Shows
Career CrossroadsCareer Coach Conversations with Betty Xie#99 – As Betty Xie headed toward post-secondary education, she had a plan: study math because that would lead her to a good job. The closer she got to starting classes, the more she realized that while that was practical and she had a talent for it, she wasn’t actually interested in math and the career options it would provide. Instead of looking at studying something similar but more interesting, Betty decided she wanted to explore perhaps the farthest areas of study from math - cinema studies and contemporary Asian studies.Upon graduation, she followed parallel path...
2023-12-0428 min
Career CrossroadsMatt Cooksey – How A Breakdown Led Him To The Perfect Career#98 - Matt Cooksey ended up in his first career because he was following a family member's footsteps, and it took him almost a decade to realize he wasn't happy. He was always chasing something - more money or a promotion - that would make him happy, right?It wasn't until he unexpectedly broke down that Matt that Matt realized that staying on that career path wasn't going to make him happy no matter how good it seemed like he had it. That breakdown was the beginning of a journey that helped Matt discover who he really was...
2023-10-2050 min
Career CrossroadsStephanie Chan - Leaving Law Behind to Help the Elderly#97 - Getting a law degree and passing the bar is quite the task, so it's not often people go through all that work only to leave their law career behind. That's what makes Stephanie Chan such an anomaly - she did exactly that. Today, I talk to Stephanie about how why she left law behind and what prompted her to found Home to Home Advisory Services and myCareBase.To read more about Stephanie’s companies or get in touch with her, use the links below:Home to Home Advisory Services Inc.myCareBasestephanie@mycarebase.com...
2023-08-1722 min
Career CrossroadsMike Gallagher – Taking his Creativity from Film to the World of Marketing#96 - As Mike Gallagher spent his teenage years filming his friends skateboarding around the Metro Vancouver area, someone took notice. A high school teacher recognized Mike’s aptitude for film and developed an independent study course that allowed Mike free reign over the school’s media equipment. It didn’t take long for Mike to become hooked and as he approached graduation he applied to the Art Institute of Vancouver’s Digital Film and Production program. The plan was for Mike to live out his dream of working in Vancouver’s continually expanding film industry. The early...
2023-07-311h 06
Career CrossroadsCollision Conference 2023 Interviews - Chatting with Tech Founders Who Changed Their Careers#95 – When you go to a tech conference like Collision, you might expect that all the founders attending to showcase their companies have deep roots in the tech industry, My experience at Collision, however, shows me that is not always the case.In this episode, you’ll head my conversations with Austin of Seaube Software, Kaleda of Kilo, and Adam of Elo Gaming as we discuss how their careers have taken them on a winding road that unexpectedly led them to Collision.___________________You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on s...
2023-07-1725 min
Career CrossroadsKelvin Beachum - NFL Offensive Lineman and Investor#94 - This week’s guest on Career Crossroads is Kelvin Beachum, a professional football player who plays left tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. As an 11-season veteran who has played in over 150 NFL games, you might think that Kelvin lives and breathes football but the truth is that Kelvin is not just a football player. Outside of football, Kelvin is an investor and philanthropist with a specific interest in ending hunger around the world while also spreading information about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) to people who have never considered ca...
2023-07-1019 min
Career CrossroadsAcademic Crossroads with Sam Demma#93 – When Sam Demma started his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto Scarborough it didn’t take long for him to realize that while he might be in the right place, he was there at the wrong time. Had he put enough thought into his programs of study? Was he just going to school because that’s what he was supposed to do? These were questions running through his mind, but ultimately, he was thinking about what he really wanted; to build his own business motivating youth to take action.Sam already had plenty of practi...
2023-07-0331 min
Career CrossroadsCareer Coach Conversations with Soma Ghosh#92 - When clients come to Soma Ghosh to help them with their careers, they often want support in getting out of an untenable situation. As a Career Coach Soma can certainly help them move to a new job but if there are unaddressed underlying issues outside of their 9-5 they may end up feeling the same way soon enough. That's why Soma likes to go deeper to find the root of the problem because helping clients find 'the next thing' may only be a temporary solution. As a Career Coach in London, England, Soma brings a...
