After TMU - Kailey Sibley

Why did you choose to study at Ryerson University?

I chose TMU because I’d heard amazing things about the Radio and Television program. I knew I wanted to work in broadcasting and everyone that I’d spoken to about it had told me it was the best program if you want to get into the industry. I also love the city and when I found out I’d gotten into RTA, my Dad took me downtown to check out the campus and I knew it was where I wanted to be!

How did your degree influence your career choice?

When I applied to RTA, my goal was to be on air. I wanted to be a rink-side reporter for Hockey Night in Canada and have a front-row seat for all of those major, exciting sports moments. Social media wasn’t really on my radar yet and I definitely didn’t think of it as an option for a full-time job. I was spending most of my nights watching hockey and tweeting about it, but it wasn’t until my fourth-year internship that I realized I could actually make a career out of it. I still love working in broadcasting and getting to work on live productions, but I love that social media allows me to be part of those exciting sports moments in a more behind-the-scenes way. 

What are some skills you developed through university that are applicable to your career?

A lot of the work we did in RTA was group work, and being able to work well in a group setting is so, so important in my job. I feel like I’m rarely doing anything without bouncing it off of someone else on our team. Even if it’s just a caption idea that I can’t quite get right, I’ll throw it in our group chat and we’ll all just shout out different ideas until something works. 

What are the best parts of your work; what are the necessary evils?

I love that my job lets me be creative, and I really enjoy the excitement of working in a news setting. Every single day is different and nothing is predictable. Of course, I also love that I get to watch and cover sports for a living. As for the evils, anyone on social media can tell you that it can be a really negative space at times, which can be draining if you’re plugged in for eight hours a day. I think sometimes people forget that there’s a person behind every account who actually has to read all of the messages and replies — both positive and negative. 

How did your experience at TMU help you find your first position after graduation?

I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my fourth-year internship. I interned at CBC Sports as part of the social media team for the Sochi Olympics and then was hired on for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. My internship was literally live-tweeting Olympic hockey games, snowboarding, figure skating, etc. It was a dream and I learned so much about how to actually be good at social media and how to represent a major brand online. After graduation, my boss from my internship hired me at Sportsnet to be the social media manager for Season 1 of Rogers Hometown Hockey and now I’m heading into my seventh NHL season with the Sportsnet team! Crazy.

In your experience, what are some attributes of individuals who are most successful in your field?

To work in social media, you’ve definitely got to be the creative type. Seasons are long and you’re always trying to find new ways to engage with your followers for 82+ games. You should be able to think quickly on your feet because news can break at any moment. You need to be a bit of a perfectionist, too. As a social media manager, you’re essentially the company’s direct line to their audience, so you have to be able to react quickly to news and you need to get it right. Screenshots live forever, so you have to do everything you can to minimize mistakes. Finally, you should have a bit of a thick skin. As I mentioned before, the negativity on social media can get to you, even if it’s not directed at you personally.

If you could start all over again, would you change your career path in any way? Why?

Honestly, I wouldn’t. I’ve been so lucky to work with some amazing people and experience some incredible, once-in-a-lifetime moments and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Social media is still growing and changing so every season so far has been different, and I’m excited to see where this part of the industry is heading! 

How has COVID-19 impacted your role and how have you adapted to its challenges?

COVID has majorly impacted my job. A huge part of my role is covering live events, so at the start of 2020 I was travelling quite a bit to cover different things. We were just gearing up for the playoffs and looking forward to hopefully covering another long run for the Raptors, and then everything just… stopped. One thing I’ll never forget is being at the office the night the NBA paused its season. I’ve never covered news like that before and I think it will always stick with me. Our digital team works super closely as a group and suddenly we were all working from home with no sports to cover, trying to figure out what to do. It’s been a challenging year for sure, but I’m proud of the way we were able to create content, seemingly out of nothing, during the sports pause and then quickly change gears to make sure the return-to-play went as smoothly as possible. I’ve never covered NHL and NBA games in August before so that was definitely something new!

What has been your favourite career achievement so far?

I’m lucky to have had some really incredible experiences for work and I’ve covered a ton of major sporting events, but the one I’m most proud of was covering the Raptors’ championship season. I remember waking up the day that the DeMar-Kawhi trade went down and being at the introductory press conference when Kawhi did his famous laugh, and then I was along for the whole ride right up to when they won the championship in California. I even got soaked with champagne in the locker room while taking photos and videos after the win. Our team ended up winning a Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Award for our social media coverage of the NBA Finals, which is something we were all super proud of.

What advice would you provide a student who is interested in your career choice?

Social media is so much more than just tweeting and instagramming. It’s a mix of journalism, photography, graphic design, video editing, marketing, sales, etc. You don’t need to be an absolute expert in all of those fields, but try to learn a bit about all of them if you can. If you want to work in social media, I would definitely recommend being active on your personal accounts! It’s such a great way to network and showcase what you can do.