azine to A unique mag ts find the help studen ve and build lo work they want. the life they
careeroptionsmagazine.com
VOLUME X, FALL 2015
INTREPID MAKE A
CHALLENGING JOB MARKET YOUR CAREER
TURNING POINT
TRAVELLER
SCOTT WILSON MAKES PLANET EARTH HIS
HOME OFFICE
TOO YOUNG TO INVEST?
THINK AGAIN!
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CONTENTS
been said that It’s travel is the only thing you spend money on that actually makes you richer page 26
07
APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM: Your Digital Footprint Matters By Joseph Mathieu
08
DIGITAL RECRUITMENT: Get Noticed in a Digital Landscape By Alex Scantlebury
14
THE PRICE OF EDUCATION: From a young age, we’re told that our post-secondary education will be the best years of our lives. By Stuart Jeffery
18
THINK IT’S TOO EARLY TO INVEST? THINK AGAIN: When it’s Time to Retire, You’ll be Glad You Started Young By Kyle Provost
20
COVER
26
33
By David Meffe
By Tamara Peyton
STEPPING OUT YOUR DOOR: How to See the World Without Breaking the Bank
THE CAREER TURNING POINT: When Bad Things Happen, See the Opportunity
30
TRAVEL TO LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF: With graduation day looming, the idea of deciding what to do with one’s future is daunting.
ducation E spending shortcuts will keep money in your pockets page 14
By Vanessa Mullin
STORY
DEPARTURES IS ONLY THE STARTING POINT: An Interview with Extreme Traveler Scott Wilson By Pierre Hamel
CO high school edition 3
Editor-in-Chief Paul D. Smith Managing Editor | gordongroup Pierre Hamel Project Management | gordongroup Omer Abdallah Art Direction / Print Management | gordongroup Leslie Miles Design and Layout | gordongroup Leslie Miles Director of Advertising Sales | gordongroup Kirill Kornilov Advertising Sales | gordongroup Colleen Hayes Distribution Coordinator | gordongroup Omer Abdallah Contributors Pierre Hamel David Meffe Kyle Provost
Stuart Jeffery Vanessa Mullin Alex Scantlebury
Joseph Mathieu Tamara Peyton
Career Options High School Edition is published annually by the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE), 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 202, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2T9. For subscription information, contact Paul D. Smith: Tel.: 613-634-2359 Fax: 416-929-5256 Email: pauls@cacee.com Website: careeroptionsmagazine.com For advertising inquiries, contact Kirill Kornilov, Director of Advertising Sales, gordongroup: Tel.: 613-288-5363 Fax: 613-722-6496 Email: kkornilov@gordongroup.com Website: gordongroup.com ISSN: 1712-1183
Go to school. Stay out of debt.
The Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) is a national, non-profit partnership of employer recruiters and career services professionals. Our mission is to provide authoritative information, advice, professional development opportunities and other services to employers, career services professionals and students. NOTE: The opinions expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect CACEE policy. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. The National Student Resource of: Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers 720 Spadina Ave., Suite 202, Toronto ON M5S 2T9 cacee.com
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WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR ADVERTISERS... 19 Alberta Post-Secondary Application System (ApplyAlberta) 34 Automotive Industries Association of Canada 35 Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) 2 Conestoga College 13 Education & Career Fairs (ECF) 12 Humber College, School of Social and Community Services 29, 34 Insurance Institute of Canada Career Connections 17 Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) 36 Lassonde School of Engineering, York University 25 Ontario College Information Fair (OCIF) 11, 34 Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) 16 Ontario School Counsellors’ Association (OSCA) 23 St. George’s University (SGU) 6 Student Life Expo 4 The SchoolFinder Group 32 University of Regina
[EVEN MORE]
CAREER OPTIONS As always, you can check out the latest issue of Career Options online, or browse the archives for more great feature articles from past issues. But there’s a lot more in store at our website, careeroptionsmagazine.com
BLOGSPOT
is a space where guest bloggers share their thoughts about post-secondary education, entering the workforce, finding the right job and getting a career on track. Submit your own blog ideas at careeroptionsmagazine.com/ blogspot
EDITOR’S LETTER
ONLINE RECRUITING – WORDS ARE THE KEY Before I begin this editorial about online recruiting, let’s establish some parameters. I won’t try to tell you, Gen Y/Gen Z, about social networking or life online – that’s your area of expertise. What I will tell you is that large organizations, run by Boomers and Gen Xer’s, are using social network platforms to transform the way they engage potential recruits – you. They are making new rules and those who know what they are will have an advantage. Once upon a time campus recruiting involved a good deal of human-to-human interaction, from first meeting through to acceptance and on-boarding (accepting the job and starting work). Recruitment in an online environment involves less direct human-to-human interaction, and it comes into play later in the process. Not that long ago, you might have learned that a company was hiring by speaking to a company rep at a career fair, an information session or an in-class presentation. It is now much more likely that you will learn of the opportunity through Twitter, LinkedIn or some other social network. When it was time to apply, you might have given the rep a hard copy application package (CV, cover letter, and transcript). Now, you’ll be directed to a company website where you’ll likely engage with an Applicant Tracking System – a platform that will collect your data in a format that will allow them to run a keyword search, looking for clues that will tell them if you are suitable for an interview. You’re thinking, “OK. New process – I get it.” And you should. It’s not that complicated, but the devil is in the details. You’re going to need to figure out what organizations you’re interested in, and then follow/link to them. You will need to figure out the candidate characteristics that are most attractive to the employers that interest you, and you’ll need to put them into words. Because, in this new process, words are the key – that’s why they call them ‘keywords.’ The biggest change in this new process is knowing the right words to use when you submit an application because the selection of interview subjects is based on how well your words match the ones the employer is looking for. If you don’t know those words, they will never meet you. But if you do – you’re in. CO Cheers! Paul D. Smith Paul D. Smith is the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers and Editor-in-Chief of Career Options High School Edition. Email Paul at pauls@cacee.com. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: cacee.com, careeroptionsmagazine.com
is the latest social media craze, and Career Options has hopped on the bandwagon. The virtual pinboard is used to share interesting photos and ideas—we use it to help students and recent graduates in all aspects of their careers. Check out our boards for job interview tips, office outfit ideas, easy lunch recipes, office decoration, books worth reading and much more. Visit pinterest.com/careeroptions Keep up with the latest career advice, news and views: follow Career Options on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our RSS feed and join our LinkedIn group.
