I’m glad I played Indiana basketball as a kid, because I pivoted my work game more times than I can count. Long gone are the days of working at one company for your entire career. A big part of my success and professional growth is my comfort with “inside language.”
Education is partial.
I graduated from college with a degree in television production. The most important skills I learned on the job.
I started in local news in Las Vegas, Nevada. First thing I learned on day one? It’s pronounced Nev-AD-uh, not Neh-VAH-Duh. Nothing in my curriculum taught me how to handle hearing a coin truck robbery on the police scanners at 1 am. I learned a “post-mortem” happens after the show. The crew discusses strategies to improve the execution of the show based on what happened that day. In other words, “how do we avoid eight hours of work going down in a ball of flames for 30 minutes live on air tomorrow?”
PIVOTS EQUAL A NEW LANGUAGE
In 2006 when I moved to Los Angeles, I transitioned out of news into documentary and reality television. I barely understood what anyone was talking about half the time on my first gig.
“This crew must eat a lot of apples if there are just empty boxes of them lying around.” I thought the first time someone asked me to grab an apple box. Never mind my confusion when told to fetch a “1/4 apple.” I could write pages on walkie-talkie jargon and etiquette.
Soon I started producing. In reality TV, producing involves a lot of watching, taking notes, and writing.
“Meagen, can you write a prev-on for this episode?”
“Sure!” I said while thinking, “What the hell is a prev-on?”
If you’ve ever seen a reality show, it’s the first thing you hear when your favorite show starts.
“Previously on Outhouses of the Famous for Unknown Reasons...”
Even in the same type of show, competition reality, moving from one show to another would come with its own set of new terminology.
Working on The Voice brought a whole new set of terms like battles, playoffs, and knockouts.
Career Change
In 2014, I found myself teaching! Talk about a pivot! I was confident in my subject matter, expertise and experience, but I didn’t know what an LMS or a rubric were. I wasn’t sure how to connect with students or critique their work skillfully.
Hell, it took me a year to figure out where all the key boxes were in all of the buildings where I taught. (New classroom every 28 days)
There will always be obstacles, inside language and a learning curve. No matter what job you’re doing or how long you’ve been doing it.
What is the “inside language” of YOUR industry?
Might be a great question to ask during an interview. You don’t need to pretend like you know everything in order to get the job. An attitude of curiosity and engagement is the most important tool you can bring to any position.