Freelance work experience?

[utibay]

Hi, I've got a personal question about work experience.

I work in the film and television industry, I've held full time jobs for about two years, but in that mix I've been through two major layoffs -- one early on because my section of the company was cut in a 2000 person layoff in 2007 and another from the company basically going under at the end of 2008.

My full time work amounts to about 2 years. However, in between full-time jobs, including right now, I've been working nonstop (with one or two months of no work here and there) freelancing where I have some of my best and strongest credits, totaling to about 1 1/2 years. A strong nature of the film and television industry (especially now since media is being forced to undergo a major business structure change) is freelance work.

My question is, how the heck do I convey all when detailing my work experience? Additionally, does this look bad for me?

[Eliot]

utibay,

Thanks for your note.

Ideally, the adcom likes to see people consistently working full time, showing upward movement in their career. Preferably, applicants should be working at least a year at each full time job with no gaps in work experience. (You are expected to explain any gap of greater than 3 months).

Having said this, the adcom should be somewhat familiar with the freelance nature of media work. Thus, you should be fine as long as you:

1) show that you have been working full time (whether as a freelance contractor or as an employee) since college with minimal gaps
2) you have a consistent track record working in media
3) you can quantify your impact on the job, demonstrate leadership and show upward progression in your career.

Just be sure to craft a unifying theme for your work experience - most likely by selecting a career goal that builds upon your work experience to date. By the way, what are your career goals?

Feel free to contact me if you would like to schedule a free initial phone consultation.

Eliot Ingram
Clear Admit LLC

[utibay]

Hi Eliot,

Thanks so much for the reply. As for my freelance/full time work experience, I definitely have an upwards progression in my career: it's a mix between producing (what I am fully pushing for my career path), and motion graphics & editing (which is where the real money comes in for me).

My ultimate goal is to start my own independent production company, ideally with advertising commercial clients while producing material that can independently generate its own profits. With the boom of internet videos and the falling prices of what it actually costs to produce film and video content, the modes of media production and distribution are rapidly changing and bigger studios and production companies are slow to catch up; I want to capitalize on this by coming up with and executing a business model that I find viable.

Which brings me to another question: are the MBA/MFA producing programs offered by some schools worth it? I've been told about them but I'm hesitant to pay for an extra year of school, especially since I already have a BFA in Film and Television from a top school, tons of professional work and a pretty solid reel to show for it; my instinct tells me that I don't think I would get much out of the MFA part of it, though I could be wrong. It's business education that I severely lack and really want to focus on, but if a dual degree is my best shot at getting into a top school, I'll take it.

Thanks so much for your time and I'll definitely give you a call when I have time. Is it okay to call after work hours?

Best,
John

[Eliot]

John,

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like you have a nice mix of media experience and that you can show an upward progression in your career. I am also pleased that your career goals are in line with your work experience.

Since you already have a BFA and you have extensive work experience in media, I think that an MBA is all you need in order to gain the formal business education that you seek.

Yes, I am free to chat after work. Are you free at 7 pm EST today? Feel free to email me directly at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Eliot Ingram
Clear Admit LLC