2023-06-2629 min
Career CrossroadsDan Chan – From PayPal Mafia to Magician for Millionaires#91 – Every good magician has a stage name and Dan Chan is known as ‘The Millionaire’s Mentalist’. He has earned that name after a career of performing at events for wealthy tech moguls from companies like Twitter and Amazon but when he was first starting out he was making balloon animals at children’s birthday parties. That’s because magic was not Dan’s first full-time job. After getting a degree in Finance from the University of California, Riverside, Dan was hired as one of the early employees at PayPal – before the merger with Elon Musk’s X.com – an...
2023-06-1949 min
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads - New Format Success and Fighting Burnout#90 – Today’s episode of the podcast isn’t an interview- it’s just you and me talking. Now that we’re two months into the new show format, I wanted to give an update on how things are going and let you know about the podcast’s record-breaking month of May.I also want to talk a bit about the importance of preplanning to take time off and my own experience with it. The best month in the history of the podcast came during the month I was paying the least attention.Take a listen and let me k...
2023-06-0610 min
Career CrossroadsAcademic Crossroads with Ben Brown#89 – As a first-year offensive lineman on the University of Waterloo’s varsity football team, Ben Brown was supposed to be living his dream. With the support of his father, who had been his football coach, Ben received a football scholarship to an excellent school and was excited for the next chapter of his life. Before Ben’s university career began, however, tragedy struck as Ben’s father passed away. Suddenly, Ben was carrying the weight of his and his father's dream all on his own.Despite this incredible hardship, Ben pressed on and outwardly, had a successful first ye...
2023-05-2924 min
Career CrossroadsCareer Coach Conversations with Chris M. WilsonWhen you know you want to change your career but you are unsure of where to go, you might seek the help of a professional. Chris M. Wilson, this week's guest, struggled to find the help he was looking for and that challenge led him to dedicate his life to helping people going through similar struggles. As a career coach, Chris helps people find clarity in what they really want because without that you can't move forward. Before we talk about that, Chris walks me through the early part of his career as a helicopter pilot and m...
2023-05-2228 min
Career CrossroadsCC Shorts with Andy Thibodeau#87 - What would you do if your ability to do your job disappeared overnight? How would you react? That's a question Andy Thibodeau wrestled with in March 2020 when Covid-19 shut down his career as a public speaker. As a 25+ year veteran of the industry, this was the only job Andy had ever really known and in the span of 48 hours, 31 bookings cancelled and his ability to make an income evaporated.As Andy struggled with this new reality and the recognition that he was a people person who could no longer be around people, he visited a...
2023-05-1531 min
Career CrossroadsJosh Green – From Acting, to Cookie Dough Connoisseur, to Business Consulting#86 -If you told 20-year-old Josh Green that he was going to be a business consultant in the future, he would have thought you were joking. How did he end up a business consultant when he was well on his way to a successful career as an actor and improv comedian? He was getting regular work, making more money than most actors he knew, and even had scenes in movies with Ice Cube and Danny Glover.As 20-year-old Josh would soon find out, the way you feel today may not be the way you feel tomorrow, and when t...
2023-05-081h 02
Career CrossroadsAcademic Crossroads with Frank Chen85 - Attending university can change your life. Sometimes, in ways you don’t expect. For Frank Chen, coming to Canada from his native China to study at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) was a way to get into a stable career, while also making his parents proud. To satisfy both desires, Frank chose to study accounting and he was successful in his studies. During one of his co-op terms, however, Frank came to the realization that he wasn’t passionate about accounting. When he shared this knowledge with a colleague who was also from the co-op progr...
2023-05-0137 min
Career CrossroadsCareer Coach Conversations with Wei Huang#85 – “What can I do with my degree?” This is one of the most common questions asked by students who have nearly finished pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into completing a difficult academic program and are now realizing they are unsure of what comes next. With a decade of experience working as a Career Counsellor at the University of Toronto Scarborough Academic Advising and Career Centre, and another decade of experience prior to that in Toronto Employment Centres, Wei Huang is well equipped to help students navigate this question.Wei’s biggest p...
2023-04-2429 min
Career CrossroadsCC Shorts with Brian Millado#83 - In the early days of his career, Brian Millado jumped between jobs in the Department of Student Life at the University of Toronto. He wasn't jumping because he didn't like his roles, or because he was chasing higher pay; he was jumping because he was continually offered the chance to work on different programs as his skillset was in demand. Things were good. Until one day, they weren't. One day, Brian looked around and realized that all his peers knew what their next step was....but he had no idea what was next. He had exhausted...
