Good Piece Julie. Good advice.
Sidebar: I hired/ interviewed many 20-somethings in Wash. DC and Los Angeles in the 2000s. Working in Television/production and news. Sometimes HR would dump a pile of Resumes on my desk, sometimes applicants would find me on their own. (I liked that) — - Here’s the first thing I looked at when I was reviewing. Not the Cover Letter. Not the Video piece that they sent me. I went straight to their Resume and scanned down until I found what they did in the summer between their Junior and senior year. To be frank I Did not want to see that they worked in sales at the Gap that summer. Or were a Lifeguard at the pool (like I was at their age). I wanted to see imagination. I wanted to see inside the candidate. “I worked for damn near nothing on a Movie and lived with 4 other students in a tiny apartment, but we didn’t care. My parents were pissed because I didn’t make any money but it was awesome.” I wanted to see that they were into #BLM before it was cool. I wanted to see anything that told me they were in some way different. And I wanted it to have been the summer before their Senior year. To me showing interest early matters.
Then I. looked at their media work: Whether a news story they shot or a Doc. they were part of, or a multi-media build they created. (I did not read their resume yet. I did not want to know the applicant went to the NYU Film school until AFTER I had reviewed their content. Then I read their Resume and finally I read their letter. To me it kept me honest. My workflow kept me blind about the totality of the candidate until the end.
Lastly, I would add, if you live in a small city in the USA. Get out. There are few “Knowledge worker” jobs in small (under 100,000) cities. And even fewer in smaller towns. Go to Austin, go to LA. Or NY (yes NYC!) go to Boston go to Atlanta go to Wash DC (more Internet / knowledge worker Jobs in WashDC. than any other city. Got a squeaky clean record and talent? Go to the CIA Web site and see this job listing https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/support-professional/video-producer-director.htmli. No you won’t get this job. BUT look around, many government agencies have in house production. E Diplomacy over at State Department is exciting. — Ok and while you’re are looking you need to eat. So go be a waiter or other job and keep pushing.
Oh yeah. Get the “all you can eat” subscription to Lynda.Com and learn all the software you think you’ll ever need. Don’t stop studying. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that Lynda is owned by Linked in.
Good Luck. I think a lot of you are screwed. How many of your friends got jobs in the field of their major? I’m betting. 25% or less. I graduated from the University of Texas in the 70's. There was never a doubt in my mind I would get hired. And in a good paying position. It never dawned on me to think other wise. I had been in the Army,l did my undergraduate degree and worked part time in PBS- TV station for 2 years. I was an Audio Go-fer. (GO for this ‘ Go for that) on the first 2 seasons of the country music show Austin City Limits. When I graduated I sent my Resume to ABC/CBS and NBC. I didn’t care who answered. It was NBC in Washington DC. I was based there for 26 years. No one should have had as much fun as I did. And in the 2000's I was in Technical/Opns Management in LA. Some days I had to pinch myself. Is this “real’ life?
Good Luck. Take a chance.
Mike Whatley
Charlottesville, Va.
