Student Affairs

Tisch Knowledge Network

As you begin the first steps along your career path, here’s an opportunity for you to get advice from someone who can help light the way!

Created by the Tisch Office of Career Development in partnership with the Office of Alumni Relations and the Tisch academic departments, the Tisch Knowledge Network connects Tisch students and recent graduates with alumni who are eager to share their wisdom and support the next generation of artists and creatives. These volunteer Career Guides provide industry insights, as well as friendly guidance on the transition from school to life. 

This is not an internship or job placement program. Career Guides are NOT obligated to provide professional opportunities or referrals. 

What is the Tisch Knowledge Network? Who are the Tisch Career Guides?
This resource consists of Tisch alumni volunteers who are eager to support the next generation of artists and creatives. Drawing on their own experience and career path, they are available for one-time meetings to share valuable lessons. As alumni, they know what it is to be a Tisch student and can illuminate what life after Tisch can be so that you're ultimately empowered to forge your own career path!

How do I get access to the Tisch Knowledge Network?
If you’re eligible (see below for the criteria!), just fill out our request form. The TOCD staff will then review your request form to see which of the Career Guides would be a good fit for you. Once we’ve identified that person, we’ll do an email intro to connect you so that you can set up a meeting with them!

Please note that you cannot request a specific alum by name. The Tisch Career Guide pool only consists of people who have volunteered for TKN, which means not everyone who has graduated from Tisch is available for meeting requests.

As with any industry member you meet, it’s important to remember that the Tisch Career Guides are not meant to have the answers to all of your questions. If they do, that’s great but ultimately, these volunteers can only speak from their own experience. And that may not include every single career-related issue you’re trying to figure out. If the Career Guides are unable to answer all of your questions, the Tisch Office of Career Development can provide supplemental support. Our staff is well-versed in the arts and creative industries, so we can advise you on a wide range of topics including job searches, freelancer/entrepreneur strategies, creative branding, grant writing and fundraising, industry submissions, networking, and industry affinity groups. For international students, we also maintain a list of lawyers who specialize in artist visas, as well as a list of alums who’ve successfully obtained O-1s and are willing to chat with you about that experience.
 

Please carefully read all the info below before submitting a Tisch Knowledge Network request.

ELIGIBILITY

The Knowledge Network is open to both current Tisch students and Tisch alumni who have graduated in the last five years. Known as “Career Learners,” users must meet the following criteria:

  • Current Undergraduates must have been at Tisch for at least 2 semesters, or 
  • Current Graduate students must have been at Tisch for at least 2 months, or
  • Alumni must have graduated within the last 5 years  with a bachelors, masters, or PhD from Tisch.

 

Students/Alumni must ALSO have attended at least 3 TOCD events/programs or 2 career counseling sessions within the last 6 months

  • Career-related events hosted by the NYU Wasserman Center and/or the NYU Production Lab do not count towards this eligibility unless they are co-hosted with the Tisch Office of Career Development. Career-related events hosted by Tisch Academic Departments also do not count towards this eligibility. 
    • If you are unsure if an event qualifies, please contact the Tisch Office of Career Development to confirm.
  • Career counseling must be with Courtney Echols Penn, Lily Hung, Daniel Leeman Smith, or Robert Thill to be eligible. 

Students/Alumni must have Tisch College Central account

 

Students on leaves of absence are not eligible.

ACCESSING THE NETWORK

If you meet the above eligibility, here’s how to access the Tisch Knowledge Network:

  1. Log into your Tisch College Central account at www.collegecentral.com/tisch. Then click on the "Search My School's Jobs" and enter "Tisch Knowledge Network" in the keyword field.
  2. The listing contains an "Apply Online" link, which will take you to a request Google Form. Fill this out to let TOCD know what career insights you’re seeking.
  3. Using that info, the TOCD staff will then go through the Knowledge Network to see if there are any Career Guides who may be a good match for you. If so, we’ll then reach out to that person to confirm they’re currently available to meet with you.  Note: this process may take up to 3 weeks.
  4. Once the Career Guide confirms their availability, we’ll then introduce you to them via email.
  5. You and the Career Guide will then schedule a mutually convenient time to meet.
  6. At your meeting, you can ask anything and everything career-related (as long as you don’t ask them for a job or referrals).

Typical Questions to Ask:

  • How did you get started in the industry? How did you get your first job after graduation?
  • When did you feel like your career really took off?
  • What did you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
  • How do you balance a day job with your own creative work?
  • How do you stay productive and motivated, especially when you don’t have school holding you accountable? How do you find focus?
  • [For a freelancer] How did you get started finding steady clients/gigs?
  • How do you find a work/life balance?
  • How do you create community when you’re no longer in classes or dorms?