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AT S
APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM
A
AM
By Joseph Mathieu
T
he hardest part about the job search is getting your foot in the door. With fingers crossed, you send out resumes hoping you’ve tailored them properly: waiting to see if you made the cut. But recently, companies poised to catch graduates fresh out of post-secondary are sending out their own data in the opposite direction. The foremost employers are upping their recruiting procedures with each passing year by integrating social media channels into the process of finding the right candidates for their vacancies. And they aren’t just trying to broadcast job postings through LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter: they also want to offer valuable information and insight on their industry to the students they hope to hire. Combined, this new process of attracting, recruiting, and hiring new applicants is known as an automated tracking system (ATS). These can be as simple as a resumé screening portal all the way up to a recruiting and mentoring process.
WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO WILL REACH OUT AND ASK QUESTIONS THAT GRAB OUR ATTENTION Melissa Larson of RBC Recruitment has spent four years in campus recruitment. Her goal is to continue to build strong relationships between students and RBC, which she has been doing for the past year and a half. RBC uses a complex ATS geared specifically to university grads. “RBC attracts, recruits, develops and advances high performers, resilient collaborators, and progressive thinkers who want to join in our business promise of providing trustworthy advice to enable clients’ success,” says Larson. “Through social media channels, we have students who will reach out and ask questions that grab our attention,” said Larson. “Social media help them obtain the information they need so they are more educated on the roles that are available.”
Many large companies have their own version of ATS. RBC describes theirs as an “experience enhancer” that figures in both online and campus recruiting. While the social media channels break the ice, what really grabs a prospective hire is the careers portal on the RBC website. As with any ATS, all applicants still submit a cover letter and resume to the job in which they are interested. With RBC, the system keeps tabs on the applicants’ progress throughout the application process. Positions can become available once students meet with the recruiter or hiring manager. The recruitment teams are then available to continue the conversation and help students learn about specific roles, events and opportunities that the company offers. RBC LinkedIn chats are a perfect example of tailored events geared to help students making their first career step. These weekly summer conversations highlight different areas of RBC with employees in attendance for a type of AMA (ask me anything). Although they are set at a certain time of day, the chats can be referred to at a later date if a student can’t make the live conversation. The next step for employers is to enhance the student experience with more personalized recruiting. RBC has the latest technologies in recruitment and a highly successful recruitment team. Many other organizations are using the same or similar approaches as well. Many who recruit at the campus level put those technologies to use to benefit students’ choices as much as possible. It’s a brave new world of ATS and there are benefits for everyone, student or not, to learn how to leverage these new technologies.
Based in North Grenville, Joseph Mathieu is a bilingual freelance writer and editor. He bolsters brands, explores music and narrates lifestyles worth celebrating. He tweets @JRMwords
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DIGITAL
RECRUITMENT By Alex Scantlebury
PROFESSIONAL RECRUITMENT has changed dramatically in the last decade. Previously, companies would physically send out representatives to “woo” prospective employees, similar to how universities and colleges send out scouts to bring in top athletes. Now, during the social media revolution, professional recruitment has gone digital. Though this has made it easier for both employers and employees to find each other, both parties have had to become much more self-aware about what they say online and how they say it. As a freelance writer and communications consultant, I leverage the opportunities that the social media world has made available to me on a daily basis. Seventy percent of my client base has come from the connections that I have made online. The ability to instantly share content, thoughts, and ideas with the world has had a major influence on how I have professionally branded myself. To maintain my success, I must maintain my brand, making sure that I scrutinize everything I post/say online regardless of how trivial the content may seem. I am, by no means, an expert in the professional recruitment techniques of those companies out there searching for the best and brightest employees. I know what works for me and I stick to that, making changes as necessary. I did, however, have the chance to speak with an expert in the field of digital recruitment. Andy Headworth is the founder of Sirona Consulting: a specialist consultancy that helps companies leverage social media and technology to improve their recruitment strategy, recruitment processes and recruitment marketing. He is the author of the Amazon no.1 best seller Social Media Recruitment—How to Successfully Integrate Social Media into Recruitment Strategy, published by Kogan Page in May 2015. He is also the author of an award-winning recruitment blog and was named to the “Top 100 Most Social HR Leaders on Twitter” by the Huffington Post, and the
“50 Most Popular Recruiting Influencers on Twitter” by ERE. It is safe to say that he knows what he is talking about. Career Options (CO): As social media and digital recruitment continue to evolve, do you believe that we will begin to see a scenario where our reputations and personal brands portrayed online will eventually outweigh our skill sets and experience? Andy Headworth (AH): This is an interesting question because this is already happening. With many companies choosing to first check potential candidates out online, the first thing they see is this “personal brand” displayed across social media platforms. With social media networks being highly ranked within search engines like Google, it will likely be these profiles that will show up first in the search results. First impressions count, everything from the profile images you use to the descriptive phrases you’re using to position yourself. If these don’t look good (from the viewer’s perspective), then it is unlikely they will look further at your skills and experiences. Recruiters and HR professionals have little time and make decisions based on what they see. Having a strong set of social media profiles that constitute your personal brand is now very important.
