How to go from graduate to CEO: An Alumni’s guide to post-grad success
No adjustment is easy. Especially making the adjustment from a student to a full time member of the workforce. The responsibility and pressure can be very overwhelming and you may feel as though the expectations are near impossible to meet. However, that’s just not the case. Names such as Barrett and Fulton used to be written on attendance sheets, now they adorn ASU buildings. ASU alumni like Al Michaels and Kate Spade are now known nationwide. People like Pat Tillman and Anthony Robles are etched into our Hall of Fame.
If you asked these people whether they were nervous when they first graduated, or if they faced many difficult challenges when entering the workforce, the answer would undoubtedly be yes. Take it from a name that has proudly represented ASU’s culture of success since he graduated in 1996: Writer, Director, Producer and CEO, Nicholas Tana.
“I think like most graduates, there's a lot of fear going into the real world as you call it,” said Tana. “Even though I had an advantage in that I actually was a working student, which is an advantage and disadvantage because you're working, but at the same time, you're getting experience… I still struggled to get a job though.”
It was in 1992, that Nicholas first set foot on ASU's Tempe campus as a first-year student, uncertain of what the future held. By seizing the opportunities available, he cultivated his interests and gained valuable experience in his chosen field of study.
College is the perfect time to start gaining experience and knowledge about the fields and studies that interest you. It is a time of opportunity and development, and a place that isn’t going to be replicated out in the “real world.”
“Something about ASU that sticks with me is it was truly a university, not a college,” Tana explained. “And when I say that, I mean like there's a lot of colleges in one. It's almost like going to a metropolis city where you have little mini cities like Los Angeles in one. San Diego is different from downtown LA, different from Koreatown.”
“I think that nexus of access that a university like ASU provides is great,” Tana went on to elaborate. “Especially when you're not necessarily sure what you want to do and you want to feel your way through and experience more sentiently. And so, I think that is one of the advantages of ASU. It has a lot to offer. And for people that are very self-seeking and self-motivating, that could be an amazing thing. For people that don't have a lot of direction, it might be overwhelming. So I think it really depends on the individual, but it definitely has a lot to offer.”
Motivated by the possibilities in front of him, Nicholas found direction by diving head first into the array of opportunities ASU provides. By allowing opportunities to happen, not being afraid of failure or rejection and providing a path of direction through consistent engagement, Nicholas learned what worked for him.
ASU truly is a metropolis of opportunity. It is one of the few places in which you will be actively rewarded for taking risks and trying new things. It is a place where experimentation is valued and a place where inclusivity is revered. As school ends and careers begin, these values narrow, and focuses change.
“I remember trying to get in with the Village Voice through a connection,” Tana described. “He says, ‘You have an amazing resume and you have all this experience and it's awesome -but I can't hire you unless you want to work for free.’
“I go, ‘What do you mean? Why can't you hire me? You pay people, right?’ He's like, ‘Yeah, but a lot of people want to work for free for us. And so I can't justify paying you when I have people with more experience than you willing to work for free. Unfortunately, all the really cool jobs, there's a lot of people that want to do it. You tend to have to do it for free for a while until you get yourself in the door.’”
“And so, that opened my eyes to what I had to do… I started doing free samples and writing and things to get some experience here and there…. One thing led to another where I eventually took a job stuffing envelopes in ESPN's HR department. And I gave them the spiel,” Tana explained. “I said, ‘You know, I've got experience. I'm an honors graduate. I speak several languages. I got real TV experience, but I can't get a job here. How do you get in?’ And she said, ‘You didn't hear this from me, but you gotta know somebody.’ And so I said, ‘Well, I know you.’ So she says, ‘Do you have a resume?’ I showed it to her and then I wound up getting a call the next day and I got offered a job as a production assistant. “
“And it was about $7,000 less than the average friend of mine was making with their starting jobs. But I took it because it was a leg in. Within a year, I was directing for them, associate director. It took getting in and then proving my worth and moving up the ranks.”
Opportunity is provided at ASU, in the “real world”, it is laboriously earned. Now more than ever is the time to take advantage of this. Prepare yourself by jumping into new opportunities and moving past the fears and reservations that might prevent you from doing so. It was a push, an unasked-for proposition in a moment of confidence, in which Nicholas secured more stable employment for himself.
For the student who gets anxious asking for homework extensions, be confident and advocate for yourself. Now is the time to develop these skills so that you don’t let your future opportunities pass you by.
“University is a place, the one time in your life, where you can learn who you are and what you like,” Tana said. “You have access to do that soul searching to incubate, to become the individual you're going to be, to go into a working world and bring that with you. Definitely get those experiences while you're on campus, while you have those connections where they can help land you into companies. Do it while you're in school.”
Sometimes, we expect university to be the end-all-be-all preparation for the workforce. While it provides a great foundation for skills and concepts we will be carrying into our respective fields, it cannot provide you with everything.
What it can provide you is an environment of freedom and accessibility that allows you to develop the skills it can’t directly teach you. Whether it be working part-time, taking internships, double majoring, or just the initiative to apply for said things, it is the time to start taking active steps outside what is “required” so that you can best prepare yourself.
“I wanted to be creative!” exclaimed Tana. “That's what I wanted to do. So, I was getting experience, hoping I can impress them and get a job. And most of them didn't work out. They just weren't going to hire me no matter what… until I got that ESPN job. But I also recognized that a lot of people were in my boat and this is very normal par for the course.
