Today, I thought I would make some helpful flow charts for anyone interested in what student life is like. Please take a look, and be honest! These charts are extremely well-constructed, and if used properly, can tell you everything you need to know about life at Sheridan College in the postgraduate advertising program.
You always have media homework.
It's difficult to get around without a parking pass. If you're unfortunate enough to be parking off-campus, make sure it's somewhere that hasn't ticketed or towed in living memory. If you're me, this won't matter and you will get towed anyways.
There are so many different roles you can play within the advertising world. If you're willing to work hard, you can go far in this industry.
When it comes to getting involved in extra-curricular activities, you should take every opportunity that comes your way. Unless, of course, it's going to be literal torture to show up.
You're going to be very, very busy if you enrol in an advertising program.
You cannot eat in the learning commons.
The point here is that everyone should think about enrolling in a postgraduate program. There's always value in gaining a few extra skills, and having a certificate can't hurt your job prospects. If I've learned anything from this year at Sheridan College, it's that a postgraduate program can benefit anyone, from any background, at any stage in their life.
And finally...the mammoth:
I hope these flow charts have been helpful. Now, I'm wondering what I can learn from you. What is student life like for you? Have you ever been towed from the plaza across the street? Have you ever tried to eat in the learning commons? Please leave your comments below.
One of my favourite things to read about on social media websites is life hacks. Of course, what I mean by that is when I'm done familiarizing myself with all of the important world events, human rights movements, and local news stories of the day, I go on Buzzfeed for maybe 5 minutes (tops!) and read about helpful hints and tricks to make my life run a little more smoothly. That is a pretty accurate breakdown of how I spend my time online.
In today's post, I thought I would share a few of my own life hacks with you. It strikes me that everyone has their own little "hacks", and the world would be a much more efficient place if we all shared them. So please, share your life hacks in the comments below.
Of course, this blog is an academically-oriented and industry-specific content hub exploring the world of advertising in Canada. So, let me begin by saying that this blog post is sponsored by Sheridan College and the Advertising Account Management program. For anyone who's interested, the following is an example of a "native advertisement". A native advertisement is a type of ad where the information matches the form and function of the platform on which it appears, but it is, in fact, sponsored content. You can learn more about native advertising here.
Now that I have been sufficiently educational, let me introduce...Life Hacks by Rachele:
Put your Presto card in an outer pocket of your wallet. You can tap on without taking the card out, which is not only efficient, but makes you feel a bit like a super spy.
Put dryer sheets in every drawer in your house. They make everything smell amazing.
The best and easiest way to eat an avocado is to slice it in half, cover it in lime or lemon juice, add salt and pepper, and eat it straight out of the shell. It tastes exactly like guacamole, and is socially-acceptable to eat in spoonfuls.
Don't want someone to see what's on your screen? Hit Alt Tab to quickly switch windows. I found out about this hack in Grade 8 and not a day goes by that I don't use it.
Have too much junk food in the house? Put some of it in the freezer. You're less likely to eat it at 2am if it takes a half hour to thaw.
Pour some paint into an old wine bottle. The colours mix in really cool ways, making a pretty (and cheap) decoration.
Or, if you don't have any paint in the house, use old nail polish. When it dries, it takes on a glossy, embossed look.
Ever go to hotels? Take all of the soaps and lotions home with you. No, seriously. They're perfect for the next time you have to travel, and if you're low on shampoo anytime soon, you have a whole bunch of back-ups.
Need to pass a grade 12 art class but have no talent whatsoever? Try abstract expressionism. What does it mean!?!
Ran out of ink? Before you replace your old cartridges, take them out and shake them. You're bound to get at least a few more drops of ink out of them.
Worried your friends might judge you for your choice in literature? Put your books in your 6-year-old sister's bookshelf. Not only will you retain the respect of your nearest and dearest; your little sister comes off looking pretty smart as well.
This device slices bagels perfectly every time. Invest in one.
Shoe horns are so, so important. They will make your morning a billion times easier.
Instead of putting posters up, buy some old records and put the cases up on your wall. It looks cleaner, and people assume you listen to records.
