Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512678
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 67 Photo courtesy of M:NI Out of Service " Not every connection has to be an exchange of some type of service." -Joel D. Catalan CAS As promised, I'm going to summarize many faux pas scenarios I experienced at the dawn of my career, all of which were self-inflicted. But while I take full responsibility for the many unsolicited emails and demo reels I sent nearly two decades ago, it begs the question: How well could family, society, and educational institutions have prepared me for a career in entertainment where no clear paths to success exist? When I was coming out of audio school in 2006, our career placement office made finding work after graduation seem so unattainable, it felt like we were being asked to chase and capture a unicorn. To make matters seemingly worse, we weren't taught proper etiquette regarding the human element of networking. Armed with a toxic "find work or bust" mindset, it was more important to get one's foot in the door rather than establish any type of connection. "Get in where you fit in" seemed to be the idea, even at the cost of a bit of one's humanity. It's no wonder they're called "cold calls" and "cold emails," as they're founded on self-serving ideals. I could have continued to lean into the bad habits I was taught, but that mindset had rarely wrought anything consistent, and when there was some form of permanence, it lacked any real substance. Meeting my wife and having our first child shone a spotlight that exposed all the flaws in my mental construct, which was basically me subscribing to the court of popular opinion to get a job at all costs. My wife, however, had nothing but hard questions, many of which I simply didn't have the answers to. One of the main questions she asked was quite similar to one Joel D. Catalan CAS says should be top of mind when seeking to work in this industry: "When building relationships, how can you best serve or help the people you meet? How can you create an environment where you can serve the other person?" This was so odd to me at that point in my life. I was happy to be of service to my wife, to my children, my extended family and friends, as there was mutual interest and trust that there would always be some form of exchange or help. How on earth was I going to think of employers in this light? Going back to families for a moment, there are moments to this day where I attempt to pay my parents back for a loan of monetary value. The response is usually the same: Seeing you succeed is payback enough. And here was the glorious rub that eluded my understanding for so long. I think Joel illustrated my "aha moment" best when he said, "Not every connection has to be an exchange of some type of service. You may not have something to offer, but we have ourselves to offer." Once the new wrinkle in my brain formed, I opted into a mindset shift and focused on the long game, quality over quantity. I found myself applying less frequently to jobs, which afforded me the time to custom-build my resumes and personalize my cover letters. And while some of the responses didn't produce the desired result, people were responding, which is way more than I could say for the foot- in-the-door method. So, you may have sent the unsolicited email—despite being told specifically not to. You may have posted-up outside the building that houses your dream job in hopes to catch the hiring manager (or better yet, the CEO) on their way to work. You may have sat at home questioning why you weren't getting callbacks with a slight sense of entitlement intact. At some point, you have to identify the limiting belief in your life and take steps to shift your mindset. The first key to the entire networking world is service. Anyone can be "qualified" for the job they're applying for, but what do they bring in terms of service? If you had advanced knowledge that the company you're interviewing with was not going to hire you, how would you respond? Most would thank the interviewer for their time, consider it a lost cause, and move on. But when you operate in the mindset of service, you know that the end is not really the end, as odd exchanges can be just as valuable as even ones. You'll find yourself asking questions like, "How could I improve to potentially work for your company or others at a later date?" "Are there opportunities to intern where I could serve specific company needs?" "What advice or feedback would you be willing to share as I continue my career journey?" If you've built up a good rapport during your interview, the answers to questions like these could be the currency used in unlocking your