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STUDENTS CAN ALSO START THEIR FUTURE EMPLOYER HOMEWORK EARLY, BY IDENTIFYING TARGET EMPLOYERS AND THEIR RECRUITERS.”
Learn more from Andy Follow him on Twitter @andyheadworth
(CO): Traditionally, professional recruitment meant physically sending someone out to “wine and dine” potential recruits. Do you believe the social media revolution has opened the door for people entering the workforce who would have otherwise been overlooked using traditional recruiting techniques? (AH): Social media allows recruiters to reach and engage people in different environments. I think that they (the recruiters) are better able to get an insight into people setting out for work for the first time. They may have already been tracking them through their studies, sharing stories, content, and relevant information with them. It is easy for employers to find students on specific courses via some basic research on LinkedIn and Facebook. The recruiters are then tasked with building relationships with them early on, so that when it comes to decision-making time, their companies are right there for them. Round the other way, students can also start their future employer homework early, by identifying target employers and their recruiters. They can follow them and connect to them and start to demonstrate interest, skills, knowledge and intent during their educational years. 10
VOLUME X, FALL 2015
(CO): You are widely considered an expert in the field of recruitment through social media. What do you consider is the single most important rule concerning social media use and professional aspirations? (AH): I will answer that with the opposite of what to start with: the biggest mistake that people make when aligning social media with their personal life is a complete lack of objectives. In other words, they have no idea why they’re doing it, other than they thought—or were told—they should. My advice is simple; know why you are using social media in the first place. Then when you have worked that out, focus on the audience you’re trying to reach out to and then post content relevant to their needs and areas of interests. (CO): As a digital recruitment expert, what are some of the things that you would personally look for if you were scouring the social media world for someone capable of working for your firm? Would you be willing to take a chance on someone who had some controversial material or remarks posted on social media?
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(AH): If someone had controversial material or remarks posted on social media accounts, it would make me explore further. Everyone knows social media sites are public and easy to find, so if someone is knowingly publishing that type of content then it would raise a red flag for me personally. I would question their integrity or reasons for doing it, and ask myself, “Would I want this person representing my company?” I look for people with well-rounded social media understanding, how they use different content across different platforms and engage people in conversation. I also look for people that actively engage and chat to people, share their content but at the same time have a personality all their own. The world has become a much smaller place over the course of the last 10 years. Virtually every move we make collectively, or individually, can and most likely will be broadcast for mass consumption, often with complete strangers. Mass or open sharing can be our greatest strength or our Achilles heel. It’s a lever that can lift candidates or sink their hopes. Slip-ups can be tragic, but strategically “stacking the deck” in your favour as Andy Headworth suggests can pry open doors to future success. CO
ALEX SCANTLEBURY is the founder of EBM Professional Writing Services and a graduate of Algonquin College. Follow him on Twitter @ebmprowriting.
FOR BEST RESULTS, keep your social media brand
CLEAN & CONSISTENT
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Did you know that of recruiters will review your social media profiles before making their decision on whether or not to hire you? And 55 per cent of those same recruiters have reconsidered their decision after looking through your social media accounts.
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The sobering fact is that of those reconsiderations are negative. Some of the biggest red flags that turn recruiters away from hiring you are the use of profanity or other inappropriate language, referencing illegal drugs, and posts featuring sexual content. I f you already keep your posts clean and professional, you aren’t totally off the hook either: spelling and grammar have the greatest negative effect on your chances for employment. Remember, once it’s out there, it’s out there so give yourself the best chance for success.
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THE PRICE OF
EDUCATION
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VOLUME X, FALL 2015
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By Stuart Jeffery
From a young age, we’re told that our post-secondary education will be the best years of our lives
H
owever, the cost of these experiences has become financially crippling to many students expected to begin paying back their student loan mere months after graduating. A post-secondary education has become a serious expense and, unfortunately, coming up with the money to pay for school is a huge challenge for students and parents saving for their child’s future which, in the current economy, is a job in itself. So when it comes to the cost of an education, many students find themselves relying heavily on student loans or lines of credit. However, after graduation, these debts can become overwhelming as students can be expected to graduate with more than $26,000 in debt, on average. Students are encouraged to reach for the stars while relishing the time they spend working toward their degrees, but many are not provided with the tools and strategies needed to budget for it. And to compound this, the days when a university degree guaranteed students a secure, well-paying employment offer are gone: replaced with the hard truth that most will likely struggle to find a job in their chosen field while working low-paying jobs to maintain their monthly financial obligations. However, students can minimize the amount borrowed by looking into bursaries, loans and scholarships; seeking out part-time or seasonal employment; budgeting and cost saving when living on or off-campus; and seeking alternative off-campus housing which will all help reduce their yearly fee by thousands. By following a few tips, students can avoid taking out loans, or at the very least make it much more manageable.
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OSCA / ACOSO OSCAOSCA / ACOSO / ACOSO
OSCA / ACOSO
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF YOUR STUDENT LOAN IS TO BEGIN SAVING MONEY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.
