A few years back a friend asked me to talk with her college-bound son, Jacob, about his chosen field of study - video production. She wanted me to share some of my broadcasting / marketing / creative experience to give him an idea of what to expect in the dreaded “real world.”
I wanted Jacob to be able to take something tangible away from our conversation, so I also wrote out my thoughts and printed them for him. A few recent experiences reminded me of that list, and I thought it might also be helpful for others in high school or college considering a career as a Creative.
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1) Talk to as many people in your industry and related industries as possible. Most people will be happy to tell you about their professional path, especially with someone who is really interested in what they do.
- Get lots of input about good and bad aspects of the industry.
- Which aspects of the work / industry came as a surprise to them?
- What have they found to be some of the keys to success?
Keep in mind that there’s never just one way to do anything, so don’t accept all input as gospel. Take the nuggets that work for you, plus those points that seem to be common among all your sources to find the “truth,” and use that information to plot your own course.
2) Use your summer vacations to pursue work and/or internships in your chosen field. You may need to volunteer your time for the chance to work in the field, but you will…
a) Start to build relationships and a network within the industry. (So often it’s not what you know but who you know that gets your foot in the door.)
b) Learn things on the job you won’t learn in a textbook.
c) Gain valuable insight into how to find employment in your industry.
d) Learn the standards and what is expected of you in that industry.
The knowledge and experience you’ll gain will be more valuable than any money you’ll make at a typical summer job.
3) Whether you want to be a writer, photographer, graphic designer, animator or any other type of Creative, save your work a) for your portfolio / demo, and b) to learn from it. You’ll need to provide examples of what you can do throughout your career, and it’s much easier to pull from work you’ve actually done than create samples specifically for a job interview.
Also, looking back on your body of work allows you to see if you’ve grown artistically and skill-wise. At least in the early stages of your career, you should be able to look at a piece you did five years ago and be embarrassed by it. That shows you’ve improved.
4) Nobody owes you anything. Not a great salary. Not great benefits. Not even a job. As someone who hires young writers and voice talent, I can say there’s not much more frustrating than an unproven employee who feels he €œdeserves€ this or that because he’s accepted your job offer. Be prepared to earn your money, your reputation, and the privilege of doing something you love for a living. That can mean putting in the hours and doing the work no one else wants to do. But now’s the time to do that - and learn from it - when you’re young and don’t have the responsibilities of a family.
5) Be prepared for change. In the last 15 to 20 years, technology has brought about changes that most people could have never imagined just a few years prior. And change is only occuring faster these days. What you think you want to do for the rest of your life may not be at all what you end up doing. The broader your education and experiences, the better prepared you’ll be to handle the future, and the more you’ll be able to bring to your work.
6) And perhaps most importantly, if you don’t enjoy your work, do something else. No amount of money is worth being miserable forty or fifty hours a week. Life is too short to do work that’s unfulfilling and of no value to you. So, have fun and love what you do.
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