project manager

administrative assistant

lifeguard

support associate

case worker

City of Toronto

What is the best part of working at the company?
The accommodation at this company is probably one of the best parts of working at this company. My supervisors/employers were flexible in allowing us to substitute or reschedule shifts. I also really enjoyed connecting with the other employees, aside from the occasional conflicts.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I worked as a Camp Counselor after high school and the most stressful part is probably trying to accommodate to the majority of kids as there are a handful that can be tough. They may refuse to play the game, cause a fuss, disrupt others, etc. Coming up with different ways (games) to keep the kids interested and provide proper mental/physical enrichment was a struggle. The CRP of the location wanted different games on a daily basis to provide variety to the kids, which was difficult.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I personally quite enjoyed the work environment and culture at my branch. There are standards that the managers like to withhold, with a few supervisors that may be a bit more laissez-faire. There can definitely be a bit of favoritism at the company, but as long as you work hard and are not wasting company time, the odds are in your favor. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Shifts were 8am to 4pm or 9am to 5pm. I arrived 15 to 30mins before my shift to set everything up and prepare for the day, but the standard is to arrive 5 mins before. The rest of the day is mostly catering to the kids . playing games in a different room (hourly room change), one hour lunch for the kids - half hour break per staff, more activities, then at 3:30 or 4pm, all the kids gather in the biggest room for pickup. 4pm to 5pm is aftercare, a more quiet (relative to before) time period. I worked with ages 6 to 12, but I believe the ages 4 to 5 has a similar work day with toned down activities.

When I started, I was mostly left on my own to read documents even tho I was supposed to be trained. My supervisor seemed to forget about me. After a month, they put me on the team to do tenders for existing projects. But these are mostly cad work and not design work so I knew how to use the software. By month 3, we completed the tenders and they put one guy in charge to train me, but he only sits with me for an hour or two weekly as he is swamped with projects and I can barely get a hold of my supervisor so I barely got any training for design work. I  try to learn from my peers as much as possible but the supervisor was not happy with the progress even though he was not even helping me. He put me in a small project by month 4 and he gave me a list of things to do for pre-design, which I did, he barely supervised me, and later on I found out that the list he gave me was not enough for the pre-design submission and blamed me for completing it just before submission day. My supervisor was the worst one I have encountered from my entire career. He was unhelpful, and an angry one. He likes blaming me and my other peers for anything and everything. I dreaded coming to work. Later on, when I thought I was improving and doing well with minimal supervision and with my efforts getting help from my other peers, he set up a probation review 2 days before I was supposed to complete my probation period in which I was fired due to my unsatisfactory performance. My union rep did not help me at all and was very dismissive which is a waste of the fees I paid them. The only silver lining to working here was that my other peers are friendly and tried their best to help me. Otherwise, working here was a nightmare.

If you are the type of person who actually enjoys getting work done and completing projects or working in an organized fashion, this is place is not for you. 
The City of Toronto, most of its divisions, is very disorganized. Simple decisions are forced into complex and convoluted meetings where even the most irrelevant staff are granted an opinion.  Meetings across nearly all divisions generally contain way too many staff and there is way too much opinion and feeling validation rather than objective organization and decision making.  It is said that having so many people accountable and responsible for tasks effectively leaves no one responsible, this is the City of Toronto.
A good example of the ineffectiveness and poor planning of leadership was my own technical unit, which had only 2 labouring staff and 3 supervisors and 2 managers.  After complaining that I wasn't given any work for 6 months (I provided documentation for this) it took 3 supervisors and 1 manager to come together and they didn't have work for me, they just asked me what I wanted to do.  

Please note, that I was a white-collar office worker, a programmer and analyst.

TO SAY THE CITY OF TORONTO IS DISORGANIZED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT

That said, if you want a cushy job with great benefits a good pension and effectively zero responsibility, this is the place for you.  If you have zero expectations and don't care much if tax-payers money is being wasted, the City of Toronto as an employer is perfect for you.

I worked as a Team Leader for Diversion Program Assistant (DPA) with the City of Toronto. I was responsible for training of new hires, organize and plan daily work schedule to meet deadlines according to the routes, maps and multi-residential audits for identifying contamination in the recycling waste. I was able to establish, update and revise waste management service levels by interacting with Supervisors, external and internal staff on a day to day basis regarding the progress of the audits. I currently possess a valid G-permit for the City of Toronto. As a DPA, I was able to take initiatives and implement new strategies for the projects by analyzing information gathered through research, public consultation and pilot programs.  I have been part of commercial audits for verifying and gathering new City of Toronto customers for Solid Waste Division, Front End contamination audits for recycling, TCHC audits for safe recycling and garbage collection under the guidelines from Toronto fire, and York University curb side audits. My past work experience and current position has given me great interpersonal skills and communication skills including conflict resolution, problem solving, decision making and situational assessment. I adopt well to working beyond normal work days as requested, under varying climate conditions. I can work with minimum supervision and plan and execute tasks with the ability to set priorities.