2023-04-1720 min
Career CrossroadsChris Lewarne – From New York City corporate lawyer to Barry’s Bootcamp instructor in Toronto#82 – Chris Lewarne is well known in the Toronto fitness community as one of the trainers at Barry’s Bootcamp, helping people achieve their fitness and health goals. Fitness, however, was not the path Chris set out on when leaving high school. Growing up, his family struggled financially, and Chris worked some awful jobs as a teenager to help contribute. With those experiences pushing him forward, he dreamed about the financial stability a high-paying career could provide and as a successful student, he chose a career in law to help him achieve his goal. Upon graduation, Chris...
2023-04-101h 12
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads #5 - Where We StandToday, we get vulnerable. In this short and final episode of the Chronicles series, we discuss what new episode formats are on the horizon and how this series has driven Jonathan's public speaking work forward. Despite the good news we share, plenty of work remains to do. If you're invested in the Career Crossroads journey, this episode is a must-listen to.Referenced in this episode:Chronicling Career Crossroads #1 - The Career Crossroads CrossroadNew Podcast Episode Formats Explained___________________You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media: ...
2023-04-0312 min
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads #4 - MarketingWhen products change, their marketing has to change: that's the core of the fourth episode of the Chronicling Career Crossroad series. But how to market something that is still in flux? It's not a question I can answer on my own so I need to bring in an expert. Enter Ronak Patel. As a business owner, former guest of the show, and a friend, Ronak is the perfect person to bounce ideas off of. Listen to our conversation about how marketing and promotion are changing in an ever-evolving social media landscape and how getting a 'rubber stamp' co...
2023-03-2219 min
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads #3 - ContentContent is king. You've probably heard or read that phrase over the last decade with the rise of online content creators, but the origins of the phrase can be traced to magazine editing in the 1970s. What does that have to do with this episode? Well, content is the subject of Chronicling Career Crossroads #3. For a podcast, every episode is considered content, but in the context of the Chronicling Career Crossroads discussion, what content is really king? What is the best content available and how can it be utilized in a different way? Those are...
2023-03-0713 min
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads #2 – ResearchWhen this episode was first conceived it was titled “Research – or how to make sure what I’m doing isn’t a waste of time”.As the episode title was….simplified, the core idea for the episode stayed the same: research. In order to determine if the planned Career Crossroads pivot is hitting the mark, I need to find out if the audience I intend to support (high school students, university/college students, and young grads) will actually benefit from this content.To find the answers to these questions in this episode I speak to three people...
2023-02-2327 min
Career CrossroadsChronicling Career Crossroads #1 - The Career Crossroads CrossroadHow do you handle change? Sometimes it’s forced upon us, and sometimes we just know it’s time. Sometimes change is needed. That is where I’m at with Career Crossroads. It’s changing. It’s evolving into something better and I’m going to take you along on the journey through that evolution.This is the first in a five-part series I’m calling Chronicling Career Crossroads. Without spoiling too much, it talks about where Career Crossroads and I have been, and where we’re going. Whether you’re a faithful listener or stumblin...
2023-02-0925 min
Career CrossroadsClaudio – From Gas Station Manager, to Window Washer, to Flight Simulation Instructor#75 – Although he would never do it, Claudio Teixeira could probably pull a Frank Abagnale and fake his way through flying a jet aircraft. That’s because Claudio has over 5000 hours in the ‘sky’ on the Boeing 777 simulator that is the crown jewel of his company, uFly Simulator Inc, which exists to entertain, help people get over their fear of flying, and train soon-to-be pilots.For years before he started the business, he would spend his evening playing Microsoft Flight Simulator flying between Toronto and New York, or setting the auto-pilot overnight so he could take off from...
2022-07-201h 33
Career CrossroadsEvo – From Tire Sales, to Travel Blogging, to Podcast Pontificator#74 – As the creator of the 40th podcast in the world way back in 2004, Evo Terra has had an impact on the world of podcasting for almost two decades and was recently honoured as a 2022 inductee into the Podcast Hall of Fame. You might imagine that someone given that honour makes a career in podcasting, and while that is true now, podcasting as a ‘career’ was not an option for Evo until the mid-2010s. On a recent episode of Evo’s own podcast, Podcast Pontification, he mentioned some of the jobs he has had in the past...
