Get on the elevator (pitch)
Last week I met with a prominent figure in the Canadian screen industry over decaf coffee in a bumpin' midtown cafe.
This person has played a key role in hundreds of careers, guiding and championing them through the famously unforgiving entertainment industry. As we debated the merits of Bill C-11 and other arcane aspects of Canadian culture regulatory policy, we arrived to the matter at hand: me.
"So, tell me what you're up to and how can I help you?" my new friend queried as they sipped their London Fog tea.
Despite having spent the last two months researching my new career path, including a wonderful book called "Career Stories," and at least 25 coffee meetings, when it came time to describe my career intentions to this person, I found myself at a loss. After quickly recapping my journey, I found myself reverting to vague assertions about applying my editorial experience to corporate content strategy.
I am not unclear about my intentions, but I must learn to be more like an aspiring screenwriter and learn to sell myself with clarity and confidence. One of the 101s of pitching is having a clear idea of what you are selling and expressing it with brevity and confidence. No one likes a vague and unformed idea underpinning a pitch to make a multi-million dollar investment.
Two pieces of advice from my learned contact:
What kind of lifestyle do you want your new career/job/role to support? Do you want more time? More money? Less stress? More flexible hours? Less flexible hours? In office? At home? Nights? Weekends? Travel? Be clear about your objective in this area because it dictates how happy you will be in your new role. And stick to it.
What kind of role supports this lifestyle? If you want a regular paycheck and a pension, becoming a screen creative should not be on your list. But if you want risk and excitement, maybe it should.
These are questions that I know the answers to, but will put in the practice to say the answers out loud, every day, with clarity and confidence.