Film School: From College to Career

One of the biggest fears of most students pursuing the arts is that they will not end up with a secure job after they graduate college. The stereotype of the starving artist has become so popular that many talented people are too afraid to seek a career in something they love (and something they would probably be successful at). At Columbia College Hollywood, we make it our goal to provide our students with everything they need to start pursuing a career after college. Take a look at some of the services we offer below!

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Career Counseling

A lot of students come into film school knowing exactly what they want to do. They want to act, direct, write, edit, etc. But once they gain in-depth knowledge on film and the world that surrounds it, things become a little less clear. They can’t decide if they want to be an actor or a writer. They know they want to be a director, but they don’t know if they want to be a television director, a film director, or a musical video director.

Our career counselors provide detailed assistance to students, helping them to determine a concrete direction for their futures. Whether it be helping students to decide on a course schedule, giving advice on the right internships to apply for, or suggesting events to attend, our career counselors can provide the needed guidance.

 

Career Workshops

If you want to turn your passion for film into a career, you need to have knowledge that sits outside the realm of filmmaking. Building a resume, writing a cover letter, creating a demo reel (okay that one kind of fits in the film realm); knowing how to do these things is crucial to starting a career after school. That is why we offer career workshops once every quarter. These sessions can provide students with the knowledge they need to impress potential employers and start pursuing their dream careers.

 

Resume Development and Interview Prep

While our workshops are great for students who need to learn the initial skills required to reach out to potential employers, we understand that additional advice and help is often needed. Our Career Development office is always open to students looking to improve upon their resumes or who need someone to fire questions at them in preparation for an interview. We want our students to not just be prepared with the knowledge and skills they need to do a specific job, but the knowledge and skills they need to get a specific job.

 

Internship Opportunities

Internships are essential to gaining experience and connections in any field, and film and television are no different. At Columbia College Hollywood, we have strong working relationships with quality companies that offer a variety of both paid and unpaid internships with studios, production companies, networks, and independents. Additionally, our film internship program is supported by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which grants the College funds to turn the “unpaid” internships of six to eight Columbia College students a year into paid internships.

 

Grad School Application Review

For some students, starting a career after completing a degree at CCH isn’t the right step. For these students, we provide assistance on graduate school applications. We recommend schools and test prep services, we review essays, and we provide advice on who to get letters of recommendation from. Overall, we guide students through the difficult decisions and processes that surround applying for grad school.

Alumni Benefits

Here at CCH, we believe that our duty doesn’t end when our students graduate. Even with preparation, the transition from student to professional can be difficult. That is why we provide members of our Alumni Association with additional tools. CCH Alumni Association members have access to the following:

THE CCH E-BLAST. A monthly newsletter for containing valuable resources for jobs, internships, physical production, film festivals and networking opportunities.

THE CCH JOBS FACEBOOK PAGE.   A Facebook page exclusively for CCH students and Alumni detailing recent job and internship postings.  Click here to go directly to our page.

THE UNITED TALENT AGENCY JOB LIST. A twice weekly, private list of highly sought out insider jobs and internships in the entertainment industry

ENTERTAINMENT JOBS.COM. A subscription-only job search engine exclusively profiling available entertainment industry jobs.

ABC JOB LIST. A listing of crew and journalism jobs with ABC news programs.

IMDbPRO. A popular, extensive online Internet Movie Database full of helpful data and contact information for movies, TV shows, producers, directors, cast, writers and more.

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Despite what people would have you believe, success isn’t dependent on the field you choose to go into. No one is handed a career. Your ability to succeed depends larely on how hard you work. With the resources we offer at Columbia College Hollywood, every student has the opportunity to learn what they need to to start building a career upon graduation.

Want to take a look at the careers you might pursue once you have your Bachelor’s? Download our Film Career Guide by clicking below. You’ll receive info on specific careers in multiple areas of film.