Careers

You are currently browsing the archive for the Careers category.

Tips for the career-oriented among us

March 1, 2013 in Careers, Student Life | No comments

By Jeremy Kahn

Jeremy Kahn shares tips for the coming Career Fair. Image: Jeremy Kahn

SCAD’s career fair is slowly but surely creeping up. With only a few months left ’till the fair, best start preparing now so you’re all set come April. Be sure to check the Career Fair website which will be live come late February for a list of all participating companies. You’ll be able to view each company’s logo, profile, website and career and internship information.

While searching, you’ll have the ability to sort companies based on majors sought and opportunities for international students. In addition, be sure to conduct independent online research about your companies of interest. SCAD’s Career Fair page also provides preparation tips, and workshops.

When researching what companies to visit, try to remain open-minded. Many of the companies will consider candidates from multiple disciplines.

The Career Fair provides a valuable opportunity to expand your network of contacts across all art and design industries and around the globe. Make sure to do all your research all of your companies of interest in advance and develop a strategy to visit your top companies of interest.

Be sure to dress professionally. Women should wear a dress shirt, dress skirt or pants and closed-toe shoes with a low heel. Men should wear a dress shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. A business suit would be acceptable but not required.

While many creative companies offer a casual work environment, jeans and flip-flops are not appropriate for the Career Fair. You want the employers to focus on your work and professional attributes rather than any distracting attire. When in doubt, speak to your career adviser about the standards for your industry.

Of course, just like your appearance, your work must also be assembled into a well thought-out portfolio. Your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece, so you want to ensure you are selecting your most professional and highest-quality work, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Your professors and career adviser can provide critique and feedback for showcasing your strongest work. If you contributed to a team project, employers will want to hear about your specific contributions.

In addition to your portfolio, be sure to bring several copies of your resume printed on a high-quality resume paper. You will also want to bring a business card and/or a leave-behind piece with a link to your portfolio website. Many employers will want to view your portfolio (print or digital) and/or your process book. If you plan to show a digital portfolio, bring your own tablet or laptop and save your work offline. Practice your interviewing skills and be prepared to network.

For business cards there are multiple venues to get them made. You can go the local brick and mortar print shop route or through an online printing company. Make sure to research paper samples and prices to determine the best quality and value for your project. If needed, many print shops offer free paper sample kits by request.

As you conclude your conversation with an employer, mention that you would like to keep in touch and ask if he or she has a business card while offering yours. If an employer gives you a business card, send them an invitation to connect on LinkedIn after the Career Fair to keep in touch.

Thanks to Kimberly Lopez, lead coordinator for Career Fair 2013, for helping answer all questions whose answers were used in the creation of this article.

Good luck and happy job hunting.

Wayne Enterprises This Ain’t: A student startup at NYC Comic Con

October 31, 2012 in Careers, Reports From the Field, Sequential Art | 1 comment

By Carlos Serrano

Word of advice: If you’re going to use a convention as a practice run for your startup business, don’t make it Comic Con. It’s large, busy, and so full of big name companies that it might be hard to get your message out.

Better word of advice: Ignore what you just read and just go for it. It might just be the best time ever.

Some background information – a few months ago I was contracted by a friend of mine to write a 20-page comic book script. This would be the first issue of a series that would go up on my friends new startup, On Target Network. My friend, knowing the best way way to a freelancers heart, offered to pay me for my services. The rest, as they say, is history. My comic, about a Mexican luchador that battles supernatural foes, was eventually done and posted on the site.

An enterprising young man, my friend would later come up to with a proposal. He wanted more exposure and connections with artists and writers in order to get more comics on his website/company. He figured the best way to do that would be to go to a convention where there would be a ton of potential creative folks. New York City Comic Con ended up being the most likely candidate. He ended up inviting me and the three other writers/artists he had already contracted both to help him at his booth and just as a form of thanks. It was a nice gesture, one that was very much appreciated, but the trip still had a few road blocks that serve to illustrate the kinds of things one should keep in mind as a small student-run startup.

First, you’ll be doing quite a bit of penny pinching. Passes for conventions can get pretty pricey nowadays, not to mention the costs of getting a booth and other miscellaneous expenses. This means you’ll have to find ways to cut back on other expenses. For us, that meant driving instead of flying and staying at a hotel with, well, not exactly the prettiest view.

The view from our hotel room was almost stereotypical New York.

