Career Crossroads

#50 – This week marks one year since the launch of Career Crossroads, and it’s time to celebrate and reflect! In 23 minutes, I pack in all of the following:

• How I've improved as a podcaster over the last year
• I talk about whether I've achieved the goals laid out in my first episode a year ago
• I share some stats about who is listening to Career Crossroads
• I thank the people who have helped me get this far
• I discuss the future of Career Crossroads

I really can't express how happy I am with how this episode turned out and I hope you enjoy it!

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For Ronak’s business Play A Latte, click here

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For Helen’s coaching website, click here

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#49 – As a child, Nicholas loved to tell stories and would make home movies and short films with his siblings and neighborhood kids. He even took some acting classes and was in a local commercial in London, Ontario. However, when he reached high school, he excelled in business classes and decided to pursue a business degree at Wilfrid Laurier University without really knowing what he wanted his future career to be.

At Laurier, he decided to specialize in marketing but it was his volunteer experiences where he truly thrived. With summer jobs at the campus Student Leadership Centre, Nicholas began to consider a career in Student Affairs and even worked as a Laurier recruiter for a short time after graduating. It was during his time on the road where he reflected on what he should do with his business degree and ultimately decided that he needed to put it to work in the film and television industry.  Luckily, Bell Canada, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, has a Graduate Development Program where he could switch jobs every 7 months to get a better sense of the company as a whole before landing a more permanent career. He enthusiastically applied and was accepted with the hope of getting a job in Bell Media, Bell’s television broadcasting and production subsidiary.

Despite the many mentors he had at Bell, and despite him excelling in all of his roles, Nicholas was unable to find a role at Bell Media. He had to get his storytelling fix another way and joined a group that made short films on the weekends. Life went on like this for a while until one day Nicholas found a lump on his testicle that was quickly diagnosed as testicular cancer. The good news is that he caught it early and is now can cancer-free, but this health scare prompted him to really consider if he would be happy doing the same thing day to day in five years. When the answer was no, he knew he needed to make a change.

Three years later, Nicholas is entering his final year of Film School at Columbia University and working on his thesis film, Elegy for a Glacier. Listen to his interview to hear his entire career journey and how many people influenced him along the way.

Support the Elegy for a Glacier Seed and Spark campaign here  and find their Instagram account here

Nicholas's Instagram: @nicholas.nyhof
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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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#48 – Growing up in the west end of Toronto, Ben Spurr’s favourite thing to do was get together for jam sessions with his friends. What started as a way for them to hang out became something more when they realized they had the talent to make something of themselves. That’s how Ben’s band, The Coast, got their start. 

Despite the possibilities of making music for a living, Ben also had an interest in furthering his education. He enrolled at the University of Toronto to study History, English, and African Studies and had to strike a delicate balance of academics with the band’s schedule. This balance was somewhat disrupted as Ben took an interest in journalism while working at The Varsity, UofT’s school newspaper, and he reduced his course load to make his schedule work.

At the same time, the band was also experiencing some significant success. With a manager and a record label, The Coast was able to book tours across Canada, the USA, and Europe and even had the distinction (I can’t convey how sarcastic I'm being) of having one of their songs in a Canadian broadcast of Jersey Shore. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and after touring to support their second album, the band decided it was time to move onto other ventures.

This was a turn of events that Ben was prepared for as he had kept his toe in the journalism pond while the band was touring and making music. He had stints writing for BlogTO and The Mark before settling in at NOW Magazine as their city hall reporter just in time to get a front-row seat to Toronto’s Rob Ford debacle that made international headlines. He was able to parlay that ‘trial by fire’ experience into a contract with The Toronto Star and five years later Ben is Toronto’s go-to source for transit reporting.

Listen to his interview to hear the full story of how Ben pivoted from indie rock musician to reporter for the biggest newspaper in Canada. 

You can listen to The Coast on Spotify
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#47 - Mathieu Arsenault's story is one of many pivots. His early ideas of having a career in acting led to a university drama program, but he quickly realized that acting was not what he wanted for his future. While there, a faculty member led him towards an exchange program in Russia and that trip stoked the flames of his burgeoning interest in international development.

After a number of years working to help villages in Tajikistan with their food security, Mathieu returned home to Prince Edward Island with the mindset "think globally, act locally." He first worked in business and community development, but soon came up with a plan to have a larger impact on both the residents of PEI as well as the rest of the world. That plan almost led him to bankruptcy and Mathieu began to rebuild and consider where his career might take him next.

