This week’s job skills workshop, covering writing the perfect resume and cover letter and mastering the job interview, will be held in the auditorium at Burbank Unified’s adult school campus near Bob Hope Airport at 10:00 am this Friday, August 26. I’m excited to teach this new class, which the director asked me to create to help people find rewarding work.
The theme of this 90-minute class is that looking for work in today’s market requires explicit assessment, awareness and positive assertion of one’s record, experience and philosophy of work.
Social media workshop 8/16 | Burbank Public Library | Photo by Jeffrey Falk
Feedback from Monday’s workshop in social media, which I delivered in downtown Burbank, was constructive. One of my students suggested adding thematic detail to title slides, a good suggestion which I plan to incorporate, and I’m told that the LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter screenshots were helpful. Attendance at the Burbank Public Library-sponsored event exceeded my expectations and audience questions were sharp, serious and insightful.
This area north of Los Angeles is a diverse economic mix of artists, entrepreneurs, professionals and crew that represents the Southern California industrial blend of media, movies, technology, retail and manufacturing. I covered a wide scope of functions and editorial best practices in major social media and I was impressed by how attentive and knowledgeable today’s readers and communicators are about the nuances, details and complications of branding one’s presence on social media.
Social media workshop 8/16 | Burbank Public Library | Photo by Jeffrey Falk
I plan to add aspects of this class to this fall’s 10-week course on social media, which starts on September 12 (follow this fall’s All About Social Media on Facebook here). Space is limited, so if you’re in Southern California, sign up because the course is filling up. The new fall course includes live demonstrations and tutorials in social media. Computer laboratory instruction for each student’s social media profile(s) is an optional part of the fall program this semester, too, so expect to get individual attention with emphasis on how to improve what you’ve made or want to make. Look for updated lessons based on the newest trends, tools and failures, including experience from my projects, campaigns and branding. From Joss Whedon quitting Twitter after negative reviews for Tomorrowland to Brian Williams losing his stature and Robin Williams‘ daughter Zelda Williams reclaiming social media as her own domain, my course covers today’s terrain.
This course is an editorial orientation. In other words, this is not a course on every detail or feature of Instagram, Twitter or YouTube. My approach instructs the student in how to engage social media based on one’s goals, values and self-interest while exploring certain uses, tools and functions.
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The same premise goes for my fall 2016 Writing Boot Camp, which breaks writing into progressive steps, from before writing begins to after completion of the first draft. Writing Boot Camp includes spot and assigned writing and notes. Course subjects include habits, resources and immersion in writing as an art and as a science.
Selecting the format, designating the topic and formulating a theme are studied and both writing and editing are practiced, both one on one as well as in collaboration with other students in class. Students are asked to read aloud. The 10-week series is based on what I have learned and fundamentally grounded in my professional writing background. I am enthusiastic about Writing Boot Camp. I plan to introduce the course’s first guest speaker, a published author of dozens of books, this coming fall, too.
Who enrolls in an adult writing course? Poets, screenwriters, published authors and anyone seeking to achieve clarity in writing. Students are entertainment industry executives, songwriters, police officers, lawyers, teachers and entrepreneurs. Certain students attend for general knowledge and practice in a disciplined approach. Others seek to refuel the creative supply through my encouraging immersion in the art and business of storytelling.
Writing Boot Camp starts on September 15. Both courses are held at Burbank Adult School near Bob Hope Airport. However, if you’re unable to attend and you want help, I am available by appointment, video or telephone. Contact me for details.
Here’s a roundup of my new communications studies this summer and fall.
Breaking writing into progressive steps, from before the writing begins to after you’ve completed the first draft, whether a screenplay, manuscript or blog post, Writing Boot Camp features assigned and spot writing opportunities and my detailed feedback. Course topics include pre-writing habits, tips, tools and resources and immersion in writing as an art and science. I instruct in selecting the format, designating a topic and formulating the theme of what you aim to write. Writing and editing are studied, examined and practiced, both one on one as well as in collaboration with the class. Students are tasked with active thinking, writing and reading aloud. So, it’s called boot camp for a reason. I introduced the course last year after creating a 90-minute workshop on assignment and, while it is structured based on what I have learned in classes I’ve attended, the course is proprietary and fundamentally grounded in my own professional writing experience. I’m enthusiastic about the new material and I hope to have my first guest instructor, a published author of dozens of books, this coming semester. I plan to expand Writing Boot Camp in the future (follow the fall course on Facebook here).
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Who takes the adult education course? Everyone from screenwriters, poets and published authors to police officers trying to improve clarity in reports and lawyers, doctors and other professionals. Past students include songwriters, teachers and entrepreneurs, also a studio executive in charge of writing talent, a social media manager aiming to improve his storytelling and a celebrity actor’s manager seeking to better ascertain quality scripts. Some students come for acquiring knowledge and practice in a disciplined approach. Others seek to replenish a creative supply through immersion with other writers in an encouraging, guided environment. Register for this fall’s Writing Boot Camp, which starts on September 15 near Los Angeles, by going to the link included here.