2022-07-131h 22
Career CrossroadsHailee – From Primate Rehabilitation to Police Officer Specializing in Forensics#73 – Have you ever wanted to collect data on wild jaguars or help rehabilitate a monkey with a broken arm? Well then let me introduce you to Hailee Hallas. Along with tree-planting in northern Ontario, studying these animals was some of the first employment opportunities she received in her young career after completing an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Carleton University.Despite how amazing these jobs may seem they were not without their drawbacks. Little pay and massive competition made that industry incredibly difficult to break into beyond short-term contract roles. Given that, Ha...
2022-07-061h 18
Career CrossroadsWhat I've Been Up ToCareer Crossroads is back after an unplanned break! Before we get into some new interviews, I’ve got some updates about why there has been such a long break as well as some information about some other projects I’ve been working on.After you've listened, check out my wife and I's new travel vlog on YouTube - Jon and Tash Travel ___________________You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media: Instagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFaceb...
2022-06-2921 min
Career CrossroadsJenn – The Path to Founding Cheekbone Beauty#71 – In 2016, Jenn Harper founded Cheekbone Beauty despite having no previous experience in the cosmetics industry. This was a major career change as up until that point she had worked exclusively in hospitality and in wholesale foods, leveraging her strong relationships with chefs to succeed. So why cosmetics? What changed? Well, in 2015 as Jenn was learning about her Indigenous grandmother’s experience in residential schools she had a dream. In this dream she saw “native little girls covered in lip gloss” and as soon as she woke up, she grabbed her laptop and started making notes. She did n...
2022-04-1358 min
Career CrossroadsIsil – Overcoming Fear and Finding Her Creative Self#70 - Isil Uysal Cavelli grew up in Izmir, Turkey, and didn't have a lot of role models. Consequently, if you told her that she couldn't have a specific career she would believe you without giving it much thought. Dancing? No, she was a chubby kid and it was unlikely she would become a professional. Doctor? No, it was too stressful and required too much studying to become a professional. Artist? No, it was not a stable career and art is more of a hobby anyway. Influenced by her family, Isil decided that what she really n...
2022-03-301h 23
Career CrossroadsPriya – How a Broadcaster Dabbled in Teaching on the Way to a Career in Technology#69 – Priya Sam grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, and was torn between two interests. Should she explore her interest in teaching, something she developed entirely on her own, or should she work towards a path in journalism, a career her parents suggested she had a specific skillset for? In this episode, we talk about how Priya chose journalism, and how she ended up teaching in South Korea for six years immediately following her post-secondary education. We hear about her rise to becoming the co-host of CTV’s Your Morning News and the things she noticed about the i...
2022-03-021h 20Career CrossroadsRest, Recovery, and Dreaming#68 - After eight weeks off, Career Crossroads is back! I'm rested and somewhat recovered so it's time for an update on what's been going on with me and the podcast. This episode recaps everything that's gone on in the time I was off, including;Rediscovering old passionsSome podcast achievementsChanges to the podcastThe future of the podcastStarting next week we'll be back to new interviews, and in the meantime, please take a second to subscribe to the NEW Career Crossroad's YouTube channel by clicking here, or searching for Career Crossroads on YouTube.___________________Y...
2022-02-1631 minCareer CrossroadsBest of Career Crossroads #4 - Lindsay Graham#67 - This week is the fourth and final episode of the Best of Career Crossroads series before I return with new episodes. This week we're revisiting my interview with Lindsay Graham from March 2021. _____________________Composer, voice actor, sound designer, and host. These are some of the words you can use to describe what Lindsay Graham does in his current career as a full-time podcast creator. He's the man behind American History Tellers, American Scandal, Business Movers, and many other hit podcasts that are part of the Wondery network, however, podcasting has really only comprised the...
2022-02-091h 19Career CrossroadsBest of Career Crossroads #3 - AshleeIn episode #3 of the Best of Career Crossroads series, we revisit my interview with Ashlee.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 Cle...
