Your first day on the job – Part IV [Getting the job]

Ok so you’re reel rocked, you aced the art test with flying colors and in the interview they loved your personality and go get ‘em attitude. You’ve made it! Excited, the following Monday you show up to the studio bright and early, then it strikes you, what do I do next? In this final paper in the series “Getting the job”, I’ll outline some of the things you could do, and some of the things that might be expected of you the first day on the job.Even if you’re a veteran in the industry, the first day of a new gig can be a bit nerve wracking or even stressful, especially for those who aren’t natural social butterflies.

The first thing I recommend is to always be at the office early, and essentially treat your first day like you did your interview. Depending on the studio the first people you’ll likely meet are either a security personnel or more than likely the receptionist. Remember to be polite and smile, since they are more than likely the first people you’ll see every morning, unless you’re like myself who opens the studio, as I’m the first one in! Still that doesn’t matter much, as it always pays to be pleasant.

You’re in!

Upon gaining entrance to the studio, one thing I always do first is meet with the person that hired me or another senior staff. They will usually take you through the studio for a quick tour and show you where you’ll setup shop for your stay. At this time be sure to ask any questions that come to mind, the more the better as they expect it at this point and usually are genuinely happy to answer any questions you may have.

While the IT people get your account/s setup, don’t just sit around looking pretty, take this opportunity to look around the studio and assess some of the projects that are posted on the walls or bulletin boards to familiarize yourself with what the studio is working on and how they work. Along with that even if you’re naturally shy or reserved, introduce yourself to your new fellow co-workers as they begin to stream in for the day. Try to keep the introductions to a minimum, as there will be plenty of time during your employment to get to know everyone around you.

Once you’ve fill out your booklet of agreements and policies, and you’re setup and ready to go the first thing to do is make sure that you learn where everything is kept. Remember asking questions are always ok. Once you gain access to your computer don’t make the very first thing you do is hit the web and email. Instead take some time and learn how their intranet or network is setup, it will help you to familiarize yourself with the pipeline amongst many other things.


What’s expected of you?

On the first day, there isn’t much that’s expected of you other than what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Even if you’re a Senior that can hit the ground running, they won’t expect you to jump into the middle of a production and accomplish as much as your co-workers on the first day. They usually would rather you take the day to get accustomed to their procedures and pipeline.

Although there was a time I remembered when beginning at a new studio, on the very first day I was plunked onto a TMNT job that needed to be done A.S.A.P for a commercial spot. At that point I had no idea what the naming conventions were and where everything was stored, needless to say I got it done with great effort! That was a bit nerve wracking to say the least, but as you can tell, they are some exceptions to every rule.

As a final note, just be sure to take the day easy, because 100% of the time you will be up to your ears in work by the end of the week, so relax and enjoy your ‘day off’, it might be your last one for awhile!

Tito A. Belgrave

Related Links

Part I – {The Reel test}
Part II – {Acing your art test}
Part III – {So you got the interview}