If you are an organized person who likes to take charge of a situation, you may find a career as an operations manager to be a rewarding profession. As an operations manager, you would oversee the organizational activities of the company you work for, supervising, hiring, and training employees, as well as keeping track of their effectiveness.
The specific responsibilities of an operations manager can vary greatly from company to company, but the basic purpose of the position is to ensure the organization's processes and practices remain on track, efficient, and make improvements where needed. This may mean formulating strategies, procuring resources, and actively looking for ways to increase the quality of customer services.
An average operations manager position will involve working standard business hours (approximately "nine-to-five" during weekdays) for a total of 40 hours a week; however, overtime is not uncommon in this profession. Operations managers will often find themselves working in a time-sensitive environment where meeting deadlines is imperative. This can sometimes necessitate working longer hours in order to meet those deadlines. For operations managers working at larger organizations with multiple locations, there may be an element of travel in your work, which would obviously mean some travel time on top of your regular work hours. Any expected overtime will, of course, be discussed with you before taking the position.
what are the cons of operations manager jobs?
Operations managers work in a wide variety of industries, so the interview questions you get will vary as well based on the industry you choose. That being said, a few interview questions are common, and it would be wise to prepare for them before heading into your interview.
Your cover letter and resume are often the first impressions your prospective employer will get of you, so it’s important to include all the relevant information that they will want to see. Starting with your resume, be sure to include the following:
Regarding your cover letter, this is an opportunity to expand on what is in your resume. Talk a little about the relevant experience you have, and be sure to focus on why you feel you are right for this position specifically (as opposed to any operations manager role).
While the job outlook for any specific operations manager is greatly affected by the industry they are in—as some industries are in decline—the job outlook for operations managers as a whole is positive. Additionally, there is plenty of room to grow in the position, earning higher salaries and becoming an experienced operations manager over time. The nature of the position also means it is possible to gain valuable industry-specific experience that can be used to transition into other roles within that industry. It should be noted that, while operations manager is not the most competitive occupation, it is far from underserved, and you will face plenty of competition for roles.
The role of operations manager can be found in most industries. Any time an organization becomes large enough, it will start to reach a point where an operations manager is not only beneficial but necessary. That being said, the basic role of the operations manager is more or less the same regardless of what industry they are in.
Some examples of industry-specific operational manager roles include (but are not limited to):
Operations managers are generally well-paid for their time, with the average salary being comfortably above the national average in Canada. An average operations manager's salary in Canada is around $80,000 from an hourly rate of $41. At the lower end of the scale, entry-level positions can pay as much as $60,000, which itself is quite close to the national average. At the other end of the scale, experienced and talented operations managers can earn as much as $110,000 a year for their time, though this is a relatively small proportion of operations managers in Canada. It should be noted that the averages are weighted towards the lower end of the scale, meaning there are more operations managers earning between $60,000 and $90,000 per year than there are earning over $90,000.
Top paying areas for operations managers in Canada include: Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.
Any given operations manager role will involve some duties and responsibilities that are specific to the industry they are in or the type of business that created the role. That being said, there are some duties and responsibilities that you can expect to find in most operations manager positions.
Operations managers almost exclusively work indoors in comfortable, climate-controlled buildings. As mentioned, an organization that needs an operations manager will often be a large organization, and the larger an organization gets, the more seriously employee comfort is taken. You may have to travel on occasion if your organization is large enough and has multiple locations, but you will likely not spend much time on factory floors, construction sites, or other similar workplaces.
Regardless of the industry an operations manager is working in, the core skills and competencies they need are largely the same.
Getting into a role as an operations manager will likely require patience, as most employers will require a bachelor's degree as a minimum, with a master's degree being preferable. That being said, it is possible to get into this line of work with an associate's degree, though your employer may require more in the way of experience if you choose to go down that path. They will likely want you to have had some related experience regardless, though. A doctorate, however, is unnecessary, but you will definitely need a degree of some kind. Regarding the subject matter of your degree, a number of options are available for future operations managers, including:
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about operations manager jobs.
Becoming an operations manager will require a degree in a relevant subject—such as Operations Management—at the very least. It is possible to get hired with an associate's degree, but a bachelor's or master's degree would give you a better chance. Employers will likely want you to have had some experience in related roles, as well.
The internet will invariably turn up many options for Canadian job listing sites, of course, including Randstad! We often have new positions listed on our job seeker page, along with many other listings in related occupations that could be valuable experience for someone looking to land their first role as an operations manager.
Once you have found an operations manager job you are interested in, simply create an account with Randstad, sign in, and apply for the position that has caught your eye.
In today's interconnected world, it has never been easier to find out about new job listings. You can, of course, check out job boards for new listings, but you can also look at your personal networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also follow organizations you are interested in working for—or people who work there—on social media, where news of openings will sometimes be shared. You can also sign up for our newsletter to get immediate notifications whenever we have new jobs listed.
Operations managers oversee a broad range of things within an organization, from establishing new policies to implementing strategies and hiring new personnel. Operations managers are needed by most companies who become large enough—regardless of the industry that company is in—so there may also be industry-specific tasks assigned to the role.
In general, operations managers are paid quite well when compared to the national average in Canada. An average operations manager can expect to make around $80,000, but even an entry-level position can look forward to salaries of around $60,000 a year. Experienced operations managers who reach the upper limit of earning potential for this position can earn as much as $110,000 per year.
To qualify for a position as an operations manager, you will need to have, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a relevant subject, though some employers may require a master's degree. You may also find that your potential employer wants you to have had experience working in the organizational structure of an organization before they are prepared to hire you to run theirs.