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FANing or CANing—Which Is Right for You?Recently, I've been doing some thinking about the way that most students—and many alumni—approach their careers. I've loosely titled these approaches Find-a-Niche and Create-a-Niche. The Find-a-Niche approach, or FAN, is the easiest to consider. Students who are interested in finding a job in dance, theater, opera, orchestra—perhaps a teaching position, or some other work such as directing, presenting, producing, marketing, consulting, etc.—are looking for a niche in an established organization. They are, in essence, using a FANing approach in their career development.
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Do you take the Find-a-Niche
or the Create-a-Niche approach
to your career?
Either way, a short-term plan
will bring many benefits.
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The other approach is the Create-a-Niche, or CAN. Students who prefer CANing like to create their own jobs. They are entrepreneurial in nature and tend to be independent-minded. In order to succeed, students must learn certain skills—some of which pertain to their craft, but many more of which are needed to find the jobs and succeed in doing them. Both the CAN and FAN approaches require considerable knowledge, skills, and discipline outside of the performance craft.Young artists interested in learning how to FAN should familiarize themselves with resources available in print, online, through e-mail subscriptions, and through the Career Office. Of course, finding where the jobs are is only a beginning. En route, I encourage everyone to learn about the world that interests them—which includes the industry, relevant employment statistics, trends, job satisfaction, opportunities for advancement, long-term security, etc. Even more important is the global context. What are the conditions through which the job exists? The more young artists understand their career world, the better they will be able to navigate it.On the other hand, the CAN approach requires more entrepreneurial skills. Artists who are entrepreneurial will usually begin by describing an idea or project. They know what they want to do, but need help with the mechanics. Some of my professional colleagues have come to the conclusion that all students should be "entrepreneurial" in nature in order to succeed. I don't agree. Some people have a spark for putting together a project, starting a company, or booking a tour. Others are incredibly successful at expanding upon an idea. They may not have created the idea, but they can see its potential and realize its end.Whether you prefer to FAN or CAN, I find that most everyone benefits by creating a short-term career plan. Career plans are the nuts-and-bolts of what you are going to do and how you plan on doing it. I'm a strong advocate for the short-term career plan—usually three months. This serves two functions. The first is that it helps to define goals and strategies. Second, it gives the artist a marker from which to gauge progress—a difficult but invaluable part of career development.The best-laid plans are those with a detailed task list for each day. If you consider the many letters, phone inquiries, follow-up correspondence, research, and auditions you could potentially accomplish, it is not difficult to imagine a daily plan where you focus exclusively on career tasks for an hour. The results will astound you.The career plans for FANing look considerably different from CANing. With FANing, the daily task list and weekly goals are usually centered on canvassing the industry and networking with people. Young artists must spend time learning about which organizations, ensembles, or companies are auditioning/hiring. They must also network with potential employers who may consider the artist for work in the mid- to long-term future.A CANing career plan is more substantive. Depending on the project, proposals may need to be drafted, key players recruited, money raised, contracts negotiated, etc. Without a career plan, CANers are at risk of becoming paralyzed because the amount of work appears overwhelming.I've discovered that, too often, students and alumni cannot effectively evaluate their progress. Throughout the course of their career plan, artists learn about themselves, their commitment, and their enthusiasm for their intended course in life. Those who are thrilled with it are nearly always successful to some degree. They pursue their career plan with vigor and enthusiasm. Even if they don't achieve all that they hoped for, they usually discover meaningful experiences and leads to other possibilities. Which brings me to my final words of encouragement. Whether you prefer a FAN or CAN approach to your career, the Career Development staff is here for you. Stop by the office and let us help draft your short-term career plan.Derek Mithaug is Juilliard's director of career development and an alumnus of the School.
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