Employment History

As I mentioned in my introductory post, I went straight into the workforce after graduating high school. Surprisingly, I was offered a position that I was not expecting at all. For a teenager, this was a huge move for me. At first it was very intimidating, but I received the training and knowledge I needed to be part of the corporate workforce.

Here is a breakdown of my employment history:








Thomas Cook Group plc - Encore CruiseEscapes (Sept. 2007 - Apr. 2008)

This was my first "real" job, where I worked as a Cruise Specialist. Encore CruiseEscapes is a cruise vacation wholesaler located at the heart of downtown Toronto, and we provide cruise packages to travel agencies all over Canada. To briefly describe my responsibilities, I booked cruise packages including hotels, flights, transfers, etc. in behalf of travel agents, for their clients. The reason why I left the company is because an offer came up from a start-up travel (cruise) company, which brings me to my next employer.










Tripharbour (Apr. 2008 - Sept. 2008)

Tripharbour.ca is a new cruise company in the travel industry, and is located in downtown Toronto as well. I worked as a travel consultant in the company, and enjoyed every moment of it. The reason why I took the position was not only because of better salary and benefits, but I also saw the potential in growth within the company. The President and CEO of Tripharbour is Stuart MacDonald. He is the SVP of Marketing & Packages and CMO of Expedia, and also the Founder and Managing Director of Expedia.ca (Expedia Canada). Having such an impressive background, I believed that Tripharbour will be as successful as Expedia, or even more successful.










Flight Network (Sept. 2008 - Feb. 2009)
Some personal issues came up in life, and I can no longer afford commuting to downtown Toronto. It just happened that I also received an offer from Flight Network in Oakville. Long story short, I had to take a job that was closer to home, without having to worry about rush-hour traffic and taking the subway. My responsibilities were almost identical from the previous job at Tripharbour. Unfortunately, the company had to let me go in February of 2009, due to company restructuring caused by the recession.



So there you have it. After being laid off, I decided that maybe it was enough time for me to know what direction I should be taking in life. And so I decided that it was time for me to go back to school and get my degree. Six months later, I got accepted and started attending Sheridan College. It was a very wise choice, and now that I'm getting the education I need, I will be ready for what lies ahead.