OSCAOSCA / ACOSO / ACOSO
Download or view online at:
www.whatsnextguide.ca
The What’s Next? guide will help you choose your path. 16
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The most important part of reducing the amount of your student loan is to begin saving money as early as possible. My parents, being the overachievers my sister and I brag about during awkwardly long toasts during the holidays, began putting money aside for our education before we were born. Unfortunately, this is not the standard story for many students seeking a post-secondary education that must rely solely on government assistance, or money they have saved from part-time work, or both. Although the education funds my parents set up for my sister and I covered the cost of our yearly tuition, we both were encouraged to seek out manageable part-time employment to cover the cost of textbooks, transportation fees, food and rent while completing our degrees. The best advice I was given when looking for work was to look for a position that could easily transition into full-time work during the summer months. Most campuses offer resources for students seeking employment throughout the year, whether it be seasonal or permanent. Many degree programs offer little time to work throughout the school year, so check for positions that are seasonal, such as landscaping, lifeguarding and house painting. When a friend accepted an offer from NYU, she opened an online store and sold most of her possessions making enough money to cover her living expenses for the first four months. This gave her the freedom to acclimate to student life while taking the pressure off of looking for an immediate source of income. While this is a drastic step and one which is understandably not for everyone, it did allow her to reduce the total amount she borrowed for her first year of undergrad. Students, in general, are extremely resourceful when it comes to looking for ways to make extra money, so find a skill you can monetize and create a spot for it in your schedule; YouTube celebrities Hannah Hart and Tyler Oakley both began vlogging to keep in contact with their friends and family while completing their post-secondary education. Several of my friends found work as freelance writers, graphic designers and website creators while completing their degrees to offset their income. When applying to university or college, or an apprenticeship program, one should be aware of the scholarships or bursaries offered by the government or independent funders. Many are specific to the program, academic achievement or financial need. The difference between loans and scholarships/bursaries is that you’re not required to pay them back, so it does not add to the financial challenge of a post-secondary education. There are hundreds of these awards available, so look into them as soon as possible. These can be a one-time payment to the awardee or offered over several years depending on the type of scholarship/bursary you’re awarded or on the conditions of the funder. Aside from loans you’ve received for the education costs, you will also need spending money while you’re attending school. University students tend to live just a notch above poverty and on an extremely tight budget. Between paying for books, rent, food and utilities, as well as trying to maintain a social life, a post-secondary education can be very expensive. Every student should practice budgeting before they leave for school so they understand how to afford life month-to-month. I’ve had many friends spend their entire Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) payment weeks before the end of the semester, and then forced to ask their parents or friends for money for food to survive. You may also want to avoid applying for any credit cards during this time or, like many students, end up with more debt than just your student loan. Establishing credit is great, drowning in high-interest debt not so much. It’s best to avoid this temptation altogether.
Instead of credit, find ways to cut corners. Try to buy all your textbooks used and, once you finish the course, resell them back to the campus bookstore, online or post them on a student message board. When searching for a place to live off-campus, it’s cost-effective to live with a group of people and renting a larger apartment or a house. The best part about renting a house is that you can sublet it—or rooms—to summer students so you do not need to continue moving your furniture back and forth each year. In the end, an education should not equate to spending a good portion of your adult life in debt. It’s not easy, but good financial planning can make sure you leave school with just a degree/diploma, good friends and awesome memories. CO
STUART JEFFERY lives in Toronto and often wonders whether it’s strange he does most of his writing in the shower. Read more: janikon.hubpages.com
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>>>>>
Think it’s too early to invest? >>>>
By Kyle Provost
THINK AGAIN
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A
lthough dubious, I remember stumbling upon an Einstein quotation while I was surfing aimlessly through online articles. Apparently, Einstein stated that compound interest was “the greatest mathematical discovery of all time,” and that it was “the most powerful force in the universe.” Although Albert Einstein never actually said this doesn’t mean that this isn’t true. Compound interest is powerful— not in the same way as atomic energy—but powerful just the same. When I try to explain my epiphany to others, I find it useful to illustrate the reality of compound interest using everyday purchases. For example, if you become as addicted to saving as a smoker is to nicotine, you will be a millionaire at an age when most Canadians aren’t even close to retirement. How did I get to that conclusion? If you invest your $15-perpack habit in broadly diversified investments instead of smokes, at what most experts would agree is a reasonable 8 percent return, compounded monthly from the time you were 18, you would have a nest egg of over $1.6 million by age 58. By comparison, if you started investing at age 40 after you had established your career, started a family, got into the house of your dreams, bought a couple of new vehicles, and went on some pricey vacations, you would have to contribute $50,000 per year for 18 years, and have roughly the same nest egg waiting for you at 58: assuming a 6 percent return on your money because you can’t take the same long-term risks at 40 as you could at 18. A pack of cigarettes a day versus $50K per year. That’s the power of compound interest. A major factor when it comes to generating wealth isn’t picking the right stocks or inventing the next Facebook (although that’s not a bad gig if you can get it): it’s simply time in the markets. In other words, the number of years your money is invested and allowed to compound without you spending it is much more important than trying to understand the complicated array of investment options available.
