By Giana Riad
Ever thought of working in entertainment publicity? What about international entertainment publicity? Say no more! CSUN PRSSA was fortunate enough to have the amazing Lisa-Marie DeWinkeleer as a guest speaker at our meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. Lisa-Marie is an international publicity and marketing coordinator at Lionsgate and spoke about the good, the bad, the ugly, and glamorous of the entertainment industry. With her impressive background in entertainment, Lisa-Marie started her career, while at CSUN, as a Disney intern. With her prior experience, she set a bright future for CSUN students.
Lisa-Marie was the mastermind behind the Captain America: Civil War activation on to the CSUN campus. She even made sure to gain recognition from these elite studios for CSUN and it’s students. While speaking, Lisa-Marie went on to suggest the do’s and don'ts of the entertainment company. One of her main quotes was, “understand you’re worth the risk you’re going to take.”
Lisa-Marie highlights the many actions job and internship seekers should take:
Tips For Getting into Entertainment:
Email someone in the company you want to work for and ask for an informational interview. You have to remind yourself how much you want to complete your goal and remind yourself that “if I want this, I’m going to get it and then go after it.”
Do not expect anything in return when you meet with someone. It is best if you do not immediately ask how one could get a job at the company when you are meeting with someone you wish to work for. Instead, ask questions about them and their career.
The greatest thing you can do is ask questions. It is alright not to know all the answers all the time.
Everyone wants to help a student, so take advantage. Take advantage of the resources offered to all students through PRSSA and CSUN. CSUN is known for aiding their students.
If you want to learn more about public relations buy books and/or watch videos on what you want to specialize in.
Don’t just look at internships at large companies, look for internships at boutique agencies and smaller companies as well.
It is perfectly fine to not be able to do it all, it is ok to ask for help
Learn through support. Learn to believe in yourself and understand you are worth it.
Things you must do to stand out:
Go to public relations, marketing, and communications events. Learn to network with people in person and online and within and outside of your preferred line of work. Chances are someone will know another person who can help you.
Pinpoint the person in charge of hiring for the department/company you wish to work in. Find out what this person did to land a position in the company when they did it.
Keep pushing. People don’t purposely ignore your email, they are busy. Therefore you should kindly follow up with them. It will take time to find a job/internship, so stay persistent and continue to work hard.