My social media series starts that week, too (follow this fall’s All About Social Media on Facebook here). Space is limited for both of these 10-week courses, so if you’re in Southern California, mark your calendar and sign up soon as enrollment has started and both courses are filling up. Improving the social media course based on student feedback, I make time for new, live demonstrations and tutorials and plans for computer laboratory instruction. I want to include guest instructors for this course, too, and I’ve already updated lessons based on the latest social media trends, tools and failures, including experience from my own client projects, campaigns and branding.
The course remains a general orientation to social media with emphasis on best editorial practices, so I want to be clear that this is not a course on every feature of Instagram or Facebook. This approach leads to interesting exchanges as you can imagine. Students often come expecting me to tell them what to do in each part of the social media experience. But, as advanced users know, you learn by doing, too, and trial and error is integral to mastering new technology. Also, the downside of social media stems from plunging in without purpose, direction or clarity in one’s highest goals, which feeds drift, distraction and aimlessness. So, I’m careful to instruct students in how to guide social media based on their own decisions while pointing to certain uses and specific features. Past students include adults who want to know more about this amorphous new industry, from filmmakers and artists seeking a better grasp of distribution means to grandparents, activists and merchants seeking to better connect, persuade and cash in. To register for All About Social Media go here.
Touch/click for details of “Making Sense of Social Media”
Additionally, I’ve been asked to help individuals who are looking for work, so I’ve created a new 90-minute workshop on writing the resume and mastering the job interview. This one-time class is scheduled at the adult school for August 26 and it’s free to the public (details below). So is another one-time 90-minute class I’m giving on social media in downtown Burbank on the upsides and downsides of social media. “Making Sense of Social Media” also examines a range of recent social media examples, trends, success and failure.
Go here for details and here to follow “Making Sense of Social Media” on Facebook.
Jobs, Resume & Interviews
Writing the Resume
Mastering the Job Interview
10am-11:30am | FREE admission
Friday, August 26, 2016 at Burbank Adult School | Call to register: (818) 558-4611
Of course, let me know if you are unable to attend the classes, which are offered in downtown Burbank at the library and at the Henry Mingay campus of Burbank Adult School near Bob Hope Airport. Otherwise, if you want help, I can probably work with you remotely or meet if you’re in LA. Contact me to schedule a private session. Follow my events on Facebook and feel free to connect and follow on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
The adult education workshops I created for Mood Designer Fabrics last fall focused on new media. The series was a success and Mood asked me to make more classes for artists and entrepreneurs, such as Hollywood creative types and sole proprietors, and I produced a second visual workshop series this winter which emphasized sales, branding and marketing. Feedback is positive and I have been invited to expand with a third series.
This program, which includes my first writing class, fosters social skills, productivity and keeping life and work in balance. In addition to “Success with Social Media”, “The Art of the Blog”, “Do-it-Yourself PR”, “How to Brand What You Design Make and Do”, “Marketing Yourself for Maximum Impact” and “How to Get New Customers”, three all-new workshops are available this spring: “Designing Your Work”, “How to Plan an Event with Panache” and “Writing Boot Camp”. Classes are live in mid-Wilshire Los Angeles near Hancock Park at Mood Fabrics’ in-store classroom near South La Brea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. Thanks to sponsor Mood School by Bravo’s Project Runway partner Mood Designer Fabrics, admission is free.
Each class includes Q & A, concrete examples, step-by-step instruction, pros and cons and a visual presentation. Mood School encourages me to offer the highest quality instruction and students tell me they find the classes rewarding. I love helping people to learn how to master communication of what they love to do, make and design – especially solo creators with real skill and ability – or work toward that goal making progress as a means to an end. Students attend from Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley and the vibe is relaxed and welcoming but generally everyone’s there to advance his or her self-interest, so every class is a treat. Previous and current students should note that the new series is more advanced and abstract. Mood School may offer my program for wider distribution later this year. If readers want to register (classes are on Tuesday evenings now through June), have any questions or want more info, contact me. [April 17, 2014 postscript: the sponsor informs me that, due to seismic damage to the building, all workshops have been postponed until repairs are completed. I apologize for any inconvenience.] [July 14, 2014 update: the series, now scheduled for 5pm Thursdays from mid August through October, is open for registration here]
Author’s Note
Thank you for your interest in my writing.
I write fiction and non-fiction. Read my blog at left for informal posts on news, ideas and the culture. I am available for contracting, so if you're interested, please start here.
I welcome feedback. To let me know your thoughts, please feel free to contact me.
