Jan Nagel

Those of us in production know the drill, we get a great gig, do the best we have ever done and then we are laid off, fret for a second and are on to the next great gig. Then one day it slows down and there is more time between gigs.

Production, like any business, is a pyramid scheme. We start out with lots of competition, but people are eliminated or leave the business for one reason or another. We move up the food chain, the competition gets just that much harder and there are fewer spots that are open.

You have kept your nose to the grind stone, you know a bunch of people in the industry, you have moved up the ranks. So why isn’t the next gig right around the corner? Over the time on the job you might have put your focus on other things, like family and having a life. You became comfortable. These distractions might have taken your edge off.

When you find yourself in that hard spot of waiting for the next job what do you do first? It is time to reevaluate yourself.

• Check your passion.
• Do you still love being involved in production? Do you still wake up each morning raring to go?
• Check your confidence
• Are you still convinced you are the best one for the job? Do you know that you can still solve any problem thrown at you in the heat of production?
• Check your energy
• Are you as agile and energetic as you once were? Or has the industry worn you down?
• Check your attitude
• Do you still see the glass as being half full? Do your eyes light up when you talk about what you have done in your career or what you love about you career?

You have made the evaluations and you have the attitude, passion, energy and confidence all in check. So how to do you put these to good use to move forward?

• Get up to date
• Don’t hesitate to get more training or take a class in something that will help to renew your passion. Learning is cathartic and helps you to open new horizons.
• When your head has been buried so long, there are trends and new directions in the business you might have missed or don’t understand. The best way to find out the state of the industry is to do some informational interviews. What is this you ask? Use your contacts to help you get appointments to talk to some of leaders in these areas. This is a casual meeting, not a job hunting meeting. You are just seeking facts, knowledge and you might find camaraderie along the way.
• Reconnect and Connect
• For years you come home to your spouse, kids, pets and other life’s distractions. Recall the times in your early career when you hung out with friends and colleagues to talk shop and have a good time. Get back to adding that into your routine. If all of your old pals have become sedentary then seek new compatriots through professional organizations and industry events.
• Don’t over look your casual friends and acquaintances, even your family. You never know who may be connected to your industry in some strange way.
• Get online and make new contacts and reconnect using social networking sites like Facebook, Plaxo or LinkedIn.
• Be flexible.
• You might have to take a step or two backwards just to get that foothold again. This is not to be taken as a negative, but a chance to exercise skills you have not had to use for a while and prove your professionalism. It will be quickly recognized. Remember the old adage, “There are no small parts only small actors.”
• In your reevaluation, consider other paths that you can take using your same skills, your talent and experience. You might find that there are hidden opportunities waiting for you that you never imagined. You might have the chance to forge a new path for yourself.
• A Brand new “Brand”
• Self-branding is today’s buzzword. In your self-evaluating process add your dreams to the list. What is it that you would like to do or always have dreamt of doing? Evaluate what you have done, what you know and what you are learning in this process. Now rebrand yourself into a “Brand New You.” Include your renewed interests, as well as your new interests in your personal pitch. Practice how you present yourself in a mirror. Practice makes perfect and helps you build your confidence. Learn how to tell people what you want so you don’t sound like you are begging. When you meet your peers and new contacts you will be so smooth and self-assured about who you are and what you they will respond to you positively.

JAN NAGEL is the entertainment marketing diva, consultant, teacher and past president and founding member of Women in Animation. As a consultant, Jan currently works with numerous overseas animation production studios and animation and children’s content creators.

In entertainment industry, she has been involved in marketing for VirtualMagic Animation, Calico Entertainment, and DreamQuest Images.

In her prior career in advertising, Jan was Account Supervisor for the advertising powerhouse, McCann-Erickson. Jan was also the Associate Publisher and Director of Communications Careers, Opportunity, and Guidance Publishing, Inc. Later, she has lent her recruitment marketing experience to Rhythm & Hues Studio.

She teaches Entertainment Career Exploration at Santa Monica College and Otis College of Art & Design. She lectures on the business of animation and presents a workshop, “Networking: The ‘Art” of Building Relationships,” at many art colleges and universities.