Looking back: a year's worth of lessons

For my final post, I thought I would share some life lessons with you. Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page. I would love to read about some of the lessons you've learned in your time at school. We can all learn from each other, and I plan on continuing my education long after the semester ends.

1) Don't do anything half way

This is a big one for me. At the beginning of the year, I was unsure if I wanted a career in advertising. I decided to enroll in the Advertising Account Management program because I wanted to gain some experience in an unfamiliar field before I went too far down a different road. The problem is that it took a long time for me to take the program seriously. When you think of something as a "plan B", you're guaranteed to get very little out of it. If you're going to try something out, give it your all. Never think of something as a fall-back. For one thing, advertising isn't really a "fall-back" kind of industry. It happens to be one of the most innovative, creative, and collaborative industries out there. More importantly, there's really no point to exploring your options when you've already written off the possibility of doing anything else. My advice to all of you is to dive into new experience--don't just test the waters. If nothing else, it makes for a better experience.

2) You can learn something from any situation

Never believe that you're too good for the work you're doing. Everyone entering the program comes from a different place in life; some of us have experience with marketing, and others have experience with social media. I had a bit of experience with behavioural research. At the beginning of the year, my approach to many of the projects we were assigned was "well this is how I have learned to do it". The response I got was "That's great. Here's how you're going to do it from now on".

There's nothing wrong with learning a new approach. If nothing else, it helps you develop a more comprehensive understanding of the topics you're investigating. It's also okay to do something you're not comfortable with for a little while. My advice is to try approaching a problem from someone else's perspective. For all you know, it could be a better perspective to take.

3) Never tell yourself you're bad at something

Before this year, I would have told you that I'm bad at using Photoshop. I would have told you that I don't really understand social media, and that I have no idea how to make a GIF or a movie. Since then, I have at least partially developed all of these skills. How did I do it, you ask? Well, I watched a lot of online tutorials, had countless sleepless nights, and more than a few panic attacks. In the end, I did manage to improve my performance in all of these areas. The lesson here is that you should always bet on yourself. People like to talk about the things that they're bad at. I find that a lot of the time, they're just making excuses for themselves instead of sitting down and picking up a new skill. You can learn pretty much anything when it really comes down to it. However, I should probably point out that I still don't know how to pronounce GIF even though I can make one.

4) Mistakes are okay

This is a hard lesson for most people to learn. It's okay to make mistakes. The more mistakes you make now, the fewer you will make in the future. And really, making a lot of mistakes really just means that you're coming at the problem from a different angle. Once you're an established industry professional, this will be a seen as a virtue. If you get something wrong, there might still be some merit in the approach you used to arrive at that conclusion. It's okay to make mistakes; just try not to make the same one twice.

5) Take pride in your work

Try not to think of your work as just an "assignment". The great thing about advertising is that most of what you're assigned will be exciting, rewarding work. You'll have the opportunity to be creative and to express yourself. It's easy enough to do the bare minimum and move onto something else. However, it's much more rewarding to give everything your best shot. Not only will you learn more, your professors will start to notice that you're highly motivated. Do not underestimate the power of impressing your professors. After all, they're  the ones with all the industry connections. 

6) Don't be afraid to try something new

This last point is something I learned from attending school Sheridan College more generally, rather than the Advertising Account Management program specifically. The people who attend school here are engaged in such diverse areas of study, from textile design to finance. Students are constantly doing crazy and amazing things. A few buildings away, there's a group of people learning how to use computer animation software. I am never more than a kilometer away from a future Oscar winner. I'm constantly seeing people paint each other's faces in the hallway or design beautiful displays for the windows in the B wing. The culture at Sheridan College is one of creativity, of exploration, and of trying new things. When you're in that kind of environment, it's easy to imagine yourself doing something vastly different from what you're used to. If there's one thing I want to take away from this year, it's the desire to try new things.

Social Media: observations of the digital native

Today’s blog post is another educational one. There is a term that people have been using in recent years to talk about the generation of online users who grew up around technology. These people are called “digital natives”. They are well-versed in social media and have no trouble moving seamlessly between online platforms. In the advertising world, it is understood that capturing the attention of a digital native gives you the power to make your message go viral. The hard part is understanding them.

I thought I would explore the concept of the digital native in today’s post. The term really captures the feeling of trying to interpret a social media platform you don’t use; you feel like an anthropologist trying to decipher the codes and symbols of an unfamiliar culture. You can observe their behaviour, but can only speculate as to what it all means. In honour of that feeling, I have written down some anthropological notes about the study of digital natives and their behaviour on various social media platforms.

Instagram

The digital native spends a lot of time on Instagram. Because of the many filter options, the digital native is able to share photos of themselves without anyone actually knowing what they look like. It is the cultural equivalent of a masquerade ball. Digital natives use it to establish themselves as a member of the social elite, posting highly stylized photographs of their everyday lives. Some  even take to posting black and white photographs of rain on a windowpane. Is this person an artist? Is this post some kind of statement? Was the digital native simply bored, being stuck inside all day, and thought it might be fun to take a picture? The beauty of Instagram is that on this platform, anything can be art; anything can be a statement. The digital native is nothing if not cutting-edge.

"Cutting edge"

Common uses:

1. Making yourself look really, really cool
2. Letting people know what you had for lunch that day, but in, like, a “cool” way

YouTube

YouTube is considered a social media site. However, it is a common misconception that digital natives will post videos to this platform. The truth is, video sharing is YouTube’s secondary purpose. Its primary purpose is to give digital natives the opportunity to have extensive arguments in the comment section. It does not matter what the YouTube video is actually about; the video is more of an icebreaker to the digital native—like wearing a funky necklace to a party. The digital native will argue any topic, ranging from tension in the Middle East to how Dexter really should have ended. 

Common uses:

1. Watching old or foreign TV shows in 3 parts, watching Taylor Swift music videos, and watching clips of cats
2. Yelling about Obama in the comments section

Twitter

The digital native has an uncontrollable urge to broadcast their thoughts to the world. For this reason, the digital native uses Twitter to construct short, vacuous statements about the weather, how long it’s taking for the bus to get there, how they missed the bus because they were looking at their phone, and the ever-popular how much they are enjoying their kale salad #kalesalad

In fact, digital natives are so proud of their thoughts and opinions that they are even willing to engage in one-on-one conversations with celebrities, brands, musicians, and even political figures. Unlike the rest of humanity, the digital native seems to truly believe that all of their thoughts are gems, and everyone always wants to hear what they have to say. 

Common uses:

1. Criticizing celebrities
2. Speaking @ each other, rather than with each other

Facebook

Once a sprawling metropolis of online conversation, today, Facebook is merely a relic from an earlier time. The elders of the tribe can still remember how they used to share links, indicate their approval of a friend’s post, and even playing games on this platform. Now, the digital native barely ever uses Facebook to communicate. This is because in recent years, it has been overtaken by another group: the digital immigrants. A digital immigrant is someone who adopted an online presence later in life. These people are typically old and irrelevant. Much like in the real world, digital natives try not to have too much contact with digital immigrants, preferring instead to restrict them to the dark recesses of the online social world. It is here that the digital immigrant will post blurry photos of retirement parties and their daughters’ dance recitals. 

Common uses:

1. Occasionally untagging some unflattering pictures
2. Making sure you haven’t missed your aunt’s birthday
3. Checking to see if that guy from High School is still dating that girl—Alex or Amy or something 

Blogs

This platform is only for the elite. Only the most self-assured, pretentious, pedantic digital natives will have their own blog. These people are not social pariahs as one might presume. On the contrary; all of these qualities are held in the highest esteem by the digital native. Popular topics for blogs are fashion, DIY, travel, and the Advertising Account Management program at Sheridan College. The best blogs are those that are thought-provoking and shamelessly self-referential. Digital natives that are able to construct such a blog are celebrated as gods among men. 

Common uses:

1. Inciting valuable conversations
2. Creating content that people enjoy and are almost never critical of 

I hope that these notes have been informative. If you have any other observations to share, please post them in the comment section below. Let me take this opportunity to remind you that this is not a YouTube comment section, so keep your comments positive and at least somewhat relevant.

Sheridan College: Flow Chart Edition

Hi everyone,

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.

Life Hacks by Rachele

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.

The Great Canadian Sales Competition: why you should take every opportunity that comes your way

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.

The Lord of the Coffee: A Sheridan College Student’s Journey to the Tim Horton’s

Nothing really happens in your advertising classes. Generations of postgrads have lived out their lives in that E wing classroom, never truly seeing the world. Until one day, as fate would have it, a great burden fell upon one little advertising student.

You have been tasked with getting the professor a coffee. She has a “roll up the rim” tab, and would like you to cash it in before the 10 minute break is over.

You have heard rumours of the Tim Horton’s line and how perilous it can be at 4pm on a Wednesday. Everyone needs a boost right about now. And in the height of roll-up-the-rim season, students are willing to push and claw their way through the crowd for a single cup. Surely, the Tim Horton’s is no place for a little advertising student.

 

You ask if you can go to the Second Cup to grab her the coffee. She responds “this roll-up tab can only be returned to the Tim Horton’s, the coffee store from whence it was forged”. 

“One more thing”, she says before she sends you away. “Do not use my roll-up-the-rim tab. I’m serious. I will be really pissed off”.

 

You leave the classroom with a heavy heart. Just as you’re entering the computer lab, you run into a few of your classmates. They have decided to get some coffee as well. You decide to brave the line together. 

"You Have My Sword!"

Just as you’re crossing the blue ramp, you realize that you have never been so far from the E wing before. Why are so many of your classes in the E wing? You don’t know. That’s just the way it always has been, since the beginning of time itself.

You approach the Tim Horton’s. The line is much longer and more perilous than you had anticipated. You are confronted by thousands and thousands of angry undergraduate students, and they start attacking you. The Sean Bean character in your life dies immediately.

The fellowship has been separated, and there is no way you can handle that line without all of your friends there. Just then, a creepy little caffeine-junky creature tells you the Tim Horton’s behind the Learning Commons has basically no line. You are not sure whether to trust the creature…she seems to be after your free coffee. But you decide to follow her for now.

"AAAAH Creepy!"

The road to the Tim Horton’s is long and dreary. You wander through many halls, all seeming to lead nowhere. You wonder who it was who designed this campus anyways; perhaps one of the first year architecture students. Most likely they got an F.

You reluctantly let the Gollum lead you through the Dead Marshes.

Just then, you start thinking about how much you need a cup of coffee. You can't imagine having to sit through another hour and a half of this lecture without one. You start to wonder what it would be like if you simply...claimed the free coffee as your own. The draw of the caffeine is strong.

Finally, you make it to the Tim Horton’s. You fight off a pack of undergraduate students and are almost defeated. But as luck would have it, you reach the front of the line safely.

Just as you are about to put in your Professor’s order, you hesitate. There is only one minute left until the break is over. You think to yourself: did I really go through all this and I don’t even get a free drink?

“The coffee is mine!” You exclaim, consumed by power.

Just then, you find a dollar in your pocket. You buy yourself a second coffee and then get the hell out of there.

The End

How to interview well: advice from someone who really, really doesn't

You get a lot of advice when you’re about to start your first career. People tell you to “fake it till you make it”. In interviews, you are told to assume a very professional persona even if it feels unnatural. The one thing that you’re never, ever told to do is “just be yourself”.

Today’s job market is very difficult to break into. In order to get hired, you have to stand out from the pack. Everyone has a degree these days, so in order to stand out it’s important that you have a lot of valuable experiences. The most valuable kind of experience you can have is experience in the industry. In order to gain experience in the industry, you have to get hired. Are you beginning to see the difficulty here?

When you’re trying to impress a potential employer, the most important thing is to believe in yourself and your accomplishments. Of course, this is hard to do when you’re fresh out of school and have no idea what’s expected of you. In order to command respect and admiration, you have to actually know what it feels like to experience success (or be really good at convincing people you do).

"success".

I recently took the Myers Briggs personality test, which revealed that my personality type is ENFP (people use it as an organizational tool to see what jobs they're suited for). For those of you who don’t know, the Myers Briggs test is a not-so-scientific but weirdly accurate personality test. I got Extroverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Perceiving, which means I’m a dreamer, a big thinker, and easily inspired, but I sometimes lose interest in the details of carrying my ideas out. It’s the same personality type that Cher from Clueless, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Pippin from Lord of the Rings have. I think Barack Obama is also on the list of famous ENFPs, but you can imagine who I typically remind people of when they first meet me (I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the male, first black President of the United States).

The fact is, I don’t really have the air of someone who can deliver a stellar client presentation or submit an outstanding industry report—at least, not if I’m really being myself. It’s not that I’m not smart or competent; those just aren’t things you would learn about me after one 30 minute interview. And really, that’s only because no one has ever been exactly like me before.

Ima pioneer.

And guess what? You guys are all beautiful, unique snowflakes too! No one is going to know how well you can do a job until you actually do it.

It’s hard to see ourselves as high-powered business people or industry professionals because we have never been those things before. To make things more complicated, when it comes to important career decisions it’s not about seeing ourselves doing a job (which would be easy) but filling a role (which is somewhat more difficult). The problem is, employers tend to have very specific ideas about what it means to fill a role. Some won’t hire you unless you are the prototypical person to normally hold that position. It’s a shame, but any little thing can make a potential employer decide not to hire you. Maybe they don’t like the way you wore your hair that day; maybe they feel like you’re a bit too soft-spoken; maybe they don’t like the giant scary tattoo you have on your face (helpful hint: try not to get a face tattoo before you go to a job interview). The best you can do is try to anticipate what an employer is looking for and do your best to convince him or her that you’re a good fit.

Here’s the amazing and wonderful thing: the people who have the hardest time of filling a role are the ones who are destined to forge a new path. The corporate landscape is ever-changing, and if you’re lucky, you can be the one to change it. Until then, you have to learn your lines, exaggerate, talk yourself up…and fake it till you make it.