Careers

Jeff Schwartz, Executive Director of Consolidated Credit Canada: Hi. I’m Jeff Schwartz and I’m the Executive Director of Consolidated Credit Counselling Services of Canada. I am proud to say that since 2007, we have helped hundreds of thousands of people overcome their issues of mounting debt.

We do this by working with creditors on repayment options and our clients, by developing personalized budgets to help our fellow Canadians overcome their debt problems for good.  A big part of our mission is to improve financial wellness before people run into problems. We do this by proactively working with communities across Canada, providing financial tools, education and materials we feel every Canadian should have access to.

Of course, our mission depends on our people. Our financial counsellors and support team have been trained in all these areas to make sure we are successful in our mission. Let’s take a moment and hear from some of our team members and what their roles are in our organization.

Gabriel, hired in 2009: I’ve been the site manager and kind of head of the counselling department.

Yolotl, hired in 2009: I’m a consumer service supervisor.

Onicka, hired in 2015: I’ve transitioned into a team lead here.

Dev, hired in 2019: I’ve been a counsellor here at Consolidated Credit.

Cera, hired in 2017: I’m a client service representative.

Joshua, hired in 2016: I’m a credit counselling supervisor.

Samycha, hired in 2013: I’m in the alternative solutions group.

Henry, hired in 2017: I’m a credit counsellor.

[On-screen text] What part of the job is most rewarding to you?

Samycha: A lot of times they come in and they’ve been told no so many times, and us being able to tell them yes is really rewarding.

Henry: Working with them on their budgets, working and understanding their income better, and finding ways to find additional savings, on top of that is finding ways to help them get out of debt.

Dev: Giving people peace of mind. We do help a lot of people here. You hear it on a regular basis, people are very thankful for our services. A lot of tears, a lot of people saying, “This is, oh, I should have done this a lot sooner. I regret not doing this.” Referring us to friends and family. It’s a great feeling. It really reinforces that we’re doing meaningful work here.

Onicka: Assisting our clients with achieving financial freedom.  The excitement, the relief and the joy from a client, I find that really rewarding.

Joshua: Coaching and mentoring our team of credit counsellors. Seeing them provide the best service possible to everyday Canadians with various levels of debt and distress. Being able to help them, being able to find solutions for them is, by far, the most satisfying part of the job.

Cera: I find it most satisfying when I hear the smile in my clients’ voices, knowing that they may call in stressed out or unsure of whatever it may be. But after they hang up the phone with me, I know that they’re leaving feeling positive, feeling comfortable that everything will be okay.

Gabriel: The counsellors, first and foremost, seeing their growth in skills, seeing their growth in terms of how many people they’re helping and their career development and their knowledge of products and services. And the growth of our company and our client base, and really just reaching out and helping more and more people every day.

[On-screen text] How do you define success?

It definitely takes perseverance, the right attitude to want to succeed, and just hard work.

Samycha: Hard work, dedication, time management and being able to provide effective solutions for our clients.

Gabriel: You know, you have to be, not only confident in the advice and recommendations you’re making. You have to be able to build a rapport with your clients and help them understand that you’re not selling a program or a service. You’re ultimately giving them good advice, which is going to solve the problems.

Dev: You have to be willing to make sacrifices, come early, stay later. The job is to accommodate the clients and help them with their needs.

Onicka: You have to celebrate the good and learn from the bad, and just progress with that.

Henry: You have to be in their shoes. I think it’s very important to be, so that you can see what their struggles are. And then, from there, offering different ways to help them get out of debt.

[On-screen text] Giving back to the community

Onicka: Last year we did the North York Harvest Food Bank, where we actually got to go out into the community to the food bank and help sort out food. Like, we’re part of a huge family here and the community is a family as well.

Henry: We’ve done a lot as a company. One of my favourites is raising money and helping the people in need.

Samycha:  One particular charity that strikes a chord with me would be the Terry Fox Run. Unfortunately, I have cancer in my family as well and this charity is really important to us. Being able to get out there in the community and support our community members it great. It’s a great opportunity to get some exercise.

[On-screen text] In office events

Cera: It makes me feel like I’m not only someone that works here, but it makes me feel like I’m part of a little family. You know, I think that’s really important because you don’t want to work feeling like you’re just a person sitting in a chair. You want to feel like you’re part of a greater picture, a bigger team. You want to feel involved and the fact that I can feel involved and I can get everyone around me involved, that makes me really happy.

Onicka: I enjoy the back to school. I enjoy Halloween as well, of course, who doesn’t like Halloween? But more recent, coming up in the next couple weeks, we’re doing a twin day. So, that’s something I’m really looking forward to. It will be the first time and I’m teaming up with the big boss, so it’ll be an interesting day.

Dev: We have certain theme days. Pajama day. Humour Day. There’s always events, food.

Yolotl: We make this place a fun place to be because it’s like our second home. We actually called this, you know the company, our second family. So, we have a lot of activities, like holiday parties. We have events every single month, organized by the Spirit Committee.

Gabriel: We’re focused. We’re really here to do a good job and help a lot of people. But at the same time because we know we’re in an industry where we’re sometimes we’re helping people in a tough situation, it’s important to lighten that mood. It’s important to know that we all support each other and we do a lot of events to just make it a fun culture.

[On-screen text] If you enjoy working with people and helping them meet their life goals, Consolidated Credit Counselling Services of Canada, Inc. may be the right workplace for you!

We’re currently accepting resumes for positions in our Toronto office.

Email your resume to [email protected]

Embark on an exciting career opportunity today at Consolidated Credit Canada.