One of the things I hear most often when I talk to young professionals about finding jobs in their field, is that they need to head to the "city" to find what they are looking for.  That is- they need to live downtown Toronto to really get a job that "matters." I get it - I did it too. I lived the Toronto life including the tiny apartment and tiny grocery budget and worked 60 hours a week, just to say that I had lived it.  But, if I had of known what I know now - I might not of looked that far.

Newmarket businesses tend to be pretty humble about their role in the technology world.  We have international giants like XE and Celestica in our own backyard and yet still people think that companies like these only exist in Toronto. Newmarket is home to companies innovating in the Internet of Things, FinTech, Digital Marketing, Health Tech and Software Development game and somehow we've managed to fly under the radar, until now.

 Anyone who works in a global business knows that XE is the world's most trusted currency converter.  The XE story begins with two high school friends, connecting after university, starting up in their basement in the early 1990's and has since grown to serve over 35 million monthly users.  This past week, XE celebrated it's 25th anniversary. 

XE has grown a lot since two friends in a basement - to an international company, with offices in the UK, California and the headquarters in Newmarket.  I met up with one of their team members, Sam the other day to find out a little more about what working for XE is really like.  Sam is  the Marketing Co-ordinator for XE and a champion for all things social -whether it's company baseball games or soccer team or the weekend long staff camping trip.  When we sit down in the "lunch room" at XE (it's really more of a cafe style kitchen with high ceilings) she is bubbling with excitement about all things XE and Newmarket.  I asked Sam what she loves about working for XE:

Sam: it's like family, we have so many things going on. We are doing soccer tonight.... We all went camping together a few weekends ago. I was a little nervous coming to work here- I don't have the same technology background and I wasn't sure I could get excited about currency but the culture here is amazing and what we do is really cool.  We have a Green Team that looks at environmental efforts...we work with WasteNotFarms to do compost recycling.  

EB: Can you tell us a little about your role at XE? 

Sam: As a digital marketer at XE.com, I focus on creating and sharing educational content that helps customers complete important tasks on a global scale. At XE, we helped nearly 300 million people last year access information about the currencies that matter to them.  I work with various technical and creative teams working on developing new products to better serve our customers. 

EB: What do you think people need to know to work here?

Sam: I would say - we are all about culture and diversity and fun while also working hard.  We are very collaborative. We have people on our team from all over the world which is amazing.  You meet really great people who are actually the best at what they do - whether they are an analyst or developer - its an amazing team. 

EB: And, what about Newmarket -what's it like to live and work here?

Sam: Growing up in a small town, Newmarket to me feels like a city with a rural feel.  I love that my commute to work is less than 10 minutes (6 to be exact) with no traffic. But like a city, we have various food options for all meals of the day and great places to shop (Nature’s Emporium, Newmarket Farmer’s Market, and Upper Canada Mall to name a few). There is also a ton of green space, such as Rogers Reservoir and Thornton Bales, and Lake Simcoe is only a 20 minute drive north on highway 404. I am a nature enthusiast, so driving up to Algonquin is a lot easier then if I was commuting from downtown Toronto.

I am also a music lover, so I feel like I get the best of both worlds as there are many talented musicians in the area. I always have the option to take the train to Union and see my favourite bands play in the big city. Living in Newmarket is good for me because it has everything I need to live. I love that I am near nature to the north and the big city to the south, and being able to get to work on time without waking up too early. Community here is close-knit compared to most major cities, so if you’re looking for an area to live in people say hi to you as you walk by, then this is the place to be.

XE offers its employees a pretty comprehensive package including flex-time, full benefits, RSP matching, FREE gym and personal trainer and more.  Currently, XE is looking to fill both design and analyst roles.  All XE jobs can be found here: