On The Kowch for Week of August 9th
Don't play Wonder What Would Have Happened Game with your career
From where I sit On The Kowch, I always enjoy getting emails from former Humber College students like Shawna Roshuk who packed her bags and left Toronto to chase her dream to be on air at the NewcapTV & Radio station in Lloydminster, Alberta when she graduated.
Shawna began chasing her dream to be in front of the camera and microphone after a successful career in radio sales. Our paths crossed when I taught her intro to radio news and radio documentaries at The School of Media Studies & Information Technology at Humber College. She was a natural in front of the microphone and the camera really liked her.
One day she came to me to ask for advice. There was a possibility of a job in Alberta. What should she do?
Being the wise older college professor I am, I did what most people in academia do when asked for advice. I quoted from the book I wrote: 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Making It BIG In Media.
"Don't play the I Wonder What Would Have Happened Game. Take the job," I told her.
It sounded like a great opportunity to do both radio and TV. Working in a smaller market provides a lot more on air opportunities than if she had stayed in Toronto.
This week I received an email that just confirmed what I told her:
"I have been filling in as the 5p/6p weather anchor for the last 8 weeks. I LOVE IT and would love more LIVE TV experience ... such a rush! I'm still the weekly Health Minute Reporter and I created a Fresh Favourites feature. Now I am also the Agriculture Reporter and I voice weekday mornings on radio stations in our cluster around the region. I do the Farm File report, Agribusiness Updates and the canola and oil prices. I also continue to do editing and act as the assistant producer on weekends when needed."
This is why I tell my students to pack their bags, kiss their girlfriends or boyfriends goodbye and take the jobs in the smaller markets.
From where I sit On The Kowch, Shawna is living her dream. It's only a matter of time before more opportunities in larger markets start coming her way. For more about what to do when offered a job far from home check out my latest book excerpt.
Steve Kowch was program director of two of Canada's largest newstalk radio stations for 14 years
He can be reached at steve@kowchmedia.com
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Comments
This is exactly what I did shortly after graduating from Seneca College's Radio Broadcasting Program, and it has proven to be very rewarding so far!
Steve, you are right - never play the "what if" game, becasue you just never know. When opportunity knocks on the door, answer it.
Craig