What We Did Wrong: Part 2

Welcome to part two of our two part advice column! We realize you’ve been hotly anticipating numbers 6 through 1, so here they are without any further adieu.

6) Become an expert in some area of something or even several areas. Find a niche and master it. Then, you can be the guy who knows iPhones or terabyte drives like the back of his hand, and you’ll become indispensable.

5) Offer to help everyone. Make yourself available and keep busy. Also, don’t be offended if people refuse your help; just keep asking because eventually they will need you. If you aren’t busy and nobody needs help, learn to look busy. Clients don’t like paying wages to idle hands.

4) Go to every industry-related meeting and network while you’re there. It is your key to moving up. Let your name be connected to your face and pass out business cards like they’re raffle tickets (did we mention you need professional business cards? Don’t worry, they’re cheap!).

3) Along the way, mistakes are inevitable…this we know. However, a key to making fewer mistakes is to not only learn from your own, but to learn from the mistakes of others also. An air of awareness and one of careful observation will serve you well on any set. Soak in what others are doing, especially when they ought not be doing it.

2) In addendum to the above tidbit, folks are more forgiving of mistakes when they like the person who is making them. In this sense, your likability may occasionally trump your actual competence. If the people you work with like you, they’ll keep giving you chances to develop your technique and you’ll learn more for it. If they don’t like you, you may not get another shot. Be confident, not arrogant. You want to reflect the best of yourself in others; they will respond in kind.

1) Entering this industry can be daunting. It will be beneficial to know that you are not too young to pursue your goals, however you are too inexperienced to achieve them. Experience is everything in this business since it is one of technology and creativity. The more you do, the better you will be, and everyone who’s currently doing it has been doing it for a very long time. It will take time, but it can be a very enriching journey.

0) Good luck out there! We say this deliberately! Learn to seize opportunities and manufacture the best outcomes and your luck will find you!