more shares/stocks, that’s how the power of compounding occurs. It’s truly that simple. Most people don’t want to spend hours every day staring at graphs and charts about stocks and bonds. Fortunately, there are several investing solutions that don’t require you to spend more than a couple of hours every year organizing your portfolio. Check out some of the many websites devoted to this, like YoungandThrifty.ca where you can pick up a free eBook on user-friendly investing solutions: or simply Google the term “Couch Potato Investing.” It really isn’t that difficult to understand. If you can understand very basic ratios, apply percentages and hit a search engine when the result isn’t immediately clear, then you can put your money to work for you. I know many pack-a-day smokers who can find $15 every day, but there’s a better use for that money—quit spending more than the sum of your paycheque every month, take control of your finances, do a little bit of reading and get “the most powerful force in the universe” working for you. CO
KYLE PREVOST is a personal finance expert helping people save and invest at YoungandThrifty.ca and MyUniversityMoney.com
INVESTING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HARD. WHEN YOU STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT, THE IDEA OF USING YOUR MONEY TO PRODUCE MORE MONEY IS PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD. Investing doesn’t have to be hard. When you stop and think about it, the idea of using your money to produce more money is pretty straight forward. A bond is just lending someone money and having them pay you back that money with a little more for your efforts: called interest. A stock or share is a small piece of a company that you’re buying. When that company makes money it might give you some of it in the form of a dividend. And because the company is making more money than before, people are now willing to pay more for it, and consequentially the stock or share price goes up. If a company pays you a 3 percent dividend over the course of a year, and its share price is worth 5 percent more at the end of the year than at the beginning, that’s an 8 percent total return. If you had $100 at the beginning of the year, you would now have $108 if you were to sell your shares and cash out your dividends. If you use that $8 to buy CO high school edition
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DEPARTURES IS ONLY THE STARTING POINT By Pierre Hamel
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COVER STOR
Y
WHEN SCOTT WILSON WAS GROWING UP, HE’D TAKE THE MAPS THAT APPEARED IN HIS PARENTS’ NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINES— MAPS OF ANYTHING—AND PIN THOSE UP ON HIS WALL. HIS FUTURE INVOLVEMENT IN A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL SERIES CALLED DEPARTURES FEATURING TWO INTREPID TRAVELERS ENCOUNTERING ADVENTURES AROUND THE WORLD, OFTEN WELL OFF THE BEATEN PATH, WASN’T EVEN A CONSIDERATION. IT WAS JUST THE MAPS: LITTLE PIECES OF A WORLD THAT SEEMED SO LARGE AND DISTANT. BUT THE ROUTE THAT THE DEPARTURES CO-CREATOR AND CO-HOST TOOK TO GET THERE IS AN ADVENTURE OF ITS OWN FILLED WITH A SERIES OF INTER-CONNECTING DEPARTURES, AS IT WERE.
T
he first departure for Wilson, and his business partner Andre Dupuis, was when they both decided to start using the basic skills acquired at community college to get some summer work. Just finishing the first year of a media arts diploma, they jumped straight into the world of media production. Echo Bay Media was born. It was really just a chance to get some small jobs under their belts, earn a bit of cash and, more importantly, hone their skills in realworld scenarios. But that year saw only limited engagement and it wasn’t until they graduated that they started to get a feel for the direction they needed to go. They were lucky enough to, eventually, get involved in the audio/video production of an established travel show. Although it was a good experience, they saw the show as dated and began to formulate what a real adventure travel show could be. “There was nothing special about us,” says Wilson, “we were just young and eager and looking to explore the world.” As it turns out, they were something special, and the people at Outdoor Life Network (OLN) saw it right away in their original pitch and fresh ideas. The combination of excellent technical skills, amazing travel locations and the great chemistry between co-hosts Wilson and long-time friend Justin Lukach, sent the series into an upward spiral that saw three seasons of Departures capturing one of the most devoted viewer bases ever for an OLN program. But that departure was a rocky road. “We spent all the money we had in the world to put together a pilot concept show with a trip to New Zealand that nearly bankrupted the company,” says Wilson. “Yet fast
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forward a year later and we’re sitting in a boardroom at the OLN offices trying to figure out the details about how this would get to air.” This was not the typical roadmap, but as we know, Wilson knows a thing or two about maps. “Back then it was just abstract—little pieces of the planet. But now I look at it like, over the course of my life, the world is this puzzle with millions of pieces and I’m given a chance to start putting it together.” Departures was the first hands-on lesson for this.
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But more than the polished, television side of this endeavour was the business and personal side of the equation. Wilson and Dupuis, and others involved in the project, had to come face-to-face with budgets as they went along. “Suddenly a missed flight is bigger than just a missed flight because you’re dealing with re-booking for the entire crew and all the gear,” says Wilson. Lost or broken gear and extra days on location suddenly have a much larger importance.
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The next departure, this time on the personal side, is learning that travel is the great teacher, and not just of facts about people, places and history. “Sometimes you just need to realize that things are out of your hands and you just need to wait for the next thing and you are not always in control.” There’s also the learning about tolerance and understanding that goes along with that. “Culturally you have no choice but to grow: you’re learning all the time because it’s in your face. You’ve put yourself in the middle of these cultural situations and there’s nothing else but to watch and learn and understand,” says Wilson. From the entrepreneurial perspective, this skill set becomes huge. “From the business side, knowing where we’ve been, who we’ve met and what we’ve seen—that helps us to look at our business a little differently,” says Wilson. “As well, when we’re looking at further trips for Departures, Descending (Wilson’s new show on OLN), or anything else, we know where we can go and where we can’t, who we can work with, where the opportunities are—it has given us a whole new book to use to plan and facilitate further projects.” And planning becomes the most recent departure for Wilson and Echo Bay Media. There’s a constantly changing landscape in the media world, and a couple of successes is not the end of the road: there always has to be the next thing, the next project to keep you on the map. “The industry is way different than it was when we started not very long ago, but having our foot in the door allowed us to change with it,” says
DIVE INTO YOUR MEDICAL EDUCATION THIS SUMMER at the St. George’s University Summer Leadership Academy in Grenada, West Indies
Have you ever wondered what medical school or veterinary medical school would be like? The Med/Vet Summer Leadership Academy at St. George’s University gives you a unique opportunity to get an inside view of your future career as a doctor or veterinarian. This two-week program offers you the opportunity to:
HIGH SCHOOL SESSION June 22–July 1, 2016 COLLEGE SESSION June 6–June 17, 2016
• Experience medicine firsthand with a combination of lectures, practical lab work, and hands-on training through trips to local clinics, hospitals, and farms. • Enjoy the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada, with trips to the beach, hikes in the rainforest, and snorkeling excursions. • Earn college credit from our School of Arts and Sciences
To learn more about SGU and the Summer Leadership Academy, visit sgu.edu/summeracademy.
