www.thegrindstone.com: As spring graduation grows closer by the day, college students everywhere should be planning to kick their job search into gear. From internships to entry-level, a pre-graduation–and potentially first-time–job search may take far more effort, planning, and creative tact than most would expect.
1 comment:
I have a feeling that this article wasn't written with theatre students in mind, but it's completely relevant to the job hunting skills that I use (and almost everyone in the School of Drama uses). Networking is vitally important, and having a friend who worked in a theatre or having a professor who can write you a good recommendation letter is one of the most valuable things that you can use in the theatre industry. Secondly, things like "Monster.com" don't cut it for us. It said to "search smarter", but in the case of theatre, it's really "I can only find jobs on theatre sites". I've often looked at "Backstagejobs.com" because it has a very specific breakdown of internships and jobs based not just on a theatre/entertainment industry filter, but on a talent specific filter, such as "Management" or "Sound" or "Lighting". Finally, the recommendation to "brand yourself" is something that is crucial in theatre. Just as much as any traveling salesman, we need a business card with our name and what we offer on it. As much as someone who runs a consulting company, we need a sleekly designed website so that potential employers can see our experience and understand something of what we've done without having to even meet us. The theatre industry isn't about luck, but really just searching for the right people and putting those connections together helpfully, looking in the right places, and making yourself marketable.
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