This is One Cool Career!

Yesterday you toiled over your degree.  Today you will seize the opportunity to harness that knowledge.  Tomorrow you will talk with the captains of industry.  If you are a fairly recent Commerce (Marketing Major) or Public Relations, graduate (preferably with Co-op experience), have a mature outlook, and are interested in a career that will challenge you to reach for new heights … this is it!

Your degree can unlock the door to a career with our company in Business Development … a career you will find exciting, challenging, satisfying, fulfilling, remunerative, not gender dependent, where you will be limited only by your own ambition.  This is not a sales position; you will be a key member of our marketing team as we increase our penetration in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.  It requires maturity, enthusiasm, initiative and the ability to work with minimum supervision within the strategic direction established by the company.  It requires a broad skill set (critical thinking, financial analysis, problem solving, negotiation, networking, marketing, the ability to see the forest and count the trees) … and further company funded study for the University of British Columbia’s real estate degree by distance learning.  From our offices in Halifax your work will take you throughout Atlantic Canada and later, Ontario.  The work environment is friendly, supportive and (usually) good fun.  Our computer resources are state of the art.  Check our web sites www.turnerdrake.com and www.naihalifax.com for a more detailed look at us.

Skills and Qualifications

You will have a recent undergraduate degree in commerce (marketing major) or public relations, with above average grades.  You will be gregarious yet grounded, with a love for language and the talent to marshal it in print to connect with clients.  You will have a genuine interest in people, be mature beyond your years, be a good listener and communicator, an excellent networker, and be at ease conversing both with your peers and those senior in age to yourself.  You will enjoy building relationships through problem solving.  You will be interested in a career rather than just a job, something which will get you up in the morning with a spring in your step.  You will want to work with colleagues who share your enthusiasm.  You will enjoy variety and merit the respect of your peers.  You will value working in a team environment, have an eye for detail, be thorough, trustworthy, energetic, reliable and will benefit from the opinions of your colleagues.  You will have an enquiring mind and a sense of humour.

Training

We have a choreographed training program which blends company funded study from the University of British Columbia’s real estate degree, our own in house training modules, and on the job training under the guidance of a mentor.  Although you will be working primarily in our Business Development Department we will provide you with experience in our Lasercad™ Space Measurement, Valuation, Property Tax, Economic Intelligence, Planning, Counselling and Brokerage Divisions so that you can benefit from a broad exposure to all of our services.

The Challenge

Building on the foundations established by your predecessors in the role and working with our (occasionally irascible) company president and the rest of your colleagues you will:

Manage our social media program (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Website Blog) including generating, editing and sharing content.
Manage and analyse the effectiveness of our social media and web site program.
Author and manage our email and direct mail client communication program.
Author and issue press releases.
Respond to media inquiries.
Manage our web based client relationship program.
Conduct online research and data mining.
Plan events and organise seminars.
Check tenders and prepare responses to RFPs.
Originate and organise marketing initiatives.
Provide research, marketing and administrative support to our various Divisions.

So, you have to be organised, focused, relish variety and challenge.  Sounds daunting?  Not really, we are firm believers in documenting procedures and providing mentoring, guidance and training.  You will work under the direct supervision of our Manager of Business Development and have the enthusiastic support of what is probably the nicest group of co-workers anywhere, many your age.

The Sexy Stuff:

We asked the younger members of our professional staff what they enjoyed most about their careers with us.  This is what they said:

“One of the benefits that I saw in working here when I was first starting out was the opportunity to be mentored by some of the most highly-educated and well-respected individuals in the industry (all of whom ultimately proved most generous in sharing their time and expertise).

I also saw real estate consultancy to be a unique application of the skills I’d acquired at Dal – it combined them in a way that other disciplines I’d considered (i.e. chartered accountancy and law) did not.”

“The ability to work independently and take a project from start to finish.  I really enjoy the fact that I may be analysing the cash flows from an office building one day and inspecting a shipyard next.”

“I think a main benefit of working here is that you are able to learn a new field through on the job experience and the knowledge of senior staff and through education, the UBC courses.  It is an opportunity to continue your education with a company that is willing to invest in you while gaining experience in a competitive field.”

Working out of the office.  Being able to get out of the office and work on site jobs is a bonus.
Continuous education.
The mentor program, having someone that can answer all of those little questions that usually cause discomfort to a new employee is a big relief.
Own office space.  Not being in a bull pen set-up is great, because you have privacy.
Social events with the company.
In depth work experience, as opposed to just being basically an assistant for someone else.  You are doing real work with real deadlines.

Good mixture of in-office and field-work.
Opportunity to see the inside workings of factories and facilities that no one else gets to see.
Opportunity for traveling through Atlantic Canada.
Company funded courses.
Quick and steady salary jumps (they worked out to be about $5,000/year in each of the first 5 years).
Wide variety of property types (hangars/dairies/pulp and paper mills/pawn shops/residential/container terminals/etc.)
Wide variety of skill sets (financial analysis, critical thinking, negotiation, court work, etc.)
Working in a medium sized firm (you’re not just another person in the firm that most people don’t know).
TDP has a strong reputation.

Compensation

This is a salaried position with a benefits and pension package (after vesting period).

Application:

Submit your CV (together with a copy of your University Transcript) together with a letter (³ 500 words) explaining why you believe you are suited for this position to:

M.S. Turner, M.Sc., MBA, FRICS, MAI, CRE, AACI
President
Turner Drake & Partners Ltd.
Real Estate Counsellors
6182 North Street
Halifax NS  B3K 1P5
email:  mturner@turnerdrake.com

Please quote competition number MTBD1207-CB when applying.