Reflections from a recent retiree | Waterloo News

After graduating in 1983 from the University of Waterloo with a psychology degree I moved to London, Ontario. I didn’t particularly know what I wanted to do, so started applying for jobs listed in the newspaper and dropping off my resume to the major employers. It didn’t take long to receive a call from Canada Trust (now TD Canada Trust). During my 17 years there, I had nine different jobs, all building upon one another. One of the things that was very important to my long-term career was the training that Canada Trust offered: leadership, efficiency in process and people skills. Those skills continue with me today.

One of the things I was curious about while working in corporate roles was entrepreneurship. What would it be like to have my own consulting business? I ventured out, leaving the security of a paycheque, to create Hummingbird Consulting. I worked for mostly large organizations doing management assessments, conflict resolution and a variety of training. After a couple of years, I was wooed back into a corporate role, still in financial services, but now as the vice president of Human Resources.

During this time, I started to do my Masters in Business Management online. It took five years and I was very happy when I could add that to my resume.

The riskiest move I made happened when I accepted the head HR position for Canada and the UK for Intuit. I was still living in London, which meant a commute to Edmonton. It was an exciting time for my family spending time in a new city on weekends. The position offered me long awaited international experience. The travel did get tiresome after a couple of years so I accepted a Global position as VP of HR with IBI Group. I had the pleasure to start and grow HR in this international company. I travelled extensively during that time to many counties gaining a perspective on business culture. It was a dream job that allowed me to work with many outstanding people. That’s where I spent 11 years prior to retiring.

Now that I’m retired, I golf and travel with my husband, and spend time with our grown children, daughter-in-law, sons-in-law, 12 grandchildren, my mom and our vast group of friends. When I reflect on my career, I’m satisfied and proud of what I was able to contribute. And it all started with a degree from the University of Waterloo!

Jane poses with her mom and two daughters, Andrea and Kate.