Fan In Van

Why I Didn’t Get The Job

So over the winter holidays I had two job interviews, both with the Vancouver Canucks organization. Quite plainly, any position with the Canucks would be a dream come true for me, or any fan, for that matter. I’m here because I’m going to tell you about why I didn’t land one of the positions.

The first job interview I had was with Rod Brathwaite, manager for the Canucks Centre of BC Hockey. The position was for the title of Student Associate; had I landed the job I would’ve been working with BC minor hockey teams and other aspects of the community the Canucks immerse themselves in. It was a great opportunity that was available for the taking — however I got the impression from Mr. Brathwaite that the job entailed a lot of office work and community work, something which quite plainly was not my forte. Personally, if I was Rod I wouldn’t hire me either. But one good thing came out of the interview: Rod offered me the chance to get an interview with the Vancouver Canucks’ website team, something I was 100% for.

This second job opportunity was much more rewarding and more importantly, something I would excel at to a tee. The job description called for attendance to every Vancouver Canucks’ home game and morning skate while being in the press box for those games. After the game, I would head downstairs along with the other media, guys I’ve idolized since I gained interest in sports journalism, and interview players so that I can write stories for their website.

Dream come true, right?

This was something that I knew I was meant for — I was made for this sort of job and to this date still believe I am. I wanted this position more than anything I’ve ever wanted and would do anything to get it. It was a full-time position, one that I would trade all my semesters at SFU for. It called to work sometimes long and hard hours, something I do on a regular basis. Interviewing athletes, the Canucks in particular, was the one thing I knew I could do. I had already gained a ton of experience working with the SFU newspaper while interviewing several up and coming athletes. If there was one thing I knew I was good at, it was interviewing people.

So why didn’t I get the position, you ask?

Well it’s only come to my attention in the last few days that one of the main reasons I was not hired was because of the fact that the higher-ups were concerned “I was too big of a fan” and that I wouldn’t be able to conduct interviews in a “professional” manner.

I do respect their reasoning; after all, this is “Fan In Van”. In addition, I was told that they had problems in the past with other interns being unprofessional, which is understandable. But to be completely honest, in my case, that couldn’t be more further from the truth.

I don’t want to toot my own horn, but if I’m something in this journalism business, it’s professional. I am professional, in all my journalistic affairs.

If that was the only reason why I wasn’t hired, it makes me a little upset. If that means they hired someone else who knew less about the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL in general, it only makes me even more upset. I am professional. I do conduct my interviews with utmost profession. I would never come up to Roberto Luongo and ask for a picture or autograph if it meant endangering my job. I would never ask Mattias Ohlund to autograph my jersey if it meant conducting unprofessional work ethic. That’s not what I’m about and that’s not how I am in this business, I know better than that.

I don’t hold a grudge against anyone for the remarks. From what I got in the interview, everyone (Rod Brathwaite included) treated me with the courtesy and respect I extended to them. The Canuck organization is top-class and have been so for several years. With all that being said, I know there will be more opportunities. I’m still nineteen and this business always needs honest sports journalists. I do intend to re-apply the next time the Canucks are hiring, because, like I said, I still feel I am best suited for this position over anyone else. I think that people aren’t getting the impression that I’m going after what I want with tons of determination and focus. I just wish that, for once, I would finally get the break I’ve been waiting patiently for for a very long, long time.