Industry Day Advice from Coordinator Mark Mayerson

As I'm not involved with 4th year this year, I thought I'd send out some thoughts you might keep in mind over the next few weeks.


Don't think of industry day as the grand climax of your life so far. Think of it as the first day of your job hunt.  It's important to keepyour expectations realistic.  Even if you get hired immediately, itwill not be the last time you're looking for a job.


Some of the studios present will be looking to hire.  Some will belooking for potential employees for future projects, but can't hireyet.  Some will be there merely as a day off from work and the chance to see other industry people.


Your goal when talking to industry people is to be pleasant and to ask a lot of questions.  Ask what their studio is doing.  Ask about software.

Remain open to possibilities.  If they ask what you want to do, tellthem but say that you're open to other tasks.  They may havesomething in mind for you that you haven't considered and youdon't want to discourage them.


Have an image from your film on your business card.  They won't remember your name and possibly not your face, but they'll remember your film. The card may also end up in the hands of someone who didn't come to industry day.  In that case, it's going to be the art that gets them interested. Make sure that your name and contact information is on the card.  Include a link to your work.


Make sure that the link leads to a portfolio and/or reel.  Don't have it go to a tumblr or blog where they have to dig to see examples of your work. Make it easy for them to find your portfolio/reel.  


Always lead with your best work.  If they're not interested after seeing your best work, there's no way you'd get the job.  But if you don't lead with your best work and they stop looking before they get to it, you may have lost an opportunity.  As someone who has hired artists in the past, I'll tell you that I didn't have time to waste.  Often, I could judge a reel in just 15 seconds or a portfolio with just two or three images.  Make sure that in that time, they're seeing your best work.


A job offer isn't an offer unless they've given you a firm start date and a financial offer.  Studios often string people along because they're waiting for a project to come in and may need to hire, but don't confuse an expression of interest with a firm job offer.


Take the first job you're offered.  It immediately separates you from the pack of graduates from this and other schools who haven't been hired.  Your first job will put something real on your resume and increase your professional network. That's a kind of credibility that only comes from working.


You may not get hired at the studio you want to work at or may not be hiredto do the job you aspire to.  Don't panic.  You've got 40 years to get whereyou want to be and at the start of your career, every job is educational.  At themoment, you don't know what you don't know.  Working any job in animation will begin to remedy that.


Just like a jug of milk or a loaf of bread has a "best before" date, so do you. Your "best before" date is one year after you graduate.  If you haven't been hired at that point, there's a new group of graduates whose skills are fresher than yours and who don't have to explain why they haven't been able to find a job in a year.  This is why it is so important to get into the industry as quickly as you can and why I say to take the first job that's offered.


The day after industry day, some studios will interview on campus.  If you are interviewed by multiple studios, be happy even if it doesn't result in a job.  It means that your work is professional enough to attract a studio's interest.  If you receive no interviews, it means that your work is not considered professional.  This is not a hopeless situation, but it is a serious one.  Continue to develop your work so that you can interest a studio in your work.


If you are able to relocate for a job, do it.  Studios in out of the way places often have trouble finding people, which is why they are more open to recent graduates.  You can work your way back to the location of your choice after you have some experience and are more valuable as a result.


After you leave the college, keep checking canadiananimationresources.caand awn.com for possible jobs.  If you know students from previous years who are working, keep in touch with them as they'll give you the inside information as to what's happening at their studios.  Stay in touch with people from your own year as well.  If you're working and know that your studio is looking, spread the word.  Someone will return the favour in the future.


If a studio rejects you, there's nothing wrong with approaching them a month later as the employment situation is constantlyshifting due to new projects or deadline crunches.  It's best to have new work to show each time you approach a studio.  This tells them that you are continuing to develop your skills and not just sitting at home killing time. If you keep going back to them with the same portfolio, you are wasting their time and not helping your chances.


Persistence pays off.  It's easy to get discouraged, but the people who succeed are the ones who get past being discouraged and continue to look for work. The more studios and people you are in touch with, the better your chances. It may take weeks or months, but it won't happen at all if you stop looking.


Good luck to everyone.  


Regards,

Mark