I attended the season finale dress rehearsal at Saturday Night Live last month. Excitedly, from my seat in the balcony, I watched Lorne Michaels, sleeves rolled up, tie on, slightly loose. He roamed the SNL stage floor quiet, unobtrusive, observing the chaos and the calm amidst it. A gentle man who exuded authority and made no comments as the best of the best worked hard and as a team to ensure timing and delivery, in a fishbowl no less, as we in the audience looked on watching another slice of history unfold. Performers, crew, designers shuffled madly around the square footage dodging flying jibs, undergoing public costume changes, holding cue cards (not prompters), relaying lines, waiting for laughs and moving full and elaborate sets (in some cases) in seconds around the miniature studio. I felt present. The gravity of what was happening hit me: normal people doing their normal jobs but with a kicker. Sunday morning the whole country would be talking about what happened the night before. Bill Hader’s last performance as fan-favourite Stefan; the amazingness of Xanax for gay summer weddings; the debut of Kanye West’s Yeezus fury; Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner spoofing Venus/Mars relations; Seth Myers and Amy Poehler waxing poetic about a Presidential IRS scandal; each week Michaels oversees the big and the small that goes into a complex nationwide narrative, and he does this with grace. He engages a city, a country, a continent in thoughtful provocation about race, gender, status, morality, accountability and equality and although I am confident much more goes on and is said behind the scenes, what I did see with my own eyes was the king of Saturday night satire aligning his message and his kingdom through his calculated presence to make entertainment and history seamlessly happen.
Michaels is a role model. Michaels is a talent incubator, savvy to storytelling and insightful enough to employ the people that can shape and share those stories in a relevant and meaningful way. Michaels is an inspiration for all the greatness I envision for my own career.
As I move through my 30s, I have now collected over a decade of very valuable professional experience. I find myself wanting more than ever to do what I want to do in my career, not what comes my way or what I perceive people approve of. It’s really amazing who and what affect us in our choice making as we move through the ranks. After some deliberation and a lot of soul searching, I have quit my good, stable, well paying job in NYC and I have moved back to Toronto to pursue a job in film production. Gasp.
I have been home for three weeks now and it turns out that trusting your heart and listening to your gut might just pay off! I am hopeful for the time being and busting humps to make my next dream happen. Changing jobs and careers provokes a lot of questions like: Do I have a resume prepared first, or find a job I like and then tailor the CV? What if I don’t have all of the experience the employer lists as necessary – do I apply anyway? What if I say too much? What if I don’t say enough? What is the best way to find a job?
I’ve enlisted Scott Nihill to help me find some answers as I continue on the quest for the “perfect” job. Scott is an instructor of New Media Studies at Centennial College, mentoring students on how to find a job in related fields. He is also the proprietor of build, design, brand company Bootstrap and he is the creator of the graphic novel Bleedback, currently in the final throws of its crowdfunding campaign and shipping this Fall.
Alison: Hi Scott. What are the most important things to keep in mind when you are first approaching your job search?
Scott: Searching for a job is a full time job. Law of averages; the more interviews you go on the better you will get at it. So you should be applying for two jobs everyday and if you factor in researching, preparing material, networking, writing cover letters and optimizing your resume for each pitch; you’re going to be spending at least eight hours a day applying for jobs. For me, it’s such an emotional roller coaster and that can make it very difficult. Keep reminding yourself that perfect opportunity is right around corner.
Be sure to customize your resume for each opportunity. Your cover letter and resume should have all the key terms the posting calls for. Larger companies who get thousands of applicants enter your resume into a database so the first person looking at your resume is going to be a robot. I’ll also add, save yourself some time and find the resume or go to the LinkedIn page of 2-3 people who are leaders in your field, and use them as a template. This really is the first thing you should do.
Alison: Are there any fast rules to getting interviews?
Scott: If you find a job posting that you’re very excited about then you need to make a connection with at least one person in the company through a social networking site like LinkedIn. Or, ask your friends and family if they know someone at the company. For any half decent posting there are going to be at least 100 applicants; 10-20% of them will be qualified, and of those qualified applicants people with an “in” are going to get a callback.
Alison: Is it ever too late to do what you love?
Scott: Being happy in what you do is as much about your attitude than what you are ‘doing’. For the duration of my career I’ve worked in film, television, comics and games. When I tell people what I do they typically respond with, “Wow, that must be fun.” But, from my perspective, my job is a lot of work and has its up and downs. Like all jobs, I think the most important thing is to enjoy the process … because no matter what point you are at in your career, there is always going to be room for that next great opportunity.
My takeaway from Lorne and Scott is work hard, be innovative and relate to people. Being reminded of the rewards of hard work and leadership is something we all need sometimes.
Lord, I am going to miss New York City. It has been a teacher, a partner, an enemy, a playmate and a parent. The ups and downs have been spectacular and what I might have learned in life somewhere else over the course of five years, I learned there in two. A dose of suffering mixed with accomplishment and adventure is a wonderful catalyst.
I’m saying goodbye to some amazing new friends. I already miss looking out the window of 33P into the eyes of the Empire State Building. I am going to miss the idea of “the newest club on that fake Seinfeld street” but I am excited about seeing where my gut takes me in the old city I love, Toronto, that is now full of new possibilities.
WTF,
A