2022-02-031h 10Career CrossroadsBest of Career Crossroads #2 - KaitIn episode #2 of the Best of Career Crossroads series, we revisit my interview with Kait.Kait’s journey to her current career took her through a winding road in her late teens and early 20’s. She tried multiple educational paths and finally settled on fashion as her career of choice. But the path to being a Merchandising Manager was bumpy, and she turned to a more stable office administration role where she thrived. With a constant urge to better herself, and with the support of her colleagues and friends, she moved across the country, again, to begin a marke...
2022-01-261h 16Career CrossroadsBest of Career Crossroads #1 - RobbieAs I take a break from posting new interviews I'll be hightailing some of my favorite episodes from the past year and a half. This is week one of the Best of Career Crossroads series of episodes. Today, we're featuring Robbie. Robbie Berardi's story of becoming a skilled blacksmith starts when he graduated high school with plans to work at his local gas station. With a number of twists and turns along the way, he was able to train under master blacksmiths in Germany and the United Kingdom. A number of injuries from a variety of jobs k...
2022-01-191h 18
Career CrossroadsDecember 2021 Update - The Burnout is Real#63 - We’ve had twelve new interviews since Career Crossroads one year anniversary so it’s time for another update episode. Let’s talk about both the good and the bad of the last three months of running Career Crossroads, and what changes are coming in the short term.___________________You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media: Instagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTikTok: @jonathancollaton
2021-12-2227 min
Career CrossroadsDakota – How Knowing His Values Led Him to Become A Professional Co-Author #62 – Dakota LaMarre has never thought of his career as a way to make money. Yes, making money is necessary and yes, it’s a by-product of the jobs he has had over the years, but he needed more out of a career. He needed to find a career that would allow him to live the values his parents instilled in him when he was young: achieving his potential, doing something great, and helping people.While he tried to figure out what career path would provide that fulfillment, he spent his free time learning and growing as a perso...
2021-12-151h 19
Career CrossroadsRobert – From Journalism to Web Accessibility Advocate#61 - With influences like Stephen King and Lemony Snicket, Robert Kingett, who was born blind and with cerebral palsy, realized at a young age that writing was a fantastic way to express himself. Initially setting out to start his writing career as a journalist, Robert built up a portfolio by writing about anything and everything from human interest stories to sports coverage. While he had a solid plan for how to get noticed by the big local Chicago newspapers, it didn't take long for Robert to realize that newspapers did not value the stories he wanted to write about.
2021-12-081h 06
Career CrossroadsGreg – How a Traumatic Brain Injury Changed His Path#60 – Greg Noack was not happy with his life in his early 20’s. He had moved to British Columbia with plans to start anew after being unhappy with the options his business diploma afforded him in Ontario. He was not in B.C for long before his life was profoundly impacted on a cold morning in November of 1996. As he was walking home from work in the early hours of the morning, Greg was assaulted from behind in a random act of violence. Greg fell into a coma and for fifteen days he teetered on the brink of life...
2021-12-0158 min
Career CrossroadsSydney – TikTok Travel and Tech Sales #59 – Many people know Sydney as the ‘TikTok travel sales girl’ where she’s gained a significant following (160k+) by telling stories about the crazy phone calls she received while helping people book their dream vacations. Does Sydney’s TikTok fame figure into the future of her career? No, Sydney is a realist and sees social media for what it is: a way for people to share funny stories, trends, and ultimately take a break from the pressures of their lives. Given that, what does Sydney want to do with her life, and what has been the path tha...
2021-11-2458 min
Career CrossroadsKen – The Path From Paycheck to Purpose #58 – Ken Coleman is known as America’s Career Coach, and for good reason. As the host of The Ken Coleman show, a nationally broadcast radio show on SiriusXM radio, he spends an hour each day talking to people about their career struggles and how to overcome them.The reason Ken is so effective at helping people navigate their career crossroads is that he’s been there himself. After years working in politics, Ken realized that was not the future he wanted for himself so he had some soul searching to do. In his 30’s with a wife an...
2021-11-1756 min
Career CrossroadsCrian - Career Paths in Five Countries #57 – From his beginnings in South Africa, to his education in the United States and Ireland, on to his careers in South Korea and Taiwan, Crain Padayachee has experienced more change in his 39 years than most of us will experience in a lifetime. So how does a man who purports to not like change end up living in five different countries? A combination of education opportunities, visa applications, and relationships have all played a part in his world travels and with each plane ride came the need to pivot his career. After his childhood dream of beco...
