New Starts & Warm Welcomes

From operations to administration, to guest services and more, meet the people who make the Mountain so special! Name: Dmytro L. Department: Marketing Favourite Food: Pizza Favourite Summer Attraction: Ridge Runner Favourite Winter Trail Run: TBD – I haven’t experienced winter yet! 1. Where are you from? I was born in Ukraine, and grew up in a small coastal town in the Southern part of the country called Crimea. Crimea is a peninsula around the Black Sea. 2. How long have you been in Canada? I have been in Canada for about 6 months, since we arrived in the middle of May 2022. 3. Why did you choose Ontario as your destination? We didn’t have much of a choice. First, we were thinking about going to Europe; to Bulgaria first through Turkey. But at the last moment, we found out that I wasn’t not allowed in with my expired travel pass. So, we applied to a Canadian program called CUAET. We knew that my common-law partner Tassia had a cousin in Collingwood, so we contacted her, and she invited us to come. We had never been to Canada. Everything that we knew about it was from video of travel bloggers who had been to Toronto and Vancouver. 4. What was your previous work experience? For the last 8 years, after the occupation of my home country Crimea, I traveled all around the world. I found myself in Marketing which I loved, because it allowed me to work remotely and travel independently. This is something I really valued since our country has been struggling for independence for the last 8 years. I called myself a “Digital Nomad” or “Growth Hacker” and did auto funnels which made auto sales of educational technology products. It was really fun to be an architect of funnels, since it’s creative and used as a business tool. Especially when I was traveling, I had tons of new ideas and was constantly inspired. 5. What things were important to you when looking for a job in Canada? The most important things to me were having a good team and promoting a good product. 6. What were some of the biggest barriers to finding employment? At the start, I had my very first phone interview when I was still in Ukraine. The biggest barrier was not knowing the language, since I normally can’t understand Canadian English, so at the beginning it was difficult to catch up. 7. What made you decide to apply for a position with Blue Mountain? For the first two weeks after we arrived, we had to stay at home for the quarantine period. I was looking for jobs in the edtech industry, but I soon discovered Blue Mountain. In the summer I found an open position there through the internet and applied. My partner also tried to find a job in town, but she is still learning the language. So, she put in an application in the jobs office and received an interview with HR from Blue. When she interviewed, we came together so that I could I help as her translator. We had a conversation with HR, and I also asked about the job I had applied to in Marketing. It was an interesting process of recruitment in Canada and I learned a lot. I was so glad to meet my future team members during the interview process. 8. What department do you work for? What is your position? I work in the Marketing department as the Email Marketing Coordinator. The work is very close to what I was doing before. 9. What has been the best part of your experience so far? The best part of my experience has been meeting great people at Blue. The people on my team are kind and awesome so I’m glad and excited to be part of the team. 10. What has been your biggest challenge? The biggest challenge has been building new experiences and learning a new work model. In Eastern Europe, work culture was very strict, and you couldn’t make any mistakes. But to learn, you will make many mistakes. So it’s been a welcome adjustment. 11. What are you looking forward to most at Blue Mountain? Now that I’ve been here for a bit, I’m learning everything new, working in a new country and on a new team. This has been the best experience, and I love it so far. I’m learning not only the language, but a new market, and I have new ideas which can be tested in my new field. In the future, I hope to get my Permanent Resident card and continue my work at Blue. Are you interested in applying to Blue Mountain this season? Check out our careers page here, and learn more about our open positions. We’re excited to hopefully welcome you to the Blue Crew!