I realised yesterday that summer is 3/4 of the way over. It's unbelievable how fast time flies when you're busy. I feel like I just started my internships yesterday, but I'm already looking ahead to fall internships and getting ready for classes. Now's the time to really attack my jobs with everything I have and hopefully leave the best possible impression with my supervisors before I leave.
LA INC: Recently I've been spending a lot of time in my supervisor's office watching him go about his daily duties, listening in on his conference calls, and offering input when needed. I've sat in on calls about everything from dineLA's Restaurant Week to While I appreciate the opportunity to learn, I also wish I could be doing more actual work. So You Think You Know LA (the project I've been working on since I started) is starting to take off. We've finished the website and sent the bookmarks out to be printed. I'm excited to start the field marketing part of the project. We're thinking about putting a street team together to hand out the bookmarks. If so, I would love to participate in that.
THR: After spending the past few weeks doing the same thing everyday, I decided to take initiative and speak to my supervisor about going out and doing some events coverage for our About Town section, something he had mentioned as a possibility during our initial interview. To my relief, he was very receptive and agreed to get me in touch with the woman in charge of About Time. Usually I shy away from making too many demands at my internships, but I'm glad I decided to step out of my shell in this case. Now that I'm on the email list, I'm going to try to take on an assignment or two. I want to get out there and start meeting people in the industry. Public relations is another area I'm interested in entering after college, and it'll be helpful to get a feel for press events right now.
I've also been talking to my supervisors about staying for the fall. They've all hinted that they would love for me to stay, as they need all the help I can get, but at this point I don't think I can continue an unpaid internship if there's no chance of me being hired after graduation. I also don't know if I want to work at THR -- it's a great place to build internship experience, but journalism isn't for me. I need a more dynamic, hands-on job. I like to see direct results, and working in a cubicle all day doesn't give me that.
University Link: I completely forgot to mention this last time. A few weeks ago, my former supervisor from Metromix contacted me and asked me if I'd like to freelance for University Link, the magazine she's now editor of. It's a paid (albeit not that much) job, so of course I agreed. I recently completed my first assignment, an interview with the Big Bang Theory actor Simon Helberg. It was the first time I've ever done any reporting, so I was pretty much terrified going into the interview, but everything worked out fine, and the article wasn't too difficult to write up. I have my next assignment -- a short piece about double majors -- due in a week. The job luckily isn't too demanding, and it's always good to get clips under my belt, so I'm definitely not complaining. This was also a great lesson in networking for me. Apparently it really does pay to intern and form connections.
Katsuya: I find myself enjoying my shifts more and more as I get more comfortable in the work environment. It's always off-putting how friendly everyone is, especially compared to my internships, where the workplace environment is pretty reserved. However, I still sense a difficulty to connect between me and the other workers who have been there for months (some even years). One of the other hostesses told me the other day that the best way to get over the awkwardness is to not go out of my way to talk to them. Instead, I should go about my own business until someone talks to me. I've never really thought about it that way, but I think I'll give that strategy a shot from now on. We've had the chance to serve some pretty important customers since I started, including Jennifer Aniston, David Spade, and Mark Sanchez. I was sent to another SBE restaurant, Gladstone's, a few nights ago. It was an eye-opening experience -- they have a completely different way of running their restaurant, and it made me very thankful that Katsuya is more organised.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Now that my summer schedule is starting to come together, I've realised that I've perhaps bitten off more than I can chew. I come home most nights too tired and sore to even knock on my roommates' doors. At the same time, it's a good kind of exhaustion. I love feeling like I've accomplished something when I come home at night, even if it was just getting a compliment from my supervisor or putting a smile on a customer's face. Here's how things have been going for me:
LA INC
As the weeks go by, I find myself increasingly receiving assignments that challenge me and keep me busy. I sat in on my first ever corporate meeting last week, during which we discussed copyright laws (we've been dealing with some problems regarding copyrighted image, so my supervisor invited the interns to sit in on the meeting so we'd learn something for future reference). I've tried to go out of my way to get involved with the projects around the office. For instance, we've been working on the marketing campaign for Mummies of the World recently, and when someone else asked my supervisor if he could get an intern to help her at the press event a few days ago, I immediately volunteered even though it was on my day off. I had a great time and learned a lot about how such events work, knowledge that will definitely come in handy one day.
One area I've struggled in at LA INC is getting to know my coworkers. I feel very isolated from them for various reasons -- my cubicle is enclosed and relatively far away from the main office, and my age (I'm not 21 yet) prevents me from going out and, say, buying drinks during happy hour with them after work. My supervisor often invites me to eat lunch with him and some of the others, and even though I accept most of the time, it's difficult for me to join the conversation. I think the best way to get to know people is on a more one-on-one basis, so from now on, I'm going to try to get involved in situations where I know I'll get to work closely with someone in the office whom I haven't met yet.
THR
I've settled into a steady routine by now. On Fridays, I update the production charts, and on Sunday, I work for the web team, uploading content and creating photo galleries. I really enjoy working with the production charts -- even though it's monotonous work, I'm learning a great deal about the entertainment business and what's currently going on in the film industry. That's the main reason why I chose to intern at THR. I want to work on the corporate side of film one day, and familiarity with who's who and what's what is of foremost importance when you're pursuing that kind of position.
