[Note: there is an update about what said intern has been up to since graduation.]
Speaking of ideas, here’s a good one: write emails to people (friends, people you’ve fallen out of touch with, friends of friends, complete strangers, anyone, really) who work in fields you’re interested in pursuing and ask them for professional advice.
Last year I wrote a post about an email I received from a friend’s brother asking for advice about starting out as a filmmaker. In that email, the author, Kyu Nakama, who was about to start his sophomore year at college, also asked if I had or was aware of any film-related internships/summer jobs. At the time, I didn’t. But, I wrote in an email that September…
IF, come springtime, you’re looking for an internship, drop me a line. I can’t promise anything because who knows where I’ll be, but right now I’m maki
ng little films and podcasts [for a big university here in NYC], and it’s possible we’ll be looking for someone for the summer. Again, who knows, but it would be worth sending me an email in the spring.
Hope you’re doing well.
To which Kyu responded…
Hey David,
That would be amazing! I will definitely shoot you an email again during the spring. You have no idea how honored I feel to be thought of for this opportunity!
I hope all is well with your work as well!
Thanks again,
Kyu Nakama
Great email. Courteous. Enthusiastic. Professional, with just the right of amount of personal touch (mentioning my work).
When spring 2014 came around I asked my boss if we could hire an assistant over the summer. Turned out we could. Kyu and I exchanged some emails; he had enough knowledge of Premiere, a flexible schedule, and a ton of interest. We called him in for an interview and he impressed us both. And he was kind of stunned that the job actually paid! (We need not go into what this says about the industry’s habit of not paying people.) Kyu was hired in June and has been doing a stellar job as an assistant to the multimedia specialist (me!), editing, shooting, and researching. He’s creative and smart and has done a lot of great work for the department, moving projects along nicely. I think if you asked him he’d say he’s learned a few things; if you ask me I’ll tell you I learned a lot because I’ve never really been a boss or had an assistant, not really.
Good advice is worth repeating: write emails and letters to people. Be polite, be positive, be smart, be inquisitive. Maybe flatter a little, but don’t go overboard. It got Kyu a pretty good summer job, and he will get a good reference from me for as long as he wants.
Related:
Take My Advice, Don’t Take My Advice
Letter to a Young Filmmaker on ExtraCriticum
[cross-posted on ExtraCriticum>]