Going through the Summer Leadership Academy prepared me mentally for the volume of work that comes along with obtaining a medical degree… If you ever thought of being a doctor or veterinarian, this is your chance to have an insight into what it would be like. AYANNA ROCKE Summer Leadership Academy, 2008 SGU School of Medicine, Class of 2016 CO high school edition
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Follow Scott
on his new show Descending @scottdescending
“NEVER STOP CHALLENGING YOURSELF. MOST PEOPLE LATER IN LIFE REGRET THE THINGS THEY DIDN’T DO IN LIFE, NOT THE THINGS THEY DID.”
Wilson. “We have some great partners, a new distributor that is really helping us reach new markets and of course Netflix—so we’re really lucky that we’ve positioned ourselves to take advantage of those changes for the most part.” “We’re working in a couple of partnerships, which is new to us,” says Wilson. “I can’t go into details about them, but they are some really great ideas and things that we really want to work on, so those are keeping us busy and there are some very exciting prospects there.” And, as always, there are still the “passion projects” that keep them energized, the latest project dealing with a concept by Dupuis about a sailing adventure that may be on your television in the near future. At the end of it all, there is the reflection of what travel is all about. “In a lot of places, even—or especially—the so-called ‘dangerous places,’ we had people who were genuinely curious about what we were doing. And not in a menacing way, but rather, they were amazed that we were there and wanted to share their ideas, traditions and cultures.” 24
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When all is said and done, people like Scott Wilson show why travel opens doors and minds and why he will never “suffer from buyer’s remorse” from travelling. And, even more than that, Wilson says, “Never stop challenging yourself. Most people later in life regret the things they didn’t do in life, not the things they did.” And if you keep your eyes on the maps, pinned to your walls or somewhere else, you’re sure to encounter Wilson’s next departure on a screen somewhere near you. CO
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PIERRE HAMEL is an experienced writer and editor with a special focus on the post-secondary environment. Follow him on Twitter @ivox_pierre.
Monday, October 19, 2015 5pm - 9pm Tuesday, October 20, 2015 10am - 3pm Enercare Centre (formerly Direct Energy Centre) 100 Princes’ Blvd | Hall-B Exhibition Place | Toronto
FREE ADMISSION
26 COLLEGES, ONE LOCATION Looking to further your education or start a new career? • Speak one-on-one with faculty, staff and students. • Attend workshops on financial aid, college degrees and returning to school. • Learn about educational pathways between colleges and universities. COLLEGES ATTENDING: Centennial Algonquin George Brown Boréal Humber Cambrian Michener Canadore Seneca Conestoga Sheridan Confederation Durham Fanshawe Fleming Georgian La Cité
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STEPPING
OUT
YOUR DOOR HOW TO SEE THE WORLD WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK By David Meffe
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or better or worse, the twenty-first century has ushered in an unprecedented era of global connectivity tethered by online information sharing and the reshaping of international social space – a brave new world, but what of the people in it? More than ever it’s imperative for young people to travel, not only to satisfy curiosity, but also to dream, fear, make new friends or simply risk the unknown for the sake of nothing, everything and all the things in between. It’s been said that travel is the only thing you spend money on that actually makes you richer, and while the sentiment is touching in its fortune cookie flavour, I agree with a grain of salt. While travel of any kind requires some form of investment, it’s possible to see the world without breaking the bank in the process. It’s not quite as simple as taking the guided tour, but if you’re willing to compromise, step out of your comfort zone once in a while and maybe work a little for your keep, stepping out your front door can be a lot easier than you think – and sometimes more rewarding in the process.
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A GROWING BODY OF ACADEMIC LITERATURE SHOWS THAT STUDYING IN ANOTHER CULTURE NOT ONLY MAKES YOU SMARTER, IT COULD ALSO PUT YOU AHEAD OF THE GAME PROFESSIONALLY.
STUDYING ABROAD While the tradition of academic travel goes back centuries, with the amount of inter-scholastic exchanges in existence, today it’s not so much a matter of what you want to study as where you’d like to go. Most Canadian universities offer a wide range of possible study abroad destinations at partner institutions in Europe and Asia, or more culturally-close-to-home options like Australia or the United States. Learning in another country can be a great way to not only make new friends, it can be a much-needed change of scenery for students in an academic or existential funk that might be considering the dreaded “just one year off” or dropping out of school altogether. But more than just great Instagram photos and a newfound propensity to pretentiously correct anyone who might mispronounce the word ‘croissant,’ a growing body of academic literature shows that studying in another culture not only makes you smarter, it could also put you ahead of the game professionally. A study published in 2013 by researchers at INSEAD, an international graduate business school, shows 28
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that a student’s ability to adapt and learn in a new cultural environment can predict how interactively complex their ideas might become in the future. Moreover, studying abroad also offers students the ability to learn a new language or lay the foundations of a professional network that could extend well across the boundaries of their own country, giving them a leg up on competition grounded locally. If that isn’t enough to entice you, a recent study conducted by the EU showed that the European student exchange program was partially responsible for the birth of over a million children in the past 27 years, since one in four people who took part in academic exchanges in Europe met their current life partner while studying abroad.
VOLUNTEER OR TEACH ABROAD If studying isn’t for you, but you still want to see something radically different, just to give your worldview a good shake up and maybe do a little altruistic good at the same time, welcome to the wonderful world of international development.