Katsuya
For a while, I wasn't sure if I'd ever start working. Shortly after my last blog post, the hiring manager, Grace, called me to let me know that they'd just found out I had been hired for the Katsuya in Glendale, not the one in Hollywood. I told her Glendale was too far, so she sent me to LA LIVE instead. Then, last week, I found out I'd missed a mandatory training session that no one had told me about. Luckily, Grace agreed to let me come to the next one once they schedule it, since things the location changes have made things very confusing.
Despite my slow progress with corporate, I've really enjoyed working at the LA LIVE location so far. My first day was relatively slow, so I got the chance to get accustomed to the different managing style at the restaurant. Then things got a little crazy when Anime Expo came to town. I had to work all three nights that weekend, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Standing on 3.5 inch heels every night is painful! Luckily, the work environment is very relaxed and all the staff are friendly. I definitely feel the awkwardness of being new, but I know it will fade over time. For now, I'm working on improving my customer service skills.
Los Angeles
I'm proud to say that I've been proactive in my pursuit of the perfect personal summer in LA. So far I've gone hiking on various trails around the Greater Los Angeles area (my favourite was Solstice Canyon, in Malibu), visited Venice Beach for the first time to watch 4th of July fireworks, and tried a number of restaurants I've had bookmarked for a long time (26 beach has the best burger I've ever tasted). Unfortunately, I no longer have much free time now that I've started working at Katsuya, so I'll have to start prioritizing the things I want to do. Next on the list: LACMA and brunch in the Mid-City West.
LA INC
As the weeks go by, I find myself increasingly receiving assignments that challenge me and keep me busy. I sat in on my first ever corporate meeting last week, during which we discussed copyright laws (we've been dealing with some problems regarding copyrighted image, so my supervisor invited the interns to sit in on the meeting so we'd learn something for future reference). I've tried to go out of my way to get involved with the projects around the office. For instance, we've been working on the marketing campaign for Mummies of the World recently, and when someone else asked my supervisor if he could get an intern to help her at the press event a few days ago, I immediately volunteered even though it was on my day off. I had a great time and learned a lot about how such events work, knowledge that will definitely come in handy one day.
One area I've struggled in at LA INC is getting to know my coworkers. I feel very isolated from them for various reasons -- my cubicle is enclosed and relatively far away from the main office, and my age (I'm not 21 yet) prevents me from going out and, say, buying drinks during happy hour with them after work. My supervisor often invites me to eat lunch with him and some of the others, and even though I accept most of the time, it's difficult for me to join the conversation. I think the best way to get to know people is on a more one-on-one basis, so from now on, I'm going to try to get involved in situations where I know I'll get to work closely with someone in the office whom I haven't met yet.
THR
I've settled into a steady routine by now. On Fridays, I update the production charts, and on Sunday, I work for the web team, uploading content and creating photo galleries. I really enjoy working with the production charts -- even though it's monotonous work, I'm learning a great deal about the entertainment business and what's currently going on in the film industry. That's the main reason why I chose to intern at THR. I want to work on the corporate side of film one day, and familiarity with who's who and what's what is of foremost importance when you're pursuing that kind of position.
Katsuya
For a while, I wasn't sure if I'd ever start working. Shortly after my last blog post, the hiring manager, Grace, called me to let me know that they'd just found out I had been hired for the Katsuya in Glendale, not the one in Hollywood. I told her Glendale was too far, so she sent me to LA LIVE instead. Then, last week, I found out I'd missed a mandatory training session that no one had told me about. Luckily, Grace agreed to let me come to the next one once they schedule it, since things the location changes have made things very confusing.
Despite my slow progress with corporate, I've really enjoyed working at the LA LIVE location so far. My first day was relatively slow, so I got the chance to get accustomed to the different managing style at the restaurant. Then things got a little crazy when Anime Expo came to town. I had to work all three nights that weekend, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Standing on 3.5 inch heels every night is painful! Luckily, the work environment is very relaxed and all the staff are friendly. I definitely feel the awkwardness of being new, but I know it will fade over time. For now, I'm working on improving my customer service skills.
Los Angeles
I'm proud to say that I've been proactive in my pursuit of the perfect personal summer in LA. So far I've gone hiking on various trails around the Greater Los Angeles area (my favourite was Solstice Canyon, in Malibu), visited Venice Beach for the first time to watch 4th of July fireworks, and tried a number of restaurants I've had bookmarked for a long time (26 beach has the best burger I've ever tasted). Unfortunately, I no longer have much free time now that I've started working at Katsuya, so I'll have to start prioritizing the things I want to do. Next on the list: LACMA and brunch in the Mid-City West.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Introductory post
Welcome to my first attempt at a professional blog! My name's Annie, and I'm a USC student double majoring in Psychology and Communication and minoring in Screenwriting. I want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, hopefully in marketing or publicity. I've already had two internships: a development internship at Valhalla Motion Pictures and a web internship at Metromix TV. While both were great experiences, neither was exactly what I wanted to pursue a career in.
