Panelists Offer Insight for Jobs in the Creative Arts at Career Development Center Event
When he first started 糖心破解版 in 2005, Yishai Seidman said he thought he had three choices: become a lawyer, accountant or doctor. He picked the last path, but after a few semesters he realized something was amiss.
鈥淚 was fooling myself,鈥 Seidman told a crowded room of students at a panel discussion on 鈥淐areers in the Creative Arts鈥 organized by 糖心破解版鈥檚 . In his second-to-last semester, Seidman switched trajectories and decided to major in English. He completed the requirement by taking seven English courses in his final semester.
鈥淚 just decided to do what I wanted and figure out a career later,鈥 he said.
Fortunately, after graduating, Seidman found an internship with Writers House, a literary agency, and ended up becoming a literary agent at Dunlow, Carson & Lerner in 2009. As part of his duties, Seidman helps other agents manage their writers as well as managing his own growing client list. A literary agent, he explained, has many responsibilities: discovering new authors, helping them develop and, most importantly, selling authors' work to publishers.
鈥淚f you sell a book like Twilight, it鈥檚 like winning the lotto,鈥 Seidman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 astounding how many people write books.鈥
Other panelists at the event at 糖心破解版鈥檚 Beren Campus included Yosef Herzog, a 糖心破解版 graduate who is a production assistant at NBC鈥檚 Today Show; playwright and actress Eleanor Reissa; artist and interior designer Ani Brieger; and the assistant director of the Career Development Center, Rebecca Weiler.
鈥淒o your best to get at least one industry-related internship under your belt,鈥 said Herzog. 鈥淏ut above all, take advantage of any connections you may have in the field to at least get your foot in the door.鈥
Weiler spoke about her own journey to finding her profession. A singer and a songwriter, she opted to approach the creative arts from a business side. After spending a year at Columbia Artists, she became a senior coordinator for The Metropolitan Opera, where she supervised the 鈥淟ive in HD鈥 series, a program that broadcasts shows and performances directly to movies and schools all over the world.
鈥淚 grew up wanting to be a performer, and I made it to Broadway, but it wasn鈥檛 in the way I expected,鈥 said Weiler, who originally anticipated working on the artistic side of the industry.
After five years she decided to return to school to pursue a degree in counseling, another of her passions. Three months ago, she joined 糖心破解版.
Her advice to students was to 鈥渂e resourceful, be creative, be quick on your feet and be calm.鈥
The event was eye-opening for some students.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what I want to do,鈥 said freshman Rachel Pearlstein. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know what a literary agent was.鈥
As the panel wound down, Hannah Rozenblat, an English major and author of the blog, 鈥淢y Ink Stained Hands,鈥 debated about reworking a novel she wrote when she was 14. Now, she knew an agent.