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Work in this expanding sector exists in many forms: everything from development assistance and capacity building in the global south, to teaching English or French as a second language across the world. The goal in this kind of work should never be to get rich or to “save the world,” but rather to learn first hand that cultural exchange is a two-way street – for everything you teach someone else, you should always allow yourself to learn something in return. But while development work remains noble in its roots, the image of volunteering abroad has been somewhat cheapened by the rise of the so-called “voluntourism.” You’ve no doubt heard of it or seen fliers posted around campus halls or trendy cafes. Young people are duped into paying exorbitant fees for short trips to “third world” villages in order to build schools or churches for seemingly destitute communities incapable of helping themselves. What often follows is a long stay at lavish hotels or resorts to cool down after a long, strenuous week or two of work. While undoubtedly moral in their original intentions, the organizers of these goodwill trips often trick youth into believing this as the only avenue to experience life with the other half and lend a helping hand. But saviour complexes and social media narcissism aside, there’s no shortage of tales about rural African villages filled with rows of unused, shabbily constructed primary schools that lay in ruin, while those same communities still struggle with access to clean drinking water or basic literacy. Unfortunately, the industry is full of scams that not only portray short volunteering stints as a sustainable solution to global inequality, they guilt young Canadians into believing that they must shell out of pocket for the opportunity, or better yet, plead with their parents to pay.
The trick, in this case, is to find work that you’re really passionate about, rather than just going somewhere for the sake of it. Try getting involved in a more concrete way with organizations committed to long-term growth in the developing world, rather than those selling the opportunity to slip a Band-Aid on the problem and take a selfie. Commit yourself for at least two months wherever you decide to work, integrate yourself in the local culture and learn to take a step back and reexamine the way you see yourself and the role you want to play in the world.
PACK A BAG AND GO If you’re still unsure about academia, or in what capacity you’d like to change the world, don’t sweat it. These are great questions that take a long time to answer. The last on this list is a time-tested tonic for the wayfaring wanderlust blues: pack a bag and go. While some have taken a literal blindfolded dart to a map of the world approach on this one, a more sensible option is to find somewhere that not only fits your interests, but also your pocketbook. If this is the case, it’s totally up to you if you want to plan it ahead of time or just wing it and see where the wind takes you. Neither are bad options. This is where the abilities to compromise and consolidate become key to success – lessons that really only the road itself can teach. When it comes to travelling cheap, the Internet age has opened up a whole new world of possibilities put together by crowdsourcing and kept relevant by constant peer review. Instead of a ritzy hotel or lonely motel, hostels offer a great way to meet loads of other travellers as long as you’re open to
sharing a room with a few friendly strangers – hostelworld.com is a great place to start exploring. Instead of buses or trains, try booking an online ride share with someone already heading in your direction – you’ll split gas money with the driver and usually have interesting company along the way. For the more adventurous, online communities like couchsurfing.com offer the chance to stay in the homes of locals and expatriates across the world, especially if you’re willing to reciprocate in the future. While some of these options might seem sketchy to the unseasoned, sometimes it pays to trust in the kindness of strangers – some of whom are not as different from you as you might expect. In his 2002 travel epic Dark Star Safari, author Paul Theroux wrote that when it comes to travel, “you go away for a long time and return a different person – you never come all the way back.” So rather than seeing travel as the kind of thing you save and splurge on quickly, think of it as an investment into something that you become part of – finding your place in a world so much greater than yourself. CO
DAVID MEFFE is a freelance journalist, photographer and blogger from Montreal – his work focuses on human rights and development Africa. He is based in Wales, completing a master’s degree in war and conflict reporting.
Discover a variety of exciting career options. After high school, what’s next? What are you good at? What are your ambitions? No matter what you answer, you may be surprised to learn that because insurance affects virtually everything we do in life and business, the industry offers a variety of pathways which can fit with your education and career goals. More colleges and universities in Canada are offering courses and programs that will prepare you for a career in insurance. Insurance and Risk Management programs are offered at BCIT, University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, Grant MacEwan University, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Red River College, Fanshawe College, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College, Mohawk College, Seneca College, Durham College, Université Laval, NBCC, CCNB. Find out more by visiting the Career Connections website. You may be surprised to find that insurance isn’t what you think. It’s a whole lot more.
www.career-connections.info
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Travel to learn
ABOUT YOURSELF By Vanessa Mullin
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WITH GRADUATION DAY LOOMING, THE IDEA OF DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH ONE’S FUTURE IS DAUNTING.
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very student has the dream of bagging a high-salaried desk job, but most of us dive into this world unprepared for the monotony that often awaits. I was always the student with my head in the clouds: always dreaming of my next adventure and my way out. Three years after graduating university, I was lost. I had a thousand ideas of where I wanted to be, an arts degree and an abundance of student debt. But I lacked many of the skills needed to bring my dreams to life. Looking back, I wish I had let myself follow my heart instead of my head and taken the time to travel the world. Now, years later, working in the travel industry has allowed me to come to grips with something a lot of people think is a far-off fantasy. While most see travel as an escape, there is so much to be learned by delving into the great unknown. During my travels over the last two years, I have learned more than I ever had in a classroom.
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Travelling for an extended period of time, not simply taking an allinclusive break, forces you to learn how to crunch numbers. You live every day counting your dollars, deciding which expenses are frivolous, and learning when to say no and when to treat yourself. Learning the value of a dollar allows the travel junkie to have a more level-headed view of what financial stability truly means, and that a high salary doesn’t always equate with happiness. You also learn to appreciate all of the things you have, because the more you own, the more you have to carry. The lighter the backpack, the farther you’ll go. Less is more, and while money can’t buy you happiness, spending a little extra on a hotel room instead of a hostel bed is way better than buying a new pair of jeans to carry around. Essential to travel is time management. You’ve got planes, trains and tuk-tuks that are waiting for no one. Missing one crucial leg in a journey is a really big deal in the life of a traveller: not to mention the costly re-bookings of services (and a reminder that travel insurance is your best friend). Similarly, planning and organizational skills are hugely important. You need to map out your itinerary, build your budget, book your transport and accommodation, and organize visas. Planning a lengthy journey is like mapping out your future: if you miss any of the essential building blocks or exceed your budget, you’re left scrambling to keep yourself afloat. Traveling makes you understand the importance of impeccable attention to detail, another trait all managers seek out in potential employees.