This summer I'm keeping busy with an online marketing internship at LA INC and a news internship at the Hollywood Reporter. Unfortunately, both internships are unpaid, so I'll also be working part-time at the SBE-owned Katsuya Hollywood to pay for rent. Over the next few months, I'll post about my experiences at these three companies, and hopefully anyone who stumbles upon this blog will find them worth reading!
Here's some background information on what I've been doing so far:
LA INC - Despite its flaws, I've always loved Los Angeles, both as an idea and as a reality. Whether it's food or entertainment, the city has so many hidden gems that tourists have no interest in and locals never discover. I want to open people's eyes to LA's unique character and culture, which is why I chose to intern at LA INC. It also helped that the internship is in the online marketing department, which is a field I have extensive personal experience in and therefore want to move into. So far, I love the internship. Unlike my previous internships, it's a very corporate setting, so I've had to readjust my personality and basic office conduct accordingly. What I really enjoy is that I don't have a set list of tasks because there's always something different to do. I sat in on a department meeting my first day, and yesterday I helped my supervisor come up with strategies for increasing traffic to our Facebook page. We're also thinking of starting a new video project that I would have a significant role in designing and maintaining. It's been very exciting so far, and I can't wait to see what other assignments I can get my hands on over the next few weeks.
The Hollywood Reporter - THR is one of the two leading entertainment business news sources, the other being Variety. While I don't have much desire to become a journalist, working at a crossroads of information is a great way to prepare for any career in the entertainment industry. I've certainly become more aware of what's going on in the world of film and TV since starting my internship. The office is understaffed at the moment, so I've had the chance to work with different departments, including publications, web, and charts. This has allowed me to get a better idea of how information flows through the entertainment industry and is distributed to the public. I hope I can do some reporting and social media work in the future, but for now, my duties are primarily setting up newsletters, creating galleries, updating production charts, and general web maintenance. While it isn't the most exciting, interactive internship in the world, I'm confident that it will provide the knowledge foundation I need to secure a job in my field after I graduate.
This summer I'm keeping busy with an online marketing internship at LA INC and a news internship at the Hollywood Reporter. Unfortunately, both internships are unpaid, so I'll also be working part-time at the SBE-owned Katsuya Hollywood to pay for rent. Over the next few months, I'll post about my experiences at these three companies, and hopefully anyone who stumbles upon this blog will find them worth reading!
Here's some background information on what I've been doing so far:
LA INC - Despite its flaws, I've always loved Los Angeles, both as an idea and as a reality. Whether it's food or entertainment, the city has so many hidden gems that tourists have no interest in and locals never discover. I want to open people's eyes to LA's unique character and culture, which is why I chose to intern at LA INC. It also helped that the internship is in the online marketing department, which is a field I have extensive personal experience in and therefore want to move into. So far, I love the internship. Unlike my previous internships, it's a very corporate setting, so I've had to readjust my personality and basic office conduct accordingly. What I really enjoy is that I don't have a set list of tasks because there's always something different to do. I sat in on a department meeting my first day, and yesterday I helped my supervisor come up with strategies for increasing traffic to our Facebook page. We're also thinking of starting a new video project that I would have a significant role in designing and maintaining. It's been very exciting so far, and I can't wait to see what other assignments I can get my hands on over the next few weeks.
The Hollywood Reporter - THR is one of the two leading entertainment business news sources, the other being Variety. While I don't have much desire to become a journalist, working at a crossroads of information is a great way to prepare for any career in the entertainment industry. I've certainly become more aware of what's going on in the world of film and TV since starting my internship. The office is understaffed at the moment, so I've had the chance to work with different departments, including publications, web, and charts. This has allowed me to get a better idea of how information flows through the entertainment industry and is distributed to the public. I hope I can do some reporting and social media work in the future, but for now, my duties are primarily setting up newsletters, creating galleries, updating production charts, and general web maintenance. While it isn't the most exciting, interactive internship in the world, I'm confident that it will provide the knowledge foundation I need to secure a job in my field after I graduate.
Katsuya - Katsuya is an upscale Japanese restaurant owned by SBE Entertainment, a hospitality company that also runs luxury venues such as the SLS Hotel, Gladstone's, the Abbey, and Hyde Lounge. My decision to apply for Katsuya was mostly made by what I like to call my guilty pleasure side: the part of me that loves reading trashy tabloids and follows celebrities' Twitters obsessively. I needed a restaurant job, because that's where I have the most job experience, and Katsuya -- a notorious celeb hotspot -- just happened to be hiring for the summer. After four rounds of interviews, I got a hostess job, and now I'm in the process of training. It's been a very long application process (I still have weeks of training to go), but I'm grateful to be a part of such a well-respected entertainment group. Celebrities aside, I hope I can improve my social communication skills while I'm at Katsuya, because that's going to be very important in the future.
In addition to writing about my professional experiences, I'll also post about any LA-related events I attend. TV tapings, food festivals, award shows -- hopefully I'll have the time to go to all of those and more this summer :)
- Annie
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