicated to students on their journey towards success and the job market. The best news I can receive during my workday is that one of them has landed a job they’re passionate about or has been invited for an interview following one of our networking events. It feels good to be able to help students in a tangible way.”
– Karianne Lessard
Assistant, Events and Special projects, Telfer Career Centre
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“Over the years, I have been delighted with the opportunity to meet a number of bright, ambitious Telfer business school students. From the podium at March 7th’s Ladies of the Law brunch, I could see the diverse crowd of attendees, and I felt comforted.
This next generation of young leaders, thinkers and doers are engaged and keen to learn and use their skills to work on tough global issues starting at the local level. They are also aware of the importance of work-life balance, including aspiring to good physical and mental health. As an active volunteer and business lawyer, I feel that these students are well-positioned to fuel our community’s drive for a better future for all.”
- Naomi Morisawa De Koven
Managing Director at MDK Business Law Professional Corporation
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“During my third year of university, the majority of my accounting peers had accepted co-op positions at various firms across the city. As I was not in the co-op stream, I started to feel as though I was at a disadvantage and wanted to do something to differentiate myself. I joined the Telfer Career Centre as a Student Ambassador. By volunteering at numerous Telfer events, I quickly realized how awkward networking can be – how do you approach someone or start a conversation? How do I carry on what feels like small talk while trying to stand out against other students? I signed up for non-accounting networking events and practiced without the pressure of trying to get a job.
At the end of my four years, I started a full-time position at KPMG directly as a result of attending networking events through Telfer. Five years later and still with KPMG, I can tell you that networking is a skill that is developed with practice over time and certainly does not end after school is over.”
- Leah Swanstrom, CPA
Manager, Deal Advisory at KPMG
BCom Accounting (2013)
Former Career Centre Ambassador
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“Be yourself. What does it mean to be yourself - it starts with knowing yourself. If we are our self, our different uniqueness will be useful to a company or for any task. We always just need to be our self- that is how we are more efficient, performing better as our self.”
- Louis Tassé
Senior Human Resources Vice-President
Brookfield Renewable Energy Group
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.