Tips for Your Page

Hello, my name is Peter Jiang and I’m the winner of the 2009 Show Your Reel Best of Show award. It just so happens I don’t like long walks on the beach, but I am a comic book nerd and a sci-fi geek. Just to rub the fact that I’ve won a contest you probably haven’t heard of in your face, here’s a picture of it.

Right now you’re thinking: “Wow! How can I get one of those shiny things?” Well, with a little hard work and luck, you too may one day get one of these shiny… award… trophy… thing.

But enough of that.

The purpose of Media Xperiments is to facilitate a connection between media industries with you, the student. On the tours I’ve been on, I’ve been told again and again that if you want a job in the media industry you need to show what you can do. Now that you’ve signed up for a page on MediaXperiments.com, you’ve already taken the first step to showing the industry professionals what you can do.

And yes, you are being watched. But I have a few tips on how you can make your page better and possibly more appealing to industry professionals.

–Treat this site as if it was a portfolio or a resume
Yes, I realize mediaxperiments.com is structured very much like a social networking site like MySpace or Facebook, but if you’re looking for employment, employers have taken initiative to peek at your MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter pages to see “Hey, is this a person I want to hire?” Trust me, this is happening (as our current Media Proteges have learned already). You’ll need to keep your page as clean and readable as possible. Don’t put up any evidence of stuff you wouldn’t show to your mother!

Oh and also watch what applications you add to your page. Status updates is one thing but BuddyPoke doesn’t communicate the idea that you’re looking for an internship or apprentice opportunity. Instead, it tells people, “Hey, I like to mess around while I’m supposed to be working!”

–While at the same time, you’ll need to put several things on your page.
An actual image of you as your default picture goes a long way. Personally, I’d think being able to actually hire Master Chief or Sephiroth would be pretty awesome, but realistically speaking, you’re neither character. Employers like to put a name to a face and if you want an opportunity in the industry, you can’t get shy or lazy now!

Honest and brief information about yourself and your goals help a lot. The relationship between an employer and an intern is generally mutualistic. The intern would recieve practical experience while the employer gets a worker and a “fresh” perspective on their work.

And most importantly, you’ll need to upload any proof of work you’ve done. This includes finished artwork, a minute-long video, or even a poem you recorded for your mom two years ago. Your work tells the professional: “Hey, I can do this stuff – stuff you might want to help me develop while I work for you.”

–When typing in anything on a public site such as this, READABLE ENGLISH IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
So you can’t spell well. Use spell check. In fact, check every thing you’ve typed into the site because in any field- not just the media industry- the ability to communicate (and communicate well) is well cherished and undoubtedly important. It dosen’t help much if you dno’t chcek yor speling becuz if I can’t red it, nobdy can. Also, it makse yurself look less-respacteible. (see what I mean?)

If there’s anything you’d like to know more about, don’t be afraid to ask!