Mykella Van Cooten

My story may be different from other CBC temps, but here goes: I was a print journalist back in the day, then, after getting laid off three times from different writer/editor roles, I wanted to find “stable” work. 

So I took a job in healthcare admin, basic stuff, not managerial or anything. I was there for a long time and knew everyone. It was familiar and stable. Until the pandemic. Then I worked a ton of OT, got burnt out and started to wonder: “What am I doing here?” 

Finally, after a year of talking myself out of it, I applied for, and got into, a year-and-a-half postgrad radio and media program at Humber College, in 2021. That leap of faith worked out. While still in school, I pitched and produced a piece that aired on The Doc Project. Then I got an internship there, as the last intern on the show before it was cancelled. 

I was also lucky enough to find an incredible mentor - my internship supervisor -  who’s been fundamental in guiding me to all the successes I’ve had since then. With her help, I got my first job, negotiated my salary and found consistent work Temping at CBC Toronto for two years. 

But those two years were kind of hellish. I never knew where the next job was coming from, having to pound the pavement to find the next CBC gig after a contract or secondment was over. To stay employed, I did fellowships, secondments…I've even proposed that units apply for BIPOC funding for me to work with them. 

I was also afraid that, if I didn't give this new industry everything, I’d just end up going back to healthcare. 

The last contract I had was my first Temp +13 gig. I thought that being Temp +13 meant that I'd somehow “made it”, and it would be easier to find the next contract or I’d be swooped up by a manager who saw my value. 

That didn’t happen. 

And by the time I started reaching out to managers, they'd already found the people they needed for their summer vacation backfills. I finally realized: I can't do this anymore. I needed stability. I needed self-care. I was tired and burnt out working full-time hours for CBC and then taking gigs on the side just in case the next CBC gig didn’t come through. I probably worked 6 to 7 days a week most of the time. 

So I started applying for jobs (I had to be quick because my AL and savings would only take me so far).  I decided I wasn’t going to apply for anything less than a one-year contract. I’d already heard great things about the North, from CBC’ers and other friends. After doing my research, I applied for jobs in Whitehorse and Yellowknife. 

Going away meant I could get that break I’d been craving – a break from Toronto. I had fallen out of love with Toronto, the city where I was born and raised. And I longed for a slower pace, to see my friends more, to remember what a hobby is.

I got a call to interview for a permanent AP role in Yellowknife….and…a week later, I got the job! I moved to the North in the fall of 2024.

Two years ago, I’d be an absolute NO to working anywhere but Toronto, but honestly, I got tired of competing with my friends for the same jobs, and knowing, even while applying for jobs, that there would be a hundred people with more seniority vying for the same job.

And, guess what? I’m happy here. Even on super cold days when I get down…I remind myself, I like the work. I am already getting development opportunities to backfill as a senior producer, something that would have taken me years to do in a place like Toronto. Now I get acknowledged for my skill, good work and great ideas. I am already getting opportunities to backfill in higher level jobs and gain valuable experience I can use anywhere. 

And the people at CBC Yellowknife are really great. I’m a lot less afraid of experiencing regular painful micro-agressions. That may not be the case everywhere outside of Toronto, so I may have lucked out here.

My advice to anyone Temping in the large markets is to go for it — consider working in a smaller market that could work for your life. Ask them up front if there’s room to grow there. And definitely find a mentor to guide you. I never thought I would leave Toronto but I’m happy I did.