Dinner with a side of career advice
I’ve noticed something in my last semester at Concordia. The closer I get to graduation, the more people have begun to ask me about my future.
“What are your plans for when you’re done school? Have you lined up a job yet? What is it you want to do exactly?” These are all common inquiries from professors, friends and family.
Being a journalism student makes these questions even harder to answer. Do I want to pursue a career in print or broadcast journalism? What about public relations? Would someone hire me over one of my peers? Are there even any jobs left in the industry?
That’s where Concordia’s Dinner for Eight program comes in. Established in 2009 by Advancement and Alumni Relations, its goal is for Concordia alumni to share their professional experience and advice with students over dinner - free for students!
When I saw that CTV News anchor Mutsumi Takahashi, BA 79, MBA 85, was on the list of alumni dinner hosts, I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to meet her and talk about careers in journalism.
I arrived at the Italian restaurant downtown with my friend Alyssa, a fellow journalism student, and we quickly went around the table introducing ourselves and began chatting with the other guests over appetizers of bruschetta and minestrone soup.
Everyone was eager to know why Takahashi had chosen to pursue a career in journalism and how she had become one of the most recognized news anchors in Montreal.
Her photo, after all, is hanging in the restaurant’s entrance beside the likes of A-list Hollywood celebrities and NHL players!
Takahashi explained that she did not study journalism in university. She holds a BA in psychology and an MBA.
This led to perhaps Takahashi’s most important piece of advice for all of us: find a way to make yourself stand out.
This applies to any field of study and work, but especially to the ever-competitive field of journalism. Takahashi told us that while it is great to be generally knowledgeable about many topics, having an expert knowledge of something, like politics or business, is what really gives someone an edge over the competition.
Takahashi talked about her experience working at CTV News and even gave us some tips on how to perfect our on-air appearance -- everything from dressing the part to watching ourselves in a mirror to see how our faces move when we speak.
The night ended with an invitation to visit the CTV studios and watch a news broadcast in the coming weeks, an invitation we all readily accepted.
Journalism student Lesley De Marinis will be graduating this spring. She attended the Dinner for Eight program last fall. Advancement and Alumni Relations kicks off the spring session in the coming weeks.
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