2021-11-101h 00
Career CrossroadsLena – Business and Engineering and Technology, Oh My #56 – Lena Xiang is the founder of Open Classroom Experience, a virtual global innovation program for Gen Z leaders that helps them have a valuable virtual intercultural experience that prepares them to thrive in an everchanging world. This venture is relatively new and is the culmination of Lena working to determine how she could create a positive social impact on the world around her. The journey that led Lena to Open Classroom Experience has taken her from Toronto to Shanghai, New York, San Francisco, and Hanoi, all before settling back in Toronto. In this time she’s expl...
2021-11-031h 23
Career CrossroadsBrooke – The Highs and Lows of Politics and Beyond #55 – Politics runs in Brooke Crewson’s blood. From the age of five, she was helping her dad go door-to-door in his political campaigns, and at 15 she made the conscious decision to start volunteering to support campaigns she believed in. Despite that, she wasn’t 100% convinced of her future and pursued the parallel path of history and politics while studying at Wilfrid Laurier University.When she received job offers in both fields after graduating, Brooke had a tough decision to make. Should she pursue the potentially more stable job at a museum, or keep working towards a job s...
2021-10-271h 08
Career CrossroadsKeith - Opera Singer to Coffee Cocktail Artisan#54 – Growing up in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, Keith Honda had a world of options when he finished university. With his deep voice and talent for singing, Keith chose to come to Wilfrid Laurier University for their renowned music program where, as my roommate, he proceeded to wake me up every morning when he sang in the shower. Despite all the fun we had, the transition to university was not so smooth and after his first year, Keith headed back to Michigan where his parents resided at the time.Now, more than a dec...
2021-10-201h 18
Career CrossroadsJabez – Mechanical Engineering to Business Consulting#53 – Growing up in Mozambique, Jabez Ivan Joshiraj was always interested in building things when he was younger. Both cars and airplanes were fascinating and he decided that one day, he wanted to be the person behind their design. As a means to that end, when he graduated high school he headed to India, where he was born, to study mechanical engineering.As he progressed through university, he worked on an engineering project that required him to source supplies. With this, he discovered the world of supply chain management, and that prodded him to continue to lo...
2021-10-131h 00
Career CrossroadsLauren – From Retail, to Music, to Mobile Flower Shop#52 – The first thing Lauren Vandervecht ever thought she wanted to do for a career was be an interior designer. At the time it was the only job she knew of where she could be creative and while that career never came to pass, the thought process gives us a good indication of the direction she would head in.With stops in retail, music, and e-commerce both in Canada and the United States, Lauren’s story is full of twists and turns. She left opportunities that didn’t feel right and went after new opportunities without fear o...
2021-10-061h 17
Career CrossroadsCayla – Hospitality to Healing#51 – Cayla Schafer has had to pivot her career more than once due to her health. Misdiagnosed celiac disease wreaked havoc on her life while she made her way through university and her illness ultimately forced her to leave her thoughts of pursuing a career in acting behind. As she began to recover, she picked up a job serving at a restaurant in Toronto and was immediately hooked. Serving ticked all the right boxes: she could talk to people, problem solve, and each day was different. She began to see a future in hospitality and thought abo...
2021-09-291h 18
Career CrossroadsOne Year of 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 yearI talk about whether I've achieved the goals laid out in my first episode a year agoI share some stats about who is listening to Career CrossroadsI thank the people who have helped me get this farI discuss the future of Career CrossroadsI really can't express how happy I am with how this episode turned out and I hope you...
2021-09-0823 min
Career CrossroadsNicholas – From Business to Film Production#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 Le...
2021-09-011h 24
Career CrossroadsBen – From Indie Rocker to Journalist#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...
2021-08-2557 min
Career CrossroadsMathieu – From Hollywood Plans, to International Development, to Software Development and Beyond#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...
2021-08-181h 05
Career CrossroadsAshlee - The Road to Connecting Humans#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...