Read the rest of this entry »

Off-Campus Experience: Jeremy Kahn in NYC

September 24, 2012 in Careers, Reports From the Field, Sequential Art | No comments

by Jeremy Kahn

Reporting from SCAD’s NYC Sequential Arts off-campus trip in June of this year

The program ran from Sunday to Saturday, with visits to artists, publishers, museums and a comic store or two. Kicking things off Monday, our group headed downtown to Kickstarter’s base of operations. After introducing ourselves on the second floor, we were shuffled upstairs. There, we saw a few shelves lined with items received from previous Kickstarter projects. It was a great trophy wall filled with the rewards from previous successful Kickstarter campaigns. Among the many items, there were a few from SCAD-founded projects.

After a brief tour, we got a chance to sit down and talk with two lead figures. The resulting conversation was an eye-opener. From the company’s history to how exactly they get involved with projects that interest them as a company, there was a lot of insight into the way Kickstarter works. Not only was it a fun talk, it gave everyone a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a good self-funded project and how to work Kickstarter into it.

In time, we found ourselves speaking not about self-funded projects, but about being fully-funded artists. We met comic book artist Paolo Rivera after leaving the Kickstarter offices. The rest of the day was spent talking with him about his work and getting some advice about the industry. Not to mention ogling his workstation. It consists of a desk with a swivel that allows his monitor to swing out, another swivel for the keyboard, a magnetic drawing board, a printer, scanner, paints right at hand, and a wacom tablet. He mentioned that the total cost of all this was at least a good grand or so. His secret? “Don’t have kids,” he said.

The day ended with a trip to Utrecht and Forbidden Planet accompanied by Rivera. It was another great, fun educational experience.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Perspective: Raazia Hussain Moves from Disney Intern to Disney Staff Member

July 2, 2012 in Careers, Graphic Design | No comments

by Raazia Hussain

Dear Myriad Readers,

I am delighted to share with you that, as of April 29 of 2012, my role as Walt Disney World Guest Communications Professional Intern was officially changed to Communications Associate. The foot is now in the door!

Photo Courtesy of Staff Writer and SCAD alumna, Raazia Hussain

Let me pause and breathe for a second. Things move too fast here.

A few months ago, I was putting together a quick portfolio between my eLearning assignments and thinking, “I know a company like Disney must be getting a thousand other portfolios.” Then after I got hired I kept telling others, “I surely won’t last longer than the internship.”

In retrospect, I really should work on some positive thinking. Four weeks into my Internship, my manager’s manager asked about my future plans. I thought it was a casual conversation. Many such casual conversations ensued. Here I am, with a permanent place on the team, a full month and a half before the internship was to end.

What is great about working at Disney, especially with my team, is that they listen to me, allowing me to be vocal about my career aspirations and tailoring my role and projects to my liking. I am lucky they wanted me on their team.

My managers, however, feel my success is due to my asking so many questions and understanding the bigger picture before I begin a new project. If you skim through the self‐praise here you’ll find the lesson in my story. Readers, there is always a possibility you will get something you had never even dreamed of.

Alumni Spotlight: Monique Velez

February 20, 2012 in Careers, Historic Preservation | No comments

Monique Velez hopes to bring historic preservation to the masses with her new project.

By Sheryl Davis

Last week SCAD Myriad interviewed alumnae Monique Velez (M.A. Historic Preservation, 2010) about her Kickstarter campaign, Brooklyn to Harlem.

Myriad: Tell us about your current project, Brooklyn to Harlem. Why, how and when was it inspired?

Velez: Brooklyn to Harlem started out as an idea for the name of a family Web site to share photos and to create a family genealogy chart or tree.

In doing the research on my family history the desire and need to travel to Brooklyn, Alabama, the town my great-grandmother migrated from to Harlem, New York, grew.

Documenting that trip also became a priority and the project grew from there.

Myriad: You mention that this pilgrimage “has been a idea (seed) germinating for as far back as I can recall.” Did it influence your decision to study historic preservation at SCAD?

Velez: Absolutely. In my essay application for the M.A. program at SCAD I talked about my upbringing in Harlem and the Bronx and how during the ‘70s and ‘80s when I was coming up there were pre-war buildings, avenues and boulevards that were blighted but glimmered of an illustrious past. I grew up on the Grand Concourse and went to school around the corner from the Apollo when it stood boarded up for years.

I always wanted to make sense of all of this. I had a knack and interest that led me to pursue history for my undergraduate work but I was not sure how to apply that. When I learned of the M.A. in Historic Preservation at SCAD I felt finally I found the itch I had been trying to scratch.

Myriad: What makes Brooklyn to Harlem a unique and critical opportunity in historic preservation, both in your personal and professional points-of-view?