Please note that Career Guides are only committed to one-time meetings. Any additional interactions with your assigned Career Guide is at their individual discretion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to attend TOCD events/programs or have career counseling appointments before I can meet with a Career Guide? I need answers ASAP and this seems like an unnecessary roadblock!
The Career Guides are meant to expand your industry knowledge, rather than provide you with basics. This requirement also exists to ensure that you've utilized TOCD's core career support resources first and therefore have a baseline understanding of industry norms, including professional networking etiquette.

How can I meet the attendance/appointment requirements?
The TOCD event calendar can be found at bit.ly/tocdcalendar.
Information about TOCD’s career counseling can be found at this link. Note that various counseling formats are available year-round, including during the summer.

I'm specifically looking for someone to talk to me about [this career path]. Does TKN have a Career Guide who can address that?
The Career Guides have a wide range of backgrounds but not every possible creative career path is represented. To help you determine if TKN is a good fit for your needs, our current pool of Career Guides can be found here.

I specifically want to meet with [person's name]. Can I request them?
The Tisch Career Guide pool only consists of alumni who have volunteered specifically for TKN, which means not everyone who has graduated from Tisch is available for meeting requests. TKN is best suited for people who are open to learning from a wide range of industry perspectives, rather than someone who is hyperfocused on only connecting with extremely specific individuals.

Why can’t I pick my own Career Guide?
Matches with Career Guides are determined by the TOCD staff based on our assessment of your needs and its alignment with the current pool of volunteers, which can fluctuate depending on the season. (The Career Guides are all working industry professionals, so their availability can vary wildly at any given moment.) Several Career Guides have expressed their own preferences for which types of Learners they’d like to support, so TOCD takes that into consideration as well. Furthermore, for privacy reasons, individual details for our Career Guides are only released to you after they’ve confirmed they’re available to meet. 

Can I talk to more than one Career Guide?
Yes! You can request additional Career Guides but only after you’ve completed a meeting with the one you were assigned to. Your subsequent request must indicate what you learned from your most recent Career Guide conversation and what you’re looking to learn next/now. This requirement is to ensure you’re thoroughly thinking through what you’re learning from each Career Guide and being strategic about who you’re meeting.

NOTE:
Current students and alumni who have graduated in the last 2 years can have unlimited requests
Alumni who have graduated between 3 and 5 years ago can request up to 3 Career Guides within a 12-month period. 

Will the Career Guides help me get a job?
The Tisch Career Community is not a job placement program so the Career Guides WILL NOT recommend you for career-related opportunities or provide you with work. That said, the Career Guides CAN help you by offering advice on job search strategies.

Anyone who uses a meeting with their Career Guide to directly ask them for an internship/job or for a referral to the Career Guide’s personal industry contacts will immediately lose access to the Knowledge Network.

Are these meetings in person or virtual?
The default meeting mode is virtual (phone/video) but if you and the Career Guide are in the same geographic location, you’re welcome to meet in person. However, please be aware that any expenses from your meeting, such as the cost of a coffee, is your responsibility.

Is this the same thing as the Violet Network?
Nope! The Violet Network is an online platform hosted by the NYU Wasserman Center to facilitate networking, mentoring, and knowledge sharing between students and NYU alumni. It includes NYU alums who didn’t attend Tisch, including those from Gallatin, Steinhardt, and CAS who may now work in the arts and creative industries. We encourage you to use Violet Network to find additional alumni connections and increase your support network! For more info and to register, go to violetnetwork.nyu.edu.

I heard there was a Tisch New Graduates Mentor Program, where mentees are matched with an alum who serves as their buddy and meets with them multiple times over a long period of time. Is this the same thing?
Nope! For logistical reasons, that Mentor Program has been put on pause. However, many of the alumni volunteers from that program are now serving as Career Guides so you’ll be able to access them through the Knowledge Network. Btw if you were wondering, the Knowledge Network is waaaay better because you 1) don’t have to be in the graduating cohort to be eligible to use it, 2) you can request meetings anytime during the year, and 3) you can meet with multiple Career Guides. 

I’m planning on applying for other mentoring programs. Is this a problem?
Sure, this isn’t a formal mentor program so it’s completely okay for you to simultaneously participate in other mentor programs. 

Network requests will receive an acknowledgment within 5 business days. If you do not receive one after that time, please check your spam filter before contacting tisch.career@nyu.edu.

Click here to log into your Tisch College Central Account and access the request form!

We also strongly encourage you to utilize Violet Network, where you can connect with other NYU alumni for informational chats! For more info, please visit violetnetwork.nyu.edu.