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How to Take an Intelligent Career Risk (That Can Get 10x Results)

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audio engineering jobs
photo: Derek Gavey

Taking risks in your career as an audio engineer is an important piece of winning the game.

In my experience, taking career risks has usually paid off big. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off.
But when it does, it makes the risk worth it.

My first career risk involved me moving to a city (Los Angeles) from (Orlando)  where I didn’t really know anybody or know exactly what I wanted to do. All I knew was Los Angeles has a huge marketplace for audio work in the film and music industry.

Without hesitation, I packed up my stuff, flew to LA, slept on my aunt’s couch, with hopes of making a career as an audio engineer. It was an uncomfortably risky decision I made. Yet it was exciting too.

I had no car. Had to get a bus pass. No money in my pocket. Just my family there to feed me and give me a place to sleep (super grateful for them!)

I ended up working at 2 part-time jobs at Disneyland doing inventory management and Marriott selling timeshares. Tried really hard to get audio work but just couldn’t find any because I was fresh out of college and simply didn’t know HOW to find a gig.

It was a hard time. I was doubting myself on the huge risk I took moving to LA. My girlfriend ended up dumping me. I hated my 2 jobs. I spent lots of valuable time waiting for the bus to get to my jobs. I was about ready to move back home to FL until my buddy Chino calls me.

Chino offered me to move to Chicago and do an internship with R.Kelly at his recording studio.

My second big career risk: Work for free and move across the country again.

Long story short, I accepted that internship, worked for about 2 weeks, I got hired on staff as one of the studio assistants, learned how to engineer from some amazing engineers, worked with grammy winning artists, and made lots of important connections that later helped me in my career. Later, I then moved on to working freelancing and starting my own business.

Did the risk pay off?

Yes. Ten folds!

I learned:

  • That it’s okay if you don’t know what to do. Everything is learnable.
  • Taking jobs that pay little in cash but offer tremendous learning experience is like going to college, but getting paid.
  • Taking intelligent career risks can rapidly advance your success
  • Using your personal network as leverage is great for finding work. People love helping people.
  • Doing part-time work and building skills is great for pivoting to your next move (my sales experience at Marriott helped me start a business)

How Can You Take Intelligent Career Risks?

There are several ways and also several types of risks you can take that have HUGE potential for future career success.

You can learn more here from some top performing tech industry entrepreneurs and experts.

If you want to learn more on how you can advance your skill set and career by taking ‘risky’ jobs than you definitely don’t want to miss reading this article online by Tim Ferriss (one of my favorite authors). I especially like risk #1 of finding jobs that pay less in cash but offer tremendous learning experience.

Click here to learn how to take intelligent career risks.

COMMENTS:

Have you ever taken a career risk that paid off? Share your stories in the comment sections! We’d love to hear from you.

How To Use Unusual Approaches to Land Audio Engineering Jobs

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How To Use Unusual Approaches to Land Audio Jobs

Horrible job search techniques are one of several mistakes people make in trying to get an audio job. Not having a proper system in place to actively seek your dream job will yield you no results and waste your precious time.

The “Shotgun Approach” is what most amateur audio engineers do to try and find audio jobs. They send out their resume dozens of times to jobs that looked interesting with no rhyme or reason. Often, we use the logic, “something has to stick, right?” Wrong!

The other common approach is just as ineffective — The “Wait and See Approach.” We send out a resume –wait…wait some more, feel terrible, and get demotivated. And then, do it again!

The right way to do it, the way top performers land audio gigs, is to get laser focused and specifically pick 1 job title and 3 companies you’d like to work for. Then work backwards to get to know people at these companies and get the inside scoop on if the job is right for you. This is called “Natural Networking.”

For example, here’s how you do this technique:

Step 1) Pick a job title- “recording engineer, dialogue editor, etc..”

Step 2) Pick 3 companies you want to work for- “Ocean Studio, Cartoon Network, Skywalker Sound”

Step 3) Use social media or company websites to find current or previous employees that work at the company and get their contact info. (use linkedin, facebook, twitter, etc. and search for people that work at “company”) Look for people that have the job title you want or better yet, the higher level people (managers, hiring agents, presidents)

Step 4) Send them a quick 3-4 sentence email introducing yourself and asking for a meeting. Tell them you’re interested in the company and are conducting research for jobs. Get a 15 minute coffee meeting and just talk about them and the companies “needs” for the position you’re interested in.

Most people are going to respond. Some aren’t. But that’s okay. If you send 10 of these messages a week, you’ll get between 5-7 responses. Remember that people love helping other people. But most people never ask. And asking is the best way to get your dream audio job.

By the way, most people are busy and may not meet, so emailing back and forth or a quick phone call is okay too. Just make it easy for the other person, and never intrude on their time.

Some questions to ask in your natural networking interviews in your meetings:

  1. What skill set is required in the job?
  2. How did you get your start in the company?
  3. How do you like your position?
  4. What’s one thing you wish you’d known before you got started?
  5. What are the companies greatest challenges?

This is the insider info that top performers obtain and use to their advantage.

Imagine, you were able to get this data from a current worker of the company on your list. And you tailor your resume based on what you’ve learned the company needs. And even if you don’t have the experience, companies hire people they know and trust. You’ve just met with somebody from the company, and as long as you didn’t act like a weirdo, you should be able to get connected directly with an interview.

This is how top performers get audio gigs. You may have heard that you have to go out and network. But it’s not going to a sleazy event and talking to people that want the same thing you do: a job. It’s a more natural approach. And getting specific on what you want.

The audio jobs aren’t really advertised on the web or on job boards because the smart audio engineers are snagging them up before the companies can post these jobs.

It can be intimidating at first when you do this. But don’t let fear get the best of you.

You deserve a better quality of life, and you deserve your dream audio engineering job.

If you’re shy like I was in the beginning of my career, I suggest reading How To Win Friends And Influence People. This book helped me overcome networking anxiety, helped me communicate better, and got me more friends.

So if you’re sick of what you’re doing now, and want your dream audio job, then follow these guidelines to get you what you deserve.

 

 

Action Steps:

  1. Pick a job title
  2. Pick the top 3 companies you want to work at
  3. Find people at the company using social media to meet them, ask questions, and make friends
  4. Ask for the job

 

 

What are your successes? Did you do these techniques and face any challenges? Comment below and share your story with us! Share this post if you like it and think it could help your friends. Give first, get later! Stay awesome!