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FIMS Career Camp puts career exploration on the map this January

February 2022

Take it from people who know: It’s OK to not yet know what career path you want to follow.

That was one message brought to FIMS Career Camp in January by recent graduates Madeleine Asta, Danielle Filler, and Griffin Jaeger. Drawing on their own experiences, the young alumni offered advice and reassurance to first and second-year FIMS students.

“When I started in FIMS, I knew I wanted to work in the creative industries, but I had no idea how that was going to work. I said I’ll do Communications... but I didn’t even know what that meant, then,” explained Madeleine. “I spent a lot of my third and fourth year going to events like this, searching people up on LinkedIn, and trying to figure out what I would enjoy most.”

She now works as a Set Production Assistant on HGTV’s Love it or List It at Big Coat Media.

In a pandemic-isolated January, the virtual Career Camp gave first and second-year FIMS students a chance to discuss their future: Specifically, their future careers.

Between January 21 to 28, the camp featured special guests and online sessions dedicated to building career development fundamentals. From digital networking techniques and resume and cover letter tips to a map of different career possibilities that FIMS graduates can explore, more than 100 students attended the virtual series to build a toolkit that will help them start planning for a meaningful career in the future.

Here are a few highlights from the week:

• A pre-conference workshop introduced students to finding their strengths through a CliftonStrengths assessment facilitated by Western’s Strengths Coordinator, Alex Elias.
  
  
• Undergraduate Career Coach Cam Malthaner from Western Careers & Experience debunked myths and outdated perspectives on resumes and cover letters.
  
  
• Molly McCracken and Meg Thorne from FIMS Undergraduate Student Services guided students through a workshop on how to take advantage of the countless experiential learning opportunities on campus and in the community.
  
  
• And, as the week closed, young alumni and industry professionals dropped in to offer their own advice in the world of work.

Panelists Madeleine, Danielle, and Griffin shared their advice on how to navigate the progression through an undergraduate degree into the professional job market. While all three have taken different paths – to television production, public relations, and journalism – they all agreed on the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities to get involved on campus and connect with your FIMS network.

The path to discovery will look different for each person.

Danielle, who is an Account Coordinator at Craft Public Relations, explained how she worked back from her FIMS theory courses to find a job that challenged her. “MIT gave me the lens to think critically about how I'm being influenced, so I wanted to be on the other end of that,” she said.

Griffin, who is pursuing his Master of Media in Journalism and Communication at Western, has benefited from conversations with those in the media to define his pathway.

“Be a sponge. Talk to everyone. You’d be surprised how many people are working in industry would be willing to help you,” he said.

Funding for the FIMS Career Camp is provided by the FIMS Undergraduate Student Fund (USF). The support of the USF enables FIMS Career Services to secure fantastic speakers, plan thoughtful sessions, and open career oriented events to students across all four years.

Missed out? Undergraduate students can contact FIMS Careers Services (fimscareers@uwo.ca) to get access to any recorded sessions.