So now we’re ready to reach out and make contact with the industry. As I noted before, this industry exists in the real world, so rely upon email and online communication at your own peril during this stage of the process. While a well worded email may produce results, chances are it will simply be overlooked or ignored by its intended recipient. Picking up the phone is more likely to produce results, while in person efforts will absolutely be your best approach.

An exception to this rule would be online communities, such as online forums (SoundForums.net & Prosoundweb.com) dedicated to live sound & event production. Again though, you must participate and build relationships in those communities. Anyone who has spent time participating on a forum, has seen folks coming to the forums for the first time, looking to get work and expecting immediate responses from the industry, life simply doesn’t work that way. If you are a regular forum contributor, ask questions often and interact consistently with other members, you’ll have the opportunity to build valuable relationships that may turn into future work.

So what are the other options? If the business you are approaching has an office or warehouse, I would strongly suggest an in person visit. Simply stopping by their office can lead to incredible opportunities if you approach it correctly. The first step is approaching them at the right time, if it’s a Friday in the middle of festival season, you’ll be lucky if anyone even answers the door for you. That’s not to say you might not stumble into them needing extra help and hiring you on the spot, but be aware of the percentages here & don’t be discouraged if it’s not a good time for them. There is nothing wrong with calling ahead to find out what time the staff are typically in the shop or if they have a slow day coming up in the week.

Depending on your location and the types of events in your area, it would be smart to visit any public events and introduce yourself to the sound crew if there is an appropriate moment, possibly prior to or at the end of an event. This does not have to be a long conversation, just a few pleasant words and a quick question about who you might contact to get on their call list to help out at gigs. The same goes for local music venues and theaters, call ahead and find out who leads the crew, if you can get them on the phone directly, simply ask if you can stop by with coffee for a 5 minute meeting. All you want to do here is make contact, introduce yourself and show that you are willing to make the effort to meet them. Asking for a 5 minute meeting shows that you value their time, you obviously want something from them, but you are willing to go out of your way to make the introduction.

It’s a subtle thing, but if you’re just making contact with a production company, the last thing you want to talk about is your ‘ability to mix’. I cannot being to tell you the amount of times I have been approached by kids who have ‘mixed’ this or that in their home studio, or ‘made sick beats’ on their laptop and think that should qualify them for a job in live sound. Unfortunately, this is where I have to break some bad news to you… nobody cares that you can mix audio. I know this sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. When you are starting out in this business, your ability to mix audio is going to be the absolute furthest thing from any potential employer’s mind.

So what are some things that you can talk about, that might actually get you a job?

Signal flow – This is absolutely the foundation of everything we do, being able to understand the basics of signal flow and how a sound system is put together is a HUGE head start over the kid who talks about ‘mixing’ – check out my Concert Sound Signal Flow video for a good place to start with the basics.

Punctuality – understand that EVERY person on the crew is critical to the job in their own way. As an A1, if I’m standing on a loading dock with the A2 and the truck arrives before general labor arrives, we’re absolutely sunk. Everyone on the crew depends on everyone else to be on-time and ready to work at the call time. Your being 15 minutes late for load-in is stealing time from my tuning the PA system or getting a proper sound check with a band. This is the same for load out, if one or two people are late for a load-out call, everyone goes home later than expected. Be confident in communicating that you are punctual, and always aim to arrive at least 15 minutes earlier than the posted call time. Check out my Gig Day & Thoughts On Punctuality Video for more info.

Reliability & Consistency – Can you simplify and articulate your long term goals? Letting a perspective employer know that you will make yourself available, and reliably take work as it comes in can be very important. Expressing that you are committed to learning and working, and will be available and excited to work is crucial. No one wants to invest time in teaching someone, only for them to disappear a few months down the line.

This is also a good time to talk about working for free. While volunteering can be a rewarding experience (church, school, community theater) and can lead to great learning experiences and opportunities to make new contacts, be sure you’re not working for free. Good volunteer opportunities are focused on you learning and gaining experience, while supporting a cause that is important to you. Under the right circumstances, working for low pay while you learn on the job with a production company can be a good opportunity, but never work for free. Volunteer your time when you can to groups that you want to support, but for profit businesses need to pay you something for your time.

Two other avenues for work that may be attractive to you, depending on your personality and goals, would be your local major hotels or your local union IATSE headquarters. Often times in your area you will find the major hotels are serviced by A/V companies such as PSAV, and they are often hiring at many different experience levels. If you’re the type of freelancer who might enjoy a bit more predictability in where and when you work, a hotel gig might be perfect for you. Typically these groups will have both freelance (as needed) and staff jobs in most locations. You can usually find these opportunities simply by spending a bit of time on google.

On the other hand, depending on your location, the local IATSE Union headquarters may be where all the action is. Joining the union can be as simple as walking in the door & signing up in some locations, or by referral or wait-list in more competitive locations. In a union, you can end up with all different types of work arrangements depending on your local market, be prepared to learn quickly and be held accountable for your work. I have had the pleasure of working side by side with many different local unions as I’ve traveled around the country and more often than not, they are some of the best, most qualified people you will ever work with. Do your research in your area and find out if your local is doing the type of work you are interested in.

So get out there, make contact and don’t get discouraged if it takes some time to gain some traction. The biggest piece of advice I can offer is to simply be real, be engaged with the work and be honest about what you know and what you want to learn. If you want anyone else to invest time into teaching & employing you, you’ve got to be invested in teaching yourself first. It’s something you can’t fake your way through when you do make contact, so make sure you are confident with your fundamentals and communicating what you have to offer at this point in your career.