By 2007, Susana had grown tired of the cloudy, rainy, dull and dreary Vancouver weather. Although she missed her family and friends, she also missed the varied and seasonal climate of Buenos Aires, and especially the sun. So much so that it convinced her that even the weather of Toronto, with its biting cold in the winter, was, with its hot temperatures and sunny skies in the summer, a much better option.
Deciding that a move laterally across the country couldn’t be any more difficult than the continent move made a decade earlier, she booked another one-way ticket for the second time in her life, this time east.
Using her experience and accreditations for leading fitness classes at YMCAs in Buenos Aires and Vancouver as a landing strip, she began networking through the city’s locations, taking every unwanted shift as a class instructor at any location needing one, using YMCA Toronto, now as a launchpad.
This got her off EI right away and, just as quickly, her networking campaign paid off. Alerting all she met that there was a new, experienced, government IT engineer in town, resulted in her securing a one-year contract position with the City of Toronto, designing and developing IT training courses.
Her exemplary performance in her assignments ensured that her contract was annually extended through 2011, until cutbacks forced its cancellation. Faced with the prospect of collecting EI again, she chose to forgo the benefit, petitioning the City Community Recreation section for any position, no matter the pay.
Community Recreation was looking for an experienced individual, and, being perfect for the role, she was hired immediately. This position saw her responsible for the City’s two fitness centers, which meant she opened and closed daily, ensuring safe equipment operation and cleanliness, and leading classes. Word of her sessions spread, growing them in size and scheduling while attracting new attendees, many of which, unbeknownst to her, were in positions of power and influence at the City.
Throughout her time there, she met everyone that came through the doors, and no one left without being enamored by her positive nature and engaging personality. This side of her was constantly on display, and her authenticity was valued as much as her ability to lead and inspire others. Through Zumba, Pilates and Spin classes, and personal one-on-one resistance training sessions, her network grew.
Ever resourceful, looking far beyond the low-paying remuneration, she utilized her access to the standard forms submitted to her while processing and forwarding them on to Human Resources. These payroll forms ensured a nominal monthly deduction from the employee of the City’s paycheck in exchange for access to the facilities. The information on these forms gave Susana the missing piece of the puzzle she was assembling in order to know exactly what positions in which departments and divisions each of the members held. This valuable detail provided her all of the context needed to further her career search.
With this complete picture, she was able to better tailor her networking efforts and ever-improving elevator pitches, eventually seeing her being scooped up by Community Recreation IT, thanks to fortuitous introduction to the Division’s Manager by another of Susana’s fitness class-attending colleague, who knew he needed her and her website development expertise.
She happily boasts that this manager has since re-hired her for various assignments critical to his department, allowing them to also catch up with each other while she climbs the corporate ladder, rung by rung. As they reminisce, they recall their now-decades long working relationships and friendship.
From that particular corporate position, which facilitated the launch of Susana Corporate 2.0, she has never looked back, except fondly – from her downtown condo’s 35th floor balcony, no less – on her experiences as a fitness class leader and personal trainer, a passion for which she still enjoys today.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein should not be construed or considered professional advice. Nonetheless, thanks for reading! If it resonates, there’s “plenty more where that came from” on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube ‘n’ Twitter.