“I had heard stories about it. This is just the way it goes. And so that kept me encouraged. It wasn't like I was doing worse than anyone else per se. Everyone was struggling. I was like, ‘This is just the way it is.’ Eventually something will click. And I had faith in that and stuck with it, and eventually it did.”
Not everything will work out. Not every job will feel fulfilling, nor will they necessarily provide you a path forward unless you carve it yourself. It is undoubtedly daunting to embrace the ideas that everyone is struggling, that the market is difficult and that no matter how prepared you are there will always be challenges regarding employment.
But when you reflect, how many of those things can be applied to school? To life? To anything that requires effort? Difficult things are everywhere, many of them behind you, and they don’t change, they stay difficult. You change. You can become someone who embraces difficult things, a go-getter, and find yourself challenging the world, not vice versa. Whether you want to see change in your life, or in the world, it starts with accepting the difficult things are inevitable, but conceding to them is not.
“I was really struggling with the sheer amount of time that you had to be on-site in a job,” Tana explained. “Whereas at ASU, you'd go to a class, you'd walk and you'd go to another class, even though you were there all day and maybe into the night, it didn't feel like you were at a job all day. You were able to break it up. Having to do that was a challenge at first. It felt like you had to build that muscle.”
“I wasn't as inclined to be able to have to stay on one thing. And especially the more entry-level jobs, they don't trust you with a lot of things…. When you're starting in an internal or you're starting as a low entry-level paid position, you tend to be given one or two, maybe three things, tops that you're doing. And so it can feel redundant. And so I think it's really just, how do you still keep inspiration?”
“It's like we're all ADHD with the amount of things that we're bombarded with in terms of choices and options,” Tana continued. “It makes our staying power diminish, our ability to sit and stay with one thing for very long and focus.That was the one thing that I had to develop.”
Development is the enemy of failure. Especially when you measure success by improvement. There will be things you are not prepared for and it will force you to make adjustments. Things no matter how much you study your books or build your work ethic, will be new and different challenges to anything you have endured. They may have a similar level of difficulty, they may even have a similar structure, but it will be new.
However, understand that new challenges don’t necessarily require completely new solutions. Sitting down in an office space for an eight hour shift might be a new challenge, but focusing, especially for a student, isn’t new. How have you studied for tests? How did you manage to cram that essay a day before it was due? How many notebooks have you filled back to front through multiple hour long lectures? Challenges might be new, but solutions can be tried and tested. Continue to develop the skills you have been working on, and don’t be afraid to apply them differently. Confidence is key.
“I don't necessarily think pressure is a bad thing,” said Tana. “Like pressure is a bad thing if you let it get to you. But pressure can also inspire you. It can focus you, you know? I mean, there's not an exam you'll take that you won't have pressure, right? That's what you're learning. Do you fold under that pressure or do you learn to flourish under that pressure?”
“Pressure can make diamonds out of coal,” Tana elaborated. “So it's really just learning that everyone makes mistakes, being forgiving of yourself, but also allowing yourself to be under pressure, to try hard, to be motivated, to succeed and to take the time and initiative to grow and learn as quickly as you can, as you're capable of.”
Pressure is a tool not an obstacle. Like any tool, it can be used to improve, or as a blunt weapon to destroy. If there was no pressure in the atmosphere we’d all, hypothetically, become filled with bubbles that block our blood flow. Our body wouldn’t get the oxygen or nutrients it needs to thrive. Having no pressure in your life is not too different. You can become overly lax, filled with nothing but empty air, and you lose the essential fuel that drives you forward.
Allow pressure into your life, allow challenges to come your way and take on difficult tasks. Failure might be inevitable but so is growth. The coolest jobs, the best opportunities and the most rewarding work will have a lot of pressure associated with it.
While there might be a lot of challenges to face, what you will soon come to find is that the reward and fulfillment gained from the successful development of one’s skills far exceeds any A+ or passed class.
“I am proud of both of the movies I've made,” Tana said. “Sticky: A (Self) Love Story, I found out from a friend, was number six on Amazon as of last October. That's a 2016 movie. I just can't believe that that's still trending. It's very unique if you've seen it. It's all about ending shame and things like that, too, which is very relevant in our society.”
“I think Hell's Kitty. I mean, I did that on a super, super micro budget in one apartment. Pretty much 80 percent was shot in a two bedroom apartment. And I managed to get so much high level talent in this one thing with my cat. And given all the parameters of working with a cat and working with no money and a limited location, what we were able to pull off with that, I'm very proud of it. And I think it still has its own cult following, which is great.”
“So I'm very proud of both of those accomplishments and creatively what they did and how they helped to kind of push my career out,” Tana continued. “And of course, I'm proud of the work I'm doing now. eJUNKY, the graphic novel I just released, I'm very proud of that book and how it came out and where it's still going... I'm always in love with what I'm doing at the moment, you know, most, I'd say. And I think I've got some of my best work ahead of me, I hope.”
Ultimate success comes in incremental improvements. There will be no job that, upon being hired, you are completely fulfilled. There will be no singular project that, once completed, cements you or your legacy in history. There is no paycheck that will immediately validate your hard work. All that stuff helps, surely, but the real reward will always come in tackling challenges, trying your best and always committing to taking the next steps forward, no matter how big that step may be. Keep taking steps forward, and one day you’ll find yourself far ahead of where you used to be.
If you would like to check out the work mentioned, or follow the inspiring story of this ASU alum, be sure to check out Nicholas Tana’s work on Instagram @nicholastana or on his website or on the Smart Media LLC website!