Taking the first job that would pay the bills, Mathieu was able to find some stability as a consultant, but eventually, his entrepreneurial side took over once again. This time his interests led him towards software development and he and a business partner spent a number of years developing applications.

Now, after having achieved both highs and lows in his career, Mathieu is trying to figure out what he should do next. Where will he end up? Listen in to find out.

Personal Website:  mathieuarsenault.com 

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:

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#46 – Being LeBron James’ first intern is a pretty cool way to start your career, and that’s exactly the job Ashlee Ammons was recommended for while attending university. All her involvement in university paid off as others were noticing her talents, work ethic, and how she was able to balance her extracurriculars with her Broadcasting, Mass Communications, and Public Relations degree at Baldwin Wallace University just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

In her role as LeBron’s intern at LRMR Ventures in Cleveland, Ashlee took on every opportunity she was offered from answering phones to sorting mail and cleaning the office. Again, Ashlee was noticed, and her hustle allowed her to be exposed to the event management side of the business. That experience was what she needed to live her dream and move to New York City when she was hired as an Executive Assistant for the CEO of a luxury hospitality company. Over a number of years, she worked her way up in the company until she became an Events Manager and was working on events for brands like Monet-Hennessy and Coca-Cola.

With all her success also came the burnout that many people experience and Ashlee realized she needed to make a change. As she was exploring her options, she attended a conference to try and network but came home frustrated with the lack of good opportunities to make connections with other attendees. As she explained this issue to her mother, they began brainstorming and a question was asked – why don’t we create a better way for people to network and meet others at events? They got to work immediately and Miztroz was born. 

Hear Ashlee tell me how she and her mother built a product that can best be summed up by their tagline - “We Connect Humans”. Along the way, they became the 37th and 38th Black women in American to raise $1 million for a start-up. 

Find Miztroz online at mixtroz.com

Find Miztroz on social media at @mixtroz

Find Ashlee on social media @shemixalot87

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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#45 – Welcome back to another update episode of Career Crossroads! Taking a break from interviewing guests, this episode Jonathan is solo and provides updates on a few topics, including:

• Show Format Changes
• His Current Job
• Podcast Growth 
• Emails from Listeners

Clocking in under 25 minutes, you can listen to this episode in about the same amount of time as it takes to watch a rerun of Friends. You know what happens to Ross and Rachel. They were on a break. We can move on with our lives. Put the remote down and listen to a podcast!
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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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#44 - When Mic Tee was growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, he was surrounded by music. Hip-hop, house, and gospel were commonly heard but it was the calm relaxing feeling he got when his father played the classical guitar at home that really drove Mic’s passion. While he explored this passion, Mic also wanted to be practical so headed to Wilfrid Laurier University to get a degree in business knowing that an in-demand degree would help him get a job long-term.

At university, Mic explored all areas of music and it was during this time where he realized that a career in music was absolutely where he wanted to stake his claim. Without a roadmap to get into the music industry, and with those around Mic telling him how hard it was to break into the industry, he decided that he would do something practical that would help advance his career opportunities; further his education.

As he waited to start a post-grad certificate in Marketing and Corporate Communications, he was hired as a recruiter for his alma matter, and that one summer job turned into three years of working at the university. At the same time, Mic was writing and recording music on the side which eventually got him noticed for his writing talents. Weekend trips to Miami were the norm as Mic continued to gain experience and make connections and eventually he signed on as a ghostwriter for Cash Money Records. He had made it. He finally had stability in the career he had worked so hard towards.

Despite this success, Mic was experiencing burnout and decided to take a break by backpacking in Columbia with some friends. This trip ultimately changed his life as it was in Columbia where he met his wife, Monica, who was not impressed with his accolades and Entourage lifestyle. It was then that Mic began to realize the downsides to his industry, but he pushed onwards as it was practical to do so. Then, after another 5 years, Mic decided to fully commit to making a change so he could get back that feeling he had when listening to his dad play the classical guitar in their living room when he was younger. 

Now, in 2021, Mic runs Emtee Education, an artist development and music education firm that provides artists and labels the resources needed to build a foundationally stable strategy for long-term success.

