A word of advice for job hunters: Finding your dream career may be as simple as begging on the street.
At least that was the case for Waseem Malleye of Scarborough, who, when he found himself still without work four months after graduating from the University of Toronto, decided to stand at Bay and King Streets holding up a placard that read: Recent U of T grad. BA economics and CFA candidate. Looking for Employment. Please call Waseem.
"I had exhausted all the conventional job-hunting methods -- résumés, faxing, e-mailing and calling headhunters -- and I thought, 'I've got to do something different,' " the 24-year-old said.
"In the business world, successful people are the ones who know the benefits of taking chances and make decisions that other people don't think of."
Before hitting the pavement, Mr. Malleye had carefully scoped out the perfect corner of the financial district, a heavily trafficked path beneath the Reuters stock quotes.
And while he was prepared to stand there for as long as it took, the head honchos of several companies handed him their business cards on his first day.
A couple of interview-packed weeks later, Mr. Malleye had been offered positions as an accounting manager, commodities trader, finance administrator and investment adviser. He recently accepted what he calls his "dream job:" management analyst at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust -- the largest real-estate investment trust in Canada.
Soon after Mr. Malleye's oddball manoeuvre landed him a career, a U of T prof highlighted his feat during a lecture on labour supply and the free market.