principal

underwriter

senior associate

finance manager

director

Export Development Canada

My experience at EDC, as well as other students I know has been less than optimal. 

My team was composed of 4 people including myself, who worked from home 2-3 days a week, and the rest they were unavailable due to meetings.

Most of my tasks were given to me in an informal manner, often by them stopping by my desk on their way to a meeting they were late for, firing requests at me for 30 seconds, and not providing any training but expecting impeccable results.

There was no feedback despite multiple verbal and written requests, but when it was provided, it was often too late, was done in a accusatory tone, and did not seek to solve the problem, but mainly to point out failures.

My manager and supervisors were incapable of giving a straight answer to any questions, and acted annoyed when asked. Additionally, there was no recognition for my work when it was presented to other teams, which made me feel anonymous and unappreciated.

Overall, a horrible company to work for. The culture is hostile, there is no opportunities for development offered to students, and the managers were spiteful, and went as far as ruining other job opportunities for me by giving horrible references.

AVOID THIS COMPANY.

Having worked at EDC for many years I found it to be stressful, intimidating and even experienced bullying while there. they flaunt all good practices because the management teams are not qualified or trained to deal with people. Over worked and under payed is the motto at EDC. Good benefits though, but you will need them as your health will invariable suffer long term.Come performance review time your over and above efforts will not be mentioned and every effort will be made to make one feel inadequate and empty. The culture is to keep employee raises to a minimum so that the managers, directors and VP's get more of the pie. Other Crown's seem to behave the same and are all interconnected somehow, like an old boys club.

I initially joined the company with high hopes, impressed by the excellent benefits and compensation package. The management and HR team seemed promising at first, but unfortunately, things took a downturn over time.

The company tends to favor followers over independent thinkers. They seek external expertise but then expect you to conform to their mold. Despite the promotion of transparency, this principle is not consistently applied. I've seen toxic leaders promoted and people with little tangible experience in an area of expertise or accomplishment given significant roles. It gives the impression that it is not about merit, but biased opinion.

The last two years have been particularly challenging, marked by instability, insecurity and a negative work environment. It's been a very sad and disappointing experience.

Nice place, nice building, skilled, friendly and approachable staff. A great collaborative environment where you have direct access to all levels of management.

All in all, this is actually a great place to work, good benefits, great salaries, excellent training and development opportunities. It's environment where management really understands that investing in staff is valuable.

The only concern is, it is run like a business, and if money can be saved, it will be. This does mean that contracts are often cancelled or no renewed and even full-time staff are at risk of being laid-off at anytime should there be a case to save money.

It's a tight ship, sometimes a bit too tight.
But I wouldn't shy away from working there.

On the first hand EDC looks like an open minded and nice environment to work: nice building, clean environment....

But once you got on board, you work is slowly turning to be the nightmare.
Management is quietly getting under your skin. They want to know everything about you and later to use this knowledge against you. 

Company quietly laying off full time employees and replacing them with contractors.
Contractors assigned multiple projects, very often doing the work that was done by 3 or 4 people before.

Yes, EDC allows to work from home, but having so much work to do, you have to work not paid overtimes to return this favor.

If you consider employment at EDC, I would think twice.

Good luck

I would say the technical support teams are highly underpaid. Good company, but the compensation is minimal. Consulting is far more lucrative and you would have far more opportunities to fulfill career goals.

Full time EDC staff are stuck in their roles for at least two years. Benefits were good, but I did not feel like management were there to help me with my goals. 

The Ottawa office is nice, and the gym is free. Bonuses only given to full time staff.

Pros...
Excellent pension (DCC for new employees) 
Flex benefits
Smart people
Work/life balance

Cons...
No accountability
Very slow growth in comp and opps
Bureaucratic - old school
Did a 180 on remote work - forcing folks back with poor rationale, those hired as "remote" during covid having status revoked.
Way too many leaders
No empowerment
EDC doesn't know how to operationalize strategy
Very superficial in their values - say all the right things, but if you dig even a bit below surface, it's superficial - includes its top employer rating, greenwashing, culture/values, etc.


I have worked for EDC for over 16 years and seen the company going through many restructuring phases.  The big transformation that began a few years ago, which intends to change the way the company operates, is very positive and puts it in the right direction. The strong “turf” culture amongst its silos has not been dismantled yet, however, resulting in rigidities that go against the grain of nimble business.

I was privileged to work for this Crown Corporation during the years that I did. Management was always there for you to lend a hand, to listen and to help. Team members would always help each other out to get the job done and over the course of time, it didn't even feel like going to work anymore - more like spending time with friends working on projects.

The company was intense with younger people and they couldn't figure out there pay system for students. Some colleagues lacked respect and some unprofessional behavior was evident.

However there were also some amazing colleagues that were students and the manager who hired me was amazing. Most of team i didn't get a chance to work with but they were great overall,

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Principal 43 salaries reported	$118,328 per year
Underwriter 14 salaries reported	$93,038 per year
Senior associate 4 salaries reported	$77,267 per year
Finance manager 10 salaries reported	$112,910 per year
Director 5 salaries reported	$143,990 per year

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