A little perspective

I receive a few e-mails every week from people who have just graduated from audio schools, asking me if I take interns for my company. So far, I have replied that I currently don't need an intern, but ask them to send me their résumes and so I can keep them handy in case I do need someone to help out. Almost all of them don't send it, or don't even respond at all. So I ask myself, why are graduates contacting every possible company for a job lead, and yet they don't follow through?

It's not enough to crash out of the gate shooting at everything you see. Persistence is what ultimately gets you a job and lets you keep it. Thousands of people apply for the same positions in this industry, but most companies don't care too much about your grades or where you went to school. If you are persistent in trying to get a job with them, they figure you really want it and will work hard to keep it.

For example – I met with a Toronto studio owner in 2002. He said they didn't need anyone at the time, but encouraged me to keep in touch. I started sending him e-mails every couple of months, just saying hello, telling him of news, what I was doing. At the end of 2004, many e-mails later, the position I wanted became available, and they called me in. I kept that job for more than two years, and after setting up my own company, I have continued doing a lot of work for them.

I went to audio school myself, so I know how graduates feel – the stress of not having an income and being forced to start at the very bottom. I vividly remember mopping the garage at a recording studio in Los Angeles because it flooded with rainwater, taking out the trash at a sound design shop in Santa Monica, and cleaning the basement at another one in Venice (California, not Italy). After a while of doing that sort of stuff, you start to get a different perspective on things.

When you are starting out, good employers don't make you "pay your dues" because they want you to feel insignificant – they want to make sure you can handle responsibility before giving it to you. If someone can't do storage backups efficiently, what is the chance that they will be able to run their own session and make the company look good?

So, that is my advice – be persistent and follow through. That's about the only way you stand a good chance of making it.