I realized that going to school is not nearly as interesting as being an intern. The highlight of my week when I'm in school is when class gets out 30 minutes early...and I'm pretty sure no one cares about all that! But, since I am graduating in a month, I am looking for a job. That's not exciting either. Especially when your job search consists of pages and pages of jobs that could only be relevant to your qualifications on Opposite Day and message strains of me shamelessly promoting the fact that I am in need of a job.
I'll admit, its funny every once in a while. You know the kind of humor I'm talking about. The kind where you spend thirty minutes filling out an online application only to find that there's an error in the website and in the part on your application where it says "position applying for" yours is blank. Which means yours goes right in the garbage. It was funny the first time, and all around hilarious the second time. Or, its pretty laughable when after asking all your contacts if they know about any job openings they all inform you about the same one at the one company you interned at where you got a horrible evaluation for no reason. Ahh, don't you just love humor like that?
Well, one day last week, I decided to up the ante a little and turn the whole job-hunting thing into an even bigger joke. I made my facebook status say something like, "If I were in your shoes, I would DEFINITELY hire myself" Ha,ha,ha...it's all so funny. I did get a chuckle when someone in a very good position wrote, "If I had the money...," you know the kind of chuckle that brings tears to your eyes?? Right. But yesterday when I logged into my facebook account I had a message from an A&R that I know through a mutual friend. All it said was, "Give me a call when you get a second...I want to seee what you're doing now" I just so happen to know this A&R is in the market for an assistant. This job hunting thing just got serious. The laughs just turned into that queasy feeling you get when you get called into the prinicpal's office and you don't know why.
Does anybody have a Rolaid on hand??
Me and networking have a love/hate relationship. And by that I mean, I love that it exists, I hate doing it.
I've already posted about networking before, and if you're even thinking about interning you should be prepared to do so. I have a whole folder full of networking resources, if anyone (aka a nerd like me) is interested, ha.
I'm writing about networking again because I didn't realize how much I do it until today. You don't always even have to network with people that are in the same industry as you because in New York (and most other cities too) everybody knows somebody. That means a real estate agent knows the president of a company you want to work for (also known as, how I got my first internship). Or, the chef you know has a cousin who is an A&R at the record label you've got your eye on. It never ceases to amaze me. When I go to clubs these days, I don't go to find a potential date, I go to network. That means as soon as I get the chance, I ask the person, so, what do you do? Which, in turn, forces them to ask me what I do and more often than not, this person either IS somebody that can help me or knows somebody. Thats when you raise your eyebrows like its the most interesting thing you've ever heard and give them a brief (remember, they are at this club/bar to have fun, not talk business with you, and they're probably a little tipsy) breakdown of what you're trying to do and take it from there. Be advised of the impression you give off though because this person could potentially be your key to something better.
Over a month ago I met another real estate guy (these are the BEST people to meet because they deal with all kinds of people) at a bar and he gave me his card. I wrote him the obligatory, nice to meet you, e-mail and all of a sudden, he was my new BFF. He's introduced me to quite a few of his friends, i.e., a DJ from Music Choice, an executive at a major label, and an A&R/owner of another music company. My favorite is the last one he introduced me to. I messaged this person on Facebook just to say hello and nice to meet you, and now he has offered plenty of advice to me on how to reach my dream job. I e-mailed him back and forth today, and I figured while I was at it, I'd e-mail just about everyone else I've met while in NY just to say hello and keep me in the back of their minds.
It doesn't take a lot, and you don't necessarily have to outright ASK for them to do something for you. People can pick up on ingenuity faster than you think. The easiest way to network is let people know what it is that you do and then be yourself.
Start networking! :-)
That's right, today on my day off I set myself up for an interview with a very big Hip-Hop record label. In fact, this label is one of those "dream job" places I often fantasized about before I started interning. Don't get too excited though, its not in A&R, its in New Media, but at least I'll be at a record label, not wasting away like I am at my current job. And the way I'm looking at it, New Media is probably the future of the record industry. So I might as well get a taste for it...and more importantly, its not the label's "corporate office," like the situation I'm in now.
The internship process at my school started in the middle of my sophomore year. I took a class on the process I would have to go through to get hired and how to be a good intern (this is the type of class I like to call, "everyone gets an A"). The school makes it easy enough for us to get hired--we go through their database, check off which companies we would like to work for, and then an advisor sends our resume out to these companies and tells them how great we are.