Velez: Brooklyn to Harlem will show historic preservation in an accessible and cool way through a documentary that will highlight two really interesting places. There are many people who, when I say I have a degree in historic preservation, ask, “What’s that?” I think the name/title is self-explanatory, but unfortunately, it’s not. It should be.

Personally, this project is going to change my life. I am learning the story of my maternal lineage back to slavery. Professionally, I am applying my degree in a way that will hopefully bring greater awareness to the field and importance of preservation work.

Myriad: What kinds of activities will you be involved in during your visit?

Velez: I will be going to the Register of Deeds to pull records. I will be visiting what I believe is a pre-civil war cemetery to see the shape it is in, and accessing it while looking for the final resting spot of family members. I will be camping in the Conecuh National Forest and mountain biking, as well as exploring and looking for sites and structures that tell the Brooklyn to Harlem story.

Myriad: In your video, you revealed that the real “fuel” for your project was the sensory experience of Brooklyn, a longing to know what it “looks like, feels like, smells like.” Why is this aspect important and how do you envision those elements being translated to film? Photography, etc.?

Velez: The sensory experience is a personal one. It will be fulfilling to see this place of my familial history. I believe it is a special place and I think this is the essence of preservation work, the significance of place. On film we are going to do our best to capture visually my full sensory experience. I am confident that my small, competent team of four, including myself, is going to capture some amazing moments to tell this story.

Myriad: You’ve stated that you want “to show people that it is relatively easy, rewarding, fun, and exciting to learn about relatives and ancestors back several generations to periods in history that most of us have only read or imagined about.” How do you intend to communicate that with this project?

Velez: It is the hope that the documentary will illustrate this and the goal is to then provide research tools and resources for the general public on genealogy that make it user-friendly and accessible; not dusty or boring which is a misconception about research and history, but fun.

Myriad: What will be the defining legacy of Brooklyn to Harlem? Of you as both an interested family member and preservationist?

Velez: I am a part of the legacy of Brooklyn to Harlem. This was a journey that took place almost 100 years ago by my great-grandparents to leave the South in search of a better life for themselves and their families. In that decision they became a part of history and I now have the opportunity to tell that story. This in a very real sense is a storybook for my family; one that we believe is important to share. As a preservationist this is meaningful work that I am hopeful will bring dialogue and interest to the field.

When asked what she was looking forward to the most, Velez responded: “At this point I am most looking to the day we reach our funding goal on kickstarter.com.” Meeting the March 2 deadline at the $5,000 mark will determine whether the project goes forward from the preliminary stage. At various pledge levels, donors will receive incentives such as postcards shot on location, a Brooklyn to Harlem T-shirt, DVD, gift bag, or even an invite to the premiere party and screening. The SCAD community may support Velez by donating on the Brooklyn to Harlem Kickstarter page.

Reports from the field: Disney Internship Week One

February 16, 2012 in Careers, Reports From the Field | Permalink

Visitors' differing needs add a challenge to the work that has to be done.

By Raazia Hussain

On my very first day, I heard a very important person was dropping by to visit Walt Disney World. Everyone I met that day had spent the weekend at work accommodating for this surprise visitor.

But this post isn’t about the visitor; it is about what it takes to put together a great show, everyday.

My team leader grabbed her keys and told me we were going on a field trip.

The two of us met with a couple of other Disney cast members (more of what that means later) in a parking lot, waiting for a white van to show up.

Sounds like a plot twist from CSI, I know. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, there was no dramatic putting on/taking off of sunglasses.

The white van arrived, bringing with it boxes of letters that were to be delivered to some of the 19 Walt Disney World Resorts. The other people there weren’t interns like me; they were managers and area leaders. None of them said, “It’s not my job to be delivering letters.”

It is there that I found out that the surprise visitor was none other than President Obama himself, and at that point there were all hands on deck for the preparation.

Let me clarify something. The preparation wasn’t only to provide the best protocol to the President. Although there was a team dedicated to that task. The rest of us were trying to make sure that there were no inconveniences for all other guest during his visit. In this job, priorities keep changing all the time.

A project that you may be working on will suddenly have to be kept on hold because something unexpected (like the President’s visit) will come up. One priority that never changes though is to provide the best experience to each and every guest. Flexibility is a great trait to own in a work environment, always be ready to adapt because responsibilities can change at the drop of a hat.

In school we may be aspiring to do work worthy of being framed on the walls of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. However, we must remember that our most important work is invisible.

A guest picks up our guide map, pours over it without realizing how intelligent our type-selection was, and how perfect our leading was set. He does however find his way around the park with ease. Maybe after his use the map will become part of trash or maybe part of his memories shoebox.

Either way, it would’ve been a job well done.

« Older entries

Myriad