2021-08-111h 11
The Background DancerBonus: Curious Case of Careers | Jonathan CollatonAre you happy with your career? A certain Chris Rock once joked: "there are people who have jobs, and there are those who have careers." We spend so much time in the workplace and often neglect the all important question - Is this the right profession for me? Jonathan Collaton is a student affairs coordinator at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and creator of the Career Crossroads Podcast, a platform investigating career transitions and lifelong professional development. Kickstarting the month of Bonus Content, this episode explores the understanding of careers as the bedrock of...
2021-08-091h 02
Career CrossroadsAugust 2021 Update Episode#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 ChangesHis Current JobPodcast Growth Emails from ListenersClocking 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!______________________
2021-08-0423 min
Career CrossroadsMic – Finding His Calm in Music#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 wh...
2021-07-281h 18
Career CrossroadsLaura – Without Teaching, Who Am I?#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...
2021-07-211h 15
Career CrossroadsKatie - From Aquatics, to Journalism, to Teaching#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...
2021-07-141h 27
Career CrossroadsSheldon – Med School Plans, Different Reality#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 cor...
2021-06-231h 28
Career CrossroadsMoe – From Phone Line Repairman to Tech Entrepreneur#40 – As a teenager, Moe Abbas was a vastly different person than he is today. Unmotivated by school, it took getting beat up by some pot dealers at 16 for Moe to make the decision to improve his life. The change wasn’t immediate, but as he began to focus on improving his physical health, his education, and his relationships, opportunities began to present themselves to himThe first opportunity was as an Assistant Phone Line Repair Technician, which allowed him to leave his hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to work in Kamloops, British Columbia, and then Miami, Florida. Upon...
2021-06-1652 min
Career CrossroadsCareer Crossroads Update Episode!#39 - Welcome to Career Crossroads very first update episode! This week, I decided not to release an interview as there have been some changes (all positive) in my life that I wanted to talk about. Instead, I recorded a 16-minute episode where I discuss my career and the future of the podcast.Firstly, last week I began a new job. Given the nature of the podcast and why I started it, I felt it was important to talk about why I shifted roles at this point in time. I provide some insight into why I made the s...
2021-06-0916 min
Career CrossroadsJosh – The Path from Being Lost to Being Intentional#38 - For Josh Zettel going to university was an obvious step, but what to do after graduating with a degree in Psychology and Philosophy was less obvious. As he was considering social work, he got a job working at House of Friendship, a non-profit homeless shelter that also provided other programming for the local community. This role helped him realize that while he wanted to help people and be able to connect, social work was not the right path and he ended up leaving House of Friendship after feeling burned out. This was when Josh became lost...
2021-06-021h 15
Career CrossroadsJason - From Psychology to Professional Dancer#37 - Today on career Crossroads I talk to Jason Yap, a professional dancer from Malaysia who is currently living and working in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. As a teenager, Jason had aspirations to become a basketball coach but realized quickly that was not a path likely to lead to success in Malaysia. As he decided to call quits on his basketball career, a new passion emerged: dance. With his athletic ability and competitive nature, he was drawn to the sport as it relied solely on his hard work and skills and not on the success of a team. Ha...
2021-05-261h 06
Career CrossroadsShelly – From Hotel Management in India to Educator in Canada#36 – Growing up in New Delhi in her native India, Shelly’s family had a lot of say in the career path she chose. Despite that, Shelly was committed to working in the hospitality industry and pushed back against her family’s concerns. When she was accepted into the Institute of Hotel Management in Gangtok, her father relented, and off she went. An internship at the Taj Mahal Hotel led to a career in the Food and Beverage department at other luxury hotels like The Imperial, serving clients like Angelina Jolie and Bill Clinton. Then, when her fat...
2021-05-1958 min
Career CrossroadsMatt – Brass Instrument Repair, Skylanders Expert, Podcast Consultant#35 – Matt Sonnenberg is a man who isn’t afraid to try things. He tries something new, learns a valuable lesson, and then moves onto something else. This is a pattern that started with his childhood paper route but and continues with the multiple revenue streams he manages today.His journey takes us through two different attempts at post-secondary education; a path that eventually led him to specialize in brass instrument repair. After a failed solo repair business, Matt ended up at a larger music store but quickly realized that the industry would take a significant amou...