Alongside fearlessness, traveling teaches you to handle situations with a completely different mindset. Consider being stuck in Argentina with no cash, no telephone and a missed flight home: now it’s time to find a creative way forward. Or if you find yourself shoeless in the streets of Paris with no French skills, you need to learn to roll with the punches or be stuck on a bench with cold feet. You learn how to look at things differently, how to survive and thrive instead of just live. You learn how to solve problems with a newly acquired, but unteachable, set of skills. This mindset provides the building blocks for disruptive innovation and gives you the skills to solve any problem with a unique perspective; you will stand out from the crowd with your ability to think on your feet quickly and efficiently. As long as you’re tenacious, adaptable and have a keen sense of adventure, you will come back with a new sense of self. Whether it’s three days, three months or more, traveling allows you to embrace a wild sense of freedom and independence that will positively impact all aspects of your future. Spending some time with your head in the clouds and your feet in the sand will leave you feeling that much more prepared for future studies and for the stability and routine of the concrete jungle beyond. CO
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VANESSA MULLIN is a University of Ottawa graduate currently working for G Adventures. She is passionate about traveling and writing, and uses her adventures as inspiration for her work. Blog: www.she-rambled-on.tumblr.com
By Tamara Peyton
THE CAREER TURNING POINT It all began that late January day when I got called into the office of my boss’ boss, our CIO. “Because of the merger, we are downsizing the department,” he said. “As the most recent hire in the analyst group, and the only analyst without a university degree, we have decided to let you move on.” FIRST LESSON: NO INDUSTRY IS RECESSION OR LAYOFF PROOF. I should have been expecting this. While working for five years in the IT department of a major pharmaceutical company’s national head office, I had skipped the university path. I worked my way into progressively more senior IT jobs throughout my 20s and early 30s. But I had seen the writing on the wall. I hoped that my bilingualism and my early Internet industry experience would help keep me in business systems analysis, a career I loved. Yet I saw many indicators showing university credentials were becoming necessary. I worried, and my fears came true. But this was pharmaceuticals. It was layoff proof, right? This is what all my colleagues had always told me. People didn’t get laid off in “big pharma” the way they did in “big telco”—my former industry—they said. The same goes for IT consulting. Off-shoring of IT talent wouldn’t affect analyst positions because we weren’t code monkeys, dealing as we did with the human side of tech, rather than with the code or infrastructure.
SECOND LESSON: DO NOT BELIEVE IT WHEN PEOPLE CLAIM A SPECIFIC JOB IS SAFE FROM GLOBALIZING FORCES. So this was my turning point. At 37, I went back to school fulltime. Luckily, while working as an IT analyst, I had started working towards a sociology degree part-time a few years earlier. I chose sociology because the discipline was fundamentally about understanding how people do things in groups. People
problems are what cause most technology adoption problems. Therefore, understanding how people work together in groups should be critical to designing better technology solutions that help people work together. While many didn’t understand why someone would do sociology instead of the hotter computer science degrees, it made sense to me. I overbooked each semester to get my BA in sociology done within a year. The money I was lucky to get as a severance package from my pharma job supported this endeavour, as did federal government initiatives to help adults pay their own way through university without needing to rely on federal or provincial grants, bursaries or loans. By sinking my severance package into my RRSP, I was able to tax shelter a large chunk of the money and then borrow from it tax-free to fund my education.
THIRD LESSON: IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO AN UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE AS AN ADULT, AND FINISH IT WITH ZERO STUDENT DEBT. This was not the only turning point or transition in my employment trajectory. But this layoff was a critical one. It forced me to reflect on what I was good at, what I enjoyed doing, and what I might do next that would let me pursue a few of my passions, such as travel, writing, and working with people who build new technologies. I went on to finish a master’s degree in sociology, thanks to a federal government grant, before moving to the U.S. to pursue a salaried PhD degree in an exploding cross-discipline field of human-computer interaction. HCI is the field where sociology and psychology meet system
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analysis and design and put them to work in real-world problem solving. That early choice of mine to do sociology instead of computer science paid off. While some may have mocked my choices earlier on, I discovered in HCI that my people skills, my ability to do research, and my ability to write were all crucial reasons why I was right for this career. I now research people’s health needs, write technical build specifications documents, and design mobile software interfaces.
FOURTH LESSON: YOU CAN DO COMPUTER SCIENCE WITHOUT KNOWING OR DOING A SINGLE LINE OF CODE.
FIFTH LESSON: FOLLOW YOUR GUT AND LISTEN TO YOUR HEAD As hackneyed as it sounds, much of my transition since that day in my CIO’s office has come down to keeping my eyes open, paying attention to the ever-moving employment horizon and finding a way to tailor my passions in a way that makes sense. By keeping the risks manageable and the desired rewards realistic, I’m confident that my next big turning point out of student life and back into professional life will all be grounded in the decision I made the day I got laid off. CO
The weird part? Much of what I’m doing now is similar to what I used to do in big pharma. The difference is that I have the credentials now, and I’ve gained experience that continues to shape my skills and personality to the global market.
TAMARA PEYTON is a Canadian living in the United States, pursuing a PhD in Human Computer Interaction at Penn State University.
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Insurance. It’s not what you think, it’s a whole lot more.
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