From grad to greatness
If you're like me, then you're here at Fanshawe for one reason — no, I'm not talking about the party life, killing time at Barney's, or hitting on the cutie across the classroom — I'm talking about getting a job. You know, that thing we're investing thousands of dollars in education to hopefully one day get?
Getting a job, as you probably already know, isn't easy, but allow me to break this down into bite-size pieces.
Fanshawe College is home to 17,000 full-time and 26,000 part-time students in over 100 programs leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees, spreading across five different campuses in Ontario.
Ontario is home to the most post-secondary institutions in the country, with 24 publicly funded colleges and 23 publicly funded universities. The result is hundreds of thousands of students going to school at the same time, many of whom have the exact same dreams that you have.
Fanshawe College has produced hundreds of thousands of alumni who work all over the world, and you can be one of them. The following are three graduates from different programs who have reached the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and found work after graduation. If you're here at school for the primary reason that you value education (and I really hope you are), and intend to one day make it to the working world, read on to find out how three recent grads were able to find employment right after taking the stage in their gowns and picking up that expensive piece of paper we're all here for.
Brenden Gibbins
Brenden Gibbins graduated from the one-year TV — News certificate program in 2013 after completing a two-year Broadcast — Journalism diploma in 2012. He works for Bayshore Broadcasting in his hometown of Owen Sound, and got the job almost right out of school.
Gibbins credited networking as being a big part in getting a job upon graduation. “Truthfully, I got really lucky with my job. I had interned at Bayshore Broadcasting [while I was in school], so I was familiar with them and they were familiar with me,” he began. After the news director took a medical leave, the news centre needed someone to step in and take some shifts. A current Bayshore Broadcasting employee based in Guelph, who had graduated from the Broadcast Journalism program the year before Gibbins, heard about the open position and contacted professor Jim Van Horne. “Jim thought of me because I am from Owen Sound. He said I should shoot Manny Paiva (the news director) an email about the opening. Manny and I talked a few times, he asked when I could start, and within a week I had a job.”
“I didn't have to send a resume or a demo,” Gibbins said. “They were in need of someone and I was looking for a job. It worked for both parties involved.”
Gibbins added that his earlier internship really paid off. “I interned at Bayshore Broadcasting in December of 2011 for a week, so I had that experience,” he said. “I worked for CIXX at Fanshawe College during the summer of 2012 and volunteered with Rogers TV London for the three years I was in London. I think my experiences definitely helped me, especially the internship at Bayshore.”
There is nothing more valuable (other than your diploma) work-related experience on your resume. Getting your degree or diploma is just the standard — it's what you do outside of the classroom that could potentially help you find a job after you graduate.
Final Words of Advice: “You have to start somewhere, so don't be afraid of starting at the bottom. With that being said, however, that Fanshawe certificate or diploma is respected in the workforce and can go a long way in finding and securing a job. Fanshawe grads are everywhere and they like to hire fellow alumni.”
Sandra Feenstra
Sandra Feenstra took the road less travelled by putting her best foot forward into a field that has traditionally been dominated by men. Feentra is a product of the Construction Engineering Technology (Management) program, and works for construction company McKay-Cocker right here in the Forest City. A graduate in 2012, Feenstra was already hired and working part-time two months before actually finishing her studies. She works as a project co-ordinator, currently working onsite with tradesmen, architects and owners.
Like Gibbins, Feenstra took advantage of the chance to network with companies, which would eventually open the door of employment. “I found my job by professional networking. I learned what professional organizations were applicable to my studies, and joined as a student member,” she explained. “I attended the local chapter meetings and met someone there who referred me directly to the HR person responsible for hiring me. I addressed my resume to them directly and was able to follow up periodically to the status of my application. The HR representative also spoke to my contact from my chapter meeting to learn about me prior to ever choosing to speak with me.”
Feenstra began work in her field even as she was cramming textbook terms and calculating permutations in class. She had already worked at three different companies, and explained that whatever experience you can get — even when you're in school — will help in the long run. “Those experiences allowed me to approach graduation knowing exactly which path I wanted to pursue to use my education. My co-op roles allowed me to test the water doing different things for controlled amounts of times.”
