DETERMINATION
“Door-opening is a scary proposition for many people,” writes Susanne Goldstein in “Carry a Paintbrush: How To Be the Artistic Director of Your Own Career” (Susanne Goldstein, $18.95).
Just after graduating, she went to London and set out to gain her first work experience in the theater. “I had no idea how to find a job, get a job, or keep a job,” she notes. “And I needed one.” She set her sights on The National Theatre of Great Britain, without knowing what kind of job she was seeking.
The contents of her “portfolio” came from theater and engineering classes.
“One cheery morning, happy and smiling and oh-so-American,” she recalls, “I waltzed into The National’s backstage lobby and presented myself to the woman behind the reception desk.” Her lack of knowledge obvious even to herself, Goldstein replied when asked to come back later that she’d wait.
And wait she did, every day for eight days, speaking with the receptionists when work was slow, taking them tea, and being patient, persistent and not in the way. Then “the miracle happened,” an interview. The ninth day, she became an assistant production manager for one of the stages.
Dr. Mildred Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. © 2011 Passage Media.
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