Saqib Siddik

Here is something that I think applies not only to the photography industry, but any situation in general (parents, be sure to take note here):

1. “You can use my photograph of Mount Rushmore in your school project.”
2. “You can use my photograph of Mount Rushmore only in your school project.”

Do you see the difference between the two sentences? Don’t say #1 when you actually mean #2. That’s why we have the word “only” in the English language. Sure, in casual conversation it’s not a big deal. But what if there is a large financial transaction at stake? What if I was intending to sell my picture of Mount Rushmore to National Geographic as an exclusive image, but before they bought it, they discovered that you had uploaded it to your blog and now the entire world already has free copies? Maybe you should have known better. Or maybe I should have been more specific. It’s why contracts can sometimes be challenging to read, and it’s a good thing, too.

Today in class, I lectured on the four stages of consumer behavior that are necessary to understand if you want to craft effective advertising. The four stages are:

1. Pre-contemplation: This is where the consumer doesn’t even know your product exists. This challenge is faced by all new companies and products.
2. Contemplation: Here, the consumer knows about your product, what its benefits are, and is thinking about buying.
3. Action: The consumer buys your product. This is the major goal for all advertisers.
4. Maintenance: The consumer keeps buying new iterations of your product (ie. software upgrades, new models, etc)

Now think about how this applies to you if you are, for example, searching for a job. The consumer is your potential employer, and YOU ARE THE PRODUCT. If you are new to the market, then the employer has no idea who you are and likely won’t give you much consideration. Therefore, you have to work really hard to get on the radar (ie. Stage 2). This would involve various techniques such as referrals, cold calls, letters, resumes, emails, etc. You also MUST have a professionally designed website if you want to be taken seriously, because employers WILL search for you online.

At this point, if you’ve done everything you are supposed to do, the potential employer will be fully aware of who you are and what you can do for him. All he has to do now is take Action and hire you. Now he has bought your product – YOU. And if your contract keeps getting renewed and your salary keeps increasing as time goes on, you can bask in the glory of Stage 4.

Thinking of yourself as a product can be an effective way to take stressful emotions out of the job hunting process.

The Passing won 1st Place in the Student Film Competition at the Seguin Film & Arts Festival.  Keegan Michael represented the film and received the award for us.  Congratulations to the entire cast and crew!