2021-05-121h 54
Career CrossroadsTyson - Stadiums, Bars, and Karbon Brewing Co.#34 - Steve Tyson (a.k.a Tyson) has had something like 27 different jobs in his life. From selling peanut butter cups when he was 10 so he could buy a Nintendo Gamecube, to founding Karbon Brewing Company in 2020, Tyson has often had a motivation behind each job he’s worked beyond just making money. After a number of paths through post-secondary education and a number of jobs working in stadium events management, Tyson moved into the hospitality industry where he saw a number of issues with the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle lived by many who wo...
2021-05-051h 25
Career CrossroadsVictoria – From Candle Sales to Leading Teams at Facebook#33 – How does someone with no university degree become an executive at Facebook? That’s the story of Victoria Graham’s career over the last 20+ years. Without a clear idea of her future during post-secondary education, Victoria drifted from one university to another and eventually found herself dropping classes for lack of interest. What was holding her interest? The candle store she was working at, where she was eventually promoted to manage one of their locations. The candle store led to a job at Pottery Barn but a chance meeting set Victoria on an entirely different path. While at a p...
2021-04-281h 38
Career CrossroadsZach – Politics, to Paramedic, to Policy Analyst#32 – Having literally circled the globe during the course of his career, and living in 8 countries along the way, Zach Desson would probably describe himself not as a nomad but as someone open to new experiences. Leaving his home town when he was 18 to volunteer in Peru is where his journey began before he headed back to Canada to start university as a political science student at Wilfrid Laurier University. After graduating, he spent some time working for the Red Cross but continued to look for his next big adventure. After considering becoming a fighter pilot, he decided he wanted th...
2021-04-211h 06
Career CrossroadsLisa – From Accounting to Real Estate Investing#31 – Hailing from the Cayman Islands, Lisa Hylton has always had a career where she crunched numbers, although who she was crunching numbers for has changed dramatically over time. After doing part of her university degree in Cayman, and then transferring to the University of Georgia to complete it, Lisa began her career in accounting with Pricewaterhouse Cooper. After establishing herself at home, she then sought to take her talents abroad via a PwC exchange program. After considering New York and Toronto, Lisa eventually decided on Boston and packed up to move countries once again. It was in the...
2021-04-141h 21
Career CrossroadsHelen – Helping People Find Their Next Career, After She Found Her Own#30 – Helen Hanison has lived a life of two careers. After stumbling a little as a teenager, she attended university at the age of 21 to get a degree in Media and Communications and after spending a term during her degree working at a high-profile Public Relations firm, she was hooked. This experience led to a long career working in PR in increasingly difficult positions, in multiple cities in her native England. Despite her success in the industry, it wasn’t an entirely smooth road. The fast-paced field created a lot of turnover and she had to navigate new supe...
2021-04-071h 32
Career CrossroadsJames – Merging Radio and Technology#29 - James Cridland knew from the time he was a teenager that radio and technology were two of his biggest passions. Given that, he had a fairly easy time deciding where to try and get hired after high school; a radio station. In a weird twist, early on in his career he was fired and rehired by the same person, but he realized that being the on-air talent full time didn’t allow him the creativity he desired. Using his other skillsets, over the next number of years he ran a radio station website, created a media di...
2021-03-311h 12
Career CrossroadsJessica – From Student Affairs to the Non-Profit Sector#28 – Jessica Bondy has always been a natural leader and from a young age she developed a passion for helping others. Towards the end of high school, as she tried to figure out what career path to go down, she flipped open a book about careers and landed on recreation therapist. Everything about the job seemed right so she set off to the University of Waterloo to begin her education. While excelling academically in her undergraduate degrees (she did two of them simultaneously), Jessica became heavily involved in student life, specifically in the area of housing. Whi...
2021-03-241h 04
Career CrossroadsKristy – From VP Human Resources, to Stay at Home Mom, to Professional Food Blogger#27 – Kristy Bernardo is the woman behind the wildly successful blog The Wicked Noodle, however, being a professional foodie wasn’t always in her future. Growing up in small town Wisconsin, Kristy didn’t have s strong sense of what she should pursue after high school although it didn’t take long for her to find out that she excelled in retail. After 5 promotions in 5 months, she was managing her own store in another state by the age of 20! Next came a move to Southern California where she lived for 16 years as she advanced her career through various companies from Payroll...
2021-03-171h 16