‘For us, this is a long-term play’

It could have been the CEO’s corner office or a boardroom, but instead it’s a media production studio.

Eight storeys above the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street, the 300-square-foot room in the Pederson Group’s headquarters at 201 Portage Ave. is outfitted with comfortable chairs, a plant and black drapes that block out natural light and control the acoustics.

There are three video cameras, two computers, a few microphones and a variety of portable video lights. All told, the equipment is worth more than $70,000.

It’s here where two of the Winnipeg recruitment firm’s five staff members — Justis Pederson, president and CEO, and Cassie Bezan, director of creative communications — produce Careers Under Construction, a weekly, hour-long podcast featuring interviews Pederson conducts with Manitoba business people.

Depending on the source, something like 45 per cent to 90 per cent of podcasts don’t make it past three episodes. Careers Under Construction has beaten those odds, publishing 57 episodes since it debuted at the end of August 2025.

It’s all part of the Pederson Group’s digital marketing plans. Recruiting typically relies on cold calls and one-on-one interactions, Pederson said. He hired Bezan in 2022 — one year after he and his wife, Melissa, started the Pederson Group — to multiply the company’s efforts by creating and implementing an online strategy.

Careers Under Construction is an evolution of that strategy.

“It’s just more brand awareness for me (and) for the business,” said Pederson, 36. “They see us sitting down with leaders, industry experts, subject matter experts in their industry, and then that demonstrates our expertise as well.”

The Pederson Group specializes in recruiting for engineering and construction roles, so the podcast initially focused on those industries.

“(Construction offers) great careers, great quality of life and a lot of people just don’t know about it,” said Bezan, 31. The solution? “Let’s bring people in and talk about why you love your job.”

The podcast’s focus has since widened, and Pederson now interviews business people from a variety of industries. Guests have included real estate mogul Sandy Shindleman, former NHL player Dale Weise, and lawyer and businessman David Asper.

The founders of Fête Ice Cream & Coffee, Jenna Rae Cakes, and Coal & Coal have also made appearances.

“I love the stories that we share,” said Bezan, who grew up in Teulon before studying media production through Red River College’s creative communications program. “I just never realized how many cool stories were in Winnipeg.”

Pederson has noticed a few themes emerge over the course of interviewing 55-plus guests about their career trajectories. “Failing over and over and over again is how they’ve become successful, and sharing about what they’ve learned through their failures is probably the most common theme.”

The interviews have also underscored for Pederson how important it is to push forward when starting a new venture, even when the results aren’t immediate.

“You have to stay consistent and be persistent and see it through for a long time, likely, before you’re gonna find any success,” he said.

“After talking with so many guests, that’s something that’s just drilled into my head now.”

The financial investment to get Careers Under Construction going was significant, and it doesn’t have sponsors or include advertisements. Still, Pederson said, the podcast has helped him form relationships and create awareness about the Pederson Group.

It’s led to companies from the United States and throughout Western Canada reaching out to him and offering him work. “This podcast has certainly generated multiple six figures since the start,” he said.

Nearly 16 million Canadian adults, or 46 per cent of the country’s age 18-plus population, now listen to podcasts at least once a month, according to the Podcast Exchange, a podcast advertising network headquartered in Toronto.

Canadian podcast listeners are increasingly interested in Canadian content, said Kattie Laur, a Brantford, Ont.-based podcast specialist and founder of Pod the North, a resource for podcasters.

“(It’s) been pretty significant when you compare it to most Canadian media consumption habits,” Laur said. “Canadians are showing us with their play buttons that they are pretty stoked to listen to more Canadian content and want to hear more voices from (Canada).”

Pederson and Bezan are pleased with the response Careers Under Construction has received so far. Each episode attracts between 1,500 and 2,000 listeners, Pederson said, adding those figures are steadily growing. (Bezan also publishes a video of every episode on YouTube.)

The podcast’s audience is primarily between the ages of 28 and 44. Fifty per cent of listeners who start an episode finish it, Bezan said, and more than 35 per cent of listeners return the following week.

“I’m not doing this to get 200,000 views,” Pederson said.

“We’re never going to be The Joe Rogan Experience. That’s now what we’re here to do … For us, this is a long-term play. We’re in it for the long haul, which is why we’re consistent. We just do one episode every week, and we plan on doing that for a long time.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca