“I graduated out of U of T back in 2014 and at that time the job market wasn’t the greatest, but through Career Edge I was able to break into the finance industry with my first internship at GE Capital.”

That one sentence contains more than it lets on. A tough market. A degree that wasn’t translating. And a program that cut through the noise and put Brad in a room where his career could actually begin.

He describes the internship in one word: foundational.

“When you’re out of university, you’re still wet behind the ears. You’re probably going to lack a little bit of job experience. Having this opportunity opened my eyes and gave me that basic foundation to be confident in doing future roles, within the company and in the other roles I took on outside of GE Capital.”

What surprised him most wasn’t the technical work. It was everything school never taught him.

“When you come fresh out of school, they only teach you the technical things. But when you’re in the actual workforce, you start to realize communication is a very important aspect of work, and that’s something no school really teaches realistically. Anybody could learn technical skills. You could read a book, take a course. But when it comes to human interactions, office politics, those are things that need to be learned on the job.”

Six months into the internship, GE Capital made it permanent. The foot in the door became the foundation of everything that followed.

And that foundation has proven durable in ways Brad didn’t anticipate.

“Every job that I’ve had, in the interview process they asked a lot about what I did at GE Capital. Having that brand name is quite important early on in your career. Even in my current role, when I talk to clients, they say ‘wow, you’ve worked at so-and-so company’, they find it quite impressive. It’s been many years, but your first early stage job still matters.”

The advice he’d give his younger self is about the trap of staying in your lane too soon.

“I would tell myself to be more open, even within my own job. Be willing to explore other avenues within your work. A lot of times when you first start, you think you’re going to be working within a set parameter or your own division. But be willing to go outside your comfort zone and explore other job functions or departments that might be of interest. That’s the best way to explore where you might fit in your career long term.”

On what employers are missing when they rely only on traditional hiring pipelines, Brad is direct:

“When you submit a resume, you’re going up against thousands of other applicants, that’s the typical story you always hear. Whereas with Career Edge, employers will definitely have a stronger pool of talent. It gives opportunities to those who maybe didn’t go to a school that had co-op. It gives everybody a chance. Employers shouldn’t just rely solely on their typical hiring practices, think outside the box. You might actually find very strong talent outside of where you would normally look.”

And for Career Edge, on 30 years of bridging that gap between education and employment:

“Happy 30th anniversary, Career Edge. What you do is absolutely amazing and necessary, especially in today’s climate. For 30 years, you’ve been bridging the gap between young adults going from education to the workforce. What you do is vital, it gives young people the confidence they need to start their careers. I believe everybody should take a look at Career Edge. And I think you’ll have another 30 years.”

Want to learn more about Brad and his journey, watch the full video here