Under the direction of qualified staff, assists in the supervision of infants, children, and youth
Supervise and participate in play with children of all ages during outdoor activities such as swimming, baseball, hockey, etc
Assists in the set up of creative materials for indoor activity. Supervises children participating in games, arts and crafts and music
Under the direction of qualified staff engages children in age appropriate activities to build literacy, resiliency, social skills and communication
Assists children in routine procedures such as eating lunch and snacks, putting on winter clothing, etc
Assists on field trip excursions, which may include the use of public transportation
Performs emergency or unplanned supervised duties which must be considered within the job function
Assists in checking of toys and equipment used in activities to ensure safe functioning
Assists in documenting attendance of children, completing forms, reports, and communication logs as necessary
Provides input in activities planned and assists with promoting participation
Assists with safety and well being of children by adhering to Occupational Health and Safety Act, Day Nurseries Act, Child and Family Services Act
Assist children in integrating into the hostel environment
Attend staff meetings as required

A typical day at work was rather simple while working as a rink guard. I would come into work make sure the workplace was clean and respectable. Than, I would put on my safety equipment  and get on the ice. Once I was on the ice I would do my rounds ensuring that everyone had the proper equipment on and that they were following city of Toronto mandated instructions. During this job I learned several things, I learned the importance of creative problem solving (while dealing with disgruntled customers ), as well as the importance of being energetic and warm in an effort to promote a safe environment for patrons. One of the best part of the jobs were my co-workers, I got along with every single one of my co-workers including any management I worked with. I was specifically pleased with the management as I had heard so many horror stories and was expecting the worse but in reality I got a very reasonable staff of managers. The hardest part of the job was dealing with patrons who were not happy, some times I felt as if customers had valid arguments but, according to the city of Toronto they were wrong. Thus, I had to side with the City as that was my job and that's what I signed up for. The most enjoyable part of my job was constantly being outside and interacting with the lovely people of my community.

Typical work day was very unproductive
I learned how to follow the leader dribbles of work would come my way.
Management is overpaid. I did not see progress in for 21 years. We never moved forward it felt to me like papers were just being shifted around you were never in the plan moving forward.
Workplace environment to me depended on what Manager you reported to it could be a living nightmare or a nice place to work depending on the people.
The hardest part of my job was to have to worry about who gossiped about you behind your back.  Got away with it Management did not listen to both sides of the story they played favoritism. The workplace politics was horrible.
The Union failed me. I was bullied and thrown out of work by sneaky management and am still of work without pay living on my line of credit. Some people who work in the environment  are very angry. You have to deal with a toxic  environment. 
The most enjoyable part of my job was getting paid so I could pay my bills, and there were some  people I met that I miss who are silenced because of the same things working in a toxic workplace.

My focused on the following:

Developed and implemented growth strategies for acquired clients by thoroughly analyzing market dynamics and collaborating with key business decision makers and private/public sector organizations.
   
Supported the growth in the areas of ICT, R&D, Clean Tech, Food & Beverage, Development and Design.

Leveraged global and domestic insights to facilitate successful client meetings, craft strategic business proposals and grow client acquisition rate by 15% vs. previous year.

Liaised between the City, Regional economic development organizations, provincial & federal government to ensure the City’s approach to economic development was consistent with the development of these sectors and the overriding growth strategy.

Conducted business development in foreign markets which include: India, Germany, Italy, Israel and Latin
America.

Maximized Invest Toronto’s corporate objectives by pro-actively engaging with client leads and providing leads with compelling and relevant reports to facilitate and expedite their decision making process.

Managed and trained a team of five employees on pro-active sales, client follow up and relationship management tools.

Before I started working there, I kept on hearing how great of an employer the City is and that it is one of the best employers, but working there, I have to disagree. The salary is great, but definitely unrepresentative of the work you do. Management constantly adds more tasks and workload that is out your job description because there is a serious lack of staff. The mentality there is do more with less. Benefits are not as great as they are made out to be; first time that I ever had to pay anything at the dentist after having work done and a lot of major things are not covered or require doctor referrals. There's a lack of flexibility when it comes to working. Although colleagues are nice and understanding, different departments don't work together creating issues for service delivery. Very little room for advancement; they prefer hiring externally than promoting from within, and very often, new supervisors come in lacking the experience and insight to make appropriate decisions or understand the needs of your position. Most people on contract for years and still not permanent.

On a typical day my duty is to work on the telephone dealing with customers who want to use the City facilities and to register in program in which the City offers. Also, to help the customers to enroll their children into activities that will help them in their learning.

Having to deal with customers helps me to understand the needs of the parents in having interest in their children's learning development.
By communicatiing with parents increases my learning experience in the  area of recreation.

In dealing with customers my management skills have improved. I also know how to multitask and address my customers' concerns on the phone by giving them instructions on how to use the computer to register for the different programs.

The workplace culture involves a manager, supervisors, and staff, It contains a multicultural environment.

The hardest part of the job is to help first time users to find the right programs. Also to deal with customers who are inclined to have a behavioral problem.

The most enjoyable part of the job is to meet the needs of my customers. Also, to be able to develop good time management skills.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Project manager 10 salaries reported	$109,402 per year
Administrative assistant 3 salaries reported	$75,667 per year
Lifeguard 13 salaries reported	$21.31 per hour
Support associate 3 salaries reported	$30.33 per hour
Case worker 3 salaries reported	$40.00 per hour

Working at City of Toronto: company overview and reviews

City of Toronto

City of Toronto ratings

Popular jobs at City of Toronto

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected