By many standards, Canada is a big country. We have big hearts and big spirits. Geographically, we're the world's second-largest country, after Russia. But by population, Canada is relatively modest, with just over 32 and a half million people, according to a recent estimate.* That puts us 36th on the list of world population.

What does all this have to do with the careers and recruitment industry? Surprisingly, quite a lot. The fact that our population is so small makes the pool of talent recruiters can pull from small too, and creates a special set of challenges for those who are competing for the country's top people. What's more, when you consider how few job candidates in any market are suitable for senior management positions, you realize that trying to find the right C-level executive or board member becomes an even harder task for a Canadian business.



Canadian recruiters must be highly strategic in their approach to filling key positions. And while the talent pool they have to pick from may be smaller, they still have to deal with the same issues recruiters the world over have to face. For example, not only do they have to find good people, they have to keep them satisfied to make sure they stay. Particularly at the management level, high turnover can have serious consequences for a business, from interrupted initiatives to lost opportunities to the cost of replacing departing staff.

To attract and retain the right talent, companies are rethinking both how they hire and how they promote themselves to the workforce. They might, for example, adopt new policies that stress greater work-life balance, and even hire an agency to create a media plan with which to promote the kinds of environments and amenities they offer employees.

Of course, many companies will also use a search agency to help them select candidates for open positions. Canada has a wealth of agencies, most of which specialize in one or more particular fields like manufacturing or IT. Typically, staffing agencies are either retained, meaning they're paid whether or not they find a match, or they perform contingency searches, meaning they're paid only if they find a match. There are advantages to both approaches, but because retained agencies tend to employ a stricter set of criteria, they often specialize in senior-level searches, while contingency agencies tend to be associated with lower-level or administrative positions.

Finally, many foreign companies and agencies advertise in Canada for positions in the U.S and abroad. Because--and here we come full-circle--while our population may be small from a numbers point of view, it ranks very highly from an employers'. Our citizens are highly skilled, highly educated, highly motivated and often speak more than one language. And, should one of them be hired away to some of other part of the world, the Canadian talent pool becomes that much smaller.

Recruiters who want to reach Canada's best and the brightest consider The Globe's Career section first. This compelling mix of classified ads, display ads and editorial isn't just where the country's most promising prospects look for job opportunities, it also gives them practical information and strategies that help them actively manage their personal career paths.



For marketers who want to reach this loyal audience, Careers is a compelling value. A placement in our central edition reaches job seekers in the GTA and surrounding areas, while a placement in our national edition reaches (as you'd expect) a nationwide audience. In both cases, a Careers package includes placement on Wednesday and Friday plus the advertiser's choice of the Saturday or Monday of the same week as well as an on-line listing on Workopolis.com for a nominal charge. This package is also available to recruiters who want to place their ads in our western edition, which reaches readers in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the three territories, as is an additional four-day package.

Regardless of the market you want to reach, we've got--or can create--a program that connects you with the candidates you're after. We're experts at optimizing ad spends. After all...that's our job!.