Find Mic at the following locations:

Emtee Education Website

Emtee Education is on all major social media platforms @emteeeducation

Mic Tee on all major social media platforms - @itsmictee

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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#43 – We all knew a Laura Easson when we were younger. That high achieving type-A personality who was always helping others who struggled in class. The one who was CLEARLY going to be a teacher when they were older. That was Laura, and combined with her musical upbringing she had a great specialty for when she started her teaching career. With a solid plan, Laura headed off to the University of Waterloo for an undergraduate degree in music, then off to Western University to complete teacher’s college.

But that’s not the end of Laura’s story…

When you have your life planned out, how do you cope with realizing what you thought you wanted, what you KNEW you wanted, isn’t what you wanted at all? You escape to give yourself time to reassess, which is exactly what Laura did when her then-partner received a job offer in California. While living in the sunshine state, Laura was without a working visa which allowed her plenty of time to volunteer and build up a different set of skills. It was these skills, and her experiences in university which she was able to leverage into a role at a start up, and soon after into a role with ApplyBoard, helping international students with their university applications. 

A pivot into an events coordinator role at Conrad Grebel University College, her old residence while attending Waterloo, left Laura feeling like she had finally come back home to the place she belonged. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to in person events and Laura’s job became unsustainable. That’s when Laura started to seriously look at turning her love of music into a career, and all the hard work she has put into that has culminated in her band, Act of Nature, recently releasing their first single.

Find Laura and her band at the following locations:

Act of Nature Instagram: act.of.nature_official 

Laura Easson Instagram: laura.elizabeth.easson 

Listen to  Act of Nature's new single, Stop Being Like This 
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To support Career Crossroads, click here

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:

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#42 – Growing up, Katie was practically a fish. As a synchronized swimmer, she was always in the water and as a teenager worked as a lifeguard and aquatics instructor. Given that, it only seemed natural that she would make a career out of being close to a pool. That is exactly why she has come back to synchro and aquatics multiple times since she joined the working world.

After high school, she attended Wilfrid Laurier University to get her Bachelor of Arts in History, and upon graduating started her career in aquatics. About a year in she decided to see if another interest of hers, journalism, would be another option for a future career. A one-year certificate program showed her that while Journalism was interesting, it was likely not in her future, so back to aquatics she went.

A couple of years later, having built quite the career for herself, Katie was again thinking about a change. She knew she liked helping young people learn new skills and she wanted something with more regular working hours. As others around her were suggesting she become a teacher, Katie looked into it and realized it was absolutely the right job for her. After doing her Bachelor of Education at her alma mater, Laurier, she wanted to find a job in teaching that would show her something new. That’s how Katie ended up working in Gjoa Haven, a fly-in community of 1,400 people on King William Island in Nunavut. The job fit perfectly and with a long career as an educator in her future, Katie decided to go all in. She is currently obtaining her Master of Education in Critical Studies from the University of New Brunswick as a means to continue to improve her skill set as a teacher.
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To support Career Crossroads, click here

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:

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#41 – From a young age, Sheldon Pereira was always good at fixing things. It started when his dad brought home his first ever computer, and Sheldon had to learn to fix it when he broke it. As he matured through high school, his interest turned more to fixing people than computers, and he had visions of attending medical school to become a doctor. 

The first step in that journey was attending Wilfrid Laurier University, and while Sheldon’s overall experience was fantastic, academically things did not go as well as he’d hoped they would. As he rounded the corner towards graduation, it became clear that medical school was not in his immediate future and he would have to find a job while he continued to work on his grades. Enter: Residence Life. 

Having been a Residence Don (Residence Advisor) as a student, when Sheldon found a great opportunity to work in an entry-level job in Residence Life, with people he admired, he jumped at the chance. While his future as a doctor was getting farther and farther away, he thrived in his new role and began to build up a reputation. As he did, job opportunities presented themselves and Sheldon began to carve a new path for himself in university administration. As he did, he let go of any regrets he had about the future career he had left behind.

Now, Sheldon is the Chief of Staff to the President of Wilfrid Laurier University and has recently been given the added role of Senior Executive Officer, Internationalization. In his interview, we dig deeper into how he had to re-learn how to learn to succeed in his career, as well as how he took time off from work after some personal tragedies to recentre himself.

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To support Career Crossroads, click here

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social media

Instagram: @career_crossroads

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You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:

Instagram: @career_crossroads

LinkedIn: Career Crossroads Podcast

Facebook: Career Crossroads Podcast

TikTok: @jonathancollaton