Final Words of Advice: “Build a professional network. Something as simple as asking your teachers for some (contact) names they may have or about an organization that relate to your industry can be a great start. Get out and be active in your industry; no one hires the student sitting at home that no one knows.”
Sarah Humphrey
Sarah Humphrey is our most decorated of Fanshawe graduates. She completed her studies here in Marketing Management, after obtaining an undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences and a Master's degree in Physiology and Pharmacology.
She works for Page Zero Media, a Toronto-based marketing agency, as a content strategist, and she's able to work from her home office right here in London. Before that, she was hired full-time by a local advertising companyright after her last exam at Fanshawe.
Going to college after university is a road commonly travelled. College typically offers more of a hands-on approach and work-ready skills that could help you land a job quicker than university. Humphrey made a huge change by switching from a science background to a business career, but it looks as if her decision paid off.
She was highly sought-after for work while she was still in school because of her connections and her ability to research. “A professor in my program made me aware of a government-funded internship program and set up a number of interviews for me in March and April with her contacts,” she said. “The internship grant would partially pay for my wages if I was to resume school in September and meet other criteria. In addition, I was researching jobs myself and found a couple of positions as well, using the government grant as interview bait. I had a few offers.”
Humphrey credited her education at Fanshawe as a great foundation, bringing exactly what she learned in the classroom to the working world. “I was a community consultant through a course offered in the Marketing program that provided real-world consulting experience,” she said. “Small teams were chosen to research, plan, execute and present a business strategy for a company in need of professional advice. I found it to be a profound learning experience being guided by my instructors Rhonda Payne and Mike Tucker and it introduced me to a wonderful non-profit organization called Rayjon Share Care.” She even sat on the board of directors for the organization to implement some of the recommendations she made as part of the project.
Final Words of Advice: “Be aggressive in sending your resume out and get professional assistance when putting together your resume. Leverage your contacts; most referrals come from your second- or third-tier contacts. Be honest. Remember that you are selling yourself but don't brag — you need to showcase your potential, not be arrogant.”
Check out these two interviews with recent Fanshawe graduates:
Getting a job, as you probably already know, isn't easy, but allow me to break this down into bite-size pieces.
Fanshawe College is home to 17,000 full-time and 26,000 part-time students in over 100 programs leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees, spreading across five different campuses in Ontario.
Ontario is home to the most post-secondary institutions in the country, with 24 publicly funded colleges and 23 publicly funded universities. The result is hundreds of thousands of students going to school at the same time, many of whom have the exact same dreams that you have.
Fanshawe College has produced hundreds of thousands of alumni who work all over the world, and you can be one of them. The following are three graduates from different programs who have reached the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and found work after graduation. If you're here at school for the primary reason that you value education (and I really hope you are), and intend to one day make it to the working world, read on to find out how three recent grads were able to find employment right after taking the stage in their gowns and picking up that expensive piece of paper we're all here for.
Brenden Gibbins
Brenden Gibbins graduated from the one-year TV — News certificate program in 2013 after completing a two-year Broadcast — Journalism diploma in 2012. He works for Bayshore Broadcasting in his hometown of Owen Sound, and got the job almost right out of school.
Gibbins credited networking as being a big part in getting a job upon graduation. “Truthfully, I got really lucky with my job. I had interned at Bayshore Broadcasting [while I was in school], so I was familiar with them and they were familiar with me,” he began. After the news director took a medical leave, the news centre needed someone to step in and take some shifts. A current Bayshore Broadcasting employee based in Guelph, who had graduated from the Broadcast Journalism program the year before Gibbins, heard about the open position and contacted professor Jim Van Horne. “Jim thought of me because I am from Owen Sound. He said I should shoot Manny Paiva (the news director) an email about the opening. Manny and I talked a few times, he asked when I could start, and within a week I had a job.”
“I didn't have to send a resume or a demo,” Gibbins said. “They were in need of someone and I was looking for a job. It worked for both parties involved.”