I hope you have enjoyed my life hacks. Please add your own hacks to the comments below. User engagement is one of the most important parts of native advertising, of which this is most definitely an example. I look forward to reading all of your life hacks.
This post is about why you should take every and all opportunities that come your way. Before I took first place in the Great Canadian Sales Competition, I had no idea that I had any aptitude for professional sales. I knew that I was interested in marketing and advertising, but did not see myself on the front-lines, pitching a product or service directly to clients. Since then, my perspective has changed a little.
Hosted by the Sales Talent Agency, the Great Canadian Sales Competition is a nation-wide competition for students who want to have their voices heard. This was the first year of the competition, and the STA did an amazing job of spreading the word. There were over 200 contestants from all over Canada. Below is a list of the schools that participated:
Students pitched a range of subjects, from the importance of eating healthy to the value of country music. There were also quite a few students who spoke about Sheridan College. You can watch their pitches here. The only instructions were to speak for 60 seconds about something we are passionate about. Some suggested topics were world peace, human rights, and the environment. Of course, I chose to speak about grilled cheese sandwiches.
You can watch my pitch here:
Wow, that was a really inspiring speech. I don't know about you, but I'm sold. That girl really knows what she's talking about.
For the record, there are some pretty amazing things you can do with a grilled cheese sandwich. While I'm on the subject, here's a link to some sandwiches that will probably blow your mind.
For round 2, we were asked to do a 1-2 minute sales pitch on one of the sponsors of the competition. The sponsors are pictured below:
The sponsor I was assigned was G&K Services, a business-to-business uniform and facility services company. G&K also happens to have amazing sales practices, which is one of the many reasons why it is the Canadian market leader in its category. You can watch my Round 2 sales pitch here:
Yet another amazing and inspiring sales pitch. I had no idea that girl was a human until she told me. Well done.
At this time, I should probably point out that what the judges picked up on was my enthusiasm and my ability to sound unscripted. What I have learned is that an important part of sales is being able to have an authentic voice (even if it means sounding a little bit hokey from time to time). All of the top 10 contestants were very comfortable in front of the camera, which is hard to do when you have to learn everything about an unfamiliar company and develop a sales pitch, all in the span of one week.
The final round of the competition took place at the Google office in Toronto. Here are a few pictures from the event:
Like every other office in the world, the Google office has arcade games and ice cream freezers in its many break rooms.
This is a mini golf course on the roof of the building. The course includes miniature versions of the City of Toronto's famous monuments. As you can imagine, most office's rooftop mini golf courses aren't as elaborate as the one at the Google office.
This picture is my personal favorite. Depicted here is a mural made completely out of rubik's cubes. It was donated to the Google office by Rubik's.
In the final round, contestants led a 10 minute sales call where we pitched our companies to prospective clients (the "clients" were role-played by the sales coaches, who were representatives of our assigned sponsors. My coach was Andrew Fitzpatrick, and he was extremely helpful in preparing me for the final round of the competition).
I did pretty well in this round of the competition.
Matiya Szauer (2nd place), Rachele Benjamin (1st place) and Bethany Chan (3rd place)
So did everyone else.
The prizes were amazing, but what I value most about this opportunity was the chance to network with hundreds of established, successful sales professionals.
And of course, the very esteemed panel of judges:
(from left to right): Duncan Bureau, VP of Global Sales at Air Canada; Chris Adamkowski, Head of Industry at Google; Jamie Scarborough, Co-Founder at Sales Talent Agency; Erin Elofson, Head of Financial Services at Facebook; Michael Back, CEO of HonkMobile
I have learned quite a bit from this experience. Most importantly, I have learned that you should never pass up an opportunity to explore a career option. As a student, it is important that I learn as much about the professional world as possible before I settle on a job. I never would have expected that I could win a sales competition. Now that I have, there are a lot more opportunities available to me than there were before. One of the reasons why the STA chose to hold this competition was to educate students about careers in sales and how rewarding it can be to connect clients with the resources they need to improve their lives, and their businesses (authenticity is key!). I am glad to have learned what I did, and am excited to see where my new-found passion for sales will take me.
Perhaps a little too excited.
My advice for other students is to get involved, keep your options open, and always bet on yourself. You never know what you're capable of until you give it a shot.
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