Hiring is ongoing at CIBC

by Gloria Welton

CIBC has six branches across PEI with about 50 staff in total. Kelly Whitbourn, Community General Manager, takes care of three PEI branches.

She says most of the bank’s recruitment is for Customer Service Representatives, which are front-line entry-level positions. “We have also advertised positions for Financial Services Representative, as well as Associate Financial Advisor, Financial Advisor, and leadership positions.

“We often develop the Customer Service Representatives to move into Financial Services Representative roles, and advancement goes up from there. We like to promote and develop people from within the branches and we like to hire people who have the desire to advance.”

Kelly has been at CIBC for 10 years and has worked in the banking industry for 25 years. “The work at CIBC is all in-bank; however, there are a few remote jobs. The career possibilities have a wide scope because in banking there are legal, IT, administration teams, and more. Cybersecurity is becoming more and more of a need, so the IT team is growing.

“We have been recruiting this spring. We have been successful in filling positions and we continue to take applications. You can upload your resumé at the CIBC career page online. At that website you can hunt for jobs with CIBC across the country.

“You can also sign up for a job alert to be sent to your email when jobs matching your criteria come up. Also, on the site you can store your resumé and cover letter and have them ready when a job you would like to apply for comes up. All applications must be in response to an advertised position online.

“In many cases, we meet people who are interested in working for us and seem like a good match, however, there may not be positions posted. They are still welcome to chat with us. We assure them that a position will open up and to stay in touch, and in most cases a match is made. We keep people in mind and keep connected because when a position does come up we want to ensure they apply.

“Most of our frontline positions are part-time, which can be ideal for students. We try to work around students’ schedules. One branch is open on Saturdays so that can allow for the flexibility students may require. Our part-time positions offer up to 25 hours per week, with a minimum of 15 hours.

“We have people close to retirement who want to work a few hours a week, and we get students, who are looking for work in the financial world and advance from there.”

“We get up to 150 applicants for each position we post for PEI. It is important for applicants to try to stand out. Coming into a branch with your resumé and talking with the manager is a good way to stand out so we can put a face to a name.”

Kelly suggests another way for an applicant to stand out. “It’s great to network at local events, which gives us a chance to connect with people who are interested in applying.”