Gibbins added that his earlier internship really paid off. “I interned at Bayshore Broadcasting in December of 2011 for a week, so I had that experience,” he said. “I worked for CIXX at Fanshawe College during the summer of 2012 and volunteered with Rogers TV London for the three years I was in London. I think my experiences definitely helped me, especially the internship at Bayshore.”
There is nothing more valuable (other than your diploma) work-related experience on your resume. Getting your degree or diploma is just the standard — it's what you do outside of the classroom that could potentially help you find a job after you graduate.
Final Words of Advice: “You have to start somewhere, so don't be afraid of starting at the bottom. With that being said, however, that Fanshawe certificate or diploma is respected in the workforce and can go a long way in finding and securing a job. Fanshawe grads are everywhere and they like to hire fellow alumni.”
Sandra Feenstra
Sandra Feenstra took the road less travelled by putting her best foot forward into a field that has traditionally been dominated by men. Feentra is a product of the Construction Engineering Technology (Management) program, and works for construction company McKay-Cocker right here in the Forest City. A graduate in 2012, Feenstra was already hired and working part-time two months before actually finishing her studies. She works as a project co-ordinator, currently working onsite with tradesmen, architects and owners.
Like Gibbins, Feenstra took advantage of the chance to network with companies, which would eventually open the door of employment. “I found my job by professional networking. I learned what professional organizations were applicable to my studies, and joined as a student member,” she explained. “I attended the local chapter meetings and met someone there who referred me directly to the HR person responsible for hiring me. I addressed my resume to them directly and was able to follow up periodically to the status of my application. The HR representative also spoke to my contact from my chapter meeting to learn about me prior to ever choosing to speak with me.”
Feenstra began work in her field even as she was cramming textbook terms and calculating permutations in class. She had already worked at three different companies, and explained that whatever experience you can get — even when you're in school — will help in the long run. “Those experiences allowed me to approach graduation knowing exactly which path I wanted to pursue to use my education. My co-op roles allowed me to test the water doing different things for controlled amounts of times.”
Final Words of Advice: “Build a professional network. Something as simple as asking your teachers for some (contact) names they may have or about an organization that relate to your industry can be a great start. Get out and be active in your industry; no one hires the student sitting at home that no one knows.”
Sarah Humphrey
Sarah Humphrey is our most decorated of Fanshawe graduates. She completed her studies here in Marketing Management, after obtaining an undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences and a Master's degree in Physiology and Pharmacology.
She works for Page Zero Media, a Toronto-based marketing agency, as a content strategist, and she's able to work from her home office right here in London. Before that, she was hired full-time by a local advertising companyright after her last exam at Fanshawe.
Going to college after university is a road commonly travelled. College typically offers more of a hands-on approach and work-ready skills that could help you land a job quicker than university. Humphrey made a huge change by switching from a science background to a business career, but it looks as if her decision paid off.
She was highly sought-after for work while she was still in school because of her connections and her ability to research. “A professor in my program made me aware of a government-funded internship program and set up a number of interviews for me in March and April with her contacts,” she said. “The internship grant would partially pay for my wages if I was to resume school in September and meet other criteria. In addition, I was researching jobs myself and found a couple of positions as well, using the government grant as interview bait. I had a few offers.”
Humphrey credited her education at Fanshawe as a great foundation, bringing exactly what she learned in the classroom to the working world. “I was a community consultant through a course offered in the Marketing program that provided real-world consulting experience,” she said. “Small teams were chosen to research, plan, execute and present a business strategy for a company in need of professional advice. I found it to be a profound learning experience being guided by my instructors Rhonda Payne and Mike Tucker and it introduced me to a wonderful non-profit organization called Rayjon Share Care.” She even sat on the board of directors for the organization to implement some of the recommendations she made as part of the project.
Final Words of Advice: “Be aggressive in sending your resume out and get professional assistance when putting together your resume. Leverage your contacts; most referrals come from your second- or third-tier contacts. Be honest. Remember that you are selling yourself but don't brag — you need to showcase your potential, not be arrogant.”
Check out these two interviews with recent Fanshawe graduates:
