When 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' could be a game changer for Career Crossroads._______________ You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:Instagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancoll

Content 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 the questions I look to answer in this episode. _______________ You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:Instagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

When 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:  Denise, a retired high school Guidance CounsellorWei, a Career Counsellor from the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC),Tara, UTSC’s Director of Alumni RelationsListen in to hear their takes on what young people know and need to know about their career trajectory, and how Career Crossroads can help them._______________  You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social media:Instagram: @career_crossroads LinkedIn: Career Crossroads Podcast Facebook: Career Crossroads Podcast Twitter: @jcollaton TikTok: @jonathancollaton

How 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 stumbling across the podcast for the first time, I think there’s something in this episode for everyone. _______________You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroads.ca or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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 Rio de Janeiro before going to bed, and land in Toronto when he woke up in the morning. With such a passion for flying, why did Claudio never become a pilot himself? Well, that’s a long story involving his father's gas station business in Brazil, multiple border crossings in the cover of darkness, and a window washing empire in Toronto. Sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with Claudio.______________________Find uFly Simulator Inc. online at uflysimulator.ca or on Instagram @uflysimulator.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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. Tire sales….advertising…travel blogging….I knew Evo must have an interesting story to tell so I invited him to share it on Career Crossroads. Luckily for me, he was willing to tell his story, so sit back, relax, and listen to Evo walk me through all the twists and turns of his career.  Here’s where you can find Evo online:·         Evo’s Twitter ·         Podcast Pontifications·         Sounds Profitable·         Simpler MediaAlso mentioned in this episode are previous Career Crossroads guests:·         James Cridland·         Lindsay Graham______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroads LinkedIn: Career Crossroads Podcast Facebook: Career Crossroads Podcast Twitter: @jcollaton TikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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 were 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, Hailee decided that a more specific education would help her in the future, so she headed off to Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland to obtain her Master of Science. With her new degree in hand, Hailee obtained a job as a Field biologist studying bird and bat mortality on wind farms. As an outsider looking in, it would seem that her further education had paid off and her career in conservation was well underway. How then, did Hailee come to enter an entirely new career as a Police Officer just three years later? That is a long story and you’ll have to listen to the interview for the details.Also discussed in our conversation is how Hailee has been able to balance employment opportunities with another passion of hers – travel. Having visited more than 30 countries by her 30th birthday, Hailee tells me about how the flexibility of her first career allowed her to enjoy her life, even if that career didn’t provide the financial stability she eventually sought out. ______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

Career 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

#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 not yet know what she would call her company, or what skills she might need to make it successful, but she knew she needed to make that lip-gloss and she knew she had to work ethic to achieve her goal.In this episode, Jenn tells me about the jobs and experiences that led her to Cheekbone Beauty and all the things she’s had to learn over the last six years to make her company such a success. With Cheekbone’s sustainability efforts, support of Indigenous youth and women, and general success as a business, it’s clear Jenn made the right choice when confronted with her own career crossroad.You can read more about Cheekbone Beauty and browse their online store at www.cheekbonebeauty.com.Follow Cheekbone Beauty on Instagram at TikTok, @cheekbonebeauty______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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 needed was a good stable career with a respected employer where she could separate work from her personal life, so she headed off to Istanbul to study Management. During her studies what she really enjoyed was marketing, but upon graduation, she was fearful about not getting a job quickly enough. When the job offers did not come, Isil quickly pivoted to accept a job as an auditor for a barge bank and left her marketing dreams behind. The work was far more technical than what she wanted to do but there were also many positives to working at a bank, specifically the stability and having a respected employer. She was also good at it and over time moved up the ranks to become part of a global team working all around Europe and this allowed her to travel to fancy balls in Vienna (which is how she met her Italian husband - but that's a story she'll talk about in the interview).Eventually, Isil became unfulfilled in her career, and by now she was living in Munich, Germany. Her role had become overly technical and she needed more freedom to be creative and more one-on-one work with people. How could she pivot thought when this was all she had done? She had this one specific skill set and was a foreigner so she was concerned about who would hire her. In this episode, Isil shares the journey that led her to her career crossroads and all the steps she took to overcome it.  ______________________To buy a copy of Isil’s new book, The Gift of Being Unfulfilled at Work, click here.Join her workshop, Unwrap Your Gifts on April 17th, 2002 from  4 PM - 7 PM CET. Register by clicking here. You can sign up for Isil’s newsletter here, and listen to her podcast, Unique Careers, Unique Lives, here.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave a review, click here You can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroads LinkedIn: Career Crossroads Podcast Facebook: Career Crossroads Podcast Twitter: @jcollaton TikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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 industry that led her to leave it behind – at least for now. Priya also tells us how someone with experience in journalism ends up working at Hoostsuite as a Solutions Engineer and how she gets to utilize the transferable skills she picked up from her broadcasting career on the daily.This episode is for you if you want to learn:-          How putting in extra work in your chosen field can pay off-          When to make the decision that it’s time to move on-          Practical steps to figure out how to pivot when you’re unsureFind Priya on Instagram (@priyasam) and Twitter (@priyasam) or by searching her name on Facebook and LinkedIn.Find Turning Point at these locations: YouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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, 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 last handful of years of Lindsay's career. Prior to that, he worked in insurance sales, marketing, accounting, and a variety of other roles that are not directly related to what he does today. So how did he go from those jobs to podcaster? You’ll have to check out his Career Crossroads interview to find out.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

In 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 Cleveland, Ashlee took on every opportunity she was offered from answering phones to sorting mail and cleaning the office. Again, Ashlee was noticed, and her hustle allowed her to be exposed to the event management side of the business. That experience was what she needed to live her dream and move to New York City when she was hired as an Executive Assistant for the CEO of a luxury hospitality company. Over a number of years, she worked her way up in the company until she became an Events Manager and was working on events for brands like Monet-Hennessy and Coca-Cola.With all her success also came the burnout that many people experience and Ashlee realized she needed to make a change. As she was exploring her options, she attended a conference to try and network but came home frustrated with the lack of good opportunities to make connections with other attendees. As she explained this issue to her mother, they began brainstorming and a question was asked – why don’t we create a better way for people to network and meet others at events? They got to work immediately and Miztroz was born. Hear Ashlee tell me how she and her mother built a product that can best be summed up by their tagline - “We Connect Humans”. Along the way, they became the 37th and 38th Black women in America to raise $1 million for a start-up. Find Miztroz online at mixtroz.comFind Miztroz on social media at @mixtrozFind Ashlee on social media @shemixalot87______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

In 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 marketing program at Humber College. Going back to school as she was turning 30, she wanted to have the traditional student experience she had heard about and joined the Humber College First-Year Experience program; a decision that proved to be very beneficial to her long term.  After two lectures with her Organizational Behaviour professor, she had a conversation that changed the whole path of her degree.  Listen now to how Kait ended up in a career in Human Resources.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

As 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 kick-started his interest in health and he is now pivoting to take on a new challenge as a Massage Therapist. Take a listen to his story.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollatonTikTok: @jonathancollaton

#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.______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaTikTok: @jonathancollatonInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollaton

#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 person. Even then, being a hard worker doesn’t mean there won’t be bumps in the road. Dakota’s story involves ‘accidentally’ quitting a job, getting fired from another, and buying a one-way ticket to Barcelona, all in the name of finding a career that he loves. Did he find what he was looking for? Yes. Now, as a professional co-author, Dakota helps people put their ideas on paper, and his first book, I Love Mondays, looks like it will be the first of many in a successful writing career.Where you can connect with Dakota:Website: dakotalamarre.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dakota-lamarreInstagram: instagram.com/dakotalamarre______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaTikTok: @jonathancollatonInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollaton

#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. As he considered how to pivot, blogging became an obvious way for him to express his opinions and educate people about topics surrounding the disability and the LGBTQ communities, a crossroads in which he sits at the intersection of.His blog was a hit, but not with the audience he expected it to resonate with, and that opened up a number of unexpected doors for Robert. Now, he works as a web accessibility consultant as well as an expert witness for lawyers in accessibility cases. Between these jobs and his work in the Audio Description industry, Robert has built up a safety net that allows him to spend time writing works of fiction. These works allow members of his intersecting communities to see themselves reflected in the characters and hopefully, the stories will allow Robert to one day join the ranks of his esteemed childhood influences. Find Robert’s work on his website blindjournalist.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @wweirdwriter______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaTikTok: @jonathancollatonInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollaton

#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 and death. On day fifteen, Greg suddenly woke up with no recollection of what happened but more concerningly, had almost no control over his own body. He had lost most of his motor function control including the ability to express emotions and was reliant on a feeding tube for nutrition. Despite his circumstances, Greg had an incredible group of people supporting him in his family and friends. All the while, there was another group supporting Greg; the doctors, nurses, and therapists who helped him on his road to recovery. This is the story of Greg’s recovery, and how these individuals led him to want to help others recovering from traumatic brain injuries.Greg has written a book about his recovery process called My Invisible Disability which can be found at Chapters or Amazon in Canada or Amazon in the United States______________________To support Career Crossroads, click hereTo leave Career Crossroads a review, click hereYou can find Career Crossroads at careercrossroadspodcast.com or follow us on social mediaTikTok: @jonathancollatonInstagram: @career_crossroadsLinkedIn: Career Crossroads PodcastFacebook: Career Crossroads PodcastTwitter: @jcollaton