Hey,
Anybody knows how to find accounting and finance networking opportunities in Toronto (not necessarily job fairs, but some casual events where you can mingle with ppl in the industry)?
I live in Montreal and am looking for opportunities in Toronto. An old schoolmate of mine found a decent position there through referrals and connections built through his short master program and he told me to go to some casual events…
I took a look at and joined some networking groups in Meetup…seems lotta ppl in that group wish to meet HRs and managers…so I doubt it is the right place…
Where can I meet ppl who are already in the field and who can provide me guidance and opportunities?
Thx!
Hopefully you went to a good school so you can tap the alumni base. I have found general meet-ups pretty useless because the people that are already “in” network amongst themselves and don’t go to these things. You end up with a bunch of job seekers in the same boat so the ROI on your time will be limited. Try to comb through linkedIn and find useful second- or third-degree connections and see if you can get introductions that way.
I’ve never gotten an opportunity out of going to casual events (I only use them to meet women)… Most everyone there is to sell insurance/financial planning/real estate.
How about the local society? Meeting professional already in the field. There should be some value there right?
A lot of them (at local CFA society events) are also job-seekers, so there is limited opportunity there. However, it’s not all bad, some of these job-seekers eventually get jobs, in which case, it’s good to know them. Also, some speakers at events (at least at major societies) are worth getting to know.
I’ve been to 1 CFA local society meeting to listen to a panel once. My table consisted of: a project manager at a refinery, an unemployed college grad, a phd physicist who passed all three levels working in IT, an engineer, and of course me who was selling cars at the time. We were all looking to break into finance.
At least the food was good.
^ LOL!
At ours, we get to meet a fair number of people whose names you’d recognize in the WSJ or on CNBC. But being in New York does mean you get a higher concentration of stuff.
For networking, the CFA annual conference in April is somewhat useful, but you have to be pretty outgoing to rack up enough cards to follow up on. If you’re too much of an introvert or shy, you’ll find you spent a lot of money to listen to mildly useful stuff, but not many contacts.
It sucks, but the best networking events I’ve been to are more exclusive. Can you go to networking events for a group (race, gender, sexuality)? It seems like “XYZ people who like finance” is better than generic “people who like finance.” I went and got invited to another event that is held regularly and has a pretty successful group of people. I don’t know if it might be different as every group is, but I didn’t have a school network and I used this to build one of my own.
Join the Toronto CFA Society for starters. Yes a lot of events will have people who are in a similar position as you and looking to break in but you still meet valuable people.
They are actually having their “Inaugural CFA Society Members Pub Night!” on Wednesday and have a great Mentorship Program you can apply for.
For comparison purposes, my last table at an event: Analyst from CPP, Analyst from TD Securities, MFin Student, and two entrepreneurs who had both worked at major players but decided to spread their wings and fly solo.