Alright, back at it with something a little more practical. I read a lot of books on how to be mentally tough, or how to have a morning routine like a CEO. The problem with all of these is that the majority are concept and general based ideas. That’s not what we’re doing here (As I type this at 6am from my laptop). These are some exact actions you can take to further your career. Here we go with “5 ways to bump your career up a notch”.
1. Make Connections
Dare I say it? It’s all about who you know. You could go get coffee with someone you look up to. Could even go to the bar if everyone is going (even if you’re like me and prefer club sodas). Find something cool to do, and ask people to join you. The deeper the connections, the more likely it is to lead to people thinking about you when gigs come up. I can’t count how many times I try and avoid going to some sort of industry event, for it to lead directly to bettering my career. Get out there and make some connections.
2. Crush Every Gig, No Matter What
You wanna know the difference between yourself and someone 2-3 pay grades ahead of you? They’re owning their department. Make sure that every gig you do, you treat it like you’re at Madison Square Garden. I don’t mean overdue it either. I’m saying that you should treat every gig like someone life changing is watching you. Treat your gig like you’re being video interviewed for your dream gig. Be an animal and crush every gig, no matter what.
3. Learn Everything
This is beyond reading books. Although reading is awesome, I’m trying make the point that the best roadies are the ones that are the most versatile. If you wanna be a better TM, learn everything you can about Production Managing. If you wanna be a better backline tech, learn how to do monitors. When you see a video tech crushing and people keep telling them that they’re doing a great job, the best possible response is “Not Bad for an Audio tech huh?”. Want to advance your career? Simple. Learn everything.
4. Get A Better Attitude
This is a tough one for a lot of people. It’s tough to have a good attitude when you’re tired, hungry, and cramped up in a bus for months on end. Doesn’t matter. Act like a winner. Force yourself to smile. Do an activity on a day off that fills your soul. Find 10 minutes in the day to walk off the dock and smell the fresh air. You’ll feel better, sleep better, then you’ll work better. The tour will eventually end, don’t ruin the time you have out there being sandy.
5. Take More Gigs
This one is counterintuitive to lots of folks. We try our hardest to get to a place where we can say no to gigs that we don’t wanna do. I’ve filled in on some gigs in the past that I really didn’t want to do. Sometimes these have a beautiful way of reminding you why you’re in the game. Whether the reminder is to not do shitty gigs anymore, or to remind yourself that your main gig isn’t all that bad, or that the extra bit of cash is never a bad thing. Much like going to events above, showing face out there will put you on everyone’s radar. Take More Gigs. It keeps you sharp.
Summary
Almost everything we do can be broken down into simple concepts. That doesn’t make it easy though. There are a lot of factors that are out of your control, but if you follow the actions above, you’ll likely be in the right place at the right time. You’ll also be ready to walk through the metaphorical door when it opens. That’s it. Simple right? 5 ways to bump your career up a notch.
Got some suggestions on how to further someone’s career? Hit me at [email protected] or DM me on instagram
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